A team from England's Premier League is considering starting a Major League Soccer expansion franchise and Atlanta is one of the cities it would scout as a possible home.
A source with knowledge of the MLS and international soccer, who wished to remain anonymous because it's very early in the process, said this is the second time a team from England has considered Atlanta. The first team researched cities two years ago but decided not to pursue an expansion team. The source declined to name the teams.
An MLS executive said the league hasn't been contacted by potential expansion owners, but said the team may be conducting its research without help from the league office.
However, the MLS has been interested in putting a team in Atlanta, the largest TV market in the United States without a franchise.
"Major League Soccer plans to add a 20th team in the future and Atlanta remains under consideration as a potential expansion market for the league," said Dan Courtemanche, MLS's executive vice president. "We have regular discussions with Arthur Blank's group about possible future expansion and believe Atlanta could be a great market for an MLS team in the future."
On the heels of the World Cup, soccer remains a hot topic in the city. The finals drew an 8.5 Nielsen rating in Atlanta, which nearly cracked the top 10 highest rated markets in the U.S.
Two of the world's biggest clubs, England's Manchester City and Mexico's Club America, will play in a friendly on July 28 at the Georgia Dome in the Aaron's International Soccer Challenge. This will be the second time in as many years the Dome has hosted games between two clubs and the third time it has hosted an international soccer match. A game between America and Italy's A.C. Milan and a friendly between Mexico and Venezuela, both played last summer, topped 100,000 in ticket sales.
Atlanta is also one of 18 cities included in the U.S.'s bid to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. FIFA, soccer's governing body, will announce the host countries on Dec. 2.
A delegation from Atlanta, including Mayor Kasim Reed, will travel to New York to meet with FIFA representatives on Sept. 6 and 7.
This wouldn't be the first time a professional team from overseas considered an expansion club in the U.S.. Barcelona researched becoming a partner in a team in Miami that would have started to play in 2010, but declined to move forward when the global economy soured. The Premier League features three teams with American owners: Aston Villa (Randy Lerner), Liverpool (George Gillett and Tom Hicks) and Manchester United (Glazer family).
Atlanta has a long history with professional soccer. The Chiefs, an outdoor team, produced the city's first professional title when it won the North American Soccer League championship in 1968. However, the Chiefs later folded because of financial difficulties, started again, and folded again. That has been a recurring story for many franchises that have fielded both outdoor or indoor team in the city.
Currently, Atlanta has a team in Women's Professional Soccer, the Atlanta Beat, as well as the Silverbacks, a women's team in the W-League.
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