The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sonnett thrilled about SheBelieves Cup crowd
Marietta native also excited about Fayette training center.
Ticket sales have surpassed 45,000 for the SheBelieves Cup featuring the U.S. women’s national team Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Emily Sonnett, a defender on the team and Marietta native, is excited. “I think crowd’s going to be great,” she said.
The sales are the second-most for a U.S. women’s friendly. The U.S. plays Japan at 12:30 p.m., and Canada meets Brazil at 3:30 p.m. in the second match.
The most tickets sold and distributed in the history of the U.S. women’s soccer team for a non-Olympic, non-World Cup match is 49,504, set Aug. 29, 2019, for a match against Portugal in Philadelphia. Second-most was 44,028 on Aug 16, 2015, for a match against Costa Rica in Pittsburgh.
It will be the first time that the U.S. women have played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They played at the Georgia Dome in 2016 against the Netherlands.
“We’re just excited to be in Atlanta, not only for our Atlanta girlies here on the team but also to get 45,000 and be playing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium,” forward Alex Morgan said.
The U.S. women are training at Atlanta United’s facility, which is 15 minutes from where Sonnett grew up. Sonnett, who plays for Gotham in the NWSL, said she trains at Atlanta United during her offseason. Jane Campbell, who also is on the team, grew up in Kennesaw.
Sonnett was in Atlanta during Atlanta United’s first season in 2017. She has been to three games and said she didn’t expect the level of support the club has received.
Now that she’s experienced the city’s affection for the sport, she expects the same Saturday. Should she play, it will be Sonnett’s 89th appearance for the U.S. women.
“Being able to come back and see that energy is, I think, something that we’re going to get for our game here,” she said.
Sonnett also is looking forward to U.S. Soccer building it first national training center in Fayette County. A groundbreaking ceremony
is scheduled for Monday.
Sonnett said her first thought when she heard U.S. Soccer was moving its headquarters from Chicago to Atlanta was that would she be too old to be able to take advantage.
“I think it’s really important,” she said of the center. “I think you’re seeing that obviously in Europe, not only in the professional teams but also their federations. So I think it’s a next step to growth. And it’s obviously very, very
important for our development.”
Morgan said she has been looking forward to the training center, whose construction will be helped by a $50 million donation from Arthur Blank, for many years. U.S. Soccer’s goal is to have the center constructed before the 2026 World Cup. Atlanta will host eight matches in the tournament. Atlanta also may be a host site for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, should FIFA select the joint
bid from the U.S. and Mexico.
“To have that all together is going to be really important for us to have everyone kind of in the same space,” she said. “And just know that we have quality grass fields and a great training facility, locker rooms, everything that we could possibly need in the same space where we can all go before a major tournament and train at any time of the day or night — (it’s) just going to be great for us.”