Richard Gunney Starts Putting Atlanta City FC's Expansion Plan Into Focus
Taking Root: Atlanta City FC's new chief soccer officer discussed early signings, the search for a head coach, developing young talent, and the philosophy that will guide the club toward its 2028 NWSL debut.
Richard Gunney can begin assembling Atlanta City FC's inaugural roster in less than two months. He doesn't yet have a head coach, a completed recruitment department, or a detailed game model for the team that will begin competing in 2028. But after his introductory press conference Monday, the first outlines of his approach are beginning to emerge.
The NWSL's expansion regulations, announced last week, established the opportunities available to Atlanta City FC and fellow 2028 expansion club Columbus. Beginning January 1, 2027, Atlanta can start signing players, taking advantage of special financial provisions and the ability to loan players elsewhere during the year before its inaugural season.
Those rules create possibilities. Monday provided our first opportunity to hear how Gunney intends to approach them.
The new chief soccer officer confirmed that Atlanta intends to explore signing players as early as January, that the search for the club's first head coach will begin immediately, and that the attacking, entertaining soccer envisioned by ownership will guide the development of the team's playing identity.
But the most revealing aspect of Gunney's comments wasn't a particular formation, a potential signing, or a specific spending plan. It was his emphasis on building an organization capable of making good decisions over time, with enough flexibility to respond when opportunities emerge.
That approach could prove especially important for a club that has more than a year to prepare for its first match, but only a limited number of opportunities to acquire the players who will make up its inaugural roster.
Building early without building everything early
One of the central questions surrounding Atlanta City FC's expansion preparations has been how aggressively the club should approach its first opportunity to sign players in January 2027.
Gunney identified three broad periods in which Atlanta can assemble its roster: January 2027, the summer of 2027, and January 2028. Spreading acquisitions across those opportunities, he explained, reduces the pressure of trying to sign an entire 26-player squad at one time.
The club intends to explore opportunities immediately, but Gunney also made clear that the eventual head coach should have a significant role in constructing the team.
"I think the number of signings that we might make prior to a head coach arrival would be small," Gunney said.
That establishes an important balance. Atlanta doesn't intend to ignore opportunities simply because its coaching staff isn't complete, but neither does Gunney appear eager to assemble most of the roster before the person responsible for coaching those players has been appointed.
The head coach search will begin immediately, although Gunney declined to establish a deadline for completing it. He also said NWSL experience won't necessarily be a requirement, pointing to his own extensive background in the league and the value of assembling a staff with complementary expertise.
There is a practical reason to prioritize the appointment without rushing it. Players considering Atlanta City FC will want to understand who they'll be playing for, how the team intends to play, and what kind of environment the club is creating. Those answers become easier to provide once the coaching staff and sporting philosophy begin taking shape together.
In Saturday's Taking Root analysis, I argued that Atlanta could benefit from approaching 2027 in phases rather than attempting to build its entire inaugural roster at once. Gunney's comments reinforce the value of that flexibility, although he hasn't committed to a specific sequence of acquisitions.
The important distinction is that building early doesn't require making every major decision early. It gives Atlanta more opportunities to make those decisions at the right time.
Young players could be among the first arrivals
One of the clearest examples of how Atlanta might use its early signing opportunities came in response to a question from SDH's Madison Crews about college recruitment.
The NWSL no longer conducts a college draft, meaning Atlanta City FC can recruit eligible college players directly rather than acquiring their rights through a league-administered selection process. Gunney has extensive experience evaluating that player pool, dating back to his involvement in preparing for NWSL drafts earlier in his career.
He specifically identified players finishing their college careers this fall as potential January acquisitions.
"It could be a suitable candidate to join the team in January. We have the opportunity for them to go on loan and find the right home for them to enjoy the 2027 season prior to starting with us in January '28."
Atlanta could sign one of those players and arrange for her to spend the 2027 season on loan elsewhere, allowing her to gain professional experience before joining the club for its inaugural season in 2028.
That possibility was one of the more interesting elements of the expansion regulations. It allows Atlanta to begin investing in players who might contribute to the inaugural roster without requiring them to spend an entire year away from competitive soccer.
There are limits to the approach. A loan isn't a risk-free trial, and Atlanta would still have contractual responsibilities to any player it signs. But the opportunity to identify emerging talent, provide a suitable development environment, and evaluate a player's progress before 2028 could be valuable.
Madison also asked about the possibility of recruiting players with connections to Georgia, where an established youth and college soccer landscape has already produced numerous NWSL professionals.
Gunney expressed enthusiasm for learning more about that player pool and establishing relationships with local clubs and organizations.
He didn't promise that Atlanta City FC would prioritize local players regardless of their ability, nor did he identify specific recruitment targets. But he clearly views Georgia's existing soccer community as a resource the club should understand and engage with.
That could become an important part of Atlanta's recruitment identity. A player who grew up in Georgia or attended college in the state might have a personal connection to the opportunity to represent Atlanta City FC, while the club gains access to talent it can evaluate through relationships close to home.
The first signings, whenever they arrive, should tell us something about how Gunney intends to balance immediate competitiveness with longer-term player development.
An attacking philosophy, with the details still to come
Atlanta City FC's ownership has already expressed its ambition to field a team that plays attacking, entertaining soccer. Gunney reinforced that commitment Monday, emphasizing the importance of creating a team that represents Atlanta and provides an exciting experience for supporters at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
But he was equally clear that the specific game model remains to be developed.
That distinction matters. A club can establish an attacking philosophy without deciding in advance which formation it will use, how it will build possession, or exactly how it will organize its pressing structure.
Those tactical decisions require collaboration between the sporting leadership, coaching staff, and eventually the players themselves.
Gunney did provide some insight into the characteristics he believes successful NWSL teams must embrace.
"It has a transitional element to it. It has an athletic element to it. It has a U.S. Women's National Team mentality element to it."
Those comments shouldn't be interpreted as a declaration that Atlanta City FC will become a transition-focused team. Instead, they offer a glimpse into how Gunney evaluates the demands of the league and the qualities he believes a competitive roster will need.
An attacking team still has to understand how to defend transitions, compete physically, and adjust to opponents. A clear playing philosophy should guide those decisions without becoming so rigid that it prevents the team from evolving.
Atlanta United provides a useful comparison. Before Tata Martino arrived in 2016, the club had already established an ambition to play attacking, entertaining soccer. Martino helped translate that philosophy into a more specific playing model and contributed to the recruitment decisions that supported it.
Gunney now has a similar responsibility at Atlanta City FC, although the NWSL's roster mechanisms and player markets are different.
His task is to establish a sporting direction, identify a coach whose ideas align with it, and recruit players capable of bringing that identity to life. Monday's comments suggest he understands that those elements must develop together rather than independently.
Building the team behind the team
The first player signing will attract attention, but some of Atlanta City FC's most consequential decisions may involve people who never appear on the field.
Gunney is responsible for assembling a sporting operation that includes scouting, recruitment, analytics, technical staff, medical services, and performance departments. He said those hires will take place alongside the search for the inaugural head coach, with the timing determined by the club's needs as it approaches 2028.
When asked about his approach to identifying players, Gunney described his recruitment philosophy as "data informed and expert led."
It's a concise description of a process that relies on information from multiple sources without allowing any single perspective to determine every decision.
Gunney's experience across the NWSL's domestic, college, youth, and international markets gives him an extensive foundation of knowledge. But he emphasized the importance of combining that experience with scouting evaluations, analytics, and input from other members of the sporting department.
He also acknowledged that recruitment decisions are rarely made with perfect information. Players develop, circumstances change, and acquisitions don't always work out as expected. For Gunney, consistency in the decision-making process is particularly important.
That philosophy will influence how Atlanta City FC builds its staff and how those individuals work together.
There is also an existing organization from which Atlanta City FC can draw institutional knowledge. In response to a question from SDH's Jon Nelson, Mauricio Culebro explained that Atlanta City FC and Atlanta United will remain separate sporting entities while sharing information and best practices where appropriate.
That relationship could offer advantages in areas where Atlanta United already has established infrastructure and experience, although the women's club will still need to develop an operation suited to the NWSL and its own competitive requirements.
Gunney's challenge isn't simply to recruit talented individuals. It's to create a structure in which those individuals can make informed, coordinated decisions that support the same sporting vision.
Flexibility, leadership, and the ambition to compete immediately
The NWSL's expansion regulations provide Atlanta City FC with several financial mechanisms designed to support roster construction, including special allocation money, transfer-fee provisions, and access to the High Impact Player mechanism beginning in 2028.
Those resources offer opportunities, but their timing and restrictions mean they cannot all be used in the same way. We've explained those distinctions in detail in our NWSL roster-rules guide.
When I asked Gunney how he intends to balance those resources while preserving flexibility for changes after the inaugural season begins, he emphasized the need for a clear strategy that can adapt as opportunities arise.
"You need to be agile, be able to pivot and adjust," he said.
He also noted that Atlanta and Columbus may approach their expansion resources differently. Both clubs have access to the same broad mechanisms, but the decisions they make should reflect their individual circumstances and sporting priorities.
That flexibility extends to the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil. Gunney acknowledged that the tournament and the surrounding player market could create recruitment opportunities, but also potential complications if Atlanta needs to wait for players or coaching personnel.
He didn't commit to making major international signings during or immediately after the tournament. Instead, he left open the possibility that different opportunities will emerge at different points in the construction process.
One area where his ambitions were more specific was the importance of experienced players capable of establishing standards.
Gunney pointed to the presence of U.S. Women's National Team players on successful NWSL rosters and expressed his ambition for Atlanta City FC to become a destination for players of that caliber.
He described the importance of a core group of leaders who can establish expectations, influence teammates, and help define the culture of the club. Whether Atlanta will have those players in place for its inaugural season remains uncertain, but the objective is clear.
The broader competitive expectation is equally ambitious.
Culebro said Atlanta City FC intends to compete for a playoff place and championships from its first season. Gunney also spoke about building a balanced roster capable of handling the demands of a long NWSL campaign and multiple competitions.
That means the decisions made during 2027 cannot be evaluated solely by whether they produce a complete roster in time for opening day. They must also contribute to a team capable of competing immediately.
The next decisions will reveal the plan
Monday's press conference provided a clearer understanding of Gunney's priorities, but several important questions remain unanswered.
We don't yet know when Atlanta City FC will appoint its first head coach, how many players it might sign in January, which markets will receive the greatest recruitment attention, or how aggressively the club intends to use its expansion resources before 2028.
What we do know is that Gunney wants to take advantage of the opportunities available without sacrificing the flexibility to respond when circumstances change. He sees value in recruiting young players early, recognizes the importance of experienced leaders, and wants the head coach and sporting staff involved in shaping the majority of the inaugural roster.
He also understands that the playing philosophy, recruitment strategy, and organizational structure must fit together.
The NWSL's expansion regulations established what Atlanta City FC is allowed to do. Gunney's first press conference offered a clearer sense of how he thinks about using those opportunities.
The next answers will come through the decisions themselves: the first coaching appointment, the first additions to the sporting department, and eventually the first players who choose to become part of Atlanta City FC.
Those decisions will begin turning the possibilities we've examined into the team that takes the field in 2028.
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