Atlanta United FC are less than a year away from their MLS debut, and team owner Arthur Blank is bullish on the club’s future. In a Sunday Q&A with Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer Doug Roberson, Blank predicts that the expansion side will be challenging the entire league from its inaugural match.

.@ATLUTD owner Arthur Blank talks about rivals and season tickets https://t.co/oSLpSYF3fv — Doug Roberson (@DougRobersonAJC) May 15, 2016

There have been setbacks, like a delay in construction of the team’s future home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, that will prevent Atlanta United from playing a home match there before June. But Blank told the AJC everything – including the team's $60-million, state-of-the-art training facility – is coming along.

"Mercedes-Benz's slogan is, 'The best or nothing,' which is very much our slogan in terms of we run all of our businesses that way," he said. "We really want to do the best or nothing, preferably the best."

He added: “We want to be competitive the very first day we get on the pitch."

With Carlos Bocanegra onboard as technical director and last month's announcement of Richard Money as youth academy director, Atlanta United are now focused on building their fan base, and Blank is pleased with the progress season-ticket sales.

“The appetite for soccer, as you well know, is significant. We have gotten a tremendous response,” he said. “You know we can’t assume that all of those will be converted. We have to work at them, make sure that we are responsive to every single person that wants a ticket and we are doing that. We are doing that.”