Sports is another field where NFTs are making strides. The NBA and MBL are the clear leaders in this category with their collections being worth a considerable amount of money.
NBA is already doing this with the NBA Top Shot Game where users collect moments from NBA games. Hundreds of thousands of collectors join the waiting list for a new pack, Pro basketball players are hooked by it and high profile names such as Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala have invested in Dapper Labs -- Top Shot's parent company, which has secured over $300 million in private funding -- believing it will.
Afterwards, the MLB digital cards popped up by card maker Popps and traded in the Wax Blockchain and its marketplace. The MLB TOPPS card pack prices ranged from $5 to $100 depending on how many cards they included and they also had a free drop for fans, which I hope you were fast enough to join.
Seeing how NBA and MLB have created such a hype I think the only ingredient missing is Football. Well, some will say there is already a football/soccer based NFT card game Sorare. Personally, I feel that something is missing even though it is a fantasy football game.
To begin with they call it soccer! Nowhere in the world apart from probably the US is the game called Soccer. In Europe we learn that the game is called Football, same thing for Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Well, for most of it at least.
To add to that, it does not include all the teams as something around 100 clubs have signed licensing agreements. In many cases, they don't have agreement with the league associations and only with player associations. I would have found it more appealing if the game was FIFA / EUFA licensed and included most of the major leagues as well as football legends. That way you would be able to experience playing with football legends like Maradona, Pele, Van Basten, Cruyff, Zidane, etc.
Then, if it is to be a football game with the sport's complexity you need 11 players per side in order to make the tactics more thorough and versatile.
Now, why I see that this impending change is bound to happen at some point and we will have an NFT blockchain game licensed by most major leagues and / or UEFA - FIFA?
First, because of the interest that Sorare has generated. Maybe this will be the one company to acquire the licensing and propel itself into a position of dominance in the NFT - Gaming - Football Sports field.
Second, because of the interest that many football teams have shown in the blockchain NFT collectibles. Already powerhouses Juventus and Barcelona, among others, have launched their own coins and digital memorabilia. In case of Barcelona, you get a "socios" status being able to vote in some of the decision making processes of the club.
Third, it looks like football bodies have started adopting blockchain technology. During the European Super Cup match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in 2018, and the EUFA European League Final between Atletico Madrid and Olympique Lyonnais, UEFA implemented for the first time blockchain ticketing for important football events. This blockchain ticketing that aims to battle counterfeit tickets will be also used in the upcoming EURO competition.
Finally, my childhood Football Card collection darling Panini has been releasing its own blockchain products and cards, and although it still is a niche market and not extremely popular, it brings a lot of memories to me which since I used collect their cards and stickers as a kid.
To wrap it up, I can see it happening, the biggest bodies in football licensing NFT card games and memorabilia. Fans will be overjoyed while the money for the agreements could be used to increase the revenue of teams, national associations and UEFA / FIFA itself, especially now that in Europe they find themselves in the trenches fighting against Perez's plan to create an exclusive Super League project with the best teams in Europe and which undermines national associations and what EUFA stands for.
In the end of the day, who wouldn't want to have a NFT memorabilia from Maradona's Hand of God (La mano del dios) or Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi playing the finals with their national teams!
