Atlanta’s NWSL expansion franchise will play as Atlanta City FC starting in 2028, the club announced Sunday with a brand launch introducing red and Georgia peach colors.
The name and identity give Atlanta soccer fans their first real look at the team that will bring the NWSL to 18 clubs, alongside a Columbus, Ohio, expansion side also joining that year.
Atlanta City FC reveals its identity
“We think it really hits the mark on what we want this club to be, and it really defines Atlanta and pulls in a lot of the elements that make Atlanta special,” Deandra Duggans, the team’s chief business officer, told ESPN.
Duggans said the prominent “A” in the branding was a priority. “We wanted to make sure that was first and foremost as prominent as it can be, because people are proud to be from Atlanta and live in Atlanta. It’s a prideful place,” she said.
Peach headlines the color scheme alongside red, a shade Duggans called “just inevitable” after input from city officials, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. Red is common across the NWSL, but peach will be unique to Atlanta City FC. The club’s tertiary wordmark is “ATL CTY.”
Why Atlanta City FC, not the Beat
Atlanta has fielded women’s professional soccer before. The Atlanta Beat played in the Women’s United Soccer Association from 2001-03 and in Women’s Professional Soccer in 2010-11.
Duggans said the club did not consider reviving the Beat name for a third league but plans to recognize that history. Former Beat players and U.S. internationals Cindy Parlow Cone and Cat Reddick Whitehill attended Sunday’s brand launch. Parlow Cone is the current president of U.S. Soccer.
The new name also creates a naming overlap in the league: Atlanta City FC shares the ACFC acronym with Angel City FC, the NWSL’s Los Angeles franchise. Duggans said Atlanta will not use “ACFC” as shorthand. “They own that equity,” she said of Angel City.
Merchandise and lessons from other launches
Duggans said she and colleagues spoke with other NWSL clubs about their own launches, and ordering enough merchandise to meet demand was a common lesson learned.
“What we know is, women’s sports fans, they want the merch,” Duggans said. Atlanta City FC ordered what Duggans described as “a sizeable inventory for launch” to avoid that shortfall.
The bar Atlanta City FC hopes to clear
Atlanta City FC is chasing the launch success Atlanta United enjoyed when it entered MLS in 2017. Atlanta United set MLS attendance records immediately and won a championship in its second season.
Duggans declined to detail season ticket deposits or specific attendance projections for 2028 but set one clear target: selling out Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the club’s first match. “We have some high expectations. I can tell you for first kick, we want to sell out Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That’s the goal, to have that stadium rocking and celebrating this team coming to Atlanta,” she said.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium holds 71,000 fans, well above the current NWSL attendance record of 63,004 set by expansion club Denver Summit FC in March.
What’s next for Atlanta City FC
Atlanta City FC and the Columbus expansion team are set to begin play in 2028, expanding the NWSL to 18 teams. The club has not announced further details on season ticket sales, a head coach or roster building as it moves from brand launch toward its on-field debut.
Reporting from ESPN and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
