Arthur Blank (Owner of Atlanta United) has added Mauricio Culebro as President of soccer for the Major League Soccer (MLS) team Atlanta United FC and Blank’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team which will debut in 2028.
‘ESPN’ stated that Culebro has served as the President of the Mexican association football club Tigres UANL overseeing sporting and business operations for the Men’s and Women’s programs in Mexico for the past five years. He also has served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF).
The Atlanta United Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia (US). The club competes in the Major League Soccer (MLS) as a Member of the Eastern Conference.
The 71,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a retractable roof multipurpose stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, US. Opened in 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome it is home to the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL), the Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and an expansion team of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
New York (US)-based the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is a Women’s professional soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system.
Toluca (Mexico)-based the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) is the official governing body of football in Mexico.
‘ESPN’ further stated that in his new role with the Blank Family of Businesses Culebro will report to the AMB Sports and Entertainment (AMBSE) head honcho Rich McKay.
Atlanta (US)-based the AMB Sports and Entertainment (AMBSE) is part of the Blank Family of Businesses comprising the National Football League team Atlanta Falcons, the Major League Soccer team Atlanta United FC and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Blank said in a statement released by the AMBSE, “This is an exciting day as we welcome Mauricio to Atlanta and our family of businesses. As we progressed through the search process Mauricio’s impressive experience and clear vision to elevate our clubs made him an outstanding fit to lead the Atlanta United and the NWSL Atlanta 2028.”
Blank acknowledged Culebro will be new to MLS and the NWSL but added, “Mauricio is not new to building and operating successful global soccer clubs and I am fully confident in his ability to help return the Atlanta United to the level our fans deserve while leading the launch of our NWSL club.”
In his role with the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) Culebro led the country’s planning for multiple Host Cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup™ will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup™, the quadrennial international Men’s soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will take place from June 11th-July 19th, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 Cities – 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada. The tournament will be the first FIFA World Cup™ to be hosted by three nations and the first to include 48 teams, an expansion from 32.
Commented Culebro, “It is an honor to join the AMBSE’s highly successful leadership team and become part of an organization with such a strong culture and foundation already in place. I am excited to put my experience, passion and commitment at the service of the Atlanta United and the NWSL Atlanta 2028 working alongside a great team to build the long-term projects our fans can feel proud of – teams that truly represent the passion, energy and ambition of this City.”
The Atlanta United Chief Soccer Officer and the Sporting Director Chris Henderson, the Senior Vice-President of Strategy Dimitrios Efstathiou and the Senior Vice-President, Chief Business Officer Sarah Kate Noftsinger will remain in their roles and report to Culebro.
Blank was awarded the 17th NWSL franchise on November 11th, 2025.
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