Atlanta Soccer News: Art, Music and Culture: The Publix Atlanta Cup is the largest three-day youth soccer tournament in the Southeastern United States

32nd annual Publix Atlanta Cup Continues Scoring Streak for Atlanta

This Labor Day weekend, while some teams are just gathering to launch their fall seasons, minivans more are flocking to Atlanta for the premiere soccer tournament in the Southeast.

The Publix Atlanta Cup is the largest three-day youth soccer tournament in the Southeastern United States.  Hosted by Georgia Soccer each Labor Day weekend since 1983, the Publix Atlanta Cup hosts more than 600+ teams annually, including both male and female athletes ages 9 to 19.

The Publix Atlanta Cup brings over 13,000 athletes and over 30,000 total attendees from more than 12 states and Canada. These teams bring with them the culture of the beautiful game, making Atlanta, for three days, the youth soccer capital of the United States.

The economic landscape of Atlanta is positively impacted by the Publix Atlanta Cup, and not just downtown as with most large sporting events (e.g. Final Four, Superbowl). The tournament uses over 20 venues and more than 110 soccer fields throughout the metro Atlanta area.  It is estimated that over $3 million in revenue each year is generated in the Atlanta community by the Publix Atlanta Cup.

The Atlanta Sports Council, a division of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as the CEO Soccer Cabinet, have taken note of the broad economic impact of the Publix Atlanta Cup, and have create some concrete growth targets. The goal is to: attract the best teams and recruiters, generate additional dollars to the community, and focus renewed attention on Atlanta as an international soccer mecca worthy of international and professional matches.

Much of the growth hinges on finding enough viable fields to add more teams, but a committee led by Atlanta Beltline President and CEO, Brian Leary and Rick Skirvin, Georgia Soccer Executive Director, along with the longtime Tournament Director Sharron Safriet, are tasked with growing the tournament to 800 teams by 2015 and 1200 teams by 2020.  This growth would take our Publix Atlanta Cup from the largest in the Southeast to one of the very the largest in the World.

Regardless of size, Georgia Soccer and The Publix Atlanta Cup is committed to providing competitive matches for all teams, maintaining a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere, and showcasing Atlanta as the premier soccer city in the Southeast.