Quick take:
- Serena Williams will provide guidance on a range of topics including Web3 initiatives.
- Sorare plans to expand into women’s sports this year.
- This could open doors to tennis NFTs.
In a statement released yesterday, French fantasy sports NFT platform Sorare announced that Serena WIlliams is joining the platform’s team as board advisor.
Launched in 2019, Sorare began as a fantasy football game where players can buy, sell, trade, and manage a virtual team with digital player cards. The game operates on Ethereum’s blockchain to validate the ownership and distribution of player cards, and each player card is represented as an ERC-721 NFT.
In her new role with the platform, Williams will provide guidance to the board on topics including developing Sorare’s relationship with athletes around the world, strategies for expansion into women’s sports, as well as inclusivity and diversity initiatives on Web3.
“Serena Williams is among the most important figures in sports and culture, who has redefined the modern athlete and entrepreneur, including her unprecedented early-stage investing successes. The strategic counsel that Serena will bring in building one of the most iconic sports entertainment brands is invaluable. I’m thrilled to have her join the team. Together, we’ll forge new ways for fans to engage with their favorite athletes,” wrote Nicolas Julia, co-founder and CEO at Sorare, in the statement.
In the past year, Sorare has seen rapid expansion and growth. The platform raised a $680 million series B funding led by SoftBank in September last year, which valued the company at $4.3 billion at the time.
By the end of last year, Sorare had one million registered users, 270,000 monthly active users and 90,000 in-game NFTs sold.
With Williams as board advisor, this could open doors to tennis NFTs for Sorare, as the platform aims to “attract new players and onboard new teams and leagues across sports categories and geographies.”
Williams told Forbes that she pushed Sorare CEO Nicolas Julia for tennis since the day she met him. She was introduced to Sorare by her husband and Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian who invested in the Sorare as part of its $50 million series A round in February 2021.
Williams is no stranger to the NFT space. She owns many NFTs by female artists and has a Twitter profile picture of CryptoPunk #2950 with a tennis headband, a gift to her from her husband, purchased for 85 ETH.
I gifted my wife another NFT. I think she likes it. https://t.co/6T4YfigbWi
— Alexis Ohanian.eth 7️⃣7️⃣6️⃣ (@alexisohanian) January 20, 2022
Yesterday she joined the Bored Ape Yacht Club fam with a Twitter reveal of another NFT gift Ohanian bought her.
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