Apotheos

East Atlanta FC is the side Apotheos meet with the most at stake. Nobody has given the fixture a name like "the Metro Derby", but those who play in it call the matches battles, and the two clubs are close enough for that to mean something.

Apotheos began in September 2021 as an expansion team in Kennesaw, in the northern suburbs. Bruno Kalonji, the head coach, also founded the Kalonji Soccer Academy, and the club has drawn on that grassroots pathway rather than build an academy of its own. The team played its first season in 2022 in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), using the pitch at North Cobb Christian School, and reached the Southeast Conference semifinals at the first attempt.

The 2023 season was the one that put them on the national map. They won the Southeast Conference, then the South Regional, and reached the national final. Junior Sandoval scored the equaliser there, and Henry Pleitez was in goal. Tulsa Athletic won the game on penalties, so Apotheos finished as runners-up when the title was one kick away.

In 2024 the club moved into the city itself, to Atlanta Silverbacks Park, described as Atlanta's first soccer-specific stadium. That year they entered the U.S. Open Cup for the first time and went out in the second round to Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. They again lost in the conference semifinals. For 2025 they left the NPSL for USL League Two, staying at Silverbacks Park, in maroon and white and with the nickname "The Locomotives".