Klarna and Angel City Football Club to reserve seats in BMO Stadium for youth soccer players throughout the 2024 NWSL season, making the fan experience more accessible

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Mar 15, 2024, 08:34 ET

In its third season as a Founding Partner of ACFC, Klarna will dedicate seats at each home game to Los Angeles-based youth soccer organizations in an effort to bring an enhanced fan experience to young female and nonbinary athletes and inspire them to pursue their dreams in sport.

LOS ANGELES, March 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Klarna, the AI powered global payments network and shopping assistant, and Angel City Football Club (ACFC) today announced the launch of new collaborations with Southern California-based youth sports organizations Section Z and Football For Her in an effort to bring young girls and nonbinary individuals closer to the game they love. Starting Women's History Month, Klarna and ACFC will dedicate 30 seats at each home game to the two organizations for the entirety of the 2024 NWSL Season in an effort to ensure members get an opportunity to access the ACFC game day experience live and encourage them to follow their passions. Klarna, a Founding Partner of ACFC, has worked with the team since its 2022 inaugural season to make the in-stadium experience smoother through payments, merchandise, and now ticket donations.

Starting at ACFC's home opener against Bay FC on Sunday, March 17, members of the organizations will occupy a section of BMO Stadium and receive custom merchandise to assist them in showing off their fandom. Lucky fans in attendance for the game can also have the chance to support the initiative by receiving this year's limited-edition Klarna Home Opener Patch when they make a purchase at the official ACFC team store at BMO Stadium. There is a very limited quantity so it will be on a first come, first serve basis and the design relates back to the purpose of the initiative while donning the phrase "See Her, Dream Her, Be Her" to serve as a reminder to the community that representation matters in sports as well as all aspects of life.

Additionally, Klarna and ACFC will also host a midseason clinic for the Section Z youth soccer players where they will have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet ACFC players and participate in drills alongside them. There will also be a Q&A session where the youth soccer players can ask ACFC players, coaches and Klarna executives questions about the team, the partnership and the sport in general.

"Klarna continues to be committed to supporting women in sports and leveling up the fan experience by launching new initiatives like "See Her, Dream Her, Be Her" with our ACFC partnership. Not only are we making the in-stadium experience more accessible through easy, interest-free payments, but we are also dropping new merchandise and now offering special seats to fans," said Klarna's Head of B2C Marketing in North America and the United Kingdom, Megan Gokey. "Reserving tickets for youth soccer players is one way we are giving more access to the thrilling ACFC fan experience, for the 2024 season, hopefully inspiring youth to believe in themselves and 'See Her, Dream Her, Be Her'."

"Thank you to Klarna and ACFC for supporting Section Z in such a meaningful way," said Section Z Founder, Stef Zeh. "Our goal at Section Z is to provide a way for young girls to watch live sporting events, such as soccer,and learn about the benefits of sport and the growing opportunities sports provide for women. It means a lot to have one of our hometown teams support us in this way, offering additional mentorship and programming opportunities to our students that might not otherwise be available to them. We believe in the power of sport to bring people together and make a difference in young lives, and we thank Klarna and ACFC for believing the same for their young fans."

"It means a lot to host our local young fans at BMO Stadium for games all season long," said ACFC defender and Klarna brand ambassador Ali Riley. "Spreading the joy of women's sports around our community and beyond is one of our major goals here at Angel City FC, and we look forward to hosting LA's future soccer stars at our home games and our clinic later this season."

Klarna, now in its third season as a Founding Partner of Angel City Football Club, continues to offer fans an innovative way to shop, pay and support their favorite NWSL team, both at BMO Stadium and at home.

About Klarna

Since 2005 Klarna has been on a mission to accelerate commerce with consumer needs at the heart of it. With over 150 million global active users and 2 million transactions per day, Klarna's fair, sustainable and AI-powered payment and shopping solutions are revolutionizing the way people shop and pay online and in-store, empowering consumers to shop smarter with greater confidence and convenience. More than 500,000 global retailers integrate Klarna's innovative technology and marketing solutions to drive growth and loyalty, including H&M, Saks, Sephora, Macy's, Ikea, Expedia Group, Nike and Airbnb. For more information, visit Klarna.com.

About Angel City Football Club

Angel City Football Club (ACFC), a member of the National Women's Soccer League, has completed its second season at BMO Stadium in downtown Los Angeles. The team is founded by Academy Award-winning actress and activist Natalie Portman, technology venture capitalist Kara Nortman, media and gaming entrepreneur Julie Uhrman. Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Angela Hucles Mangano is the team's General Manager. Becki Tweed is the Head Coach.

Group ticket sales of 10+, mini plans offering discounted tickets to multiple matches of your choice, and single-match tickets are now available. Season tickets for the 2024 season are still on sale in limited quantities. Fans are encouraged to purchase soon at https://angelcity.com/tickets.

Learn more about ACFC at www.angelcity.com and follow the team on social media @weareangelcity.

Media contacts:
Klarna - Kimberly Gibbs
[email protected]
(614) 967-5032

ACFC PR Team - [email protected]

Section Z - Section Z is a Los Angeles-based organization that works to make girls feel supported and confident to pursue their goals in sport through exposure, education and engagement with women's athletics. The organization's mission is to bring underrepresented youth to live sporting events to show them that a career in sports is possible and educate them on how participation in group sporting events and teams can help teach them the fundamentals for success in life, at school and in their future. To learn more about Section Z visit: www.thesectionz.com

Football For Her - Founded by former NWSL player Shawna Palmer, Football For Her is a Southern California-based organization that educates, motivates and develops confidence in young girls and nonbinary children on and off the pitch, helping young soccer players reach their goals regardless of economic status. The organization provides a safe and inclusive space to play soccer each week, aiming to keep girls active and provide an opportunity to change their lives through sport.

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SOURCE Klarna Bank AB (publ)