The Premier League outfit, Manchester City FC, has formed an association with the Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony. Following this new global association, Sony has been labelled as City’s virtual fan experience partner. Both the entities have penned down this partnership aiming to develop a new digital fan experience that will be a cutting-edge of global sport.
The Sky Blues will be hosting a PoC (Proof of Concept) with Sony, which will further leverage Sony’s ground-breaking technologies and the City’s global fanbase to develop new forms of digital content.
According to Manchester City, the main aim of this partnership is to create a global online fan community. The fans can interact with the club and each other within an online ‘metaverse’ which will be a virtual recreation of the Etihad Stadium.
Speaking on the occasion, Nuria Tarre, Chief Marketing & Fan Experience Officer at City Football Group, said: “At Manchester City we have a strong pedigree of continuously embracing the latest technologies to enhance our operation – with particular focus on exploring ways to engage and entertain our global fanbase.
“This partnership with Sony puts City at the development stage of an exciting project that will create immersive digital fan experiences that have never been seen before in football. We’re looking forward to launching this collaboration and bringing together Sony’s industry-leading technologies with the global network of Manchester City fans.”
Adding to it, Toshimoto Mitomo, Officer in Charge of Intellectual Property and Business Incubation Platform at Sony Group Corporation, said: “Through this PoC, Sony will support Manchester City to further increase the value of its content and engagement with its fans around the world.
“Sony aims to create an online fan engagement platform that brings the Club and its global fans closer together, demonstrating our commitment to the sports entertainment business and supporting our partners in seeking new opportunities.”
The defending Premier League champions were named the Most Innovative Sports Team in the world by the Sports Innovation Lab earlier this year. While it will be Sony’s first sports partner in this space. However, the Japanese company has built successful digital fan experiences in music and the wider entertainment industries.
On the field, Manchester City will be taking on Aston Villa in their next league fixture, scheduled on December 2. While the Sky Blues currently sit second in the Premier League table, collecting 29 points from their 13 league games. Adding to it, the club has also qualified for the round-of-16 in the Champions League.