Chattanooga FC Partners With VFL Wolfsburg
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Chattanooga FC announced a partnership with German Bundesliga's VfL Wolfsburg.
Over the weekend, General Manager Sean McDaniel visited the club in Sarasota, Florida, where VfL Wolfsburg played in the Florida Cup, a tournament of international friendlies.
Sean and VfL Manager Thomas Röttgermann signed a letter of intent, which signals the start of a trans-Atlantic partnership between the two clubs, not limited to youth development, women's soccer, and local social responsibility. There are also hopes of an international friendly between the two clubs, but no dates have yet been set.
"Having a partner like VfL Wolfsburg strengthens the Chattanooga FC brand. They are a great partner and share many of the same important values that we do. We are looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship" said Tim Kelly, chairman of the Chattanooga CF board.
Much of the groundwork for this partnership was built by Volkswagen, who has a major manufacturing plant and an engineering and product planning facility in Chattanooga. Specifically, Dr. Matthias Erb, Chief Engineering Officer and Head of the Volkswagen Engineering and Planning Center, has been instrumental in crafting the blossoming relationship.
"The American market is very important for us as a club, and also for Volkswagen. For that reason, we are really delighted to have found a wonderful partner in Chattanooga FC, who we can hold open exchanges with as a football club," said VfL manager Thomas Röttgermann. "We can thus benefit from one another in all areas - be that in sponsoring or social media activities, etc."
"Since being founded in 2009, Volkswagen have always given us great support and we are very grateful that, thanks to our strong partnership, we now have the opportunity to cooperate closely with a big club like VfL Wolfsburg, who boast the same values that we do and we can mutually support one another" said Sean McDaniel, general manager for Chattanooga FC.