Soccer Reference Desk

The Soccer Reference Desk is the SDH Network's home for understanding soccer beneath the headlines and behind the history.

Atlanta supporters have always been hungry to know more than the scoreline. This is the space built for that. From MLS roster rules and salary budget tools to transfers and terminology, to the full sweep of Atlanta's soccer history, each entry here is designed to give you real clarity and context. Written to be bookmarked, updated as the sport changes, and useful whether you are a longtime supporter or still finding your footing.

Built to be saved. Built to be revisited. Built for Atlanta.

The Living Room on Broad Street

On the same street where Atlanta first talked about soccer, the game is back home The taps went in last week. The TVs are going up. This morning, the doors at 91 Broad Street Southwest open for good. The Brewhouse Cafe has arrived on Broad Street in South Downtown. (photo: Jason Longshore) Humberto Bermudez has been at this for months. Since around the first of the year, he has been equipping and accessorizing the new Broad Street location, the second home of the Brewhouse Ca

Jason Longshore

The City That Built Itself Into This Moment

Atlanta wasn't on the 1994 World Cup host city list. This summer it hosts a semifinal. The full story of how the city built its soccer culture, stadium, and reputation from scratch over 60 years.

Jason Longshore

The City That Got Told No

Atlanta was left off the 1994 World Cup host city list the day after the United States won the bid. This is the story of how the city spent 35 years building its way to a 2026 semifinal.

Jason Longshore

The Atlanta Chiefs: How Atlanta's First Pro Soccer Team Built the Foundation

This page is part of the Soccer Down Here Soccer Reference Desk history of soccer in Atlanta. It covers the original Atlanta Chiefs, 1966 to 1972. A separate page will cover the second Chiefs era, 1978 to 1981. "When you say you're with Atlanta, then people know and understand. Atlanta is U.S. soccer to people around the world." — Vic Rouse, Atlanta Chiefs head coach, February 1969 1. The Decision: Why Atlanta and Why Soccer in 1966 The question that launched professional soc

Jason Longshore

The Man Who Saw It Coming: Ted Turner and the Soccer Story Nobody Is Telling Today

Ted Turner died today at 87, and the obituaries are writing themselves. CNN founder. Braves owner. Superstation pioneer. America's Cup winner. The man who put Atlanta on the world map before Atlanta knew it belonged there. All of it is true, and all of it deserves to be said. But there is a chapter in Turner's relationship with this city and with this sport that is not making it into those obituaries, and it is one that soccer people in Atlanta should know. Because before Art

Jason Longshore

The History of Soccer in Atlanta: How the South's Biggest City Became a Soccer Town

"When you say you're with Atlanta, then people know and understand. Atlanta is U.S. soccer to people around the world." — Vic Rouse, Atlanta Chiefs head coach, February 1969 Atlanta did not discover soccer when Atlanta United arrived. Atlanta United discovered what had been here all along. This is that story. The history of soccer in Atlanta stretches back more than a century, to immigrant communities kicking a ball at Piedmont Park in 1908 and a handful of Scotsmen and Engli

Jason Longshore

The Living Room on Broad Street

The City That Built Itself Into This Moment

The City That Got Told No

The Atlanta Chiefs: How Atlanta's First Pro Soccer Team Built the Foundation

The Man Who Saw It Coming: Ted Turner and the Soccer Story Nobody Is Telling Today

The History of Soccer in Atlanta: How the South's Biggest City Became a Soccer Town

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