Atlanta President Darren Eales spoke at the launch of the parternship today between the two clubs.

“It is a real pleasure to be here on behalf of AMB Sports & Entertainment and Atlanta United for the announcement of the partnership between our clubs.

“I want to pay tribute to Stewart Milne. It is some achievement to be a Chairman for 22 years in the world of football and I congratulate everything he has done for the club.

“To give you a bit of background on Atlanta United, we have been going now for three years, so it is a little bit different to 1903!

“We are in Major League Soccer and own by Arthur Blank. He also owns the Atlanta Falcons. About five years ago he brought me over to America from Spurs to Atlanta United.

“When we started we had three basic principles:

“Firstly, we wanted to be competitive.

“Secondly, we wanted to have the best supporter experience.

“And thirdly we wanted to be at the heart of the community.

“So that was our three goals when we built the club.

“We have been really excited with the progression we have made so far. In terms of our competitiveness on the pitch, we were champions in our second season and won the MLS Cup. This season we won the equivalent to the FA Cup. So we have managed to be competitive on the park.

“The supporter side of things really has been incredible. A recent survey showed that Atlanta is 10th in the world for average crowds, and this in a country and an area where they said they would not take to soccer and it would not be successful. It is great credit to the support growing in America, but also shows that if you focus on your fans you can create a culture and that excitement.

“And our thirdly our aim was to be in the heart of the community. That is something that is really important to us.

PIC DEREK IRONSIDE / NEWSLINE MEDIA

“So why Aberdeen and why have a global partnership?

“Firstly, we are in global game when it comes to football. We feel that there are some real synergies that we can have both commercially and technically from having a club here in Scotland. From economies of scale, to scouting, through to data analytics, sport science, youth development – there are many possibilities to share resources between Aberdeen and Atlanta United.

“So we are really excited to be exploring and digging these synergies.

“And why Aberdeen?

“There are a number of factors for that. Firstly, this is an incredibly well run club and that is important to us. We are not looking to take over the club and the way it operates, it is a very well run already and Stewart and Duncan have done a very good job in positioning the club where it is.

“Sixth consecutive seasons of qualifying for Europe, Cormack Park and what has been done with the training ground, shows that there is ambition here.

“Secondly, we really focused on the core values we have at Atlanta United and Arthur Blank has them across all his businesses. One of the most important things is giving something back to others and what is being done here at Aberdeen in terms of the community trust really is absolutely fantastic, from being the UEFA Grass Roots Club of the Year this season through to what you do with the Football Memories Programme; from the outside it really is impressive what is done in the community. And that was really important to us when we looked for a partner club.

“Ultimately it is also about personal relationships and over the past three years I have gotten to know Dave in Atlanta. Myself and other members of my club then came to visit and what we seen here was a real connection in terms of culture around the two clubs.

“We can’t wait to get started on the partnership and we are excited about what the future brings.”

Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group