LaLiga team sign partnership with NFT community for fans
Spanish football club RCD Espanyol wishes to use NFTs for Web3 integration for fans
Top-tier Spanish football team RCD Espanyol have secured a multi-season partnership with Fayre, a global non-fungible token (NFT) community for brands and fans.
In what their statement described as an industry first, the 120-year-old LaLiga club is attempting to integrate Web3 into their games with in-stadium activations using NFTs.
The NFTs will provide fans with exclusive access to certain elements in the RCDE Stadium, plus the team and numerous other perks.
The club said they believe “exploring NFTs is an innovative way to increase fan engagement”.
There is an expectation for the NFTs to bridge the digital world and real-life experiences for RCD Espanyol fans.
Two million followers across social media
RCD Espanyol has two million followers across all its social media channels and saw its fan base increase by 15% in 2021. This increase in fans came as the team was promoted from LaLiga 2 back into LaLiga.
The club estimates their audience will reach approximately 100 million viewers for the current 2021-2022 season.
“Access to NFTs can help increase community engagement”
José María Duran, the club’s CEO, said: “We are constantly working to open up new business models that help RCD Espanyol grow and we believe in the NFT model. Soon we will enter fully into the world of NFT collectibles with limited collections. There will be different designs of historical assets and the club’s mascot, a reference for the parakeet fans.”
Luis Carranza, CEO and founder of Fayre, said the partnership would showcase the way utility and NFTs can “help increase community engagement”.
He added: “These statistics and the natural evolution of digital marketing underscore the importance of brands, sports clubs and artists’ involvement in the NFT space as a vital channel for community engagement growth.”
