FC Barça tapping NFT market with historic moments collection
09:00, 4 November 2021
European football powerhouse FC Barcelona announced Thursday it would tap the growing non-fungible token (NFT) market, with a series dedicated to the most historic moments in the club’s 122-year history.
The individual NFTs will be digital representations of well-known achievements currently owned by Barça, with the inaugural offering scheduled for this month. Barça becomes the first European football club to offer unique NFT assets.
“Barça has a very large fanbase around the world and leads the way in the digital domain with over 400 million followers in social networks,” said FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta in a release. “We believe that creating these NFTs is a unique opportunity to continue growing and consolidating the Barça brand by bringing unique moments that have made Barça fans dream and FC Barcelona a well-known club on every level.”
Partnership with Ownix
Barcelona, Spain-based Barça has a partnership with digital marketplace Ownix, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based digital auction house and NFT marketplace. Using the Ethereum blockchain, Ownix will accept the native ERC-20 ONX Token for payment.
“This new and exciting asset class allows collectors to own things that weren’t possible to own before, and we’re thrilled to offer sports fans an opportunity to spearhead the movement,” added Ownix CEO Guy Elhanani in the same release. “As NFTs surge, we think it is important to give Barça fans an opportunity to own a piece of the club’s history. Our mission is to bring customers to purchase NFTs not simply for marketing them further, but for the pleasure and pride of owning a piece of club history.”
While the specific historic moments were not disclosed, Barça’s long history leaves many from which to choose, from its first European Cup Championship in 1999 to the 2014-15 season that saw the Blaugrana sweep La Liga, the Copa Del Rey and Champions League behind Mesi, Suares and Neymar, known as The Iconic MSN.
Valuable franchise
Founded in 1899, Barça is ranked as the fourth most valuable sports franchise in the world by Forbes Magazine, with an estimated $4.76bn (£3.47bn) value as of 2021. Called “More than a club” by its fanbase, Barça has a unique ownership structure, in which 137,000 club members, known as “socis.” The socis elect delegates, which act as Barça’s governing body.
In addition to the Barça series, Ownix plans to offer a wide array of NFTs in the sports, art, music, film and design universes.