Blockchain Technology Will Impact the Sports Industry…But at its Own Pace
“Blockchain’s arrival is about evolution rather than revolution” - Thomas Robson-Kanu
The sports world is well on its way to changing forever because of the technological advancements available through the use of blockchain. However, it is essential to understand individuals are not trying to change the system, just enhance its many facets.
Companies like Sports Ledger have created a data-driven platform that will revolutionize and empower the sporting world. Co-Founder and professional football star, Thomas Robson-Kanu sees this platform as the future of sports, giving users access to a wide variety of information and services, but also rewarding them for their use of the platform.
The platform has six objectives, including a more innovative approach to sports coverage, advanced analytics to generate more accurate predictions, the creation of a user-centric sporting community, enhancing the interaction between teams and fans, wearable biometric data devices, and lastly to bring a positive social change to the sporting world and beyond.
So, how can blockchain technology be used to create and support such an ecosystem?
As defined in a previous Instant Sponsor blog post:
Blockchain is essentially the organization of data that represents a financial ledger entry, or a record of a transaction. This new network that decentralizes trade using a peer-to-peer (p2p) network (can be public or private) as a way of communication. What this means is that we can trade with anyone all over the world without needing to go through an intermediary — banks are a prime example.
Additionally, all trades are completed on a decentralized network — no one central database will hold all vital information. Instead, it is spread out over millions to be verified on this P2P platform. Transactions are guaranteed, safe, efficient and secure.
An organization could potentially trade (or transfer) players trades on a peer-2-peer network, allowing for the transfer of assets to occur in minutes as opposed to days.
Omar Jackson, the director of Cryptech, views blockchain as an inevitable future for the sports industry.
“The ability to transfer a player from one club to another will be done far more quickly, far more securely and far more efficiently than has been done before,” Jackson said in a recent interview. “We’re talking about the transfer of paperwork because it’s a peer-to-peer system. You will have all the player’s details, all the information, and data held on a blockchain. And that can be transferred from club A to club B so that club B owns the rights to that data and, therefore, the player.”
Jackson followed that statement up with a bold prediction:
“All major top-flight football clubs and top sporting institutions will all be adopting some form of blockchain technology within the next 24 months. Clubs have so much data that they have to hold on their system at any one time. The most secure way of holding that now is through blockchain.”
Robson-Kanu shares the same view as Jackson, believing that all top football clubs will be implementing some form of blockchain technology within the next 24 months. That claim certainly holds water as a recent Research and Markets report stated the blockchain industry is set to be worth $7.59 billion USD by 2024.
“The key players of the sports industry should keep in mind that the use of blockchain will be highly regulated in the future, yet it is important for clubs to start embracing this technology if they want to stay atop of their game.”
Fans are what fuels professional sports. If a team has no fans, then that team will fail quickly both on and off the field.
So, why shouldn’t fans have a chance to voice their opinion for some team-related issues? Or at least allow for more transparency between the two parties.
Blockchain technology will allow such access, with the potential to entirely change the fan experience. Sports Ledger — in addition to some other sports blockchain companies — wishes to equip fans with vital information about the club. Everything from team stats, live game information, and stadium logistics.
“Fans have a right to understand and see transparently what they are paying for and the people who they are paying to see and what they are doing on a day-to-day basis, or what they do during a game on a detailed level,” Robson-Kanu said. “Rather than being an opinion-based industry, it would move to an information-based industry and alongside that, a transparent information-based industry, which is a massive catalyst in terms of what blockchain can do.”
Clubs should think of themselves like a Fortune 500 company on Wall Street. And the fans are their investors, putting time and money into the ‘business’ hoping and praying it succeeds.
Implementing new technology like blockchain requires a colossal industry shift. And not just the technology itself but the people using it will also need to embrace this concept in its entirety.
“It’s harder to hack, it’s more efficient, and there’s far less paperwork,” Robson-Kanu added, when discussing the benefits of blockchain. “It allows clubs to massively cut costs and save money on overheads. Where there was paper and individuals needed for the movement of paperwork from one party to another, that won’t be required because it will all be on a digital ledger.”
Another benefit for both players and fans is the development and use of fan tokens — allowing fans to buy tickets and merchandise from their favorite teams. But there are additional benefits to fan tokens that could come in the form of content creation.
We see it constantly…fans holding up their phones almost constantly during a game to catch the perfect angle of a ‘game-changing play’ or ‘controversial moment’ in a game.
And when those moments are shared on social media platforms — Facebook, Instagram, Twitter — that content becomes monetized and used to the benefit of brands or teams.
Fans could potentially receive a form of compensation for producing original content and uploading it to blockchain networks that award fan tokens.
Brands who purchased sponsorship on NBA jerseys last season saw a massive return on investment from the media value of shared content on social media. Content created by fans, or circulated by fans, allowed those sponsors to see over $300 million in media value.
But did the fans who created content see a return on their investment of creating and circulating said content? No.
“That data should be held by the rightful owner and that owner should have the opportunity and the right to monetize it,” said Robson-Kanu.
You’re probably wondering why it is taking so long for blockchain to be implemented, considering its massive upside. You need to go back to Robson-Kanu and Jackson’s predictions, that it will take 24 months before you see major sporting clubs implement some element of blockchain technology.
Change is coming … but it certainly will not be rushed.
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