Darren Eales will start as president of Atlanta’s MLS franchise on Monday.

The hiring was announced in September. Eales’ start was delayed while he fulfilled responsibilities at Tottenham Hotspur, where he was director of football administration.

The MLS team will begin play in owner Arthur Blank’s new stadium downtown in 2017.

A native of Cambridge, England, Eales played in college at West Virginia and then at Brown, where he was a first-team All-American as a forward and graduated with a degree in economics.

Eales played professionally with the Hampton Roads Mariners, Hershey Wildcats and New York Centaurs in the U.S.

He returned to England where he studied law at Cambridge. He joined the bar in 2000.

He served in a variety of roles for West Bromwich Albion soccer club before joining Tottenham in 2010.

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