Soccer: ATL Champions League Planned For May

ATLANTA, GA -- The sports initiative Soccer in the Streets will hold its ATL Champions League in May, the organization announced Wednesday.

The Champion League is a premiere fundraising tournament that brings people from the community together to compete while representing the major pro soccer teams on the world.

The event, and its seventh year, begins May 21 and expands this year from 12 to 16 participating teams comprising more than 240 players.

"In recent years, we have had to leave interested players out because the teams fill up so quickly, leaving disappointed people on the waiting list. This year we are addressing that and taking it to another level," Event Chairman Bill Ford said in a statement.

Read more: Plan would bring soccer fields to select MARTA stations

Atlanta has become a soccer town thanks to the Soccer in the Streets initiative and the entry of Atlanta United FC, the city's first professional soccer ballclub. Soccer in the Streets has been lauded for its efforts along with city officials to help bring soccer fields to several MARTA stations in the area.

The ATL Champions League will field teams representing Atlanta United, along with 15 European soccer teams. The tournament will help raise funds to bring soccer to disenfranchised communities around the area and disadvantaged youths.

Soccer in the Streets is a nonprofit organization that uses the sport to empower education and team activities in urban neighborhoods.

Images courtesy of Soccer in the Streets