Will be football a driver for the worldwide adoption of blockchain technology?

FC Bari 1908 has agreed (subject to contract) to become the first Italian club to join the London Football Exchange (LFE) in order to access the LFE Fan Experience platform by trading football equity on the blockchain and giving thousands of ordinary fans a level of access that they have never seen before, according to finextra.com

The LFE Exchange will be the first ever football stock exchange that offers fans the chance to buy shares of football clubs built on blockchain. As well as being a one-stop shop for clubs of all sizes to raise capital via equity sales, it also offers LFE contributors a wealth of fan experiences and social interaction.

“We will be delighted to welcome FC Bari to the LFE. This clearly demonstrates the real life use case of how LFE platform can benefit both clubs’ funding options and fans’ involvement in the game. We applaud the forward-thinking senior management of this historic club who deserve a lot of credit for embracing this revolutionary new model of football finance and engagement,” said Charles Pittar, Corporate CEO at London Football Exchange.

“We look forward to developing this relationship and being one of the first clubs in the world to take advantage of this revolutionary technology, considering that FC Bari is a club with a rich history, our fans are our life blood and we see this as a way to give back to them and reward their loyalty,” said Cosmo Antonio Giancaspro, Chairman of FC Bari 1908.

Sam Robinson, a partner at international law firm CMS, who advised LFE on their Initial Token Offering, said “Having worked with LFE to launch their platform, it’s extremely exciting to see football clubs starting to embrace the LFE model. I’m sure many more will follow FC Bari’s lead in recognising the opportunity that LFE can represent for clubs and for fans.”

The underlying technology of LFE is unique because it is the first application of blockchain to enable football fans to buy fan experiences and football club shares.This is made possible because the LFE platform will be built on the Stellar and Ripple networks, which will support speeds of around 1500 transactions per second.

”Discussions are already underway with over 50 clubs including UK Premier League Clubs and some of the most prominent teams throughout Europe, USA and Australia.”, LFE says.

“The LFE aims to become a “one-stop shop” for clubs of all sizes to raise capital via equity sales and also offer LFE contributors a wealth of fan experiences and social interaction. Clubs will be encouraged to offer some equity through the LFE and required to offer a minimum number of unique experiences or special offers so that the real fans can take part in their favourite clubs,” commented Scott Smith, Football CEO of London Football Exchange.

Context

Last month, London Football Exchange announced „the launch of the World’s First Football Related Cryptocurrency”.

”The London Football Exchange (LFE) is set to launch a cryptocurrency that is intended to allow a fan-driven football community the opportunity to take part in various club and fan experiences from match day tickets, tours, and player meet and greets, to specific merchandise and third-party partner offers. London Football Exchange will use the blockchain to help clubs provide loyal fans with better services at a reduced cost.”, according to the press release.

“Our vision is to allow football clubs to take advantage of the token funding economy for their financing needs by providing them with a tokenised financing infrastructure which involves token design and issuance services,” said Charles Pittar, Corporate CEO of London Football Exchange.

LFE engagement services will include LFE Points, a blockchain-enabled loyalty, rewards and offers platform. LFE members benefit through special discounts, exclusive offers, rewards and other incentives only available to LFE token holders. The more LFE token holders engage with their favourite clubs and leagues, the more LFE Points they will receive.

For the clubs, the LFE tokens aim to also help them eliminate the antiquated ticketing technology from legacy operators that mean they pay fees ranging from 5% to 8% in commission based on the notional value of tickets sold.

As part of its Initial Token Offering, LFE will generate a total of 4 billion tokens with 2.4 billion tokens made available for general sale. The tokens will be priced at $0.20, which equates to a fundraising goal of approximately $350 million. The pre-sales run from 15 January 2018 to 11 February 2018, with the public sale taking place directly afterwards, from 12 February 2018 to 20 May 2018.