Major football clubs in Europe have made $ 200 million on Fan Tokens

Leading European football clubs have made millions selling fan tokens to their fans around the world. The fan involvement scheme was hailed as an alternative source of revenue during the pandemic, but was also criticized as a “gateway to a speculative crypto market.”

Football clubs make money on fan tokens criticized by groups of supporters

Europe’s top football clubs have raised over $ 204 million from platform sales Socios.com where they can offer special fan tokens. Arsenal, Barcelona, ​​Juventus and PSG are among the more than 40 largest football teams on the old continent, already working with the “fan influence and rewards” scheme.

Since 2019, almost a million users have signed up for Socios. They can buy tokens run by their favorite clubs and gain voting rights for certain club decisions, such as which songs to add to stadium stadiums. Gaining more credit entitles them to unique opportunities such as playing on the team’s field.

The scheme has been criticized by groups of supporters, who have pointed out that fans risk taking their part in “unregulated currency markets.” The Association of British Football Supporters claims to have received complaints from several groups of Premier League fans. Adam Willerton, secretary of the Leeds United Supporter ‘Trust, said:

“Our concern is vulnerable or less technologically savvy people involved in this ecosystem.”

Lionel Messi’s recent move to PSG, for example, has caused sharp fluctuations in the value of the club token, prompting Clean Up Gambling to describe the system as a “gateway to speculative crypto markets.” Token price $ PSG increased in the days before the confirmation of the transmission of the football star, but has since fallen again.

The founder of Socios defends a source of income

Other concerns stem from the way these tokens are sold. The Telegraph quoted Martin Calladin, author of The Ugly Game, who described advertising methods as “completely misleading.” He referred to Socios’ pre-sale advertisement at Arsenal, which allegedly indicated that obtaining tokens was “like buying foreign currency on holiday”.

However, Socios founder Alexandre Dreyfus rejected claims that fans could lose large sums of money due to fluctuating token values ​​and rejected skepticism about the scheme. He emphasized that “the blockchain is transparent – that’s its beauty, everything is public.” Dreyfus also revealed that four of the participating clubs have earned nearly $ 27 million in the last 12 months, stressing:

“That’s a considerable income during Covid-19.”

Socios relies on the Chiliz blockchain to create fan tokens. The French businessman says he has simply found a “new way to generate revenue” from a fan base that is different from the traditional one. A detailed overview shows that the UK market currently accounts for only 1.5% of Socios’ total revenues and customers. The platform has gained much more popularity in Southeast Asia, Brazil and Turkey.