Atlanta United announced today it has signed George Campbell as a Homegrown Player, effective Jan. 1, 2020. The 18-year-old defender becomes the sixth player to sign as a Homegrown in club history.
“George has shown remarkable progress at each step in his development and he’s earned a professional contract with our club,” said Atlanta United Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra. “As a member of our inaugural Academy teams in 2016, he’s worked hard to utilize the club’s pathway to the professional level, highlighted by his form in USL this season – most of which came before his 18th birthday. He’s just starting to scratch the surface of what he can be in the future, and that’s a testament to his commitment to improve, as well as the program that we have in place through Tony Annan and Stephen Glass.”
Campbell was born in Chester, Pennsylvania and joined the Atlanta United Academy during its first season in 2016-17, joining from Georgia United. Despite his age, Campbell has spent the majority of the 2019 season with Atlanta United 2 in the USL Championship. The central defender has played in 11 games, with 10 of those being starts season. His professional debut came against Hartford Athletic on March 9, 2019 where he was named Man of the Match.
Campbell has impressed in his first professional season, ranking among the top defenders on ATL UTD 2 in 2019. In his 11 appearances this season, Campbell ranks second on the team with 20 interceptions, 74 duels won and eight blocks. The central defender ranks third among Atlanta defenders with 34 clearances so far this season.
At the club’s academy, Campbell started 32 games for the U-17s during 2017-18 season, anchoring the team that reached the U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) championship in just its second season. The year prior, he appeared in 24 matches and made 11 starts for the U-16s.
