CHILIZ ANNOUNCE SOCIOS PASS, A COVID-19 IMMUNITY COMMUNITY INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT THE RETURN OF SPORTS FANS
‘Socios Pass’ Will Allow Fans Holding Proof Of Immunity To Return To The Stadium Through Blockchain Technology
MALTA, 13th April 2020: Chiliz (Binance: $CHZ), leaders in blockchain-based fan engagement and creators of fan voting & rewards app Socios.com, today announce their plans for Socios Pass — an ID & immunity verification tool that will allow fans to return to stadiums and watch live games more safely and securely.
While COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc across the globe, many leading health experts believe that immunity certificates or ‘passports’ issued by health authorities are needed in order to allow individuals to fully return to ‘normal life’. This is especially the case for attendance at large scale public gatherings, such as football matches.
When sporting action returns the expectation is that it will be behind closed doors. While larger clubs will receive an initial boost from TV revenues, sport, in general, will continue to bear the heavy financial consequences of lost revenues from ticket sales and sponsorship. Socios Pass will use blockchain technology and QR codes to allow fans holding proof of immunity to return to stadiums, protecting the long-term economic future of sporting entities and allowing fans to watch their beloved teams.
Chiliz are already working with Socios.com partners including FC Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético de Madrid, Galatasaray, AS Roma and CA Independiente to find fan engagement solutions in the absence of live matches. Early responses from the clubs to longer-term solutions to overcome the problems caused by COVID-19, including Socios Pass, have so far been positive.
Socios Pass User Journey:
- An individual receives a digital immunity certificate from their local health authority
- They then create a free Socios.com account, connecting their identity and proof of immunity documentation into their profile, where it is verified by Socios.com KYC specialists
- Once their Socios.com Pass is verified, the individual is free to go and watch their favourite team play again
- The user arrives at the stadium with their Socios.com app open, and shows a secure one-time use QR code which serves as their ID & health status verification
- The steward/agent at the stadium scans the user’s Socios Pass in seconds, using their profile photo to confirm their identity
- The user is then free to enter the stadium and watch the match
Stewards/agents at the gates to the stadium of each participating club will be provided with a secure 1-click application capable of scanning the QR codes generated by Socios Pass. This will allow clubs to quickly and efficiently read data provided by health authorities while simultaneously confirming fan identity.
This technology will be provided free of charge to all clubs who apply to use the Socios Pass initiative. Furthermore, no fan health data or information relating to immunity status will be ‘held’ by Socios.com. Instead it will be retrieved & read by an independent blockchain only when users open their Socios Pass to be scanned.
In addition to QR code scanning, Socios.com Pass holders will also be able to use their Socios.com debit card to provide proof of immunity/ID information via an NFC scan.
Socios.com Pass also has potential for use as a pre-ticketing filter, where a valid QR code would have to be scanned online proving ID/immunity prior to purchasing tickets for matches, therefore reducing the chances of fans being turned away at the gates.
Chiliz, who are headquartered in Malta, are making plans to pilot Socios.com Pass to help the local community in order to provide a boost to SME and aid the recovery from the impact caused by COVID-19.
Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO & Founder of Socios.com & Chiliz said: “We recently polled football fans from our partner clubs on Socios.com, asking them if they would accept identity & health status checks if it meant that they could return to stadiums — around 74% of respondents voted in favour of such measures.
“This highlighted what we already knew — football and sport in general is hugely important in people’s lives. That’s why we want to use our blockchain expertise so that fans can enjoy live sport from the stadiums again and clubs can recover from the impact of COVID-19.
“Should they need it, Socios.com Pass will provide sports teams with a low integration, GDPR compliant software only solution offering free KYC validation for fan identity & health status checks and allowing for the safe transition of fans back into stadiums.”
For more information on Socios.com Pass and how it could help sports teams and fans return to normality sooner rather than later please visit www.socios.com/pass/.
-ENDS-
For Further Information:
Chilliz / Socios.com
Andrew Clarke — Global PR Manager
For more information please visit www.socios.com
Notes to editor:
About Chiliz
Chiliz ($CHZ) is a digital currency for sports and entertainment platforms. It fuels the world’s first scalable, tokenized voting platform, Socios.com where fans can buy, trade and execute voting rights in their favorite sports teams. The Chiliz project has raised $66 million from some of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges and leading crypto funds in Asia, including Binance, OK Blockchain Capital, and Ceyuan Ventures. Chiliz is owned by Malta-based Mediarex Group, a global sports and entertainment organisation, which was founded in 2012. In January 2020, Chiliz announced the launch of Chiliz.net, a first-of-its-kind mobile and desktop crypto exchange for sports and entertainment assets.
About Socios.com
Socios.com helps sport entities achieve digital transformation through blockchain technology. Socios.com is powered by the Chiliz token ($CHZ), both an ERC20 utility token on the Ethereum blockchain and BEP-2 token on Binance Chain. Fan Tokens are specific to a team or a club, and are a finite, digital asset that provides access to an encrypted, immutable ledger of voting and membership rights ownership. The tokenized fan-voting platform uses Fan Tokens, which operate on a separate permissioned side chain. The Fan Tokens are limited in number, and are fungible, meaning their ownership can be traded, and their price is driven by the market. The venture was inspired by the fan-led management frameworks or ‘socios’ of some major football clubs. Dubbed ‘Socios 2.0’, the platform simply represents the digitisation of this model of management.
