French football giants Paris St Germain is the first club in the world to confirm a cryptotoken strategy for fans.
The club is partnering with blockchain platform socios.com to give fans a voice.
Socios will contribute a PSG fan token listed on a social media platform that will allow supporters to vote online about club decisions.
Owning tokens will also allow access to exclusive content, rewards and experiences.
In return, Socios will have digital marketing rights in the PSG stadium and on TV.
Football revolution
Marc Armstrong, Chief Partnerships Officer of Paris Saint Germain said, “Always at the forefront of digital innovation, Paris Saint-Germain is determined to leverage the opportunities that cryptocurrency can provide.
“This revolutionary technology will have an important impact on the club’s overall business strategy and the way we engage with our fanbase. We are very pleased to welcome Socios.com to the Paris Saint-Germain family.”
Although PSG is the first club to involve fans in a blockchain token venture, seven Premier League clubs in England are trialling cryptocurrency transfers.
Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Newcastle United, Southampton, Cardiff City, Brighton and Crystal Palace have set up digital wallets with an online platform to transfer cash when players join or leave a club.
eToro is also planning to take over ticketing to crack down on touts and counterfeiting of merchandising.
Digital transfer wallets
Iqbal Gandham, UK managing director at eToro, said the use of bitcoin in the multi-billion pound transfer market would improve “transparency”.
He said the clubs in the trial have been paid in bitcoin in a bid to promote interest in cryptocurrency to a broader market.
“We’ve done a sponsorship deal, but rather than pay them in traditional pound notes we’ve paid them in bitcoin. What they choose to do with that is entirely up to them,” said Gandham.
Tottenham’s head of partnerships Fran Jones explained the venture was launched because the club is “committed to technology and innovation”.
Brighton CEO Paul Barber said the project will “help us better understand the true potential offered by blockchain”.
Meanwhile, Gibraltar United has become the only soccer club to pay players in cryptocurrency.
