The Spanish LaLiga has become the first top five league in the world to sign a major NFT deal after its partnership with Sorare, the fantasy football platform.
This much was revealed by Sorare, who announced a partnership with Spain’s LaLiga to launch non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for all of its players, creating new revenue streams for LaLiga Clubs via a new category of licences.
Thanks to this offering, LaLiga fans, collectors and fantasy football players will for the first time be able to freely trade and play with digital cards of players from LaLiga. Sorare’s mission is to build “the game within the game” and to give fans the platform to celebrate, share and own their football passion.
The partnership represents a major milestone for Sorare as it strikes a deal for the first time with one of the biggest leagues in the world, home to world-class football clubs such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Villarreal CF, Valencia CF, FC Sevilla and Real Sociedad, among many others. Sorare plans to partner with every one of the world’s top 20 football leagues by the end of 2022.
The partnership, which covers both LaLiga Santander and LaLiga Smartbank, is a significant development for LaLiga as it moves into the NFT space for the first time, highlighting the global interest in the fast-growing NFT card space which has sold more than $130M in cards this year.
Javier Tebas, President of LaLiga, commented:
“At LaLiga we are always looking for innovative ways to offer our fans new and exciting experiences and to broaden the appeal of our competition, the greatest in the world. This partnership with Sorare, the most exciting sports NFT projects today, enables us to reach new audiences globally and gives existing fans additional ways they can get involved with the players and the clubs they love.”
Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare commented:
“NFTs are the future of global sports fandom because they allow fans to come together and to feel ownership of the sports they love.
“This partnership isn’t just a sign of Sorare’s growing leadership in the NFT sports space, it is a major signal of intent by the sporting world that it sees Sorare’s unique ability to connect fans with sports through NFTs as a crucial part of their plans for the future.
“LaLiga is one of the best leagues in the world, home to some of the most exciting clubs and footballers on earth. We are very proud that they have become our first ever league partnership, and we are looking forward to working together in the years ahead.”
Sorare cards are NFTs, meaning each card is unique, scarce, and its ownership can be publicly verifiable via the blockchain. Sorare’s combination of NFT technology with sports cards and a fantasy game is the leading next-gen offering within football, and backed by football legends including Gerard Piqué, Antoine Griezmann and Rio Ferdinand. Through the collecting, owning and trading of limited edition digital collectibles, Sorare has created a unique game experience where users can own their game, build real-world connections and protect and control their assets in a secure space.
Sorare’s next-generation gaming experience will help LaLiga and its clubs to expand their international brands by reaching new audiences of fans, including crypto-enthusiasts in the US and Asia, where Sorare is growing strongly, and fantasy gamers across the globe. The partnership opens up a new revenue stream for LaLiga clubs by creating an entirely new licensing category: NFTs.
The partnership means that Sorare now has the majority of the top 100 football clubs in the world under license, including global clubs such as Liverpool FC, FC Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain FC, and Juventus FC.
