With a little over 100 days until the 2026 FIFA World Cup lands in Atlanta, business owners and locals are prepping for the deluge of soccer fans, fun activations, and profitable opportunities that will accompany the biggest sporting event in the world. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the City of Atlanta’s business leaders gathered on the second floor of City Hall on Tuesday to announce resources and grants designed to help Atlanta entrepreneurs prepare for and participate in major global events.
“When events like the FIFA World Cup 2026, the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and the rest of these events come to our town, I want to see that what they do happens with Atlanta and not to Atlanta. That belief led to the creation of Showcase Atlanta. One of our city’s greatest strengths, both culturally and economically, is our small business community,” Dickens said.
Showcase Atlanta is a regional leadership initiative dedicated to ensuring Atlanta’s diverse business community is front and center as large-scale events come to the city. At the press conference, Dickens announced the Showcase marketing grant program, which provides eligible businesses in the Downtown Atlanta, Castleberry Hill, and Westside areas up to $5,000 in grants to increase visibility and customer engagement during national and global events.
To qualify, the business must:
- Be a local, small business located in the City of Atlanta
- Have a City of Atlanta business license
- Have been operating and in good standing for the past 12 months
Advancing his Year of the Youth initiative, Dickens also announced the Showcase Atlanta Youth Entrepreneurship Accelerator, a program that is a part of the FIFA Human Rights Action Plan. The accelerator program will identify “exceptional” young people under 21 who are interested in starting and growing a business. Through the program, young aspiring entrepreneurs will receive tailored training on how to form a legal business, obtain a vendor license, participate in high-visibility marketplaces across the city, and provide pathways to vend at designed city events. A select few will receive a special ATL youth vendor license, which will allow them to obtain funding and a vendor space to sell their goods during the FIFA World Cup.
“We spent some time listening to what businesses are telling us, and they’re telling us what they need: access to, capital, visibility, marketing support, workforce connections and clear and trusted information around the World Cup events. Today’s announcements highlight access to funding resources, workforce opportunities, pop-up activations, educational workshops and more,” Dickens said.
In conjunction with the initiatives that Showcase Atlanta put forth, Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, announced additional funding for small businesses during large-scale events. The Atlanta Business Readiness Loan Fund is designed to help small businesses prepare and capitalize on large events by aiding them in obtaining the capital to hire staff, purchase inventory, upgrade equipment, and strengthen overall operations.
The loans will amount to between $5,000 and $15,000 with a 5% match, allowing up to 115 businesses to benefit from the program. Payments on the loans won’t start until August.
A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, announced the Downtown Pop-up Opportunity Fund, which will award a limited number of grants to eligible landlords seeking to improve and occupy their vacant retail storefronts. Lamar Stewart, interim executive director of Showcase Atlanta, introduced the Small Business Readiness Online platform, where registered small businesses can receive personalized curricula after an assessment to help them gear up for large-scale events and open additional funding pathways.
More information on these resources and applications can be found at showcaseatlanta.com/business.