The 2026 World Cup is exactly one year away — and the tournament is kicking off the 365-day countdown in a killer way. On Wednesday, FIFA began to roll out the names of the celebrity ambassadors for each city hosting matches, and Rolling Stone can exclusively announce that Killer Mike will represent his home city of Atlanta.
“I’m looking forward to FIFA coming here, because I know the city is going to progress and grow and never be the same again,” Killer Mike tells Rolling Stone. “This reminds me of when the Olympics came in the Nineties and how it grew the city. I want kids in Atlanta to understand that there’s nothing in the world that you can want to do that you can’t do right from Atlanta.”
With the announcement, FIFA released a video in which Killer Mike introduces his host city and its rich musical history, describing it as “one of the most progressive Southern cities” of the United States.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Killer Mike says he considers himself a “casual watcher” of soccer overall, but a frequent attendee at Atlanta United games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“A lot of times, people think sports is just about male machismo, but really it’s family,” he says. “I’m encouraged by soccer growing in Atlanta and the fever people have for Atlanta United and the greater game. Atlanta is an international city.”
He says he specifically remembers learning about Brazilian soccer legend Pelé in school as his first real introduction to the sport. “Our teachers were interested in us knowing that Black people were not just in the United States, but that we were all over the world,” he says. “So, one of the easiest ways to teach a bunch of unruly boys in the classroom about the world is to give them people who look like them.”
“When I saw pictures of these men, they looked like they could be related to me. They looked like my uncle, they looked like my cousin,” he adds.
The rap icon shares that in his city, he now sees more Black kids playing the sport — a shift from when he was growing up, when soccer wasn’t widely celebrated.
“Sports can be a great unifier, but I have seen soccer really genuinely unite at different ethnicities and give kids a bigger worldview, because all the biggest and baddest stars are outside the United States,” Mike explains.
Mexico, the United States, and Canada will host the FIFA World Cup next year. Atlanta will host the second-most matches of the tournament, with eight, including one Round of 32 match, a Round of 16 match, and a semifinal game on July 15, 2026.
