Join the party
“The liquid gold for any brand is to have a direct connection with the consumer so that you can understand that consumer, you can engage that consumer and then you can serve them in a personalized way. And if you have a leadership position, you have more information with which to do all that.” I like the sound of this quote. Any idea who this came from? OK, let’s get back to that later.
Fan Controlled Football. These three words should be music to the ears of millions of football fans. After a year in which the European Super League was collectively rejected by fans everywhere, the idea of fans gaining more influence would be a welcome start. But this is not a European football initiative, it is the start-up indoor American football league where fans can influence the league’s on and off-field decisions.
A range of venture capital firms that specialize in cryptocurrency investments have funded this league, which will be expanding from four to eight teams in the second season starting in April 2022. Perhaps more importantly, the new teams will be owned by non-fungible token (NFT) projects Bored Ape Yacht Club, Gutter Cat Gan, Knights of Degen, and Team 8OKI. The FCF will release 8,888 NFTs related to the four new teams that fans can purchase and will offer the fans a chance to draft players, choose players and receive other benefits from their team.
OK, just let that sink in for a few minutes. This is not fake news. You can check out the website here https://www.fcf.io/ and it looks pretty good. And it is not my position to judge investors, football players or fans who want to participate. Last year the inaugural season generated 10 million views on Twitch and FCF have announced DAZN as a global broadcast partner in 2022 distributing content to 200+ territories outside the United States. FCF organizers expect to break even in 2023.
A similar initiative in golf is LinksDAO who is creating the modern golf and leisure club with a global community. The ambition is to create one of the world’s greatest golf clubs – and reimagine the country club. Once again NFTs will offer members community access, governance, a wide variety of perks, and games in the near term. A total of 9,000 memberships have sold out and the first LinksDAO club will open in late 2022 or early 2023 near Atlanta in the US.
The sports industry is awash with experts debating the merits, ethics, and viability of web3, NFTs, metaverses, DAOs and these initiatives. There are pros and cons, for and against, believers and doubters. As a sports fan who has experienced ‘traditional’ live sport for more than 50 years, I sometimes have a difficult time getting my head around these initiatives. But equally, I have always been an advocate for change, evolution, greater access, equal opportunities, and freedom of choice. Right now, these DAO/NFT opportunities feel like the reserve of a privileged few.
The quote in the first paragraph is from Johan Donahoe, president and CEO of Nike who serve 79 million members across the Nike ecosystem. 40% of the total digital demand is generated from Nike’s mobile apps. Nike is just one brand whose focus is increasingly digital as they can directly connect and serve consumers at scale. The parallels with sports entertainment cannot be ignored.
Looking ahead, I am concerned for traditional sports organisations who rely on old economic models that reach millions of sports fans or players but do not deliver a more customized service, which also increases revenue. The covid pandemic has accelerated investments and technologies that allow organisations to become more connected, engaged and understand customers. It would be a shame if sport does not embrace these new initiatives, especially as we know the benefits of sport for mental and physical wellbeing. If I had any cryptocurrency in my digital wallet right now, I would join the party to see how we can improve sport for everyone in the community.