ATLANTA — The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup is coming to Atlanta. Could the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup be next?
The United States Soccer Federation announced in December that it would submit a joint bid with the Mexican Football Foundation to host the next Women’s World Cup. The U.S. last hosted the women’s soccer tournament in 1999 and 2003.
Atlanta is currently scheduled to host eight games, including one of the semifinal matches, for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
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On Monday, U.S Soccer officials gave a tour of Mercedes-Benz Stadium to the FIFA selection committee for the women’s tournament and discussed why they chose Atlanta to highlight first.
“Every step of the way whenever we’ve asked Arthur Blank and Atlanta United and the Arthur Blank Foundation to help us make these dreams come true for millions of kids, they have stepped up every time. And this is no different,” U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said.
“It’s obvious reasons why we are kicking off the FIFA World Cup 27 bid here in Atlanta,” Cone said.
What is the appetite for women’s soccer in Atlanta? CEO JT Batson says the city hosting the SheBelieves Cup in April will be a real test, but so far, ticket sales have set records for the tournament.
“We want to fill the bowl. It’s a big, big day for showcasing Atlanta and general support for women’s soccer in the U.S. We want to prove to the world that we can sell out huge stadiums for women’s soccer,” Batson said.
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Cone also gave an update on the U.S. Soccer headquarters move to Fayette County. She says the success of Atlanta United and the diversity of the region are just two reasons why they chose metro Atlanta.
“Those two things combined with, I feel like Atlanta is on a trajectory and so is US Soccer. And so we wanted to be in a city that not only met where we are but where we’re going and I feel like Atlanta is just going to continue on this trajectory of excellence and we want to be along for the ride.”
Batson says the federation has made progress with the plan to move headquarters and will share groundbreaking plans in the coming weeks.
“We all are motivated to have the facility open as fast as possible,” Batson says. “We are actually starting to move to Atlanta now. Our first employees are starting to transition. Our new hires are coming here. Some of the high-profile names you’ve heard us hire recently will be coming to Atlanta.”
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