ATLANTA, GA – Atlanta United U-16 Head Coach Will Bates has earned the prestigious Elite Formation Coaching License (EFCL), joining an elite group of coaches in Major League Soccer (MLS) who have completed this distinguished program in partnership with the French Football Federation (FFF). The fifth iteration of the EFCL, concluding at the INF Clairefontaine training center near Paris, spanned 18 months and involved a seven-week intensive curriculum. Each coach completed a final project demonstrating their ability to apply advanced coaching principles within their team environment.
This achievement places Bates alongside notable MLS figures such as Austin FC’s Nico Estévez and Columbus Crew’s Wilfried Nancy, furthering MLS’s commitment to developing Homegrown talent. Coaches like FC Cincinnati 2’s Tyrone Marshall, the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Coach of the Year, and Chicago Fire FC’s Selim Talbi, who led his U-15 squad to an MLS NEXT Cup title, have also benefited from this program.
Bates’s completion of this elite training underscores Atlanta United’s dedication to advancing youth development and cultivating top-tier soccer talent within the MLS and beyond.
