Atlanta NWSL Hires Daniel Stallings to Lead Digital and Social

Atlanta has hired Daniel Stallings as its director of digital and social, according to an update to his LinkedIn profile. He will oversee the club’s online presence as it prepares for its first season in 2028.

The first major moment will arrive soon. Atlanta will hold its brand launch on Oct. 4, bringing its still-developing identity into public view. From there, he will spend the next 18 months telling the story of a club taking shape ahead of its first season.

Stallings arrives after working through two very different periods in women’s basketball. He produced digital video for the Indiana Fever when Caitlin Clark’s arrival brought unprecedented attention to the franchise. He later led social media for the Portland Fire during the months surrounding the expansion team’s first season.

From Behind the Camera

Stallings built his career behind a camera. A Florida Gulf Coast University graduate, he returned to the school in 2021 as director of video production. He oversaw video work around FGCU’s athletic programs throughout the year.

He joined Pacers Sports & Entertainment in 2022 and began creating digital video for the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. His work included draft-night coverage, interviews, game recaps, and longer features. By 2024, he was the Fever’s digital video manager when Caitlin Clark’s arrival transformed the size of its audience.

During a July 2024 interview with Sports Video Group, Stallings explained how the Fever used lessons from its coverage of Aliyah Boston to prepare for Clark.

Stallings said the Fever’s best work grew from relationships developed behind the camera. Working with the players throughout the season helped the content staff understand when to raise a camera and which moments to preserve.

Stallings moved on to the Portland Trail Blazers as senior manager of content. He then became director of social media for the Portland Fire, leading its social coverage from preseason through much of its inaugural campaign. He also helped build the department by recruiting additional social media staff.

His hiring suggests Atlanta wants access, trust, and storytelling to shape its online presence.

Atlanta

Stallings will shape Atlanta’s digital voice as the club introduces itself to supporters. One of Stallings’ first major assignments will be presenting the club’s Oct. 4 brand launch across its digital and social platforms. After the launch, Stallings will oversee digital coverage of the remaining steps before Atlanta’s first season. The club still needs to hire sporting leadership and a coach, assemble its roster, complete its training ground, and introduce its first kit.

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Storytelling has remained central throughout Stallings’ career. He began behind the camera, filming and editing the work himself. As his responsibilities grew, he began choosing which stories teams told and how they appeared across their platforms.

The hire does carry some risk. Stallings spent only a few months with the Trail Blazers and about seven months with the Fire. He has no apparent professional soccer experience, and Atlanta has given him a broader role than the social media position he held in Portland.

And yet, the appointment still makes sense. Atlanta will soon introduce its identity. Sporting leadership, a coach, players, and the first kit will follow over the next 18 months. Stallings must draft all of it into a story worth following. Atlanta needs to enter 2028 with tens of thousands of supporters already invested in the club and ready to fill Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

He must give new and existing Atlanta soccer supporters a reason to follow that story before Atlanta plays its first match.