Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is slowly becoming a growing financial trend in football. France Football Federation (FFF) is the latest football organisation and the first international team to venture into the NFT market after signing a deal with digital trading card company Sorare.
Under this agreement, NFT will create a form of digital player card of the France National team during the ongoing Euro 2020. This card will be further available for use within Sorare’s Euro 2020 fantasy gaming platform and will be developed using blockchain technology.
Sorare’s sponsorship portfolio includes investment groups like Benchmark, Accel Partners, e.ventures. Along with these companies, Barcelona’s Gerard Pique and Antoine Griezmann and former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand have also been roped in by the company in the past. In terms of football clubs, Sorare boasts a remarkable list of top clients such as Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Juventus. The company has also stated its ambition to sign with all the biggest football associations and teams in the world and some of the teams are in active discussion in order to launch NFTs on the Sorare platform during Euro 2020.
Co-founder and CEO of Sorare, Nicolas Julia said, “Today’s news is another major milestone for Sorare. It is the first of many football associations that will be joining us in the coming weeks and months.”
Italy’s Lega Serie A also became the very first football league to join hands with the NFT market, signing a sponsorship deal with Crypto.com that runs until the 2021 Copa Italia Final. Meanwhile, Liga MX’s Club Necaxa recently decided to sell one percent stake of the club through NFT. The market for NFT is likely to grow even further in the coming months.
Along with sorting out a good commercial deal off the pitch, France is also flourishing on the pitch. The World Champions started Euro 2020 campaign with a narrow 1-0 win against Germany on Tuesday. The world champions will play against Hungary in a group stage fixture on June 19 at Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest.