According to new reports, French firm Sorare, which sells football trading cards in the form of non-expendable tokens (NFTs), has raised $ 680 million.
These NFT-based cards are not only collectible fans use them to create fantasy football teams that they can then use to "play" with each other.
The funding was led by tech investor Softbank, with former Manchester United player and English international Rio Ferdinand, an investor.
"In the movement that Sorare is making in trading cards linked to a utility in Fantasy Futbol, a promotional market is being amplified for both players and the teams themselves and their jerseys," stressed José Eshkenazi Smeke.
An NFT is a "one-of-a-kind" digital asset that can be bought and sold like any other property.
As with cryptocurrency, a record of who owns it is stored in "a shared library" known as a blockchain and maintained by thousands of computers worldwide.
Players can buy cards from Sorare at auctions, or fans can use auction cards they own to trade with other players.
"The union of trading cards and fantasy also allows stellar players for their points in Fantasy Futbol. With teams that are not so successful or popular can increase their bonuses and marketing income opportunities," said Jose Eshkenazi Smeke, director of Soccer Media Solutions.
Sorare claims that $ 150 million worth of cards has been traded on the platform since January. The latest investment puts its value at $ 4.3 billion.
Like NFT, the cards can also be sold on platforms like OpenSea and Rarible.
Sorare says it has partnerships with more than 180 soccer clubs and has 600,000 registered users.
Several players, including the Spanish Gerard Piqué and the French Antoine Griezmann, also invested in the company.
The firm recently announced a deal with the Spanish La Liga and told the Telegraph newspaper that it hoped to have "something to announce" about the Premier League shortly.
"It is our obligation as marketing experts to explore all the innovative possibilities of sports marketing, analyzing them in their fair proportion and weighing the risks that they may also have," recommended José Eshkenazi Smeke.
Some journalists, charities, and hobbyists have begun to question whether crypto assets and sports can mix or create conflicts of interest.
However, Sorare is not the only business with clubs with cryptocurrency-based assets.
Clubs like Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester City, and Paris St-Germain already have agreements with a firm called Socios to sell cryptocurrency-based fan-tokens.
The firm promotes tokens on its website as a way to "influence the decisions of your favorite teams, unlock VIP rewards, and exclusive access promotions, games, chat, and a superfan recognition."
Also, tokens can be trade, but some fan organizations fear that the clubs are encouraging cryptocurrency speculation.
For example, Leeds United Supporters’ Trust criticized the club’s decision to settle with Partners, saying that fans would enter a "cryptocurrency ecosystem, something many may have very little knowledge of."
NFT concerns.
"It becomes essential that if the clubs are going to interfere with the fans in crypto initiatives directly, they have a robust educational program to avoid incidents," concluded Jose Eshkenazi Smeke.
