Collectible cards company Topps signed a partnership with Germany’s top football league, Bundesliga, to launch a non-fungible token (NFT) collection to celebrate the 2020-2021 season. The collectibles will be minted on the Avalanche blockchain.
The Bundesliga is one of the top five leagues in Europe. The 2019/2020 league had the best average attendance in the world of 43,300 spectators per game. And one of its top teams, Borussia Dortmund, had an average of 80,000 fans in the stadium for each match, more than some of the most valuable and popular teams in the world, such as Manchester United, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.
One of the reasons why the Bundesliga keeps a high attendance and engagement with fans is the 50+1 rule. A spectator is a fan before being a customer. Clubs in the Bundesliga will not be allowed to play if commercial investors have more than a 49% stake. With fans holding the majority of the voting rights, it supports a healthy environment for the success of a fan engagement solution such as the one from Topps.
The NFT collection will feature players, rising stars, and memorable moments of the season. The NFTs will be available for purchase on Topps’ NFT storefront by credit card with scarcity levels ranging from Common to Legendary.
“Our vision is to create a fun, easy-to-use collecting experience on the Blockchain that appeals to all fans whether they have experience with NFTs or not. It’s an extension of the pioneering vision we’ve had for digital collectibles since our mobile apps launched in 2012,” said Tobin Lent, VP & General Manager of Topps Digital Sports.
“We can’t wait to introduce this new collecting experience to Bundesliga fans around the world. Whether you support clubs like RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, VfL Wolfsburg or Eintracht Frankfurt or a fan of a particular player, the Bundesliga community will have the opportunity to collect their favorite stars as well as their favorite moments from the 2020-21 season, all in one collection.”
Topps has been the official players’ card collectibles partner of Major League Baseball (MLB) since 2009. The company launched digital collectibles for the league through the Bunt app in 2012 and entered the NFT space this year with the WAX blockchain.
As mentioned, the project with the Bundesliga will use the Avalanche blockchain as opposed to WAX. Avalanche is highly scalable and uses proof of stake, which uses less energy than proof of work blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Meanwhile, other sports events are also being celebrated through blockchain. Ethernity launched an NFT collection to celebrate the Copa America final. The IOC signed a licensing deal with Animoca subsidiary nWay, and Premier League champions Manchester City celebrated the title with an NFT collection.
