Kick It: 100 days away

Over the next few months, we’ll share the best bars, restaurants, events, fan gatherings, cultural trends, insider tips, fascinating facts, big team storylines and cool local lore to get you ready for whatever kind of experience you’re after.

Like what you see? Sign up for future Kick It emails here.

👀 This edition, we’ll go over the basics and then look at some of the big issues facing Atlanta as the tournament draws near.

FIRST, LET’S GET ON THE SAME PAGE

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Grab your calendars, highlighters and shiny planner stickers so we can get some dates straight. These are all of the matches that will be played in Atlanta over the course of the World Cup.

All games will be played at the venue you know as Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Don’t call it that, though! It’s “Atlanta’s Stadium” now. Or at least, during the World Cup it is.

That’s a lot of TBDs! We’ll talk more about the different stages of the tournament in a later edition.

⚽ More key World Cup dates

⚽ A handy World Cup primer (104 matches in all! Wow.)

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Yes, obviously we’re all looking forward to the matches and the general pageantry, but there are other cool things happening in Atlanta and on the pitch as well.

👾 New and expanded in-game tech: This is wild. A relatively new technology scans players’ bodies and tracks them on the field. If a player, say, goes offsides, refs immediately get an alert. Referees will also wear body cameras and, of course, AI will be in abundant use.

🤑 Job opportunities: Looking for a part-time gig or side hustle? The World Cup could be a great opportunity. More than 100 employers, including MARTA, State Farm Arena, the Georgia World Congress Center and local hotels, met with candidates at a recent workforce expo.

🍻 Open container laws?! Yes, it’s a possibility. The Atlanta City Council is considering a regulation change that would create an “entertainment district” in South Downtown to allow for legal drinking outside in time for this summer’s tournament. Bonus: It wouldn’t just be for the World Cup.

THINGS TO FRET ABOUT

While we love our city, no one ever said it’s perfect. If you want to be the (well-informed, totally reasonable) downer in your next World Cup convo, here’s what we’re stressing about:

🛡️ Security risks: The games will bring all manner of international fans and foreign dignitaries, so we want to make the city a welcoming place. Atlanta leaders and watchdog groups have had serious conversations on how to handle Immigrations and Customs Enforcement presence, since recent violent incidents have made international news.

🚇 Public transit in general: MARTA has had to push back several projects that were supposed to be completed before the summer’s tournaments. Some work near the Beltline was scrapped altogether. A fleet of shiny new train cars will now debut just days before Atlanta’s World Cup matches. Recent breakdowns and derailments aren’t inspiring confidence. Still, MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood says the transit agency will be ready.

HALFTIME QUIZ!

The classic soccer ball is in the shape of a truncated icosahedron (20-sided solid) made up of interlocking black pentagons and white hexagons.

❓Here’s your question: How many white panels, and how many black panels, are on a regular, standard-issue soccer ball?

I’ll put the answer in Match Notes at the bottom.

IN THIS HOUSE WE ROOT FOR: UZBEKISTAN

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

We are equal opportunity hype people, and over the next few months we’ll introduce you to some new teams and fandoms to obsess over. Let’s start with a jewel of Central Asia.

The Uzbekistan national team will reportedly use Atlanta United’s complex in Marietta as its training base while in town for their matches. That makes them honorary Atlantans, and we simply have to stan.

WHAT’S COMING UP NEXT

Thanks for sticking around! Here’s a preview of what we’ll cover in future editions of Kick It:

⚽ If you’re not signed up, get on board here! Our next send will be in early April, and we’ll come to you more frequently as June and July approach.

MATCH NOTES

Quiz answer: A classic soccer ball has 20 white (hexagonal) panels and 12 black (pentagonal) panels. We’ll talk more about soccer ball geometry in a later issue. It’s painfully fascinating.

What we covered today: You have the match schedule. You have the big-picture storylines for Atlanta’s involvement. We’re ordering Uzbekistan gear as we speak.

Good game, everyone! Don’t forget to stretch.

Thanks for reading to the very bottom. Questions, comments, ideas? Let us know.

Until next time.