Football and Web3 — How Tech is Getting Fans Closer to the Sport
NFTs, blockchains and cryptocurrency are all components of web3 — the decentralized version of the internet — that join forces to ensure the bidirectional flow of value between brands and consumers. When the value we create as fans flows back to us in the form of tokens of ownership, it gives us more motivation to stick around and increase support.
In short, Web3 is a technology that is helping fans get closer to the sports and players. We are going to explore in the article the mechanism behind it with some real-world examples.
Fan Engagement Will Increase With the Rapid growth of Sports Related NFTs
According to Deloitte, a surge in sports-related NFTs is fueling the convergence of physical and virtual worlds. Athletes, leagues, and their partners are offering up digital collectibles for purchase and trade. Many of the key players in this field are attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, and all the major leagues now have NFT partnerships.
Dapper Labs and their Top Shot platform are among the leading companies in this space, working with the NBA and WNBA. The NFL has also partnered with Dapper Labs for NFL All Day, and Candy Digital is collaborating with the MLB. The increasing popularity of virtual and fantasy sports games like Sorare is yet another example of how sports and NFTs are blending to create novel ways for fans to engage.
Delving Into Why and How Web3 Reduces the Gap Between Fans and Their Favorite Sports and Players
There’s no doubt that the use of NFTs, crypto, fan tokens, and ticket innovations will grow and evolve. But …
Will we see a significant increase in fan engagement? Yes.
Will new business models emerge? Undoubtedly.
Here are a few reasons why.
- Opportunities for Fans to Interact with Sporting Legends
Sports fans look for ways to connect with and show their support for their favorite clubs and players. Web3 technology can help facilitate this connection by creating opportunities for fans to interact with their heroes and other fans. For example, fans can earn tokens or other forms of digital currency for their support and engagement with their favorite teams and players. These tokens could then be used to access exclusive content, merchandise, or even meet-and-greets with the athletes.
Example: Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has signed an exclusive multi-year nonfungible token (NFT) partnership with crypto exchange Binance. The collaboration aims to introduce soccer fans to the Web3 ecosystem through global NFT campaigns. The Binance team is excited to give Ronaldo fans “exclusive engagement opportunities to connect with Ronaldo” as they own pieces of the NFT collections.
2. Attractive Incentives
Web3 infrastructure supports active participation from sports enthusiasts and incentivizes them for doing so, backed by an efficient payment system. For those whose actions are rewarded automatically, it motivates them to get more involved. A genre of play-to-earn games that are growing in popularity among sports enthusiasts are fantasy NFT sports.
Example: Sorare
Sorare is a unique game with a baked-in reward mechanism that allows players to assemble a team and compete against other teams. The winner gets a handsome cash reward by finishing in the top spots. The real engagement comes from assembling a team — which is basically made up of NFTs representing real footballers, and the rarity and value of the NFTs depend on the real-life performance of these footballers.
What’s more, Sorare is getting closer to the actual sport with each passing day. Its new partnership with the English Premier League will have EPL issued Ethereum-based digital player cards for the fantasy sports platform. Of course, the venture is only going to expand to include other clubs and individual football stars across the globe leading to the emergence of gaming guilds, scholarship programs and a never ending array of new business models.
3. Immersive Experiences to enhance Fan Engagement
Web3 also offers the Metaverse experience which is a great medium for enhancing fan engagement. In fact, there was a particular demand for the Metaverse experience in the last world cup. During the World Cup in Qatar, several multinational brands successfully held digital activations for fans including Roblox, Visa, and Budweiser.
Example: Metaverse platform Upland held these virtual experiences, allowing fans to participate in minigames, buy collectible moments, and gain special access to digital viewings and such. What’s more, shortly after victory, the Argentina Football Association partnered with Upland.
“It is believed that the initiative will back fan engagement between Argentine football fans, teams and players. Reportedly, gamified opportunities are expected to include Argentine football digital collectibles, with the inclusion of teams, clubs, players, tickets, historical moments, among others.“
Source — Financial Express
In Comes Pitch
“A community that leverages the power of web3 to foster engagement across the global football fandom through gameplay, rewards and entertainment”
According to a report by Web3 Studio, the economic value of the sports metaverse is expected to grow to $80 billion by 2030. This trend will continue largely because there are still a lot of untapped fan engagement opportunities to be explored in a virtual setting.
We are in the early stage of sports clubs, organizations and players releasing their own NFT projects. Pitch is building a new web3 platform for the modern sports fan. A platform which includes a web application to flex and trade your NFTs, plus keep track of project benefits in a central location. A member rewards system with prizes like autographed gear, match tickets, and sponsored watch parties at your local pub. A community to banter with and compete in fantasy prediction games, trivia and meme contests.
Pitch started its journey with the release of the OG Pass NFT and the launch of its own official Sorare team. Pitch is currently funding a community wallet dedicated to Sorare, and the holders of the OG Pass decide with the rest of the community how to manage the team: trading players, participating in contests, bidding on auctions, etc. OG Pass holders get a share of the prizes the team wins.
Pitch also organizes contests and events for members to earn coins which are redeemable via the merch store. There are community watch parties co-hosted by professional commentators for everyone as well. Here’s a glimpse of the rewards you can expect from joining Pitch’s Discord community.
The Verdict
In conclusion, the integration of web3 technology in sports has opened up a world of possibilities for fans, players, and the sports industry as a whole. Through blockchain technology, fans can now interact more closely with their favorite sports teams and players, participate in ownership, and gain more control over the viewing experience.
Moreover, athletes can benefit from the transparency, security, and fairness that blockchain provides, enabling them to earn more and have more control over their image and brand. With the potential for more revenue streams, greater fan engagement, and the democratization of the sports industry, web3 tech is poised to revolutionize the way we experience and interact with sports.
Pitch positions itself right at the center of this expansive system which caters to the global football fan community. It has created a web3 platform that allows football fans to interact with the clubs and matches they root for in a way that translates into immediate rewards. For more information check out Pitch’s website and Twitter.
