The Belgian Pro League today announces a new and enhanced partnership with Global Fantasy Football Game Sorare.
The Belgian Pro League was the world’s first professional football league to seal a partnership with Sorare in 2018 to issue digital cards of their players on the blockchain. Innovation has always been a common thread in the Pro League’s strategy to grow, with the launch of programs such as Pro League Forward.
Sorare had the innovative understanding, before anyone else, that football collectors would want to collect and trade player cards in the digital world. They answered that need with a platform, based on the blockchain technology, where users can freely trade unique digital collectibles representing officially licensed football players. The cards are available to be traded among Sorare’s current 40,000 users. Most importantly the cards have value thanks to Sorare’s fantasy football game that includes all the games of the Jupiler Pro League.
The Pro League is embracing Sorare’s vision to become the go-to fantasy game to increase the enjoyment of live football. Belgian football fans will be able to play with their favorite footballers by using their cards in their team. The score of the player card will depend on the performance of the player in real-life, would it be in a Jupiler Pro League game or in a European competition.
More than 97 football clubs from Europe, the United States, and Asia have partnered with Sorare to issue officially licensed cards so that football fans can collect and play with their favorite players, amongst them Juventus, Atletico Madrid, and Olympique Lyonnais. The Pro League was the first football institution to build a presence in Sorare. It offers the Belgian clubs exposure to a global audience and a new revenue stream.
This new deal entails a closer relationship between the Pro League and Sorare with more co-marketing and more innovations to co-build. As part of the deal, Sorare and the Pro League will work on a fantasy game tailored for the Pro League.
Nicolas Julia, CEO at Sorare, explained: “We are creating the easiest way for football fans to leverage their football knowledge and play with skin in the game. We are delighted to sign this new and bigger partnership with the Pro League. They were the first to trust us in our vision and I think this second deal is a testimony of the sustainability of our model.”
“Since the launch in March 2019, we’ve seen a lot of engagement from the users towards the Jupiler Pro League players.”Pierre François, CEO Pro League
Pierre François, CEO at Pro League, commented: “Innovation is a key value for us. When we decided to back Sorare as the world’s first professional football league our decision was largely driven by the quality of the founding team and our excitement for their ambitious vision of building a global fantasy football game with blockchain cards. Since the launch in March 2019, we’ve seen a lot of engagement from the users towards the Jupiler Pro League players. We’re excited about this new and more ambitious partnership which will help us both to grow together.”
