Socios.com has formed partnerships with Rugby Union teams Leicester Tigers, Harlequins and Saracens.
The three clubs will launch fan tokens on the blockchain platform, which are purchased via cryptocurrency Chillz, and will look to deepen fan engagement for each club.
This is the firm’s latest expansion into a new sport as it continues in the aim of building its global ecosystem of fans of global sporting organisations.
Mark Davies, Head of Business Development at Leicester Tigers, said: “Technology is rapidly changing how sports fans want to interact with their clubs. The key is working with fans to ensure it is used in a way which benefits them, and that’s why we’re hugely excited about Fan Tokens.
“We believe that by doing so we are able to offer supporters meaningful connections on a regular basis in a world that is becoming more and more prominent in today’s society.”
Furthermore, the partners have revealed that they will also be doing meet-and-greets with players and training ground tours across the season, as the firm looks to maximise the collaborations.
Lucy Wray, CEO of Saracens, highlighted that the club ‘prides itself’ on the loyalty of its fans, naming them ‘the backbone of the Sarries family’.
Meanwhile, Steve Morton, Chief Commercial Officer of Harlequins, added that the club is always looking for ways to offer more to its supporters and these new Fan Tokens will play an important role in engaging a growing global supporter base.
He continued: “We’re committed to working closely with Socios.com to bring supporters, no matter where in the world they live, closer to the game via rewards and experiences, in conjunction with our existing Member loyalty programme, as well as speaking to our supporters directly to continue building an offer that brings them closer to the Club.”
Socios already holds deals with over 150 organisations across nine other sports, including football, Formula One and tennis, to name a few.
On its latest deal, Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com, added: “It has long been an ambition to launch in this area and between Leicester, Harlequins and Saracens, we are partnering with three of the best-known and best-supported rugby union sides. We are looking forward to working with these teams to offer a differentiating way of engaging with their fans.
“More broadly, we’re excited to add three more leading clubs to our platform’s multi-sports ecosystem, as we continue building an offer for fans of clubs and organisations in the world’s biggest sports.”
