Atlanta United Overview
Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference and plays home matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which it shares with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Founded in 2014, the team began MLS play in 2017 as the league’s twenty-second franchise and is the first MLS club to be based in Atlanta.
Owned by Arthur Blank and presided over by Garth Lagerwey, Atlanta United quickly established itself among MLS’s most prominent clubs, winning the MLS Cup in 2018 and adding the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup in 2019. The team plays in black, red, and gold and is widely known by its nickname, “The Five Stripes.” The club also operates Atlanta United 2, a reserve team competing in MLS Next Pro, and a youth academy that participates in MLS NEXT.
Founding and Organizational Origins
The path to Atlanta United began years before the club’s official founding. When the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers were sold and relocated to Winnipeg in 2011, the vacated market reignited conversations about bringing an MLS expansion team to the city. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot, identified soccer as a complementary addition to his portfolio and incorporated an MLS-ready stadium into the plans for the new home of the Falcons.
Negotiations between Blank’s group and MLS advanced through 2013 and into 2014, with commissioner Don Garber publicly expressing interest in Atlanta as a priority expansion market. On April 16, 2014, Blank announced that MLS had awarded an expansion franchise to his group, with play set to begin in 2017. The Southeast had been without an MLS team since the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny were dissolved in 2001, making Atlanta the second franchise awarded in the region in five months following Orlando City.
Club executives quickly built the operational framework. President Darren Eales, head coach Gerardo Martino, and a front-office team were assembled to oversee roster construction, scouting, and the launch of a youth academy. The team’s name, logo, and colors were unveiled on July 7, 2015, with supporters surveyed to help shape the identity. The crest features a bold “A” and five stripes representing unity, determination, community, excellence, and innovation.
Growth Into MLS Competition
Atlanta United built out its professional and developmental infrastructure in parallel with its MLS preparations. A youth academy launched in the 2016-2017 USSDA season, offering free participation and a pathway to first-team contracts as Homegrown Players. The club also announced plans for a centralized training facility, which opened as the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground in Marietta on April 11, 2017, after a $60 million build-out on a 33-acre site.
On the commercial side, the club secured American Family Insurance as its primary jersey sponsor in 2016 and added regional partners including Piedmont Healthcare, Truist, and NAPA. Adidas was confirmed as the kit manufacturer, and a Stars and Stripes-inspired primary kit debuted in 2019 before the all-black “BLVCK” kit was introduced in 2021. To bridge the academy and first team, the club launched Atlanta United 2 in 2018, which has since moved to MLS Next Pro.
Martino was named the club’s first head coach and began shaping a roster built around attacking talent, with marquee signings such as Josef Martínez and Miguel Almirón. The team played its inaugural 2017 home matches at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium before moving into Mercedes-Benz Stadium in September 2017, completing the operational build-out required to compete in MLS.
Atlanta United Competitive Journey
Across its first eight MLS seasons, Atlanta United has experienced a rapid rise to a championship, sustained playoff contention, and a recent period of transition. The club reached the playoffs in its debut season, won the MLS Cup in year two, and collected two additional domestic trophies in 2019. The years that followed brought coaching turnover and roster retooling, with the team reaching the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs as a wild card and recording a notable upset of Supporters’ Shield winners Inter Miami.
Early Seasons and Development (2017)
Atlanta United’s inaugural 2017 season set the tone for the club’s identity as an attendance powerhouse. The team’s first MLS regular season game was played on March 5, 2017, at Bobby Dodd Stadium, with Yamil Asad scoring the first goal in club history in a 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls. A week later, Atlanta registered its first victory with a 6-1 road defeat of fellow expansion side Minnesota United, and the club’s first home win came on March 18 against Chicago Fire.
Following its September move to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta set multiple MLS single-match attendance records, eventually surpassing 70,000 fans in a non-doubleheader game and breaking the league’s average attendance record. The club clinched a playoff berth as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, becoming only the third MLS expansion team to reach the postseason in its debut year. Atlanta’s first playoff match set an MLS attendance record for a postseason game before the team was eliminated in a penalty shootout by the Columbus Crew.
Breakthrough in MLS (2018-2019)
In 2018, Atlanta United won the MLS Cup in only its second season. The club finished second in the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield standings, then advanced through the playoffs with home wins over New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls. On December 8, 2018, Atlanta defeated the Portland Timbers 2-0 in MLS Cup 2018 before a crowd of 73,019, the largest non-doubleheader crowd in league history. The title marked the city’s first major professional sports championship since the Atlanta Braves won the 1995 World Series.
Martino departed after the championship to manage the Mexico national team, and Frank de Boer was hired as his replacement. Under de Boer, Atlanta added two more trophies in 2019, beating Club América 3-2 in the Campeones Cup and winning the U.S. Open Cup. Josef Martínez was named league MVP in 2018, and Martino earned Coach of the Year honors. De Boer was dismissed in 2020 after the MLS is Back Tournament, with Stephen Glass serving as interim head coach.
Modern Program and Current Direction (2021-Present)
The club entered a new era in 2021 with the appointment of Gabriel Heinze, whose tenure ended midseason during a club-record winless streak. Gonzalo Pineda took over as the fourth permanent head coach in August 2021 and guided the team to the playoffs that fall. Pineda was fired in June 2024 after a club-record five consecutive home losses, with Rob Valentino again serving as interim head coach.
Atlanta United has continued to invest heavily in its roster. In February 2025, the club signed Emmanuel Latte Lath from Middlesbrough for a reported $22 million, the largest transfer fee in MLS history. The club is led by president and CEO Garth Lagerwey, who joined in 2022 after serving as general manager of Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders. The team plays in MLS Next Pro reserves and a fully operational academy, and its Mercedes-Benz Stadium home remains a defining asset.
Philosophy and Competitive Strengths
Atlanta United has built its reputation on attacking soccer supported by strong fan engagement. The club’s identity emphasizes pace, creativity, and forward movement, with the team’s trademark “Five Stripes” branding and supporter traditions reinforcing a clear match-day culture. The presence of a large, vocal home crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a defining competitive strength, contributing to the club’s record-setting attendance figures since its inaugural season.
Key Milestones and Major Moments
Among the most significant milestones in Atlanta United history are the club’s first MLS match on March 5, 2017, its first MLS Cup title on December 8, 2018, and its 2019 domestic double of the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup. The team has set multiple MLS single-match and average attendance records, including a 73,019 crowd at MLS Cup 2018. The February 2025 signing of Emmanuel Latte Lath for a reported $22 million set a new MLS transfer record, signaling the club’s continued ambition.
Atlanta United Achievements and Results
Atlanta United’s trophy cabinet includes the 2018 MLS Cup, the 2019 U.S. Open Cup, the 2019 Campeones Cup, and the 2018 Eastern Conference championship. The club has also set league records for single-match and average attendance and produced an MLS MVP in Josef Martínez. Across MLS play, Atlanta has qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in multiple seasons and reached the conference finals in 2019.
MLS Achievements
Atlanta United has won one MLS Cup, capturing the title in 2018 with a 2-0 victory over the Portland Timbers. The club has also qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in its inaugural 2017 season, the 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024 seasons, recording multiple deep runs including the 2018 championship and a 2024 first-round upset of Supporters’ Shield winners Inter Miami.
Conference Achievements
Atlanta United has won one Eastern Conference championship, finishing atop the conference in 2018 en route to the MLS Cup title. The club has finished as high as second in the East in 2018 and has recorded multiple top-six finishes in subsequent seasons, including a sixth-place Eastern Conference finish in 2022 and a ninth-place finish in 2024 that earned a wild card playoff berth.
Divisional Achievements
Within the Eastern Conference, Atlanta United has recorded multiple divisional finishes, including a tied-for-third Eastern Conference regular season standing in its inaugural 2017 campaign. The club’s 2018 Supporters’ Shield runner-up finish marked its highest league-wide regular season placing to date.
Series Achievements
In cup competition, Atlanta United has won the U.S. Open Cup in 2019 and the Campeones Cup the same year, becoming the first American club to defeat a Mexican side in the Campeones Cup. The club qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League as MLS Cup champions and has since returned to continental play, reaching the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals in 2021.