NFTs
How football and crypto are growing together
One of the biggest things in the world is football and football fans are some of the most passionate people in the world. Over the last few years the growth of Crypto and NFTs has been exponential and as they started to take over the financial industry and eventually they started to gain a foothold in the sports industry and football was a big part of that, with one of the biggest clubs in the world, Man City, signed a crypto sponsorship deal which further shows the growth of Crypto.
Clubs and their relationships with cryptography
Some of the biggest clubs in the world make some type of cryptocurrency for their fans. This is one of the things that helps fans become more involved with clubs and potentially earn money whilst supporting their clubs. They could potentially make a huge profit since Cryptos and NFTs are a form of gambling, unlike Euro 2024 odds It is a longer type of bet as the value of these coins can fall or rise over time. The main company that moves all currencies is Socios, one of the largest virtual currency companies in the world.
Controversy with Club Cryptos
As popular as they are, Cryptos and NFTs come with a lot of baggage. Personally, we really enjoy collecting NFTs and Cryptos, but we are aware of the negative connotations that come with these terms. The reason why people don’t like Cryptos and don’t invest is because of the fluctuations that the currency can undergo. Unlike most other major investments that people make, like stocks or retail, cryptocurrencies can crash and lose all their value very quickly and people who have invested a lot of money can lose it all. Obviously, like most investments, you can lose a lot of money, but the main problem people face is that this is random and can happen very quickly. This is why clubs that use Crypto and NFTs are viewed so negatively. Many clubs that agreed to do Cryptos received backlash from fans because of the risks it entailed. On opening day, many crypto values dropped significantly, with the BBC reporting that Lazio and Man City received a 50% and 70% drop respectively.
NFTs Explained
Another form of Crypto that is being widely used by clubs are NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens, these are very expensive and club-specific digital animations. However, this is changing, in the early days of clubs using NFTs, a lot has changed since then. In the beginning, clubs like Rangers, Man City and Juventus had official club NFTs that were digital images and videos unique to each buyer that used a code to show ownership. As NFTs grew, it wasn’t just football clubs that used them, a company called Sorare attacked this market with a game featuring flexible, collectible football cards that were NFTs and made players money. Sorare has had a very quick rise to the top of the NFT football game and is still enjoying success even after 5 years since its inception.
Chelsea NFTs
Chelsea was one of the first clubs to hold auctions, since they listed 100 historic Chelsea Items for sale. It was advertised that they would sell items such as old 1905 football programs and kits. This is the latest version of NFTs and is more valuable than traditional NFTs which are poorly received. After the initial sale of these items and the success it brought to the club, other clubs followed suit, with Arsenal, United and Liverpool following suit and also achieving much success. The reason they work so well is because they are items that a football fan will love, even if they don’t like NFTs. These are items that a club fan can be happy to own. If my club held an NFT sale of vintage and historical items, I would be first in line to get some iconic memorabilia.