Launch of Fan4all, the first experience platform dedicated to soccer fans!

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Attend your favorite club’s games as a VIP, take part in an exclusive signing session with star footballers or train with the pros: these are the privileged fan experiences offered by Fan4All. Launched in 2022, the all-in-one platform, dedicated to soccer fans, has already attracted prestigious French clubs: Olympique de Marseille, OGC Nice, Montpellier HSC and Paris FC. Fan4all offers fans of these clubs a richer, more personalized and rewarding experience.

Bringing fans closer to their club

During the pandemic, when soccer matches were played behind closed doors, two brothers, both computer engineers and soccer enthusiasts, noticed two things. First, the very strong emotional attachment of fans to their clubs is not sufficiently rewarded in the digital world. Second, clubs generate very little revenue on social networks. All of this despite millions of monthly views on their different platforms.

“At that time, stores were closed while e-commerce was exploding” recalls Ahmed Hakkoum co-founder of Fan4all. It was impossible for clubs to create a personal interaction with each fan in the physical world, while the digital world was offering a lot of possibilities.

The two brothers decided to create an all-in-one digital platform, available as a website and a mobile application, which would allow clubs to interact with their fans and diversify their revenues, notably through the marketing of their products and services on the platform. Already major League 1 Uber Eats clubs have been seduced by the concept and are now active on the Fan4all platform, while agreements in principle have been given by ten other clubs.

Initially focused on soccer and the French market, the founders plan to open the platform to other sports disciplines in the short term, and to develop in other countries.

Access to an all-in-one platform

On the user side, Fan4all simplifies the life of fans. It is a central platform that brings together all the news from the sports media and offers exclusive content shared by partner clubs. Fans can follow their favorite clubs and players, chat with other fans, buy match tickets or order exclusive experiences.

Dine with pro players

Combining physical and virtual experiences, Fan4all users have the opportunity to subscribe to exclusive and personalized services. Thus, fans can get VIP access to the games, meet the pro players, participate in autograph sessions or have dinner with star players. In addition, the platform offers immersive virtual experiences, such as fan conferences, a service that allows fans to put themselves in the shoes of a sports journalist and ask questions to players and professional staff members.

How sports clubs are using the Metaverse for success

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The metaverse is set to change the way we experience the digital world and it’s shaking things up across industries—professional sports is no exception.

In this bold new digital chapter, sport lovers can access a wealth of fully-immersive fan experiences across channels.

Whether you’re a sports brand or club, embracing the metaverse is likely to boost fan engagement in a big way—pushing you ahead of the competition in the process.

To put you on the path to enlightenment, here we look at the rising role of the metaverse in sports marketing and three inspiring examples of clubs using it to their full advantage.

Let’s dive in.

The role of the metaverse in sports marketing

Inspirational sports marketing is largely driven by content and how you use it to connect with your audience.

In the age of the metaverse, sports clubs will have the power to add a whole new depth to their marketing content and experiences, as Brighton Shi, senior product marketing manager at Agora, explains:

“Fans would be able to create their own sports avatar, purchase sports equipment, socialize, co-watch, party, train, work and participate in gaming in this virtual sports arena. It would enable an even more immersive and creative watching experience.”

With virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology becoming increasingly accessible, sports clubs can tap into a whole new space that bridges the gap between the physical and digital world.

Through the metaverse, sports brands and clubs can invite fans to virtual tours and meet & greets, offer a chance to get up close with exclusive content or products, and essentially make them feel like a genuine part of the action.

Here are some quick-fire sports-based metaverse trends for your inspiration:

  • An increase in ‘fan collectible’ NFT goods and services
  • The emergence of fully-immerse virtual worlds (like Nikeland) where fans can explore, interact, and get under the skin of the brand or club.
  • Gamification and eSports will rise in popularity, offering a whole new dimension of fan interaction

3 inspiring examples of sports clubs using the metaverse

Now that you’re up to speed with the metaverse and its potential sports marketing power, let’s look at three inspiring examples of sports clubs using the metaverse to their brand-boosting advantage.

FC Barcelona

Grabbing the metaverse by the virtual horns, the mighty FC Barcelona is entering the metaverse to improve its online sport gaming and online video content offerings.

Not only is the club developing a cohesive mix of highly interactive online gaming experiences, but it’s also creating more in-house content for its online TV channel, complete with immersive opportunities and features.

The club is also looking to add fan NFTs to the mix—a move that could create a lucrative self-sustaining ecosystem that attracts more fans while increasing loyalty.

Birmingham City

Alongside an innovative eSports partner, UK-based Birmingham City has launched a stunning virtual recreation of its home ground, Saint Andrew’s Stadium.

This impressive virtual stadium houses a nostalgic digital museum, a branded games arcade, exclusive membership content, and even a coding camp complete with tutorials and challenges.

The club will also offer its very own set of collectible NFTs and tokens, with some of the proceeds going towards local charities. It’s too early to say exactly how successful this initiative is, but one thing’s for sure: Birmingham City is leading the way in metaverse marketing innovation.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)

The power of multimedia content is almost limitless in the age of the metaverse—and Paris Saint-Germain is a testament to that very idea.

The Parisian powerhouse is going all out to make its mark in the metaverse, covering every possible angle imaginable, including:

  • Club branded NFTs and collectible media
  • Fan crypto currency wallets
  • Virtual fashion, clothing, and electronics
  • Exclusive virtual tours and fan events
  • Immersive game highlights and footage

This entire virtual sporting empire is available via an easy to navigate portal or app, offering its fans untapped access to the club regardless of where they are in the world. A development that will further propel the club’s international popularity.

Final thoughts…

While on face value, each of these clubs’ metaverse offerings seem similar, each has its own spin and a unique feel.

The big takeaway here is that the metaverse offers sports clubs more scope than ever for getting under the skin of their fans and offering direct value in a way that blurs the lines between the real and virtual sporting realm. And, that’s a powerful thing.

For more futuristic sports marketing insights, read 5 hot cryptocurrency & NFT trends in eSport.

Real Betis studies to follow Barça’s steps activating financial levers

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The financial fair play in LaLiga currently prevents Real Betis from enrolling new signings due to the fact that the club from Seville does not comply with LaLiga’s financial fair play. As FC Barcelona stood at the beginning of the summer, the green-and-whites don’t have salary margins to enroll new signings due to financial deficits and therefore study the possibility of activating financial levers by selling assets.

In this way, Betis plans to follow Barcelona’s roadmap; the Catalonian giant recently sold 25% of its television rights for the next 25 years to American global investor firm, Sixth Street Partners, for €667,5 million; as well as 24.5% of Barça Studios to Socio for €100 million. These operations will permit Barcelona to enroll its summer signings such as Robert Lewandowski. In this way, Betis plans to follow the same roadmap in order to be able to enroll new signings and therefore comply with LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play.

Unlike Barça who sold a portion of TV rights and intellectual property, Betis studies selling a percentage of its ticketing rights for five years. Ticketing currently represents €15 million yearly income for Betis and the operation would need the approval of LaLiga. The club is studying the selling of ticketing rights due to the difficulties that they are experiencing while trying to sell players as the offers received for William Carvalho and Alex Moreno do not satisfy the demands of the board while selling its top star Nabil Fekir is not an option yet. FC Barcelona faces a similar situation regarding Frenkie De Jong as the club is asking the Dutch to accept a salary reduction or accept an offer away from Camp Nou. If De Jong accepts a contract under the club’s financial needs, then the board presided by Joan Laporta will presumptively dribble the requirement of activating a third financial lever-(besides the mentioned above), which would be the sale of Barça Licensing and Merchandising (BLM), reportedly negotiated at around €200 million last May.

 

 

 

 

Real Betis launch jersey NFTs in Fancurve’s first soccer club partnership

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NFT startup Fancurve has announced a groundbreaking three-year partnership with Spanish La Liga team Real Betis. Through this first-of-its-kind agreement, Fancurve and Real Betis will help introduce club followers to the benefits of web3 through custom collections and offerings.

The officially licensed collection will be sold exclusively through the Fancurve platform, and the design will celebrate the club’s Copa Del Ray victory as well as the culture and architecture of the Andalusian city.

The kits can be worn on avatars and traded on Fancurve’s own metaverse environment which has social features and digital environments like locker rooms etc.

https://twitter.com/FancurveHQ/status/1531621768925876226?s=20&t=nf-V-NyBEyjiVUgJ-d3Dag

Real Betis NFT initiative

With an aim to make the NFT jerseys more accessible they will come in different kinds with the cheapest being an Onyx jersey that costs €40. Users do need to have an understanding of cryptocurrency or related technologies as Fancurve will accept payments using a credit or debit card.

“For our debut club-themed drop, we wanted to partner with a top-flight soccer club with a tremendous fanbase and history,” “We found the right partner in leading La Liga club Real Betis, [they are] steeped in history and a club that now extends into basketball and esports. We look forward to growing with Real Betis and their community as we explore Web 3.0 football fandom together.” Andy Nestor, Fancurve co-founder

“This partnership is a world-first for soccer, and we are delighted to be the first club on the Fancurve platform,” “This hugely innovative project will allow fans around the globe to become part of the Betis family and show their passion for the club as they spend time in the metaverse.” Ramón Alarcón, general director of business at Real Betis

Fancurve was in the spotlight last month when they raised US$6.25 million in seed funding, the investors were soccer platform Onefootball and former German international soccer players Andre Schurrle and Mario Gotze.

Learn more about Fancurve raising US$6.25m to bring digital jersey NFTs to the Metaverse

 

Sorare adds SPFL license to its NFT’s portfolio

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Sorare has announced a multi-year licensing agreement with the Scottish Professional Football League. Sorare will launch a collection of online fantasy game NFT’s which will feature top Scottish players from 11 of the Scottish Premiership clubs. Rangers will not be a part of this deal as they already have a pre-existing contract with Sportemon Go.

Users will be able to buy and exchange player cards while building their teams in the fantasy league the platform operates. The individual player cards which users possess are digital products whose value increases or decreases depending upon the player’s performance in the real world.

With this agreement in place, SPFL is the latest sports property to be a part of Sorare growing portfolio which consists of deals with La Liga, the Bundesliga and MLS.

Learn more about MLS announcing Sorare as their official NFT partner

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster, said: “The SPFL is always looking for innovative ways to offer our fans more enriching experiences and to broaden the appeal of our competitions to audiences from around the world. We’ve been looking at the digital market as a way to do that for some time and it quickly became clear that Sorare is a leader in this emerging category.”

Last Year Sorare was able to secure a $680-million funding that valued the company at $4.3 billion. Since then the French company has acquired 1.5 million registered users worldwide and they have seen its commercial portfolio expand.

La Liga launches its official mini program on the Alipay platform

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In a bid to enhance digital operations and deepen engagement with Chinese fans, La Liga has officially partnered with Alipay to launch its exclusive mini program on its platform.

The Spanish league initiative with Alipay

Chinese fans will be able to get closer to the competition through this new initiative. Users can search La Liga on the platform and they will be able to access the latest information about the competition.

Through the platform, fans can access match-related information including news about the fixtures and standings, they can customize their own membership cards and they will have an opportunity to participate in weekly lucky draws where they could stand a chance to win official La Liga merchandise.

Users will also have the opportunity to access exclusive content, activities and participate in unique digital engagement activations on the platform.

“China is highly digitalized and at La Liga we want to be where our fans are. The launch of our mini program in Alipay allows us to reach out and connect with more than 1 billion users on the platform in a unique way to enjoy and follow the events and news of the clubs”. Sergi Torrents, Managing Director of La Liga in China.

The launch of this platform highlights the league’s efforts to expand its strategy in innovation, digitalization and internationalization. This concept materializing will bring Chinese fans closer to the Spanish league.

Learn more about La Liga hybrid and dynamic broadcasting and content distribution strategy

Why free to play gaming is an untapped fan engagement tool

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With the advancement of technology Sports properties and clubs rely heavily on utilizing the latest fan engagement innovations and this is done with the objective of connecting with fans. In order to attract and retain a large potential audience, clubs have an array of innovative fan engagement tools to choose from however the most cost-effective way of encouraging fan engagement is through the use of free playing games.

Recognizing the value of free to play products

In order to meet the demands of modern fans, clubs have a wide range of tools and platforms which they can use. Game-powered content that focuses on team statistics and video highlights plays a central role in how clubs engage and interact with fans.

With a sharp rise in fan expectation and competition among clubs to draw a larger audience, right holders have invested in creating free-to-play games. Free-to-play games provide a year-round long content cycle that tests and gamifies the fan’s knowledge at each stage of the season hence clubs can choose to create daily and season-long fantasy platforms or they choose to create lighter touch products such as predictor games etc.

Free-to-play games ask fans to predict the results of upcoming matches or the end of the season standings in the table. The clubs can utilize historic data to test fans’ knowledge about a specific competition such as who is the all-time top scorer of the competition, which team has accumulated the most points in a single season or who has the most assists in a single campaign etc. By incentivizing their fans with rewards and other prizes, the club can create a more immersive fan engagement experience.

Developing a deeper understanding with fans

Personalization plays a pivotal role in determining how a club delivers a compelling value-based product to its fans. With the intention of retaining a user’s attention, personalization is a tool that can be used effectively.

The one way through which respective clubs can understand the behavior of their fans is through the acquisition of first-party data and this can be achieved with the help of interactive fan engagement tools.

Free-to-play games is another avenue through which fans can test their knowledge, challenge their friends, share opinions and compete for prizes and other rewards. Avenues like this offer strong incentives for exchanging key user data such as email addresses or locations.

When fans create their own account on the platform, they usually provide additional information such as their favorite team or competition, etc. The facilitation of this data would help in having a better understanding of fan behavior.

The more time they spend on the platform, the more data the league can extract hence they would have a better idea of how to personalize the end product.

Democratizing the fan engagement landscape

Irrespective of a club’s audience size or existing fan engagement capabilities, right holders can take the decision to deploy free-to-play games in order to create a more meaningful connection with their fans.

Learn more about City Football groups fan engagement strategies

MLS has announced Sorare as their official NFT partner

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MLS has announced its latest tie-up with blockchain digital collectibles and fantasy game specialist Sorare. The multi-year partnership signed between both the parties would see Sorare create the official NFT fantasy game for the US Based football competition.

Through this initiative, users will be able to collect, trade and play with tokens that represent every single player from all the 28 MLS clubs. The launch of the NFT fantasy game will grab the attention of international MLS fans who would tune in to see the best players every week and keep track of the performances of the players whose NFTs they own. 

MLS partnership with Sorare

“We’re excited to welcome Major League Soccer as our latest partner. Our global community of sports fans are eager to start collecting and playing with their favorite teams and players from the league,” “From collectors to first-time NFT buyers, our NFT x fantasy model uniquely engages fans with the sport they love in a way that goes beyond just spectating and makes them feel truly connected to each team, player and game.” Ryan Spoon, chief operating officer at Sorare.

“At MLS, our emerging ventures team is always looking two steps ahead to offer our fans enriching experiences and to expand our global reach, including in LATAM and Asia,” “We’re excited to continue our progressive approach to bring NFTs to MLS with industry-leader Sorare. Utilizing the latest technology to provide fans the opportunity to add MLS players and future stars to their personal collections and give them an interactive free-to-play fantasy soccer game made Sorare the obvious choice.” Chris Schlosser, senior vice president of emerging ventures at MLS.

Sorare growing commercial portfolio consists of deals with La Liga, Bundesliga as well as with historic clubs such as Liverpool, Juventus, Paris Saint Germain etc. The presence of a youthful and tech-savvy audience in the US will provide the company with plenty of opportunities that can be explored hence the announcement of the deal with MLS sheds light on the company’s plan to establish and grow its business in the US market.

Learn more about Sorare securing $680 million in funding for fantasy sports NFT game

FIFA announces the launch of its own Over the top platform FIFA+

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The global soccer governing body FIFA has announced the launch of its own Over-the-top platform known as FIFA+. The platform will feature live matches, original content, and feature-length documentaries such as Ronaldinho: The Happiest Man in the World and Croatia: Defining a Nation, etc. The other additional features embedded in the platform include match data feeds, news content, interactive games, and e-commerce.

The development of FIFA+

Initially, the platform would broadcast over 1400 matches per month which consist of Europe’s top-flight leagues and previously unserved competitions. However, by the end of 2022, FIFA+ would broadcast 40,000 live matches in a year out of which 29,000 would be the men’s matches and over 11,000 would be the women’s matches.

In addition to the live coverage, FIFA + would have over 2000 hours of archive content that consists of match replays, highlights and goals. The platform will be launched in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish, with an additional six languages to follow in June of 2022.

Learn more about FIFA’s new commercial partnership structure which includes dedicated Women’s and Esports sponsorship rights

https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/1513949962031226881?s=20&t=6Rl9d2-UAl7_-SgFnOzvow

“FIFA+ represents the next step in our vision to make football truly global and inclusive, and it underpins FIFA’s core mission of expanding and developing football globally. This project represents a cultural shift in the way different types of football fans want to connect with and explore the global game and has been a fundamental part of my Vision 2020-2023. It will accelerate the democratization of football and we are delighted to share it with fans.” FIFA president Gianni Infantino

FIFA has roped in ELEVEN with the objective of utilizing its expertise in the production and the delivery of content on its platform.

“FIFA+ will be home to an unprecedented volume of live football, and leagues and member associations from around the world will have the opportunity to showcase their competitions to a global audience. We are particularly proud that the new service will make the women’s game more accessible to fans than ever, comprising more than one-third of all live games streamed each year.” Pedro Presa, Eleven Group’s chief advisor for DTC and strategic projects

FIFA+ director of OTT Dave Roberts praised Eleven by saying that it is “strongly positioned to bring football at all levels into the spotlight.”

Real Madrid connect with Cisco for Santiago Bernabéu technology update

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Real Madrid, the Spanish soccer powerhouse, has named Cisco as its official technology partner in a multi-year collaboration. The San Jose-based technology business will enhance the electronic capabilities of the LaLiga club’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium, which is undergoing a multimillion-dollar makeover. With this update, the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

Although the financial parameters of the agreement were not made public, Cisco will provide a variety of IT solutions to the venue. Among the equipment on display are connectivity and security systems, as well as a data centre and digital signs. The entire system is based on a single intelligent, convergent Cisco network.

Discover the most recent stadium news, such as Populous Stadium design to replace San Siro.

Bernabéu stadium

Not only that, but Bernabéu will boast Wi-Fi 6 technology. Over 1,200 connection points will be available throughout the stadium to provide faster and more consistent bandwidth.

Implementing Cisco’s network, according to Real Madrid, has various advantages. These benefits allow the club to provide unique experiences to fans at the Bernabéu and around the world. While doing so, it will improve a variety of stadium functions, including communications and security.

In addition, around 1,000 displays will be available within the Bernabéu. All of these displays will see Cisco’s Internet Protocol television system, which combines HD video distribution with digital signage. According to Real, this will allow the club to expand fan interaction and create even more entertainment options.

More from Cisco

Cisco collaborates not just with Real Madrid, but also with the NFL and the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. On the topic of Real Madrid, Brazilian forward Vincius Júnior has collaborated with metaverse platform Overeality to produce an exclusive NFT line. The 21-year-old is not the only one on the Overeality platform. We will see another LaLiga star, João Félix, Columbian player James Rodrguez, and AS Roma manager José Mourinho on this platform.

Learn about the most recent LaLiga news, such as the league’s plans to expand into North America.