An advert has popped up on the website of professional Italian football club Juventus (AKA Bianconeri) for a website called Socios.com, which is selling a crypto token called the ‘Juventus Fan Token’ for the equivalent of $2 per coin.
You may know the team best for being the current home of international superstar player Cristiano Ronaldo. They also claim to have over 400 million fans, worldwide.
When clicking through to the website, it is revealed that these are actually a product fully endorsed by the club through a logo which features the team’s logo next to the text “Juventus Official Fan Token”.
Juventus Fan Tokens are available for purchase through the Socios.com app (Android / iOS). They are also stipulated to be available in limited quantities “for free” by using an AR feature integrated into the app.
Purchasing these tokens will enable fans to take advantage of a combination of planned rewards schemes and ways of interacting with live sports events.
The first of these initiatives will see fans using Juventus Fan Tokens as a means of voting from a selection of potential songs, from a selection of five. Whichever anthem receives the greatest number of votes will become the “new official Juventus celebration song” for the year 2020.”
“The celebration of a goal is something fundamental during match days. After eight years, Juventus fans have the opportunity to actively participate in the change with their vote.
Making history: they will be the first football fans in the world to choose “their” song. All this makes us incredibly proud.”
Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO and Founder of Chiliz & Socios.com
This new anthem will not be revealed until it is first played, at their home Allianz Stadium: upon the scoring of the team’s first home goal of next year.
Choices available are as follows:
- ‘All the Small Things’ – Blink 182
- ‘Song 2’ – Blur
- ‘Boom’ – POD
- ‘Jump Around’ – House of Pain
Theoretically this could introduce a new dynamic to the concept of fan interactivity with live events, sports or otherwise.
For example: imagine if your favourite music artist gave you the chance to vote from a selection of songs that could appear on a forthcoming setlist for a future live concert – using a self-issued token that reduces the distance and middlemen involved between you and that of which you are a ‘fan’.
Cryptocurrency and Sports
“We are proud to be the first Club to be activated by Socios.com on its platform, inaugurating a new way to interact with our fans around the world.
This partnership shows once again how much technological evolution and innovation are two priorities for Juventus, also in the way we relate to and connect with our fan base.”
Giorgio Ricci, Juventus Chief Revenue Officer
If you have been following our stories, you should be aware of the numerous relationships between cryptocurrency and the sports industry right now.
In October, we reported on how the U.S. NBA team Sacramento Kings had revealed its own token rewards scheme called ‘Kings Token’. Also: back in July, we talked about how the Litecoin Foundation, Aliant Payments, and American football team Miami Dolphins had formed a strategic partnership.
There is little in the way of known quantitative reports published regarding sports and cryptocurrency, however the rise of the crypto-gambling industry suggests a high potential for a crypto-bookkeeping.
Furthermore, Socios.com has already partnered with a large number of European football teams already (as well as e-sports organisation ‘OG’).
These currently include:
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Atlético De Madrid
- Galatasaray
- AS Roma
- West Ham
