The football club and crypto deals are no longer news, Tezos, a Proof-of-Stake blockchain technology, is apparently preparing to announce a multi-year training kit partnership with Manchester United and Baby Doge has struck a deal with a German professional football team to develop NFTs.
The Athletic first reported the arrangement, which is said to be worth more than $27 million per year and allows Tezos to put its insignia on the team’s training jersey. Manchester United is said to have completed filming promotional content in advance of the official announcement.
According to the source, the relationship might include technology collaboration, such as a Metaverse or other Web3 initiative.
Tezos has put a lot of money on sports sponsorships. Tezos was revealed as RedBull Racing’s official blockchain partner in May 2021. Tezos will create the first NFT fan experience, which will debut in November of that year.
Tezos was named as McLaren Racing’s Official Technical Partner in a multi-year deal spanning its Formula 1, INDYCAR, and esports teams a month later, and the Tezos network was used in the introduction of McLaren’s NFT collection in October 2021.
Manchester United plays in the English Premier League, which is the highest level of professional football in the United Kingdom (EPL). It joins a slew of other English Premier League clubs who have signed sponsorship deals or formed fan token relationships.
Baby Doge has formed a partnership with a German football club
Meanwhile, Baby Doge Currency ($BABYDOGE), a meme coin inspired by Doge and Shiba Inus, has announced a partnership with TSG Hoffenheim, a team in the Bundesliga, Germany’s top football league.
Hoffenheim announced that Baby Doge will become an official partner of the club, with the two companies collaborating on the development of club-specific NFTs.
The arrangement also includes “essential promotional materials,” such as Baby Doge advertisements on LED boards around the pitch at the team’s home games and co-branded content, according to the club.
“TSG Hoffenheim is delighted to be collaborating with Baby Doge, a creative and forward-thinking brand. We’re looking forward to a fruitful collaboration in which we’ll bring an NFT collection from the club, as well as other exciting ideas, to life “Denni Strich, Hoffenheim’s CEO stated.
Mike Watson, Baby Doge’s Project Manager, stated that the agreement would expand the company’s presence in the global market and the European Union and that it would continue to form strategic partnerships to expand its reach as a community-centred project by establishing itself as a sports player.
Cryptocurrency-football club partnerships
In August 2021, Dogecoin announced a shirt sleeve sponsorship deal with Watford FC for the 2021-22 season, with players wearing the coins’ famous meme emblem on their arms. Manchester City, Arsenal, and Wolverhampton Wanderers all have fan tokens available on platforms like Socios and Bitci.
Floki Inu, a canine-themed meme coin launched after Elon Musk tweeted that he was naming his Shiba Inu “Floki,” has also signed a collaboration arrangement with S.S.C Napoli, an Italian professional football team, until November 2021.
The deal saw Floki Inu’s insignia – a cartoon Shiba Inu wearing a Viking helmet — appear on the reverse of Napoli players’ jerseys, as well as on LED signs at the Napoli home stadium, similar to Baby Doge’s deal.
