What Comes Next for Atlanta's NWSL Team

Atlanta Has Time, but the Clock Is Ticking

Atlanta’s NWSL team is building towards its first season in 2028. Progress has been relatively slow so far, but the pace should increase considerably over the next year.

The name, colors and crest are expected first. Sporting leadership, a coaching staff and the players who will shape the inaugural roster will follow, while work continues on the training ground and the business operation behind the club.

AMB Sports and Entertainment owns the franchise. The team will play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The training-ground site has broken ground in Marietta. Mauricio Culebro serves as the President of Soccer for both Atlanta United and the new women’s team.

What comes next can be projected by looking at how other expansion teams were built. Boston Legacy received almost the same preparation period before its 2026 debut. Atlanta United offers a second reference point from within the same ownership organization. Together, their timelines provide a guide to the hires, branding, construction and player moves Atlanta may make before the 2028 season begins.

Atlanta Has More Time Than Most Expansion Teams

Assuming the 2028 NWSL season begins in March, Atlanta will have roughly 28 months between receiving its franchise and playing its first match.

That is more time than most NWSL expansion teams received. Houston, Orlando and San Diego began playing within nine months of their announcements. Bay FC and Denver Summit had approximately one year. Boston Legacy is the closest recent comparison, with nearly 30 months to prepare for its first season.

Some expansion teams joined organizations that already ran a men’s soccer club, while others were built as independent operations. Existing clubs could provide staff, facilities, ticketing systems and local business relationships. Other teams were independent, and had to create those parts of the organization themselves.

Atlanta has more time to prepare than many expansion teams, and it begins with several major advantages already in place. AMB Sports and Entertainment owns the franchise, Mercedes-Benz Stadium is confirmed as its home, and the organization has experience launching and operating Atlanta United.

The NWSL team will still need its own staff, structure and operating plan, and it is not yet clear which resources will be shared between the two clubs.

Projected Atlanta NWSL Timeline

Boston Legacy and Atlanta United followed different paths, but both show how an expansion team takes shape over time. Their timelines help estimate when Atlanta may announce its sporting leadership, identity, coaching staff and first players.

The Club’s Identity Is Expected First

Atlanta is expected to reveal its name, colors and crest in early fall 2026.

That announcement will give supporters their first clear picture of the club. It will also allow Atlanta to launch merchandise, expand its public presence and begin marketing the team under its permanent identity.

Boston showed how difficult it can be to correct a branding decision after it becomes public. The club introduced BOS Nation FC in October 2024, withdrew its launch campaign the next day and later replaced the name with Boston Legacy FC. Its final crest did not arrive until June 2025.

Atlanta has had more time to develop its identity than Boston did. That gives the club more time to test the name, colors and crest, gather feedback and plan how the brand will be introduced to supporters.

The colors will also show how closely the club intends to connect itself to Atlanta United and the Falcons. Red, black and gold would create a clear family resemblance. A different color palette would give the NWSL team a more distinct identity.

The new club cannot use the Atlanta United name. “Atlanta United FC” is a registered trademark associated with Major League Soccer, so the NWSL team will need its own identity.

ATL City FC is one possible name worth watching, although the club has not confirmed it or released a shortlist.

Who Will Build the Team

Atlanta’s next major public announcement is expected to be the club’s name, colors and crest. That would give the team an identity supporters can recognize before the sporting operation and inaugural roster begin to take shape.

The more important soccer decision may follow soon afterward.

Mauricio Culebro oversees both Atlanta United and the NWSL team, but the women’s club will still need someone responsible for its daily sporting operation. That executive could carry a title such as Sporting Director, General Manager or Chief Soccer Officer and would have direct responsibility for building the team.

That person will lead the head-coach search, build the recruitment plan and hire the staff needed to assemble the roster. Boston hired Domènec Guasch 15 months before its first match. Atlanta United hired Carlos Bocanegra almost two years before its 2017 debut. Atlanta should have its senior sporting leader in place by late 2026 or early 2027.

This person’s background will show whether Atlanta values prior NWSL experience, international recruitment, player development or experience launching a new club. The reporting structure will also matter. The new executive could work with departments shared across AMBSE, build a separate staff for the women’s team or use a combination of both.

The club will also need to explain how much authority the sporting leader has over contracts, recruitment and the coaching staff. Those details will provide the clearest picture yet of how Atlanta intends to operate.

The Coach and Players Will Come Later

Atlanta is unlikely to hire its head coach or announce most of its players until the second half of 2027.

Boston hired Filipa Patão nine months before its first match. Atlanta United hired Gerardo Martino about five months before its 2017 debut. In both cases, the senior sporting executive was already in place.

Atlanta’s head coach should arrive early enough to help shape the inaugural roster. That does not mean the club needs to rush the hire. The sporting leader first needs time to define how the team will play, build the recruitment department and identify the players who fit that plan.

The first player could be announced by the middle or end of 2027. Most of the roster will then likely follow during the final months before preseason, when contracts, transfers and league roster rules make those moves possible.

The Final Year Will Move Quickly

The final year before Atlanta begins play will bring several of the club’s remaining public announcements.

Aflac has already signed on as the team’s front-of-kit sponsor. The club will still need to unveil the kit that carries its logo, announce additional partners and explain how Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be configured for NWSL matches.

Season-ticket sales will move beyond the Founding Member deposits that began in 2025. Supporters will need pricing, seat locations and details about the match-day experience before the inaugural season.

By early 2028, the players, coaches and staff are expected to be in place for the club’s first preseason.

How to Tell Whether Atlanta Is on Schedule

The next 18 months will show how the franchise is progressing and whether the major pieces are in place before the first match.

Signs of a Deliberate Build

• A senior sporting leader is in place by early 2027.
• Recruitment, medical, performance and player-support staff arrive before most of the roster.
• The head coach has several months to help build the team.
• Training-ground construction and field installation progress throughout 2027.
• The club clearly explains which operations will be shared with Atlanta United and which will remain separate.

Possible Warning Signs

• Atlanta enters the second half of 2027 without a senior sporting leader.
• The head coach arrives after much of the roster has already been selected.
• Most of the players are signed during one compressed winter.
• The training ground remains in an early stage late in 2027.
• The club does not have a confirmed place to train when preseason begins.

The Clock Is Still Ticking

The branding announcement will be what supporters remember. It will give the club a name, colors and an identity of its own.

What follows will determine whether that identity is matched by the organization behind it. The sporting leader, coach, staff and training ground will shape the team long before the first match in 2028. Atlanta has the time to build those pieces properly.

The next 18 months will show how well Atlanta uses the time it has left.