Football club cryptos: should you score fan tokens?
Football clubs have long created collectables and memorabilia for their fans, from stickers and trading cards to team strips and scarves.
The emergence of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – unique digital files stored on a blockchain – for art and other collectables has seen a number of football clubs launch crypto coins to tap into the trend.
So what football clubs have crypto coins? How do these coins work, and how do they compare with other forms of cryptocurrency? And what does a holder get for owning them?
Here’s an overview of this new form of football collectable to help you make an informed decision if you are considering adding them to your investment portfolio.
What are football club crypto coins?
Also known as fan tokens, football crypto coins are another form of digital currency such as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). While they are tokens, they differ from NFTs in that they fluctuate in value based on their popularity and can be traded on exchanges like other cryptocurrencies.
Holding a football team’s crypto token allows fans to gain access to exclusive content, promotions and games. And in the same way as governance tokens for other cryptocurrencies give holders voting rights, fans holding football club cryptocurrency can vote on minor decisions.
What football clubs have crypto coins?
Which clubs have launched crypto fan tokens and how are they using them? Based on the football club cryptocurrency list, more than 35 football teams have launched cryptocurrencies on the Chiliz blockchain. Chiliz runs the Socios.com platform, which partners with various sports teams to offer their own crypto coins.
Paris Saint Germain
When Lionel Messi transferred to French club Paris Saint Germain (PSG) in August 2021, he signed a deal that included a “large number” of $PSG Fan Tokens in his welcome package. It was the first time the club had included its fan tokens in a player signing.
The club has been working with Socios.com since 2018. It launched the $PSG fan token in January 2020, offering fans personal video calls from players and the opportunity to vote on choices like the motivational messages on the dressing room wall, the goal of the season, or end-of-season awards.
It's for all Paris Saint-Germain fans all over the world. The official @PSG_inside Fan Tokens allow you to vote on official club related polls and participate in once in a lifetime fan experiences.
— Socios.com (@socios) January 28, 2020
Read More: https://t.co/Qn0kbgH5GE
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Interest in $PSG fan tokens surged during the busy player transfer window, with trading volumes surpassing $1.2bn in the days preceding Messi’s move, according to the club.
The price for one $PSG fan token climbed from $12.63 at the end of 2020 to more than $56 in April 2021, fell back to $11.96 in June and spiked to $49.90 during the August transfer window. It was trading at roughly $25 at the start of October.
Juventus
Italy’s Juventus also signed a deal with Socios.com in 2018 to launch a fan token. The Juventus crypto token (JUV) allows holders to interact through a mobile voting and polling app “that will allow our supporters’ voices to be heard, and create a personal connection between the club and its fans,” the club said.
The token price has climbed from around $2 in April 2020, spiking to $25.29 in December 2020 and $26.22 in May 2021. The price dropped to the $6 level in June but has since recovered to around $12.
FC Barcelona
The FC Barcelona crypto, Barça Fan Token (BAR), was launched in June 2020 via Socios.com, with a 48-hour flash sale that priced 600,000 tokens at €2 ($2.20) each.
The token allows fans to take part in surveys and polls, as well as earn prizes and digital or live experiences related to the club such as the opportunity to meet players before a game, or to watch a live match as a VIP guest. The first survey gave token holders the opportunity to decide on the design of a new mural for the team locker room.
Following the flash sale, the token started trading around $6 and remained in a $4-$6 range until December 2020. The price spiked to $53.64 in March but dropped back to $13.34 in June, trading at around $16 by the start of October.
AC Milan
Italian club AC Milan launched its ACM Fan Token in January 2021 in partnership with Socios.com. Holders of the token can “access a wide range of benefits including the right to vote in multiple club decisions each season, VIP rewards and experiences, exclusive club and sponsor promotions, games, competitions and ‘super-fan’ recognition”.
The AC Milan crypto token price jumped from $4.85 to $19.16 in February, then dropped to $8.97 in May before jumping back up to $19.06. It was trading around $9 at the start of October.
Bayern Munich
Unlike the other clubs, it has not launched a Bayern Munich crypto fan token with Chiliz and Socios.com. Instead, it signed a licensing partnership in 2019 with Stryking Entertainment to produce and distribute NFTs based on FC Bayern players.
The club also signed a partnership with Ethereum-based fantasy football platform Sorare in November 2020, joining Paris Saint Germain, Juventus and more than 30 other clubs in its fantasy football game which allows fans to trade official blockchain cards.
Premier League
Several clubs in England’s Premier League have launched fan tokens with Socios.com. In March 2021, Manchester City launched the first Premier League offering with its CITY Fan Token, giving a free token to members of its ‘Cityzen’ fan club. In July, Arsenal launched its AFC Fan Token, followed by Everton, Leeds United and Aston Villa in August, all offering a free token to season ticket holders.
The Premier League is also considering whether to join the NFT craze by signing up with Ethereum-based fantasy football platform Sorare to launch player NFTs. In September, Manchester City released its second NFT, featuring four artworks.
Football clubs crypto: what is the future for fan tokens?
The suspension of live sports events, and the resumption of live games without an audience during the Covid-19 pandemic, accelerated the growing popularity of fan tokens, as they enabled fans to engage with football clubs online.
In the same way as NFTs are being hyped as a new method to buy and sell art and collectables from anywhere in the world, a football team’s cryptocurrency allows fans to get involved wherever they are. This can open up new forms of engagement for fans and new sources of revenue for the clubs. It also offers investors a new asset for portfolio diversification to make gains as the value of a fan token fluctuates.
However, it remains to be seen whether NFTs and fan tokens are a bubble or a stable new asset class.
What are the advantages and disadvantages compared to other cryptos?
What are the pros and cons of football club crypto coins from an investment perspective? Here are a few things one should consider before buying the coins.
How can I get football fan tokens?
Are you wondering how to buy football fan tokens? Football club coins are traded on cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, FTX and BKEX, as well as the Chiliz trading platform for the sports and entertainment tokens that have been launched in partnership with Chiliz (CHZ) and Socios.com.