Spotlight shines on local soccer

National TV game after Cup final to give Five Stripes exposure.

When you keep your television tuned to Fox today, shortly after the World Cup final, another soccer game will kick off. The stadium will be sold out. The supporters will be rabid. Chances are, there will be goals aplenty. Many in the area know the Atlanta United experience by now. But it isn’t only Atlanta that will see the the Five Stripes battle Seattle Sounders after France and Croatia finish. Fans around the country will tune in to watch a world champion crowned in Russia, and then stay fixated to see a sold-out Mercedes Benz Stadium. For Atlanta United and Darren Eales, the team’s president, the game presents a unique opportunity to showcase the strides Atlanta’s soccer franchise has made — and the growth MLS is showing alongside it. For Eales, that display starts with the crowd. That, Eales said, is what he hopes comes across to viewers who may be unfamiliar with the Five Stripes. “Whilst we’re extremely proud of the attendance records we’ve broken over the last 18 months,” Eales told the AJC, “the electric atmosphere is even more impressive than the sheer numbers. I would hold our atmosphere up to anywhere in Europe or South America.” The festivities at Mercedes-Benz will begin at 11 a.m., with a “watch party” inside the stadium for those who have tickets. According to the FIFA website, the 2014 World Cup Final had 3.2 billion viewers worldwide and more than 17 million in the U.S. Last week’s semifinal match between England and Croatia reached more than five million viewers in the States — and was the single most streamed World Cup semifinal ever. The highest-rated MLS match in history, between the LA Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes, reached approximately a million viewers. Today’s match could shatter that record. “It’s our obligation to position the club as a first-class MLS organization that any television network would want to showcase during premier time slots,” Eales said. “Whether that be the match-day atmosphere that will feature 70,000-plus fans inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, or that we’ve done our best to put an exciting product on the field.”