Atlanta aims to boost their global standing by embracing the global game, leading to the formation of an Atlanta "Soccer Cabinet" made up of local civic and business leaders. The group's motto is "Soccer is good for Atlanta, and Atlanta is good for soccer," and the membership is thick with big names, big money, and impressive titles.


What this means for the chances of an MLS expansion team isn't clear, but the committee does appear to have the goal in mind. It's interesting to note that although Arthur Blank is nominally on the committee (he'll be represented by someone else according to the article), the group intends to work under the assumption the he will not be the owner of a prospective MLS club. Perhaps that means Blank is no longer interested in bringing MLS to Atlanta, or the committee is simply working to find new interested parties in addition to the Home Depot founder.


A major American city (note: Atlanta is the largest U.S. TV market without an MLS franchise) forming a committee like this is a strong sign that soccer is viewed as an important part of their domestic and international image. That so many of the city's CEO's will presumably take part should give soccer fans reason to hope that Atlanta will be a player in American soccer going forward. I would imagine that the USA World Cup bid committee will be taking note of this "cabinet" as the day of FIFA's decision gets closer; should the US win a bid for 2018 or 2022, Atlanta's case for a host city spot can only be helped.


The effectiveness of the group is obviously open to question until they do something meaningful. They have no budget, the chair will rotate, and meetings will likely be rare. They met last Wednesday and plan to do so again in September. If all they do is talk and issue statements, they serve little purpose.


That being said, I hope to see them find potential MLS owners locally at the very least. Just two or three of the names on the list could scrape together some change and pay the expansion fee. MLS desperately wants to expand their footprint back into the Southeast, and this group might be the people to help make it happen. I'll be curious to see what comes out of their next meeting.


Atlanta "Soccer Cabinet":


Robin Loudermilk, CEO of Aaron’s, co-chair

Jeffrey Bowman, CEO of Crawford & Company, co-chair

Carl Adkins, COO of Georgia World Congress Center

Yum Arnold, CEO of Leapfrog Services

Paul Beckham, partner, Hope-Beckham

Ken Bernhardt, chairman of Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB) and marketing professor at Georgia State

Kathy Betty, CEO of Atlanta Dream

Frank Bifulco, SVP of marketing of Home Depot

Arthur Blank, CEO of the Falcons (to be represented by Jim Smith)

Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A

Dick Cecil, CEO of Cecil & Associates

Harry Coaxum, Southern Region vice president of McDonald’s

Dan Corso, executive director, Atlanta Sports Council

Clark Dean, managing director, Studley

Margaret DeFrancisco, CEO of Georgia Lottery

Rene Diaz, CEO of Diaz Foods

Dean Eisner, CEO of Manheim

Rob Farinella, CEO of Blue Sky Advertising

Thomas Gallagher, CEO of Genuine Parts Company

Bob Hope, partner, Hope-Beckham

Fitz Johnson, CEO of Atlanta Beat

Mark Ketchum, CEO of Newell Rubbermaid

Glenn Lurie, President of Emerging Products at AT&T Wireless

Bernie Mullin, CEO of Aspire Group

William Pate, CEO of ACVB

Don Perry, entertainment and sports attorney, Greenberg Traurig

Michael Reene, International Events Group

Spurgeon Richardson, former CEO of ACVB

A.J. Robinson, CEO of Central Atlanta Progress

Mark Rudnick, vice president of marketing, Aaron's

Gary Stokan, president of Chick-fil-A Bowl

Sam Williams, CEO of Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

We go from no-hope San Diego (the perception, anyway) to the apple of Garber's eye, Atlanta. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution comes a story on an English Premier League team researching the city as a possible place to invest in MLS.


The idea that a(nother) foreign club might enter the U.S. market through a subsidiary in MLS is not one of which I'm fond. I didn't like Barca Miami as a concept, and I don't think I could be swayed to consider this a better situation. Arthur Blank's name has always been connected to MLS expansion in Atlanta, and I would much prefer he be the one to pony up the cash and make it happen.


But this is the most sketchy of news considering that the story does not reveal the source and that MLS itself indicated they know nothing about it. If the English club in question is doing their own thing with the eventual aim (should their research yield positive results) of pitching MLS on becoming an owner, than we're still a long way from the Atlanta City Blues or some such thing.


Garber has consistently mentioned the Southeast as a possible location for Franchise #20. It will take a willing owner with cash to make it feasible, and if Blank isn't willing to move on the MLS timeline, I do wonder if the league might sign up the English interest. The factors involved make me fearful.


And so does what Garber did back in March, practically inviting English clubs to think of the U.S. as their untapped cash cow.


I'm clearly jumping the gun. I do think Atlanta makes sense. I just hope we get a deep-pocketed American owner committed to the game (which it's possible Blank wouldn't be, I'm not sure) rather than an English club opening an American branch.


The perception of American soccer, important both here and abroad, won't be helped if we're home to a bunch of minor league outposts.


I would love to know who the club in question might be, however, and which other cities they might be researching.