The world is once again coming to Atlanta, and soccer fans in the ATL Airport District are gearing up to play host to travelers from across the globe. We've got all the details, including info on the scheduled matches, your best transportation options, upcoming watch parties, and where to stay in the District.
✈️ Traveling to Atlanta to catch a match? Take the free 24/7 ATL SkyTrain straight from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and check-in to one of our amazing hotels (30% cheaper than staying in downtown Atlanta, 100% worth the value).
Atlanta Kicks It on the World Stage
This summer, Atlanta is proud to be one of 16 North American cities hosting FIFA World Cup 2026™. One of the world’s most-watched sporting events, this year’s World Cup is set to be the biggest yet. This is the first time the tournament will be hosted across three different countries (Mexico, Canada and the United States), as well as the first to feature 48 teams—50% more than the previous World Cup tournament held in Qatar in 2022.
The United States, which hasn’t hosted matches in the series since 1994, is preparing for a flurry of fan activity throughout some of its most prestigious cities: Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, NYC, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and of course, the ATL.
Atlanta is no stranger to hosting major international sporting events, but it’s been a minute. The last was 30 years ago, when Atlanta built Centennial Olympic Park in honor of its first Olympic Games in 1996—an event that sold 8.3 million tickets, holding the attendance record for any Olympics until Paris 2024 pulled ahead.
With this tournament, Atlanta joins Los Angeles in holding the distinction of being the only two cities in the world to have hosted both the Olympic Games and the World Cup.
The Venue
Atlanta’s eight FIFA World Cup 2026™ matches will take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the $1.6-billion sports venue that replaced the storied Georgia Dome in 2017. The Benz is famous for its retractable roof and the massive high-tech video amenities that help bring every sporting event spectacularly to life. Locally, this stadium is known for both association football and gridiron football, as it is the permanent home of both MLS’s Atlanta United FC and NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. As for sports on the national stage, this 70,000-seat stadium was stress-tested in 2019 as host of Super Bowl LIII and passed with flying colors.
Despite its well-earned name recognition, the Benz will temporarily give up its identity this summer. Due to FIFA World Cup 2026™ regulations that require the venue to display none of its sponsors’ branding during official events, the venue will be referred to only as “Atlanta Stadium” from June 19th through July 19th. Stadium staff will remove or cover nearly 2,000 instances of corporate branding, including the iconic Mercedes-Benz logo integrated into the retractable roof, visible only from above.
Atlanta floated the idea of removing the logo digitally from all drone footage, but with event sponsorships going for up to $200 million, the organization is understandably strict about the complete physical removal of any and all competing corporate logos. (Coincidentally, $200 million is also the budget for changes required to transform the stadium for this event. This includes not only the removal of all logos, but the replacement of the field’s turf with live grass.)
After the FIFA World Cup 2026™ takes its leave, the venue will revert to its own name, branding and celebrity status, once again answering to The Benz.
The Crowd
With record-setting attendance at this year’s tournament events, including 104 live matches drawing an estimated 6.5 million fans from around the world—nearly equal to the population of the entire state of Indiana. In comparison, the last four Men’s events in Qatar, Russia, Brazil and South Africa each totaled in the 3–3.5 million range across all matches. The Club Cup, a smaller, 32-team event held last July in 11 U.S. cities including Atlanta, attracted nearly 2.5 million attendees.
Projections for attendance in Atlanta alone show an expected 520,000 visiting fans, with an estimated $500 million to $1 billion economic impact to the area.
The Lineup
Atlanta will host eight matches between the June 19 tournament kickoff and the July 19 final, including an exciting semifinal match. Teams scheduled to play here include Spain, Cape Verde, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Haiti, Morocco, and Uzbekistan. South Africa and Uzbekistan will be joined by playoff winners to be determined from the following contenders, respectively: Czechia, Ireland, Denmark or North Macedonia; and New Caledonia, Jamaica, or The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Results of future games will also determine the teams participating in rounds 16 and 32, as well as the July 15 semifinal.
The Experience
Expect Downtown Atlanta to transform into a vibrant international festival on match days.
FIFA Fan Festival™, a month-long fan celebration, is planned at Centennial Olympic Park. It will feature live match broadcasts, entertainment, and cultural experiences, where locals can mingle with visiting fans from around the globe. A collaboration between the City of Atlanta and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, this dynamic, multi-week celebration will be open for a total of 20 days, including match days as well as the day before each match.
As always, MARTA will be integral to Atlanta’s game day plans, with roads closed for miles around the stadium, traffic patterns temporarily changed, and parking pricier than ever and in very short supply. Fans arriving by train will need to travel to “Sports, Entertainment and Convention District Station (SEC),” the new name for what was previously known as the Dome/GWCC/CNN Station, and follow signs for “Atlanta Stadium.” The Downtown Streetcar will be available to carry fans between hotels, events, and the stadium, and rental bikes and Bird/Lime scooters will be in operation throughout the area.
If you’re fortunate enough to have match tickets, you will not see a Mercedes-Benz logo anywhere you look. The roof will remain closed, the air conditioning will be on, and the grass will be real.
Outside the stadium, local parks and businesses will be alive with fan events and watch parties.
While accommodations for FIFA World Cup 2026™ have been highly sought after since the announcement was made back in 2022, room and board can still be found in hotels and short-term rentals in the ATL Airport District, the highly accessible area adjacent to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Many hotels offer free airport shuttles and walkability to the ATL SkyTrain or MARTA stations, allowing fans easy access to the stadium, downtown events, and local fan celebrations in and around the District area.
Follow #ATLDistrict on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to stay in the know about our FIFA World Cup updates!
