Berlin, June 22, 2021: While the best national teams compete for the kickoff of Euro 2020, Sorare is proud to announce a licensing agreement with the German Football Association (DFB) to create digital player cards (as NFTs) of the current squad. These cards will be available for use in Sorare’s Global Fantasy Football game for the Euro 20.
Fantastically Real Collectibles for Euro 20
Football is a common denominator for more than 4 billion people globally but today, fans feel further away from the game they love than ever before. As we spend more time online, the need for connection has significantly shifted to digital experiences. Sportscard collectibles have long helped fans celebrate their love of the game, and now they can experience a whole new world online. Sorare is leading the new era of online football fandom, where fans can live football moments and true connections like never before.
The company’s mission is to build “the game within the game” and to give fans the platform to celebrate, share and own their football passion. Through tradable digital cards, Sorare is designing a collective fantasy football experience where you can manage your favorite players and hone your passion to earn prizes. Anyone, anywhere, can connect with the beautiful game on Sorare.
For the DFB, working with Sorare is a way for them to strengthen their commitment to making innovations in fan engagement.
Sorare collectibles are backed by blockchain technology to provide transparency and portability into other games. More importantly, the Ethereum blockchain enables the act of collecting in the digital space by creating digital scarcity through “non-fungible tokens” (NFT). It secures the passion of fans and creates a new level of trust and freedom for gamers who can freely trade their assets over the internet. As NFTs become more accepted in business, sports and fan communities, Sorare allows football institutions to establish themselves in this exciting new space.
New player additions include icons of the game like Antonio Rüdiger, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner for whom new cards will be minted. Existing players on Sorare like Jamal Musiala or Thomas Müller will get special Euro edition cards issued, to compliment their existing club cards.
More than 140 football clubs have launched their digital cards on Sorare, with all European Champions actively participating in the growth of the game (Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus). Following its licensing agreement with the German Football Association, the company’s ambition is to onboard the top 50 football associations in the world. Many football associations are in active discussion with Sorare to launch their NFTs during the Euro 20.
Sorare is on a mission to become ‘the game within the game’. With over $70M (£50M) card sales since January 2021 and a user base spread over 140 countries, they have firmly established themselves as the go-to platform for football digital collectibles. Their new licensing agreement with the DFB comes months after leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms Benchmark and Accel Partners invested $50M (£35M) to join e.ventures, Gerard Piqué, Antoine Griezmann and Rio Ferdinand in helping Sorare to transform online sports fandom and build a new community between clubs, players and fans.
Nicolas Julia, co-founder and CEO of Sorare, explains: “Germany is the market where we’re growing the fastest for the past 3 months. It’s not a surprise to see that the German Football Association is at the forefront of innovation, looking forward towards the future. Germany has won the Euros 3 times and it’s a major milestone for Sorare and the NFT ecosystem to see them launch digital collectibles. It is the first of many football associations that will be joining us in the coming weeks and months.”
Dr. Holger Blask, Managing Director Marketing & Sales DFB GmbH: “We are very excited to be working with Sorare. This licensing agreement is another bull’s eye in terms of innovative and digital gaming experiences. Especially in the Corona pandemic, digital offers were and are the only way to enter into direct exchange with our fans. But even though the Corona crisis will hopefully soon be over, we want to continue to use the possibilities of digitalization much more intensively, also with our partners, and offer our fans new interactive opportunities.”
CONTACTS
Sorare: Brian O’Hagan, Growth Lead: brian.ohagan@sorare.com
About Sorare
Founded in 2018, Sorare was created by football fans for football fans. Through blockchain digital collectibles and its global fantasy football leagues, the company is on a mission to become ‘the game within the game’.
Sorare is transforming online sports fandom and giving its community a new way to connect to the clubs and players that they love. The platform had card sales volume of over $70M since January 2021 across 140 countries. Based in Paris, Sorare is funded by a world-class team including Benchmark, Accel Partners, e.ventures, footballers Gerard Piqué, Antoine Griezmann and Rio Ferdinand.
