UEFA, the governing body of European football, has taken a significant step towards cryptocurrency. The organization is looking to attract sponsors from the Exchange industry for the 2024-2027 period of the prestigious Champions League. A strong signal for a promising union between crypto and sports.

UEFA turns towards crypto

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is seeking new sponsors from the crypto industry for the 2024-2027 cycle of the Champions League. The tender, launched on March 13, gives potential candidates until March 20 to submit their proposals via email.

This move is part of UEFA’s overall commercial strategy, initiated in May 2022 in collaboration with Team Marketing agency. The goal: to renew and expand the pool of sponsors, already featuring big names such as PlayStation, Mastercard, or Turkish Airlines.

Indeed, in February 2023, UEFA had already launched a tender targeting the financial sector, including cryptocurrencies, for the sponsorship packages of its three major competitions (Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League). However, no crypto player had been selected at the time.

Moreover, in 2022, the platform Crypto.com reportedly backed out at the last minute from a 500 million euros sponsorship deal over five years with UEFA. An opportunity that seems to present itself again today.

This strategic decision could pave the way for broader adoption of digital assets in professional sports. Football, the world’s most popular sport, would thus send a strong signal in favor of the democratization of cryptocurrencies.

Cryptos and sports, a natural and promising alliance

The convergence between the world of sports and that of crypto is not a new phenomenon, but it has accelerated significantly in recent years. The sports industry, worth nearly 400 billion dollars, represents a formidable lever of growth and visibility for players in the crypto sphere.

Partnerships are multiplying rapidly, as seen with Crypto.com spending 700 million dollars to rename the famous Staples Center in Los Angeles, Binance becoming the sponsor of the Argentina national team and Cristiano Ronaldo, or Bitget sponsoring Lionel Messi.

Beyond lucrative sponsorship contracts, blockchain has a lot to offer to sports in terms of fan experience, ticketing, TV rights, or digital collections.

Among the most promising use cases, we can mention:

• NFTs “Non-Fungible Tokens” allowing the creation of unique collectible items linked to memorable sports moments. The NBA has generated over 500 million dollars in a few months with its “Top Shots”.
• “Fan tokens” giving supporters a way to interact with their favorite clubs and players while accessing exclusive benefits. PSG, Manchester City, and Juventus have understood this well by launching their own tokens.
• The tokenization of athletes that could revolutionize their financing, by allowing fans to invest in their future performances through smart contracts.

The list of use cases is long and continues to grow. The potential seems immense, especially as the new generations of ultra-connected fans are very receptive to these innovations.

In summary, the crypto industry increasingly appears as a natural ally of the sports business. If UEFA takes the leap, it is likely that other major institutions will follow suit.

Fenelon L.

Passionné par le Bitcoin, j’aime explorer les méandres de la blockchain et des cryptos et je partage mes découvertes avec la communauté. Mon rêve est de vivre dans un monde où la vie privée et la liberté financière sont garanties pour tous, et je crois fermement que Bitcoin est l’outil qui peut rendre cela possible.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.