Web3 fantasy platform Sorare strikes deals with 18 national teams ahead of FIFA World Cup
France-based Web3 fantasy sports providers Sorare have announced a partnership with 18 national football teams that are going to participate in the upcoming FIFA World Cup for their latest fantasy offering, the Global Cup 2022. While the game won’t be affiliated officially with the World Cup, it will have rights to use likeness, names, and other official imagery with respect to its partner teams.
This is another major deal for Sorare, who have already made a mark on a majority of the domestic football landscape in Europe. ©Vienna Reyes/Unsplash
The Global Cup 2022 has officially launched in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup and will partner with 18 teams, according to a wire statement released earlier this week: Argentina, Belgium, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Croatia, France, Germany, Ghana, Netherlands, Qatar, Morocco, Serbia, Spain, Poland, Tunisia, USA, Canada, and Wales.
Sorare are among the leaders in Web3 based fantasy sports gaming, and leverage the Ethereum blockchain to offer NFT-based play. free-to-play fantasy football game that is built on the Ethereum blockchain. Sorare describe themselves as the bridge between Web3 and fantasy football game players who want to create and manage virtual teams using cryptocurrency and digital cards (NFTs).
The Global Cup 2022 will also follow this theme and be an NFT-based game that uses licensed digital cards of the various partners, each with its own rarity. The concept of the game will be similar to the usual fantasy football formats, with the only difference being the implementation of NFTs in the form of player cards. Using these player cards, players will be required to prepare the best possible lineup and enter them into the Global Cup 2022. The co-founder and CEO of Sorare, Nicolas Julia, took a stroll down memory lane and was quoted as saying the following:
“The Sorare: Global Cup ‘22 mirrors one of the biggest moments in sports; the most iconic, celebrated and watched international sports tournament on the planet which has played host to some of football’s most legendary matches, players and champions, not least England ‘66 and France ‘98 and ‘18. At Sorare we are building the next sports entertainment giant, by giving fans new ways to enjoy the sports they love and connect with their favorite stars. Launching Sorare: Global Cup ‘22 is a big step in that mission. Our new game is a chance for all football fans to put their football knowledge to the test – and the winners will enjoy some truly once-in-a-lifetime prizes.”
Sorare already have some footballing giants on their portfolio
Sorare have been functional since 2018, and have racked up more than 300 partnerships across European leagues in that time. The implementation of blockchain technology in a fantasy football game assigns proper value and rarity levels to the digital cards of players as these officially licensed cards cannot be edited, replicated or deleted, in some ways borrowing from the concept of physical trading cards that were ubiquitous until not so long ago.
Earlier this year in July, Italian football giants AC Milan announced that they had entered a multi-year partnership with Sorare to establish and bolster the club’s presence on the Web3. Sorare is now Milan’s official NFT Fantasy Football Game Partner. In September 2022, Sorare closed another deal with Liverpool FC that has elevated their standing to what is now an official global partnership with one of the biggest names in world football.
Sorare’s trajectory could make them the future in this space
AC Milan and Liverpool FC are just two of 315 football clubs that have announced Sorare as their official NFT Fantasy Football Game Partner. Two years ago, Sorare secured partnerships with clubs like Bayern Munich, Internazionale, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and many others, while also roping in global superstar Lionel Messi as an ambassador earlier this year. It isn’t a stretch to say that if real-money fantasy gaming takes a mainstream turn towards cryptocurrency-based fantasy gaming, Sorare are likely to be global leaders – although such a reality is not fully in sight, with skepticism still abound in England in particular.
The French organization has not just focused on individual clubs – they also cover 50 football leagues around the globe, including the big ones like UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Eredivisie and many more. Reports suggest that the English Premier League could be next in line, in a multi-million dollar deal.
