The NWSL is finally coming to Atlanta.
According to The Athletic’s Asli Pelit, Atlanta has been awarded the 17th franchise of the first-division women’s soccer league. The Arthur Blank-owned club will begin play at some point after the 2026 season, with an official announcement from Blank set for Tuesday. AMB Sports + Entertainment reportedly paid an expansion fee of $165 million, a league record.
Atlanta has long been on the list of possible expansion destinations for the NWSL. After being passed over for several years, though, a long-expected move is finally set to become official.
Of course, this isn’t the first time a top-flight women’s league has set up shop in Atlanta. The first iteration of the Atlanta Beat, part of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), initially played at Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2001 before moving to Herndon Stadium for the 2002 and 2003 seasons prior to the league’s closure.
The Beat name was resurrected as part of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), playing at what’s now Fifth Third Stadium. This iteration also existed for two seasons until the eventual folding of WPS in 2012.
However, the women’s game has expanded significantly over the past decade and a half. Interest in women’s soccer, and women’s sports in general, has exploded. Now, an Arthur Blank-backed NWSL club is set to join the fray.
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[…] Report: Arthur Blank, Atlanta awarded NWSL expansion franchise, to begin play after 2026 […]
Atlanta Phoenix!!!!
Love this! About time as well. They should be the Atlanta Trouble.
GOOD! …….. TROUBLE!
ATLTBL FC
The Beat will definitely NOT be the team name. 100% guarantee that.
As much as I like the name, maybe don’t call the new team the Beat considering how unlucky the name has been in history.
You mean because the original WUSA team lost 2 of the 3 league finals?
Or because both leagues folded within a couple of years?
Because the team/league kept folding due to financial issues.
Glad to see it. Hopefully there are enough fans to support it though.
Call it the Atlanta Olympics 96 fc
As the father of a soccer crazy 8 year old girl, I’m pumped. Upon seeing this and telling my daughter, she ran around chanting and danced. Then she called out the names of players she hopes to see come to Atlanta. Great for soccer, great for Atlanta, great for our girls. See yall at the inaugural match!
About time!
See if Cindy Parlow (Cone) wants to hit the field again. She was on the original Beat.
I think she’s a little busy running US Soccer.
Exactly. And US Soccer is (or will be by then) based here. The team can save a couple of bucks on relocation expenses.