Sorare Partners With Bayern Munich

Sorare, the blockchain-backed fantasy soccer game, has added the biggest name currently in the sport to its roster of clubs with the recent inclusion of Bayern Munich.

The perennial German Bundesliga champions are also the reigning UEFA Champions League winners, making Bayern the most prominent club in Europe and for all intents and purposes, the world.

This rapid movement by elite sports teams into the world of cryptocurrency is not at all surprising. Sports franchises rely on connection with their fanbase to remain relevant and they are always seeking out new methods to improve this relationship. Sports clubs were quick to embrace the online evolution, and were among the early major players to tap into the power of the social media explosion.

Seeing the value in cryptocurrency as another avenue to further their engagement with fans is only common sense and another sign of how sports clubs keep an eye out for cutting edge technologies.

Sorare currently features 102 soccer teams who can connect to 45,000 users. The company has a monthly trading volume in the $1 million range.

“[The] addition of Bayern Munich to the Sorare platform, one of my home country’s major teams, strikes a personal chord for me,” 2014 German World Cup champion Andre Schurrle said in a statement. “Sorare is based on the real performance of the players, and with the inclusion of FC Bayern Munich, users can now buy or exchange digital cards from one of the world’s top football teams.”

Germans represent the fourth largest demographic of Sorare players. Sorare is also hugely popular in the USA and Asia, two massive markets. Sorare’s virtual game format makes it easy for teams to make a connection with supporters anywhere in the world. For fans in these far-off lands, the digital cards offer a way for them to connect with their favorite players and clubs on a more personal level.

Bayern Munich is the third Bundesliga club to sign up with Sorare. Other top sides that are part of the Sorare program are France’s Paris St-Germain, Italy’s Juventus, and Spain’s Atletico Madrid.

“With the inclusion of FC Bayern Munich to the platform, Sorare now boasts three of the top five European Champions with Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, making the game ever more relevant to football aficionados around the globe,” Sorare CEO Nicolas Julia said in a statement. “FC Bayern Munich fans will be able to join the economy of their passions in a way that wasn’t possible before Sorare’s global fantasy football platform.“

How Sorare Works

For decades, eager supporters have collected trading cards of their favorite players. Sorare’s digital cards are both collectible and they are also interactive for use in their fantasy soccer game.

Founded in 2018, Sorare launched its online game in March of 2019. Their digital cards of actual soccer stars enable collectors to trade with other game players and to assemble squads to compete in virtual five-a-side matches with other members of the Sorare global universe. The game is determined based on how the five selected players perform in real time during an actual match.

Unlike traditional sports cards, the digital Sorare cards include rare and super-rare cards that hold more value in the game than the regular cards due to their scarcity.

The winning team from a match gains eligibility for prizes. They can either opt for valuable collectibles from their favorite soccer stars and teams, or take the winnings in Ether (ETH), a cryptocurrency-powered by the Ethereum ecosystem.

The Sorare soccer cards are also blockchain-based digital assets. These player cards are built on top of Ethereum and are non-fungible tokens (NFTs) following the ERC721 standard.

Other Connections

Beyond Europe, Sorare also has a deal with the Korean Soccer League, among 20 leagues worldwide through which Sorare has at least some connection.

Sorare and the MLSPA signed an agreement last summer that now sees MLS players featured on the digital virtual cards. The MLSPA was the first professional soccer organization in the Americas to enter into a licensing partnership with Sorare.

“The MLS audience continues to grow and evolve, and we are excited to be a part of giving fans the opportunity to engage with their favorite players in a new digital landscape,” MLSPA COO Dan Jones said in a statement.