Overview

• Non-fungible token (NFT)-based fantasy game and marketplace Sorare: Football has partnered with the Premier League in a multi-year licensing deal.
• Fans will be able to build custom teams to win “big rewards” as if they were professional club owners.
• The licensing contract is for four years, and Sorare will pay the Premier League tens of millions of pounds a year to secure the rights.

Sorare’s Background

Sorare, which is backed by players such as Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, has partnered with over 300 football clubs and teams around the world, including Europe’s top leagues. This means that Sorare Managers can play with Premier League stars of their choice in either Premier League or global competitions.

Crypto Chaos

The partnership between Sorare and the Premier League came at a time of great turmoil for the crypto industry. Prices of major cryptoassets have certainly gone up in January but various other issues and worries still remain due to numerous crypto companies and projects failing last year, leading to bankruptcies and staff layoffs within the industry as well as legal and regulatory issues outside of it.

Richard Masters’ Statement

Richard Masters, Chief Executive of the Premier League was quoted by Financial Times saying, “To be frank, I don’t love the craziness of the last six to 18 months.” He added that “you get lots of organisations and companies thinking short term and jumping into the new cool tech for the wrong reasons, then leaving fans with a bad taste in their mouth.”

Conclusion

Despite all these events happening within the crypto industry at present, football does not seem to mind partnering with Sorare Global Fantasy Football – so much so that it signed a four year licensing contract worth tens of millions per year with them.