Hibernian Football Club has announced an official partnership with Sportemon Go, (SGO), where the latter will invest a significant six figure sum each season on an initial three year term.
As a result of the deal – which is the first agreement between a Scottish football club and a blockchain company – the sports trading platform will see its brand logo on the back of the first-team shirt, whilst also creating a Hibernian Fan Token and digital Non-Fungible Token (NFT) collectibles.
Ricky Jackson, CEO of SG and ex-professional footballer, commented: “SGO’s Fan Tokens and NFTs are unique, innovative and it is a Game Changer for increased fan activation and engagement but also significant new and recurring revenue generation opportunity for sporting clubs, and athletes alike.”
The partners also aim to develop new products and fan engagement services, with plans to open up opportunities to engage the team’s supporter base with interactive products and launch a tokenised merchandise collection pre-release.
With an objective to ‘revolutionize the NFT collectible industry’, Sportemon Go will enable its users to hunt, collect and trade NFTs of their favourite Hibs heroes in both the real world and in real time, and participants will be able to interact with the club.
“It’s a thrilling space to develop, innovate and be the leader in and we are excited by the opportunity with Hibernian Football Club,” added Jackson.
“It’s a whole new way to own and experience Fandom and Memorabilia and everyone wants a part of it. Now as ‘Official Club Token Partner,’ we are able to bring these exciting Fandom products to Hibs supporter base and the broader Scottish market.”
The agreement comes as sporting interest in the NFT space continues to rise, with multiple team’s and leagues signing agreements with platforms such as Sorare and Socios.com, including the English Premier League, French Football Federation (FFF) and Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).