Just six years ago, the game of football was confined solely to a patch of grass roughly 115 yards long and 74 yards wide.

Today, more than 50% of the world’s major clubs have opted to make a home for themselves on the blockchain, where their presence on Web3 opens them up to a new world of interaction, fan engagement, and untapped monetization.

What are Fan Tokens?

Fan Tokens are inspired by the real-life football phenomenon of ‘socios’ – or partners, in Spanish, which refers to a group of devoted football fans who pay a yearly membership to their favourite clubs in return for voting rights in major club decisions, like presidential elections.

Now, fan tokens for global footballing institutions like Manchester City, AC Milan, Arsenal, PSG, Juventus, Napoli, and over 90 more major European, and North and South American sports teams, enable the same kind of voting rights for the world’s 3.5 billion hungry football fans.

Fan Tokens have already granted football fans a decisive say in club decisions like corner flag designs, club MVP’s for various matchdays, official club poster designs, which players should attend meet-and-greet events, match ball designs, and much more.

Perhaps more importantly, Fan Tokens act as a share in football clubs, effectively giving the fan on the street ownership rights in their favourite teams – with all details transparently displayed on the immutable and un-changing blockchain.

Engagement from the Ground Up

It’s on this point that fan tokens differentiate themselves from the worn out NFT phenomena. Starting from the notion that not every football fan can afford a one-of-a-kind Lionel Messi NFT which sells for $250,000, fan tokens carve open the Web3 football landscape to give everyone a stake in their beloved teams – from the ground up.

While the Fan Token market its still in its relative infancy, it has already garnered the cooperation of 90+ of the world’s top football and sports teams, extending to Formula 1 racing teams, famous Esports teams, the UFC, global tennis organisations, rugby teams, and more.

The entire market segment is expected to be worth an estimated $7.86 billion, according to market analyst reports, such is the promise of the combination of sports and blockchain technology.

Perhaps the main reason for the success of the fan token concept is that both participants – the club and the fan – benefit equally from the increased interaction that the merging of sports and blockchain technology enables.

Keep an eye on the football Fan Token market. If your club isn’t already involved, it soon will be.

Greg Thomso n: Fan Tokens Market Reporter