Quick take:
- AS Monaco has become the latest football club to embrace non-fungible tokens.
- The French Ligue 1 club has collaborated with Capital Block to launch NFTs.
- Several teams across Europe have launched fan tokens to engage their fans in minor operations of their clubs.
AS Monaco has collaborated with blockchain firm Capital Block to acquire more knowledge about non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The French Ligue 1 team is planning to launch digital products like NFTs, becoming the latest footballing organization to embrace Web3.
Several clubs around the world have joined the NFT train to supplement their revenues amid the adverse effects of Covid-19. Socios is an NFT marketplace created with the sole purpose of connecting sports fans with their clubs. However, some football clubs like FC Barcelona and Manchester United have opted for a different path.
The Spanish football giants opted against collaborating with a blockchain consultancy firm in their efforts to launch Web3 products, while Manchester United teamed up with Tezos in a $27 million sponsorship deal.
AS Monaco has sought the services of blockchain firm Capital Block to come up with the best blockchain products it could offer to its fans. Fan tokens are widely becoming an acceptable voting mechanism used by clubs to engage with their fan in minor decisions of running the clubs.
The tokens can also be traded on decentralised exchange platforms, allowing fans to exchange them for other tokens like bitcoin, or convert them to fiat currency.
Commenting on the partnership Capital Block CEO Tim Mangnall said “this is a first for French football since AS Monaco will be the first club to work with an NFT consultancy, which will enable the Monegasque club to acquire an inside knowledge of the NFT market and thus create a successful and sustainable offering.”
AS Monaco is not the first French club to foray into crypto. Last year, Lionel Messi’s box office move to Paris included a signing-on bonus backed by the French giant’s crypto fan tokens.
Since then Some of the club’s superstar players led by Neymar Jr have embraced NFTs, with the Brazilian National publicly announcing his Bored Ape purchase earlier this year.
Although the concept of introducing NFTs as an alternative way of augmenting club revenue has been rebuffed by some football experts and fans, blockchain experts see it as a major evolution of the way sports organisations engage with their fans.
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