ATLANTA — Take a look at the mesmerizing skills, fancy footwork and whizzing shots and it's not hard to understand why soccer is called the "beautiful game." Elijah Miranda is the executive director of Soccer in the Streets, a nonprofit that aims to provide underserved communities with access to soccer.
"Oftentimes youth sports can be expensive, and so all of our programming is free of charge." Miranda said. “We’re really trying to give foundational skills and qualities to the children we work with across the city.”
Those efforts are about to get easier, as the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Friday that it would move its headquarters to Atlanta from Chicago. That move also comes with news that it will build a new National Training Center in the Atlanta area.
"It is such a strong statement of intent by U.S. Soccer by saying Atlanta, Georgia is going to be their home base," Miranda said. "It just provides an opportunity to create this spotlight on the city, provide opportunities for underserved and under-resourced children and families and help use this game as a way to provide resources to communities.”
In a city known for its World Series champion Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons football and Atlanta Hawks basketball, soccer will soon take center stage. The inception of Atlanta United has grown the game of soccer in the Atlanta area since the team started playing in 2017 and won an MLS cup in just its second season. United and Falcons owner Arthur Blank will help jumpstart the U.S. Soccer Federation's move to the city with a $50 million grant.
Laura Halfpenny, executive director of the Georgia State Soccer Association, said in the short-term, the new training center will host 27 different national teams with an emphasis on growing the sport among women, youth and those with disabilities. In the long-term, she said communities will gain easier access to camps, clinics and classes to play, coach and referee the game. That, in turn, will bring visitors and their money to Atlanta.
“I think we have toe give credence to those in the past that have brought soccer here and developed it. Every single year it keeps developing," Halfpenny said. "We know the reinvestment that's going to come from it, whether that's through tourism and economic impact, but we certainly know you'll know that neighbor, someone in your family who's going to be a referee, a coach, a player."
Halfpenny said Georgia Soccer has already benefited from three grants from the U.S. Soccer Federation, including coaching education and hiring, referee recruitment and development and a collaboration with Atlanta United that has seen community clinics take the game of soccer to underserved areas.
Metro Atlanta has grown stars such as U.S. Women's National Team players Kelley O'Hara and Emily Sonnett, and Halfpenny expects more homegrown stars to come out of the area in the years and decades to come.
"The birth of this is that Atlanta is a sports city," Halfpenny said. "It’s known as having a good fanbase, and traditionally in the last decade or two, soccer has been growing here exponentially. We’re going to be able to bring events here and host them here in Atlanta, and that’s going to put those dollars back into Atlanta. I fully expect some jobs to be created as well from this.”
Miranda said Soccer in the Streets lead the Station Soccer initiative that builds fields next to local MARTA stations. He said with the focus turning toward soccer in Atlanta, the nonprofit and several other organizations would likely benefit from moving the epicenter of U.S. Soccer to the city.
“2026, you’ve got the World Cup here," Miranda said. "Next year, the potential for other tournaments. We’ve hosted the Premier League this summer. All those things are coming to Atlanta. I know the impact of this game, and there’s a reason they call it the beautiful game. It has an incredible way of connecting people.”