This week on The IX Sports Podcast Soccer Edition, host Kathleen Gier is joined by special guest Michael Waterloo, who co-hosts The IX Sports Podcast College Basketball Edition, to discuss the newly-unveiled name and logo of Atlanta’s new NWSL team: Atlanta City FC.
Waterloo, who is based in Atlanta, said there were lots of conversations within the team’s leadership about how they would tie the team name and logo into the context of the city’s sports teams. Ultimately, they went with a red and peach circular crest with a Phoenix. The Phoenix also has an ‘A’ on its chest, paying homage to the city, and the circle it is inside makes it visually similar to the MLS’ Atlanta United FC crest.
“They said they had upwards of 600 that they were working with, and they ended up landing there. They wouldn’t really tell us what their short list was, but they said that a couple of them were Dogwood FC, and Phoenix was another one because whenever they were kind of looking at the crest that everybody has seen by now,” Waterloo said.
Waterloo said the team “did a huge study with up to 500 different people within sports” to get feedback on the logo and team branding. Among those experts was the head of marketing from the Atlanta Dream, Waterloo said.
Atlanta City FC will begin playing in 2028, and their home venue will be Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Jersey designs will not be revealed until 2027.
Gier prompted Waterloo about the types of apparel the team will be selling in the coming days. Waterloo said the team has actively prioritized women in the design of its merchandise, which will go live to the public Oct. 4. There will also be designs and fits that are inclusive of the queer community.
“So right now it is kind of like Atlanta is the place for soccer, and it wants to be the place for women’s soccer as well, and they’re investing in it too,” Waterloo said.
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