The NWSL has been focused on its next two expansion teams coming to Boston and Denver in 2026, but the league seemingly already has its sights set on a location for its 17th franchise. Atlanta has allegedly been named as the next destination for the women's soccer league, with the team expected to hit the pitch in 2028.
According to ESPN, Arthur Blank, who owns the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and MLS' Atlanta United FC, will be the one bringing the NWSL to Atlanta. However, his company, AMB Sports and Entertainment, is continuing to downplay the announcement for the time being in a statement sent to ESPN.
“We have had productive engagement with [the] NWSL and others in its stakeholder group on the possibility of bringing an expansion franchise to Atlanta,” the company's statement read. “We have nothing to announce currently, as those conversations are ongoing.”
This is far from the first time Blank's name has been mentioned in conversation about bringing an expansion team to Atlanta. Sources have said an NWSL team has been on Blank's radar for nearly a decade and that a deal would materialize whenever he was ready. The team owner also pitched in $50 million to help bring US Soccer's headquarters to Atlanta, proving he has an interest in the sport.
AMB's words mimic what NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said when she addressed ESPN's report that the league decided in July to shift future expansions from formal bidding to a rolling process. In September, she made a public statement to apparently confirm the claims.
“Those conversations are ongoing,” Berman initially said. “Each of [the investors] has a different perspective on how much time they need to launch [and] the investments they need to make to be successful, including potentially around infrastructure, and we want to not force a square peg into a round hole.”
Berman has said before that she can envision the NWSL rivaling the NFL in concept, eyeing the football league's 32 teams as a goal the organization could one day reach itself. The league is well on its way, with Denver Summit FC and Boston Legacy FC set to be the next new squads to join in 2026.
Atlanta previously hosted two iterations of a women's professional soccer team, the Beat, from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2010 to 2011.
