Feyenoord Rotterdam has partnered with Knaken, a crypto exchange, to become the first Dutch football club to enable season ticket renewals using cryptocurrency.
The ability to renew season tickets for the 2024/25 season using crypto is made possible through Knaken’s product ‘Settle’, a platform that allows users to make transactions with not only crypto, but also euros.
Ruud van der Knaap, Commercial Director of Feyenoord, commented: “This initiative fits well within Feyenoord’s vision of innovation and customer focus, where ease for supporters is central. Feyenoord is proud to take this step together with Knaken and thus further shape the future of financial transactions in sports.”
Although Settle is currently used specifically for season ticket renewals at Feyenoord, the pair have shared plans to further integrate this technology into other aspects of the online customer experience.
Knaken has described the collaboration as the start of a “era where the loyalty of supporters merges with the benefits of modern payment options”, which aligns with other deals between the two industries as of late.
In one of the more recent deals, Manchester City partnered with OKX, a global crypto exchange and Web3 technology company. As part of the deal, the club’s player Jack Grealish was named as a global ambassador and starred in a collaborative campaign.
As well as using well known footballers to increase marketing and campaign awareness, the partnerships often look to offer fan benefits. In the case of City and OKX, the pair worked together to launch an NFT campaign called ‘Unseen City Shirts’, which allowed fans to earn prizes through collecting the NFTs.
Erik Hollander, CCO at Knaken, said: “The Settle integration at Feyenoord symbolises our mission to lead in the fintech sector. It is an example of how we can enrich the sports world with innovative solutions and strengthen the relationship between the club and its supporters.”
