Chiliz Nabs $100M Stake in FC Barcelona’s Digital Studio

Chiliz, the leading blockchain fintech provider, has acquired almost a quarter of FC Barcelona’s Barça Studios for over $100 million. The Catalan football club is going through the worst financial crisis in its 123-year history and will use the funds to stay afloat. Moreover, the partnership will help the club dive deeper into the NFT and Metaverse space.

FC Barcelona and Socios.com: A Win-Win Collaboration

FC Barcelona, one of the most famous and illustrious football clubs worldwide, is desperately looking for new income avenues. However, several years of poor financial management coupled with the disastrous economic effects of playing without fans in the stands during the pandemic have emptied its coffers. Now, the club cannot rely on selling players, tickets, and merchandise to prosper financially. Therefore, selling some of its media rights is imperative.

Fortunately, the emerging web3.0 and crypto sectors provide plenty of lucrative opportunities for the football world. And Barcelona has been exploring cryptocurrencies and the possibility of a Barcelona NFT for quite some time.

Chiliz, through its engage-to-earn app Socios.com, will invest €100 million (~$102 million) into Barcelona’s digital studio, Barça Studios. In return, it will get a stake from the club’s audiovisual productions and digital business offerings.

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This is not the first time the two entities collaborated. In fact, their commercial partnership dates back to February 2020, when Socios.com launched BAR, FC Barcelona’s fan token. According to the influence & rewards app, the fans have already purchased over $40.07 million worth of BAR tokens.

Owning Barcelona fan tokens enables holders to build a community where engaging is highly rewarding. For example, they can earn VIP tickets to matches, merchandise, or visits to FC Barcelona’s home stadium, Camp Nou.

Crypto and Football – A Marriage in the Making

Besides patching some of the club’s budget holes, Barcelona will use the money to improve its presence in the web3.0 space. After signing the deal with Socios.com, the club’s Twitter account confirmed its advance in “audiovisual, blockchain, NFT and Web.3 strategy.”

On the other hand, Socios.com rejoiced at the opportunity to build better NFT and Metaverse projects with the Catalan club. In a recent press release, Alexandre Dreyfus, the CEO of Socios.com and Chiliz, said:

We are passionate about the role that technology can play in building communities that bring fans closer to their teams and each other. Barça Studios can now leverage our technology, expertise, and global scale.

Furthermore, the partnership between the two should increase the visibility and popularity of BAR tokens.

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Socios.com is expanding its portfolio of sports entities, including prestigious football clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan, Atlético Madrid, Valencia, Manchester City, Inter Milan, and Arsenal. Additionally, the company has exclusive collaborations with the Argentina and Portugal national football teams and famous brands from Formula 1, NBA, NFL, UFC, cricket, and eSports.