Atlanta City FC kicks off in about 16 months, but the pieces of the puzzle continue to come together. The most recent one is the hiring of Richard Gunney — whose official start date is Nov. 1 — as the club’s first Chief Soccer Officer. Before too long, we’ll know ATL CTY’s inaugural head coach and first-ever signing.
On Friday, though, the NWSL announced the roster-building assets for Atlanta City and its unnamed expansion counterpart in Columbus. Per the league, Atlanta and Columbus will each receive:
- $1,430,000 in allocation money. That’s just over 30% of what the league’s base salary cap will be in 2028, as mandated by the CBA ($4,700,000).
- A transfer-fee threshold of $1.9 million. The clubs will receive what the standard threshold will be in 2028 ($732,050) plus an extra $1,167,950 from 2027 to the close of the secondary transfer window in 2028. According to the NWSL, “spending above the applicable threshold will incur a salary cap charge equal to 25 percent of the excess amount.”
- A “limited 2027 salary cap” of $628,350. to sign players. That’s 14.28% of the league’s overall base cap of $4.4 million.
As was the case with Atlanta United, Atlanta City can sign a player and loan them out inside or outside the league until 2028. And if you’re anxious for them to sign their first High-Impact Player (the NWSL’s version of a Designated Player), that can’t happen until after January 1, 2028.
If you’ve missed it, things are progressing at Columbus as well. The club has named former Atlanta United head of technical recrutment Lucy Rushton as its general manager. More recently, it announced the construction of a 45,000-square foot training facility, OhioHealth Training Grounds, located 3.5 miles south of ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
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