FIFA launches its blockchain-powered FIFA+ Collect platform in September
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(Kitco News) – FIFA, the world’s largest international governing body for football, has unveiled its first major product designed with blockchain technology, ‘FIFA+ Collect.’
According to the FIFA announcement, FIFA+ Collect is a platform that will allow fans to “own and collect FIFA World Cup™ and FIFA Women’s World Cup™ moments.”
The new service will be launched later this month. It will give soccer fans the opportunity to own digital collectibles representing some of the game’s most famous moments, as well as “iconic FIFA World Cup™ and FIFA Women’s World Cup™ art and images.”
FIFA+ Collect will operate on the Algorand network, which was chosen as the official blockchain platform of FIFA in May for its ability to process transactions at a higher speed than many popular networks at a fraction of the cost. More than 2,000 global organizations, governments and digital-native decentralized finance (DeFi) applications have also chosen Algorand as their operating chain.
This move by FIFA comes as the organization sees the changing landscape of fan interaction and engagement.
“Fandom is changing and football fans around the world are engaging with the game in new and exciting ways,” said FIFA Chief Business Officer Romy Gai. “This exciting announcement makes FIFA collectibles accessible to every football fan, democratizing the opportunity to own a piece of the FIFA World Cup. Just like sports memorabilia and stickers, this is an accessible opportunity for fans around the world to engage with their favorite players, moments and more on new platforms.”
FIFA+ Collect will be available on FIFA+, a digital platform designed to help football fans around the world. When the platform officially launches, there will be a “selection of introductory collections” available to users, and more exclusive and limited editions will be released in the future.
The new platform will be available on all web and mobile devices and will support English, French and Spanish, with plans to support more languages in the coming months.
Soccer is one of the most popular sports on the planet, and this integration of blockchain technology with the well-known FIFA brand will help expose a large group of people from around the world to cryptos and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
“The commitment FIFA has made to bridge Web3 enabled by Algorand is a testament to their innovative spirit and desire to directly and seamlessly engage with soccer fans around the world,” said W. Sean Ford, Interim CEO of Algorand.
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