Atlanta United to Get New Third Kits in August?

Major League Soccer side Atlanta United looks to be getting a new third jersey some time in the next couple of months.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution beat reporter Doug Roberson tweeted on Thursday, June 15, that he had heard rumblings about the third kit arriving in late August. He also said the kit would reflect the city’s history and would be a collaboration with Atlanta Influences Everything, “a brand and a creative consultancy, focused on combining civic, corporate and cultural understanding to harness the influence of Atlanta culture to do good and connect communities.”

Am hearing #atlutd will have a third kit, likely in late august.
A collab with brand Atlanta Influences Everything.
Kit will reflect city’s history. #mls
— Doug Roberson (@DougRobersonAJC) June 15, 2023

That same day, Twitter user @DJEU tweeted photos of street art that has surfaced in Atlanta seemingly promoting the new kit.

The photos show “ATL UTD” in a graffiti font, with “ATL” in blue and “UTD” in neon green. Underneath are the Atlanta United and Atlanta Influences Everything logos, plus the date “AUGUST 2023”.

@ATLUTD 🔵🟢👀 pic.twitter.com/mjt5H7trGS
— DJ EU (@DJEU) June 15, 2023

The colors may be a reference to the OutKast album ATLiens, which was released in 1996.

According to Footy Headlines, Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson tweeted in January 2021 that MLS teams can earn a third kit if they sell more than 100,000 kits, though he didn’t specify the timeframe in which the sales need to be made.

In 2022, Atlanta United had three players among the top 25 in MLS jersey sales: forward Josef Martínez (#5; now with Inter Miami), defender Miles Robinson (#20) and forward Luiz Araújo (#21).

The last MLS club to get a third kit was also Atlanta United, in 2021. The “Unity Kit” featured 13 messages of unity written in 11 languages from around the world. But there was some controversy around the kit when social media users pointed out the Hebrew phrase on the shirt was spelled backwards.