Blockchain and Sports

1. fan involvement

Issuing a club token

The fan in possession of the token is entitled to:

Involvement in club decisions such as: location and date of certain events, pitch formation (in minor events), uniform colours, music played during games, voting on player performances, etc.
Access to exclusive events, meetings with sportsmen, ticket upgrades, etc.
Access to events/facilities/personnel not usually accessible: train in the stadium with the team, attend the club gym, have a private session with the personal trainer or masseur, etc.

Tokens are acquired through active participation in the life of the club. For example:

Attending games,
Volunteering during matches
Following the team away
Organising the fans
Promoting the team’s activities on social media

Or through gamification techniques:

Mini games that allow you to earn FanTokens such as polls, stadium games, etc.
Conversion of tokens into physical goods or real experiences (autographed jerseys, photos with the sportsman, etc.) that can only be had/do through FanTokens
Gamification funnel into dedicated events (augmented reality treasure hunts to find tokens or NFTs, etc.)

In addition, tokens could be distributed directly by the club at its discretion, e.g. on anniversaries, season ticket campaign, winning important prizes etc. Another option would be to encourage a healthy lifestyle among fans by giving tokens in exchange for certain goals in personal sport (number of steps per day, achievements in amateur competitions, etc.).

Luga Points(cryptocurrency of the MyLugano circuit) could be converted directly into club tokens, thus creating a synergy between local commerce and local sports clubs.

Examples

FC Sion

Fan Token creation and membership in the Sorare6 blockchain-based digital gaming platform

Inter FAN TOKEN

Buyable tokens that give you the right to influence your team’s decisions, meet players, VIP access, etc. Sold initially at a fixed price by the club, they are then traded between owners at “market” price.

Fan Tokens - Socios

FAN TOKEN marketplace of the world’s leading sports companies, including: F1 Sauber, F1 Aston Martin, e-sports companies, etc.

Berner Sport Club Young Boys

Creation of FAN tokens and membership on the socios.com platform

2. Fundraising

Creation of digital merchandising and collectibles based on NFT

Fans are crazy about collectibles: autographs, photos, matchday clothes, etc. At the same time, official merchandising is a great way for fans to express their loyalty to their team and for clubs to earn revenue.

What gives value to a collector’s item is its authenticity and its “rarity” (the photo of the final can be taken if you are there during the final, the jersey worn in that particular match is “exactly that one” and there cannot be another one). But, in the digital world, everything can be copied/replicated easily.

With blockchain-based NFT technology, it becomes possible to create unique and official items even in the digital world:

An official photo of a star
An athlete’s dedication to a (digital) fan
A video of a memorable moment on and off the field

When all this becomes unique and officially released by the club, that’s when the digital collectible acquires the same value as the real thing.

Fundraising

By simplifying the transfer of value between people, blockchain technology allows for very simple and secure fundraising campaigns. Fans can participate in the purchase of players or, conversely, aspiring champions can launch campaigns to raise money and finance their careers.

Examples

Timvision Cup Digital 3D

First example of a digital cup, produced by the Italian Lega Serie A. Created by the artist Diego Perrone. Unique specimen, purchased for more than 4’000 dollars, for sale at 70’000’000 dollars.

Crystollonomic TIMVISION Cup by Diego Perrone

Globatalent - Sport Revolution

Platform to finance and invest on emerging athletes. Athletes decide how to reciprocate the funding (shares of the “card”, rewards on the awards obtained, etc..) and funders can trade their stake owned.

Skull symbol of the NHL team Nashville Predator.

Image produced by the club in 25 copies, sold at auction starting at $150 each. Make this limited edition NFT yours and show your Preds pride”.

Nashville Predators NFT | Nashville Predators (nhl.com)

Canada Scores Vs Germany - 2019 Prelim. Round

Official video Canada VS Germany produced by the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) in 85 copies.

3. Simplification of administration

Blockchain technology, and in particular smart-contracts, make it possible to automate part of the administrative processes of a sports club in an extremely secure way. For example: