In addition to digital collectibles, Manchester City fans can purchase unique physical souvenirs and exclusive experiences, such as team training sessions, as NFTs.
Manchester City officials announced a partnership with NFT platform Quidd, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands. The partnership will run for several years and involve the development and launch of digital collectibles, promotions, and the organization of unique experiences for club fans.
In the NFT format, there’ll be limited editions of digital collectibles, including tokens that will unlock access to real-world experiences. For example, fans can attend a team training session at the City Football Academy, with seats directly by the playing field. The organizers promise other “money-can’t-buy experiences.”
Moreover, fans will be able to buy unique collectible NFT player cards, the first edition of which, consisting of 200 tokens, will be available on May 2. Other digital rewards and perks will also be available to everyone, such as the opportunity to get unique physical souvenirs and official club merchandise, tickets, exclusive access to games, and more.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first Web3 initiative of Manchester City. On April 22, the club released the NFT collection “Unseen City Shirts” on crypto exchange OKX. Each token is linked to shirts from the “The Roses and the Bees” collection that had a limited release, and each item was hand-painted by artist Christian Jeffrey. Earlier in 2022, the club signed a three-year agreement with Sony that involved recreating the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City’s home ground, in the Metaverse.
The practice of using Web3 technologies in various spheres of football club activities has been developing for several years now. In 2023, FC Barcelona attracted $132 million to develop its Web3 initiatives. A year earlier, Chinese technology companies created the Metaverse project, which allowed football fans to watch live broadcasts of FIFA 2022 World Cup matches in virtual space.
