European Football Clubs Make More Than $200 Million With Fan Tokens

With the advent of the blockchain, there has been a rush for opportunities to monetise the emerging technology. We have seen the rise of cryptocurrency speculation with individuals and large companies investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and others. We have also seen an explosion in the art world with NFT’s, digital art and collectables becoming hot property.

With the pandemic locking down sporting events and sports venues European football teams have turned to the blockchain and its crypto tokens to engage with fans and bring in that much-needed revenue.

Be More Than a Fan

More than forty European teams including big-name clubs like Arsenal, Barcelona, Juventus, and PSG are part of the Fan Tokens program which runs on the Socios platform.

The website describes Fan Tokens as follows:

“Fan Tokens give you the power to influence decisions of your favourite teams, unlock VIP rewards and access to exclusive promotions, games, chat & a superfan recognition.”

Through the Socios platform soccer fans have put more than $200 million into the pockets of these top forty teams. According to platform founder Alexandre Dreyfus, the top four teams have made in excess of $27 million each over the last year.

With the uncertainty surrounding various waves of the pandemic and the dangers of mass gatherings to public health this is a vital new revenue stream for teams as they begin to make trades ahead of the new season, like Ronaldo’s $38 million trade to Manchester United.

Destined To Be A Losing Game?

While this is great for the team, especially with ticket sales, advertising income and other revenue sources slowing down during the pandemic there have some concern over the manipulative nature of the product, with some pointing out that since this is not a public token like Bitcoin users are more than likely sinking money into a bottomless pit.

In essence, the fans of these various teams are encouraged to purchase the Socios cryptocurrency called CHZ in support of their favourite teams. While this is a token like any other that can be stored in an external web wallet there is no outlet for spending it other than the Socios platform.

CHZ is then used to purchase Fan Tokens on Socios. These Fan Tokens can then be exchanged for one-off voting rights on issues surrounding the supported team, used for purchase merchandise like signed football shirts or exchanged for access to special events.

While these tokens are marketed as giving fans a real say in the day to day running of their teams and as having extendible long-term value it is nothing more than a cheap ticket system using the appeal of cryptocurrency as its hook to encourage sales.

While Dreyfus has downplayed these concerns the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has taken them seriously enough that they have invited Socios users to reach out to them to discuss their concerns ahead of pursuing any legal action.