USMNT feels at home in Atlanta: ‘You just feel the energy of the city around football’

The match, one of two Copa América matches held in the city, is the latest in an ever-expanding series of signposts marking Atlanta’s spectacular emergence as a soccer capital. A region once far from the sports mainstream in the United States now feels more like a showpiece.

ATLUTD has topped the MLS attendance rankings since its debut on the field in 2017, thanks to the large and spirited MBS crowds that propelled the Five Stripes to trophies at the 2018 MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup 2019. United’s ability to connect with large swaths of the region’s diverse and growing population and reflect the city’s rich cultural mosaic has made the club a unifying experience for thousands of residents, including many are newcomers looking for community.

“You feel the energy of the city around football, and it’s a really good feeling when you come to play a game of this magnitude,” Turner said. “People really care, they care about the outcome, they care about how the team is doing. They know the players and all that; it’s really nice. You don’t get asked random questions in the elevator about what school you play for or what sport you play. People are aware of what’s going on and it’s a really good feeling.”

The Benz also clearly made its mark on world football figures. FIFA President Gianni Infantino attended the opening Copa América match at the MBS between Argentina and Canada last week, and the impressive venue will host eight World Cup matches in 2026, including a half -final, just behind AT&T Stadium in Texas.

National team players like Turner also know that they will get to know the southern capital even better in the years to come.

In April, the U.S. Soccer Federation opened a new headquarters and large-scale training complex in suburban Fayette County, about 25 miles south of downtown Atlanta. This is the first facility of this type ever built by the federation. Scheduled to open in 2026, this 80-hectare project will ultimately require an investment of more than $200 million, with more than a dozen courts, more than 9,000 square meters of indoor playing spaces and more than 18,000 square meters of changing rooms, meeting rooms, offices and other high-performance infrastructure.

Made possible by a $50 million contribution from ATLUTD owner Arthur Blank, the United States National Soccer Training Center is named after him. With this global home base for all U.S. national teams that the USSF has never had before, some players and staff are already preparing to put down roots in Georgia.

“Atlanta is a progressive city. I think the training center will be a perfect place for all of us,” USMNT winger Tim Weah said on Tuesday. “We’re all pretty East Coast boys. So I see myself in the future also investing in Atlanta, either by acquiring land here or by building a house, so that my family can be close when I come back to visit…”

“For his music career,” Turner interjected with a smile as he sat down next to Weah.

“It’s not a bad decision,” noted the Juventus man and New York native, whose residency at The A would represent the arrival of soccer royalty to the region. He is an exceptional player in his own right and his father George is a living legend, 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year and president of Liberia – one of several African countries with large expat communities in Atlanta and surrounding areas – from 2018 to 24.