Atlanta United president Darren Eales has been named the 2017 Doug Hamilton Executive of the Year by Major League Soccer Thursday. He received the annual award at Major League Soccer’s year-end award ceremony that recognizes individuals and clubs for outstanding contributions off the playing field, highlighting a night of recognition for the club that won a league-five awards.
Under Eales’ leadership, Atlanta United had one of the most successful expansion club launches in professional sports history. The club broke multiple league records including single-season average attendance (49,257), season tickets sales (36,000-plus), single-game attendance (71,874) and total home attendance (819,404).