Liverpool FC (LFC) is launching its first official NFT collection – the LFC Heroes Club – in a partnership with digital artwork company, Sotheby’s.
The collection is said to feature illustrations of 24 LFC men’s team players in the aim of ‘bringing their individual and superhero characteristics to life’, and the release consists of two categories of digital collectibles.
Drew Crisp, Senior VP of digital at Liverpool FC, commented: “The LFC Heroes Club drop is a first-of-its-kind initiative, which seeks to bring a new, exciting and innovative way for supporters around the world to engage with the club.
“We always strive to adopt new emerging technology for the benefit of fans and the club, while also being very conscious of our impact on the environment. This is why we have chosen to work with Sotheby’s due to its capability to create NFTs on an energy-efficient blockchain.
“We wanted to create a really accessible collection of NFTs that are truly unique to LFC, and simply give fans an opportunity to explore this new and trending topic, and most importantly, give fans the choice to buy one should they wish.
Additionally, research from the club found that almost a quarter of 18 to 34-year-olds would be likely or very likely to participate in official NFT offerings from the club, which Crisp described as “a great chance to offer fans something truly special and at the same time give back to our LFC Foundation in the local community and beyond”.
During the sale, fans will have the opportunity to own a randomly generated ‘Hero’ Edition, which will be revealed once the sale comes to an end, whilst the Premier League club also underlined its commitment to supporting its official charity, LFC Foundation.
As such, half of LFC’s proceeds from the first category auction will go to supporting LFC Foundation to deliver life-changing charitable and community projects, with an additional 10 per cent from LFC’s limited edition ‘Hero’ sale and 10% of all future resale royalties also going to LFC Foundation.
Sebastian Fahey, Sotheby’s Managing Director for EMEA and executive lead for Sotheby’s Metaverse, added: “To collaborate with Liverpool Football Club, one of the most successful and storied football clubs in the world, for this first-of-its-kind NFT collection marks a turning point in how NFTs can be used to engage fan communities with tailored releases and unique concepts specially designed for their supporters.”
By owning an LFC NFT, supporters also access an LFC community forum, ‘unique’ experiences, virtual hang-outs, competitions and LFC retail discounts, at the same time as raising money for LFC Foundation.
“Together we have created a new digital art collection, which celebrates LFC heroes and leverages our web3 technology to enable the club’s passionate and global supporter group to be a part of this exciting initiative for the long term,” Fahey concluded.
In the club’s commitment to the environment, as part of its dedicated sustainability initiative, The Red Way, the three-day sale will run and be managed on an energy-efficient blockchain firm, Polygon.
