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With the World Cup less than 100 days away, Atlanta leaders laid out their preparation plans: a month-long traffic management program, expanded MARTA service, a FIFA Fan Festival at Centennial Olympic Park, and 500,000 expected visitors.
FIFA announced the complete schedule for the 2026 World Cup on December 8, 2025. Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host eight of the tournament's 104 matches, including a semifinal on July 15.
Atlanta faces a generational spotlight with eight 2026 World Cup matches — including a semifinal — projected to draw 500,000 international visitors, and business leaders are warning that the city's airport, MARTA, and downtown must perform flawlessly on a global stage.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited Atlanta in April 2025, touring Mercedes-Benz Stadium with Mayor Andre Dickens and announcing a $1 million donation to youth soccer — as the city geared up to host Club World Cup matches in 2025 and eight World Cup games in 2026.
An $80 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation — the largest in Georgia State's history — is funding a rapid campus transformation: demolishing Sparks Hall, reimagining Woodruff Park, and fast-tracking construction to finish before the World Cup.
FIFA confirmed that Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host eight World Cup matches in 2026 — five group stage games, a Round of 32 match, a Round of 16 match, and a semifinal — with an estimated $5 billion in regional economic impact.
By 2019, Atlanta United was averaging 52,000 fans per game — more than double the MLS average — and ranking in the global top 10 for club attendance. The supporter culture that built that number was as diverse as the city itself.
The Atlanta nonprofit that uses soccer to teach leadership, discipline, and job skills to underserved youth celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019 — by then operating mini-soccer fields at MARTA stations including Five Points and building what it calls the world's first transit league.
MLS awarded the 2018 All-Star Game to Mercedes-Benz Stadium after Atlanta United's inaugural season shattered every attendance record in the league — including a single-game mark of 71,874 against Toronto FC.
The $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in August 2017 with a retractable roof, 4,000 solar panels, and a FIFA-compliant field — immediately positioning Atlanta as one of 39 U.S. cities under consideration for the 2026 World Cup.
In 2017, Arthur Blank's Atlanta United launched its inaugural MLS season with 30,000 season ticket holders, a world-class roster, and a sold-out temporary home at Georgia Tech — months before Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened its doors.
In April 2014, Arthur Blank was days away from announcing an MLS expansion franchise for Atlanta — a city that analysts said was "a bit of an underrated soccer city" despite never having had a top-tier professional team.
