Atlanta is quickly becoming the leading US city for soccer as reports confirm the NWSL has awarded the city a franchise for a future season.
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) looks set to add Atlanta as its 17th franchise for the 2028 season.
The Athletic reported AMB Sports and Entertainment will own the franchise having paid an expansion fee of $165m.
AMB also owns the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC, who both play at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The new NWSL franchise is also expected to play there.
“We have had productive engagement with NWSL and others in its stakeholder group on the possibility of bringing an expansion franchise to Atlanta. We have nothing to announce currently as those conversations are ongoing,” said an AMB spokesperson to ESPN.
The Atlanta NWSL franchise will become the 17th team to join the league following the arrival of Denver Summit FC and Boston Legacy FC, with both franchises set to compete in their inaugural NWSL campaign next season.
Atlanta’s expansion fee is higher than Denver and Boston’s. Boston owner Jennifer Epstein paid $53m, whilst Denver’s owners, a consortium led by Robert Cohen, Mikaela Shiffrin and Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, paid $110m.
In April 2025, Jessica Berman, Commissioner of the NWSL, said she believed the league could expand to as many as 32 franchises, similar to the NFL. She has also changed the expansion process, opting for a rolling process as opposed to formal bidding.
Atlanta – The home of US soccer?
It may come as no surprise that Atlanta has been awarded an NWSL franchise considering the city is the seventh largest media market in the US, behind New York (first), Los Angeles (second), Chicago (third), Philadelphia (fourth), Dallas (fifth) and San Francisco (sixth).
The city is also quickly becoming a hotbed for soccer growth with the success of Atlanta United FC in Major League Soccer (MLS).
The team won the MLS Cup in 2018 after being founded in 2014. The team also comfortably has the highest average attendances for MLS games last season with 43,992, almost 13,000 more than the 30,993 averaged at Seattle Sounders games in second.
Atlanta will also be the new headquarters for the US Soccer Federation. A new national training centre and headquarters is set to open in 2026 in Fayette County, Georgia and will serve as the hub for the US Men’s National Team.
NWSL new advisory board
The NWSL announced the formation of an advisory board on November 6, designed to collaborate the growth of US women’s soccer, as well as create new commercial opportunities, such as partnerships, sponsorships, and fan engagement initiatives.
The board will be led by Berman, with some of the inaugural advisory board members including Chris Paul, Sabrina Ionescu, Eli Manning, Sue Bird, and Alex Morgan – all shareholders in NWSL franchises.
“When we looked across our clubs’ investor base, we realized how fortunate we are to have such an extraordinary group of cultural icons, athletes, and leaders who believe – and have invested – in the power and potential of this league,” said Berman.
“Their experience and influence will be instrumental as we continue building not just a league, but a movement—one that redefines entertainment and what’s possible in sports.”
