Fans Have a New Ally to Help Bring a Major League Soccer Team to Charlotte and the Carolinas
Ally Financial inks founding and lead partner deal with David Tepper for potential team

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The professional soccer fan base in and around the Queen City rallied on Friday, when Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) announced a multi-year agreement with the Charlotte Soccer Bid Team (led by David Tepper). The agreement names Ally the founding and lead partner of a potential Major League Soccer (MLS) team in Charlotte and the Carolinas.

An excited group of employees gather around Ally Financial CEO, Jeffrey Brown (left) and Tom Glick (right), leader of the Charlotte Bid Team Friday after they announced a multi-year agreement. The agreement names Ally the founding and lead partner of a potential Major League Soccer team in Charlotte and the Carolinas.

During the past few months, the Bid Team has stepped up efforts to bring an MLS club to the region and today Ally confirmed the team's first signing. The announcement came via social media using the hashtag #CLTwantsSoccer and was accompanied by a short video.

"This new partnership signals an exciting time for both Ally and the Charlotte region," said Jeffrey Brown, chief executive officer, Ally. "We're humbled to be the first partner alongside David Tepper in his quest, and in addition to expanding our presence in the market, we're excited about the positive economic impact an MLS team will have in the region."

Among the benefits of being the lead partner, Ally will receive front-of-jersey (or "kit") branding. For more details on the partnership – including kit designs and other updates – be sure to follow @Ally on Twitter.

"We couldn't be more excited about our partnership with Ally. Soccer in the Carolinas is buzzing with excitement and we know that bringing another pro sports team to Charlotte will benefit fans, the city, region and wider community," said David Tepper.

Aside from marketing efforts, Ally plans to leverage its partnership with the Bid Team to further demonstrate its commitment to the local community. Professional soccer is a great platform to help amplify Ally's efforts surrounding economic mobility, financial literacy, employee engagement, and more.

"We believe in being a relentless ally for the community, just as much as we believe in being a relentless ally for our customers," said Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and public relations officer, Ally. "Charlotte is a place where we live, work, and play, so we know how much of a soccer town this is – and how much soccer can impact our community."

The newly announced partnership is an expansion of Ally's relationship with soccer. Since 2016, Ally has served as the official financial services partner of the International Champions Cup.

Ally first became involved with soccer because of the fans, as they are known for their passion. Soccer fans have an immense allegiance to their teams. Likewise, Ally has a similar passion for its customers, which translates into an immensely passionate customer base who love to review and recommend its financial services.

About Ally Financial Inc.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial-services company with $180.4 billion in assets as of June 30, 2019. As a customer-centric company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, we are relentlessly focused on "Doing It Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. We are one of the largest full-service automotive-finance operations in the country and offer a wide range of financial services and insurance products to automotive dealerships and consumers. Our award-winning online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage-lending services and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including savings, money-market, and checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Additionally, we offer securities-brokerage and investment-advisory services through Ally Invest. Our robust corporate finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies.

For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures.

Contact:
Justin Nicolette
justin.nicolette@ally.com
980-312-8636

SOURCE Ally Financial