How Sorare Is Reshaping the Sports Industry With Its NFT Platform for Soccer Lovers

In the past few years, several soccer clubs have released their own NFTs with Sorare being one of the most popular platforms to trade NFTs.

In recent years, the integration of cryptocurrency into sports, particularly soccer, has revolutionized fan engagement. As the influence of cryptocurrencies continues to soar, soccer teams are embracing digital assets to cater to their massive fan following. This trend, which began in 2018 with PSG's announcement of its own coin, has now seen dozens of soccer clubs issuing their own tokens.

Moreover, NFT cards are gaining immense popularity, transforming how fans interact with their favorite sports and offering new avenues for participation and investment.

Highlighting the risks involved in responsible gambling, where the allure of quick gains must be balanced with responsible management of risks, let's explore how these digital assets are reshaping the sports industry and what the future holds.

Sorare: The Top NFT Platform for Soccer Enthusiasts

Several soccer clubs have launched their own NFTs in recent years, with Sorare emerging as one of the most popular platforms for trading these digital collectibles. Sorare is a game that allows users to create their own virtual soccer teams, boasting a base of 4 thousand players. These players are "packed" into sets of cards, corresponding to different match episodes.

Over 130 major soccer clubs worldwide have partnered with Sorare, including PSG, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Juventus, Real Madrid, Zenit, and Spartak Moscow. According to the tracker Nonfungible.com, Sorare ranks among the top 3 actively growing NFT projects, alongside CryptoPunks and SuperRare, with a digital turnover exceeding €10 million. In Russia, the platform's average monthly growth since the beginning of the year has been an impressive 115%.

Delving into the Mechanics of Sorare

During the game season, Sorare provides fans with a limited number of cards: 100 rare, 10 very rare, and 1 unique. These cards carry two layers of value - collectible (facilitating sale, purchase, and exchange) and in-game, where the performance of the "card" player in real life must be monitored - whether they are fit, took to the field, and scored a goal. This process, akin to caring for a Tamagotchi, offers the potential for profit, as each goal scored by a player in an actual match earns the owner of their Sorare card real money.

Other Contenders in the NFT Arena

Beyond Sorare, the world of NFT soccer unfolds on other virtual marketplaces that support the NFT protocol, such as OpenSea, Rarible, Sorarebuzz, Soraredata, and Soraremega. These cards are even traded on eBay, with soccer NFT tokens leading the bidding volumes. However, the most expensive sales to date have been in basketball and baseball, with Mickey Mantle's baseball card selling for $5.2 million in January 2021.

Cryptocurrency and Sports: A Broader Perspective

The realm of cryptocurrencies intersects with the world of sports in more ways than just NFTs. The story of soccer club tokens began in 2018 when PSG announced its plans to issue its own coin. Clubs typically utilize the infrastructure of third-party IT platforms to issue these tokens. The most well-known of these platforms is Socios, boasting title clubs like Barcelona, Juventus, Roma, and Atletico Madrid among its clients.

Introducing the concept of "Fan Token Offering"

Socios and its founder Alexandre Dreyfus can be credited with coining the term "FTO" - Fan Token Offering. In 2018, the platform launched its cryptocurrency, Chiliz (CHZ), on the Ethereum blockchain, and in November 2019, Juventus Turin became the first club to conduct an FTO on the platform.

Since autumn 2019, Chiliz has been traded on Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in terms of trading volume. This year, the altcoin's price surged by 700% in a single week during March. According to an interview with Socios CEO Alexander Dreyfus, soccer clubs earned over $30 million on Chiliz in 2020, and the projected income for this year is $100 million.

Fans who own fan tokens gain a say in the life of their team; for instance, Juventus fans used this mechanism to choose the song played after a goal, while Milan fans voted on a new motto and PSG fans decided on the inscription for the captain's armband.

Concluding Remarks

As the cryptocurrency landscape continues to expand year after year, its integration into the sporting arena is only set to grow larger and more diverse. Other popular sports are also seeking to capitalize on the opportunities presented by NFTs, tokens, and other digital assets. Only time will tell how successful this experiment will be in the long run.