Ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw, Atlanta is getting ready to welcome the world

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — On Friday, the world will learn who plays who in the FIFA World Cup 2026 as the draw is announced at 12 p.m. ET from Washington, D.C.

Atlanta, which will host eight matches including a semifinal, will hold a watch party at Buckhead Village starting at 11 a.m. Friday.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and former Atlanta United and U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper Brad Guzan are among those set to be in attendance at Atlanta’s Final Draw Viewing Party.

Starting in June, Atlanta will welcome thousands of international visitors and could see millions of dollars in economic impact over the course of the eight matches.

“If expectations meet what we think they’re going to be, it’s going to feel like Christmas,” said Fado Irish Pub General Manager Colm Reilly, who’s hosting the watch party on Friday.

Reilly, born and raised in Ireland, shared that soccer runs through his blood. He hopes to catch one of the World Cup matches while also providing an entertaining venue for locals and visitors.

“We’re lucky enough that we’re established here since 1996,” added Reilly. “We’re a well-known soccer bar in the city. Any time it’s a big game, we’re usually packed out. At capacity, if it’s a Champions League final or a World Cup final.”

And, according to FIFA, it’s expected that visitors to the U.S. for the World Cup will spend plenty. A tourist attending the World Cup is estimated to spend $416 per day, with an average stay of about 12 days.

“Will Atlanta be ready? That’s the big question. And do we know what to expect?” said Jon Birdsong, CEO of South Downtown Atlanta.

Birdsong said South Downtown Atlanta is looking to open 10 long-term restaurants in its eight-block development, which sits roughly 0.2 miles from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, by the time the first games start.

“Steel is getting cut, bricks are getting stacked in downtown Atlanta. Right now,” Birdsong said.

The Atlanta Tech Village along Mitchell Street has a countdown clock leading up to the start of World Cup games.

“We want to provide amazing experiences that are unique, boutique and local, so when people come to the World Cup they’re saying, ‘This is Atlanta and this is an amazing experience,’” Birdsong said Thursday.

Atlanta’s first group stage game will be on June 15. All World Cup games in Atlanta will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“We do big, well. We do big all the time,” said Courtney English, chief of staff to Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.

“We host Super Bowls. We hosted the 1996 Olympics. First, we’ve got to make sure downtown is sparkling clean, [that] it’s safe,” English said.

MARTA’s interim CEO, Jonathan Hunt, said the transit agency sent two representatives to Washington, D.C., on Thursday for a press conference held by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Hunt said he will brief his board monthly on the agency’s World Cup readiness efforts leading up to the June start.

While Five Points, MARTA’s transit hub and one of the closest stations to the stadiums, will be under construction during the World Cup, one entrance along Forsyth Street will remain open.

Hunt said crews will begin to “beautify” the station in anticipation of the thousands of international visitors.

“MARTA is so key and critical to how we represent ourselves,” Birdsong said.

The city of Atlanta is also addressing homelessness in downtown Atlanta ahead of the World Cup.

The city is looking to house 400 unsheltered people currently living in downtown Atlanta by the end of 2025 as part of an initiative called Downtown Rising.

This week, Cathryn Vassell, CEO of Partners for Home, the nonprofit overseeing Atlanta’s homelessness approach, said they’ve already housed 224 people.

“We’ve got teams on the ground right now filling out housing applications with people who are experiencing homelessness and unsheltered on the streets of downtown Atlanta. We’re poised to meet the goal of 400. If we venture into January, that’s okay, too, as long as we’re getting people into housing,” Vassell said.