The global fantasy soccer platform NFT built on the Ethereum blockchain begins with Watford FC. All of the Hornets’ 2022/23 cards are now on the market and eligible for Sorare’s new second tier competitions starting at GW 312.
The new partnership
Sorare, a leading sports blockchain game, is partnering with five English Football League (EFL) clubs in a new competition. The development focused on the second tier of European soccer leagues.
So far, the clubs signed are Burnley, Coventry City, Millwall, Norwich City and Watford. Sorare hopes to sign agreements with the remaining 19 league clubs in the near future, building on a recent partnership with Spain’s second division, LaLiga 2.
Through these agreements, the Sorare community can collect, trade and play with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing the players of each team. At the same time, clubs benefit from an additional revenue stream and fan engagement opportunity.
Improve the game
The league and LaLiga 2, as well as the French and German second divisions, will be part of a new “Second Division Europe” competition in which players will be able to test their soccer knowledge beyond the major leagues.
“One of the things our users like most about Sorare is the opportunity it gives them to act as talent scouts, identifying the next stars before anyone else,
Many of today’s top players started their careers outside the top five leagues. The EFL is increasingly seen around the world as a great source of emerging talent, so our game needs to reflect that.
We’re excited to bring the EFL Championship to Sorare for the first time with these partnerships and look forward to announcing more Championship clubs in the coming months.”
The goal
The new digital trading cards will be available on Sorare’s platform for purchase by fans, collectors and fantasy soccer players. Players can also choose to trade them with other users. Sorare plans to launch a new competition focused on European second division soccer called “Second Division Europe” with a user base of over two million players.
The ultimate goal is to allow players to compete in leagues with the latest maps and participate in Sorare’s global tournaments. Sorare’s league debut this week follows similar partnerships with the 2. Bundesliga in Germany, Ligue 2 BKT in France and LaLiga 2 in Spain.
Millwall and its four EFL rivals have three key objectives for the Sorare partnership:
- Fan engagement.
- Revenue generation.
- Many clubs, the lower league in particular, suffered a significant loss of revenue from ticket sales, sponsorship and broadcast revenue during the Covid pandemic, and many teams have turned to blockchain technology as a new source of revenue.
Sorare has also signed agreements with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). The company is looking to generate interest in North America and beyond.
Recently, Sorare announced a partnership with Plan A, a sustainability company, to contribute to more useful projects. The partnership aims to create a net-zero video game company, the first in the world, and is a critical step toward reducing its carbon impact.
