Atlanta, GA
Atlanta gears up to host 2026 World Cup matches
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/DQMBFZ6NHURAGEC5VVF6P4YISY.jpg?ssl=1 "Atlanta gears up to host 2026 World Cup matches")
ATLANTA — Thirty years after hosting the 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta will again have the world stage.
Eight soccer matches of the 2026 World Cup, including a semifinal, will be played in Atlanta. The dates are set for June and July 2026.
“It was a home run,” said Dan Corso, the president of the Atlanta Sports Council. “You could not get a better result for our community, for our state, to have eight matches and a semifinal included in those eight matches.”
It all began in 2017, when North America put in a bid to host the 2026 World Cup.
A year later, FIFA awarded the bid to the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
In 2022, Atlanta learned that it would host part of the soccer tournament, but it wasn’t until over the weekend that the city found out how many matches will be played here.
Atlanta is one of 16 cities in North America hosting what is the signature event of the world’s most popular sport.
Corso said Atlanta is primed to host a world-class sporting event this.
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“We’re on global stage every day,” he said. “We’re an international city. We’ve got an airport that connects us to the world. We’ve got corporations and brands that call Atlanta home that are global businesses.”
The dates for the matches in Atlanta are June 15, June 18, June 21, June 24, June 27, July 1 and July 7, with the semifinal scheduled for July 15.
Tickets are expected to go on sale in September 2025. Corso compares it to hosting eight Super Bowls in the span of a month.
He said Atlanta has a top-tier venue with Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which will host the matches.
“It starts with Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is the premier venue in the world,” he said. “It’s built for soccer – for international soccer, which is very important – and they’ve got one of the best franchises in all of soccer playing in it.”
He’s referring to Atlanta United, owned by Arthur M. Blank, who released a written statement Sunday, saying:
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 brings people together in a way that transcends borders and makes this tournament an unforgettable journey for fans globally.”
Corso said now the work begins to prepare the stadium and the city for this international event.
Grass, for example, will be put down in the stadium in early 2026.
“FIFA is very engaged with us and other cities in the planning,” he said. “They’ll be very involved in it, so we’ll work closely with them, and we’ll also find opportunities to work with other cities.”
He said it’s hard to put a dollar estimate on the economic impact the matches will have on metro Atlanta.
Much of that, he said, will depend on the countries that will compete in the city.
“We obviously hope the U.S. national team makes it here,” he said.
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Atlanta, GA
Philadelphia Phillies lose fifth straight game to end homestand, swept by Atlanta Braves
Michael Harris II homered and had three hits as the streaking Atlanta Braves defeated the slumping Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 on Sunday night to complete a three-game sweep of their NL East rivals.
Ozzie Albies hit an RBI double and Austin Riley also drove in a run for the Braves, who have won five in a row and nine of 11. It was Atlanta’s first series sweep of at least three games at Philadelphia in 10 years.
Kyle Schwarber went deep for the Phillies, who have lost five straight and 10 of 13. They were outscored 56-33 on a 2-7 homestand against the Diamondbacks, Cubs and Braves, leaving Philadelphia 6 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the division standings.
Raisel Iglesias escaped trouble in the ninth inning for his fifth save. Philadelphia put runners on first and second with one out, but Trea Turner struck out and Schwarber lined out to right field on an excellent running catch by Ronald Acuña Jr.
Tyler Kinley (3-0) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win.
Schwarber’s two-run shot in the first gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.
Harris homered leading off the third before the Braves went ahead in the fifth with three runs against rookie starter Andrew Painter (1-1) and lefty reliever Tim Mayza.
Painter was lifted after he opened the inning by allowing singles to Harris and Acuña. Mayza loaded the bases with a walk, and the Braves tied the game on Matt Olson’s groundout. Riley’s dribbler to third went for an RBI infield single, and Albies’ double to the left-field wall made it 4-2.
Riley saved at least one run while ending a Philadelphia threat in the bottom of the fifth with a stellar defensive play at third base.
Braves starter Grant Holmes allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings.
On a chilly night, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto sat out after leaving Saturday’s game with lower back tightness.
Up next
Braves: Begin a four-game series Monday night at Washington. RHP Bryce Elder (2-1, 0.77 ERA) opposes Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (1-2, 6.16).
Phillies: Open seven-game trip Monday night with the first of four games against the Cubs. RHP Aaron Nola (1-4, 4.03 ERA) faces Chicago RHP Colin Rea (2-0, 3.63).
Atlanta Hawks (46-36, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference)
New York; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Knicks -5.5; over/under is 216.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Knicks lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Knicks won the last matchup 113-102 on Saturday, led by 28 points from Jalen Brunson. CJ McCollum led the Hawks with 26.
The Knicks are 35-17 in Eastern Conference games. New York has a 9-4 record in one-possession games.
The Hawks are 27-25 in Eastern Conference play. Atlanta is third in the league scoring 18.1 fast break points per game. McCollum leads the Hawks averaging 5.0.
The Knicks are shooting 47.8% from the field this season, 0.4 percentage points higher than the 47.4% the Hawks allow to opponents. The Hawks are shooting 47.4% from the field, 1.4% higher than the 46.0% the Knicks’ opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Knicks. Brunson is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.
Dyson Daniels is scoring 11.9 points per game and averaging 6.8 rebounds for the Hawks. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is averaging 21.3 points and 2.9 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 6-4, averaging 110.4 points, 40.7 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 8.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.9 points per game.
Hawks: 5-5, averaging 117.2 points, 43.5 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 8.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.0 points.
INJURIES: Knicks: Tyler Kolek: day to day (oblique), Mitchell Robinson: day to day (ankle), Karl-Anthony Towns: day to day (elbow).
Hawks: Jock Landale: out (ankle).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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