The current NWSL season is yet to officially conclude despite the end of the regular season, but excitement for the 2026 edition is already palpable. For those unaware, next year will mark the official debut of the league’s 15th and 16th expansion teams, Denver Summit FC and Boston Legacy FC, showcasing just how rapidly the NWSL is growing. But who would have thought the league would expand so quickly that, even before these two teams make their mark, plans for another new soccer club have already been announced?

Seems far-fetched, but that is the word around the town spread by people familiar with the matter who spoke with The Athletic on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships. Per the report, Atlanta is touted to get the 17th NWSL expansion slot for a fee of a whopping $165 million. As if that wasn’t enough, sources have also confirmed that the new Atlanta-based women’s soccer team will call the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons’ home ground, the iconic Mercedes-Benz Stadium, its own.

Well, that also makes it quite obvious that the new Atlanta women’s club will be owned and operated by Arthur Blank’s AMB Sports + Entertainment, the holding company of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, MLS’ Atlanta United FC, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But to be clear, the NWSL hasn’t given its official word on the same and is yet to confirm with their expected comment.

Then again, the source closer to The Athletic had some words to share. “We have had productive engagement with NWSL and others in its stakeholder group on the possibility of bringing an expansion franchise to Atlanta,” a spokesperson for Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment said. “We have nothing to announce currently as those conversations are ongoing.”

A potential $165 million expansion fee would mean a whopping 50 percent raise from the $110 million fee that Denver Summit paid in January. And if the move is fulfilled, then it will only witness the solidifying of Atlanta’s presence around the beautiful game.

To recall, the Georgia-based city also sees the construction of the $250 million Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Fayetteville, a 200-acre state-of-the-art training facility for all the U.S. National teams, as well as the USSF’s new headquarters, which is set to be completed before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the USA hosts alongside Mexico and Canada.

Out of this extraordinary money spent, $50 million alone is the donation by the Arthur Blank family and foundation, which, besides soccer, also invested money in the PGA TOUR Superstore and the Atlanta Drive Golf Club, the Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy-led tech-forward TGL golf league. A key figure, the 83-year-old chairman of his foundation, was also the co-founder of Home Depot.

As if this wasn’t enough for the Atlanta soccer folks, we can potentially witness the addition of an NWSL team, which, by the way, is fulfilled; it will perhaps be the best decision!

Atlanta-based NWSL club will actually do ‘really well’

To be fair, Atlanta has been on the radar to earn a potential NWSL club for quite a while. In fact, the idea even received the support of USWNT star Sam Coffey before Emma Hayes and Co.’s Japan clash, with the midfielder insisting on how remarkable it would be to see this city get an NWSL team of its own.“I think it would be a great market for one with Atlanta United here and now, with U.S. Soccer starting to plant some roots here. I think it could do really well here.”

Well, not a bad suggestion, considering Atlanta boasts quite the fanbase for the beautiful game. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosting over 50,000 fans during the SheBelieves Cup should be proof enough, not to mention that the very same NFL venue is also set to host matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. As for Sam Coffey’s wish, she certainly has a point. After all, the last time Atlanta had a women’s soccer club was more than a decade or two ago. Known as the Atlanta Beat, the team competed in the WUSA from 2001 to 2003 and later in the WPS from 2010 to 2012.

Be that as it may, it’s quite a remarkable update, which, of course, isn’t confirmed yet but surely seems to be on the cards. Even if the NWSL gives the green light, the new franchise likely won’t make its debut before the 2026 season. That timeline gives the potential club enough room to decide on its team name, crest, and colors, and, more importantly, to build excitement among fans.

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