The check was oversized and the handwriting was plain: Agape Youth and Family Center, $15,000, dated November 5, 2026. Miguel Almirón stood behind it in his Atlanta United training top, flanked by representatives of the two organizations that made the gift possible, holding a prize he earned by being good with reporters.
Almirón, Atlanta United’s captain, is the recipient of the club’s 2026 Media Ambassador award, presented by Gallagher. The honor is voted on exclusively by local media, a detail that gives it a different texture from most team awards. It recognizes the player who best shows professionalism, respect, and integrity in his dealings with the press across a season.
Here is how the money moved. Gallagher, the global insurance brokerage that sponsors the award, gave Almirón $5,000 to direct to a local charity of his choosing. Atlanta United matched the contribution, and the combined total reached $15,000. Almirón chose where it landed.
He chose Agape Youth and Family Center, an Atlanta nonprofit whose stated mission is to empower children and families from underserved communities and to end generational poverty. The organization serves more than 200 children and families each year. Its work centers on academic support and life skills training, with resources meant to build hope and confidence in the next generation of Atlanta youth.
The choice fits the award’s logic. A prize for how a player treats people went to an organization built on how a city treats its children. Fifteen thousand dollars will not end generational poverty, and nobody at the presentation pretended otherwise. What it buys at Agape’s scale is tutoring hours, mentoring time, and family support delivered by people who know the households by name.
Almirón also breaks a small streak. The award’s previous two recipients were the same man: goalkeeper Brad Guzan won it in 2024 and again in 2025. Almirón is the first honoree of the Gallagher era to take the prize out of the goalkeeping union, and he spent it immediately.
The award arrives as Atlanta United closes its season. The club travels to Harrison, New Jersey, to face Red Bull New York on Saturday, November 7, for Decision Day, with kickoff at 4 p.m. Eastern. Almirón’s season will be judged in part on that table. His November, at least, already has one result that no standings can revise.
Atlanta has no shortage of athletes who lend their names to causes. Fewer get handed a check, a choice, and a room full of the reporters who voted for them. Almirón pointed his at 200 Atlanta families and moved on.
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