Charlotte FC threw a fashion party for 1,500 of their closest friends last night at Camp North End, CBJ’s Erik Spanberg reports. The Major League Soccer expansion club, part of David Tepper’s sports portfolio, unveiled their primary kits (soccer speak for uniforms) — and fans immediately lined up to buy jerseys of their own.
The jerseys are blue with white sleeves and, following soccer tradition, the team’s main sponsor, Ally Financial (NYSE: ALLY), occupies the most prominent real estate across the chest. Above the Ally lettering to the left is the Charlotte FC crest, directly opposite the logo of league apparel partner Adidas. The bottom of the right sleeve features the logo of secondary sponsor Centene; on the left sleeve is the MLS league mark. “It’s something unique, it’s the first jersey of the newly formed team,” said Christian Fuchs, a veteran Premier League player who signed with Charlotte FC last summer. Fuchs was one of five players on-hand to model the uniforms.
“You look at this, it’s a unifier for us,” said Shawn McIntosh, Charlotte FC’s chief fan officer. “And we’ve been about that from the very beginning. It’s clean, it’s classy, it’s timeless, it’s trendsetting. I think it’s something for us — 10, 20, 30 years, we can look back on our primary kit, our inaugural one, and know it stands the test of time.”
Team President Nick Kelly agreed, pointing to the jock tag on the lower left of the jersey depicting the states of North Carolina and South Carolina as a key design element.
“You guys have heard us talk about it for years now, that we want to be a team for the Carolinas,” Kelly said. “To be that representative in our first uniform was really important.”
Charlotte FC’s debut season begins Feb. 26 with a road game against D.C. United. The first home match is March 5 against LA Galaxy at Bank of America Stadium. Look for more coverage from CBJ later today.