Beginning their existence this year, Atlanta United have already captured the hearts of soccer fans across USA. FP explores the success behind the club.
The major allure of being a football fan is the community, almost tribe-like, sense of belonging a club can provide. Changing support of a club is a general taboo, you stick with the club which represents your area of the country or the club your family supported and which you duly followed suit in supporting without hesitation as a child. This permanency of fandom is why MK Dons struggled to attract fans during its inception in 2004, a result of former Premier League side Wimbledon F.C officially relocating to Milton Keynes and changing its name. Only a very small minority of Wimbledon fans stuck with the club, with most going on to support the fan-made team A.F.C Wimbledon instead. MK Dons initially found it hard to garner fans in their new home of Milton Keynes, as most were already firm in supporting an existing team. There is an artform in convincing fans to support a new team, especially in your first ever season of existence.
Yet across the pond in America, a remarkable team have decided to buck the trend: Atlanta United, who garnered the highest attendance in MLS when 70,425 saw them play Orlando City, which beggars belief for two reasons:
1. The city itself has no historic legacy of ‘’soccer’’
2. This is their inaugural season as a club, so what has convinced fans of existing teams to switch allegiance?
