One chant couldn’t escape Dallas Austin’s mind. He had heard it all over the city of Atlanta, from high school sporting events to Mercedes-Benz Stadium during Atlanta United games. It’s an echo of pride from a city that, if nothing else, knows to rep its own.
“A-T-L! A-T-L! A-T-L!”
And so, with that refrain in mind, Austin got in the studio. He crafted something that sounds authentic to the city of Atlanta, a track that will forever live as an audial example of what the city is: dynamic and diverse yet unified.
FIFA called upon Atlanta’s very own Grammy-winning producer Dallas Austin to create the city’s unique Sonic ID for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It’s a two-minute track that will ring throughout Atlanta when the city hosts fixtures for the ultimate prize in world football. FIFA commissioned artists from host cities across the United States to create Sonic IDs for their cities. They’re all based around a common motif that will be the theme for the first World Cup hosted on U.S. soil since 1994.
“It’s very monumental, the feeling of it is,” Austin said. “Everything I've done, I've done here. College Park, going to high school here with me and Jermaine [Dupri] being friends and having the dream of making records one day … I feel like this year has been really monumental for me and Atlanta.”
ID Influences
Austin’s reputation precedes him. He’s a Grammy-award-winning writer and producer who has worked with legends of the music industry such as Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. He has produced for the likes of TLC, Boys II Men, Madonna and many more acts. The Columbus, Ga. native is also an avid Atlanta United fan and was a Spike Hitter for Atlanta United’s game against Rayados de Monterrey on March 13, 2019.
But what he brings to the table is more than just experience creating lasting music and a passion for soccer. His perspective on the city — how it sounds, who it represents, what it means — and his vision to showcase that to a worldwide audience were invaluable.
That ATLien awareness shows. You can hear what it means to him for Atlanta to have its own, unique track.
“First, I had to kind of wrap my head around it,” Austin said. “… I heard some of the ones they sent me before, but nobody was in a music city as much as Atlanta. We had to do something that felt a little more Atlanta, right? … It’s been really exciting, and I'm honored to do it.”
The track itself incorporates classic Atlanta sounds like the marching band, chants, 808s and more. It starts with the FIFA 2026 World Cup theme motif, followed by “A-T-L” chants over marching band snare drums. After the horns of the band come in, the booming brass that has become associated with HBCU marching bands, the instrumental drops out for a second.
Then, it’s a trap beat, complete with 808s, triplet high hats and piano to boot. It’s that Zaytoven, DJ Esco, Future, Migos-esque sound that has become synonymous with Atlanta rap.
The Sonic ID is dynamic, just like the city it resembles. The process of taking what FIFA gave him and making it authentic to his city was uniquely challenging.
“It's certain things that FIFA wanted to make sure you put in certain places,” Austin said. “I just elevated their [version] … I tried to exaggerate it. I think even when they heard, [they were] just like, wow. ‘Let’s send it to the to the mayor's office, see what they think.’ I had already heard what [the mayor’s office] thought, so we had sealed the deal.”
Soccer City’s sound
Soccer as a sport is so ingrained in Atlanta’s culture, it’s only right that the city was chosen as one of 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup. Mercedes-Benz Stadium will witness eight games in both the group stage of the competition and knockout round matches.
The World Cup coming to the A will be a historic moment not just for soccer fans but for the city as a whole.
“It's going to be insane,” Austin said. “I don't think we've seen anything like it before. Everything that's come here, from Super Bowls to NBA Playoffs and all that. We've never seen nothing like what's going to happen when the World Cup shows up.”
The Sonic ID is rooted in Atlanta’s sporting culture. That A-T-L chant that starts and ends the song is something he took from his experiences at sporting events around the city, including Atlanta United home games, where fans lead a Thunderclap while chanting the city initials.
“The [A-T-L] chant was important to some of the energy, some of the chord progressions and stuff that I chose to put in the song to make it feel like it was a high spirited, very inspiring type record,” Austin said. “It was something I definitely considered when making it. How do I capture that feeling of being inside that place and put it on this record?”
It’s a chant, he said, that is rooted in Atlanta’s authentic pride. It’s the same thing that he and his friends would chant in high school. It’s what you hear on the streets of Atlanta. It’s about representing your hometown and not being afraid to put on for your city.
Austin drew from Atlanta’s soccer and sporting culture because he himself in immersed in it. His children have been playing soccer before Atlanta even had United. He’s witnessed the rise in popularity and how the city has become a driving cultural force in soccer in the United States.
“I’m part of the subculture who's always been there with it, and so to see it come to this point on this level, it's just amazing,” Austin said. “You see the spirit of the fans here and the people who are excited about the team. It's a real crazy experience.”
Ambassador for Atlanta
The world will be watching come summer 2026. The World Cup will be an unparalleled chance to show what Atlanta has to offer to the rest of the world. Fans will be traveling in from hundreds of countries, and billions will see Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the rest of the city in all its glory on television.
Austin is already making strides to represent Atlanta around the nation, and now with this Sonic ID, around the world. He hasn’t stopped at the city limits when it comes to making an impact. It’s something he said he learned from the late Quincy Jones. He helped call on his city to help people in the music industry in Los Angeles affected by wildfires.
Austin’s role as one of the few artists chosen to remix the World Cup 26 theme song makes him an ambassador for the city, not only sonically but as a community builder. He was selected for a reason, and his love for his city bleeds through. It’s the “A-T-L” refrain that stays consistent throughout the track, whether at the forefront in the beginning and end or lying under the rich instrumental for the rest.
“It's a good feeling to [have] grown up here,” he said. “There's nothing like it. You know how the city works and moves and the heartbeat of it. We've turned this into our own place … We've just developed our own creative culture so hard to the rest of the world that now we're known for that and known for our entertainment and known for our music.”
For Austin and for the city, it’s more than just a song. It’s a call that feels like home.
“I want people to feel good and feel inspired and feel victorious,” Austin said. “You're choosing the chord progressions and stuff that will make it feel inspiring, wanting to make it feel like something that will last and we'd be proud of for a long time.”
Atlanta United's Digital Marketing Specialist Brittany Higgins conducted the interview for this story.
