2019 saw the official release of Sorare, a fantasy soccer game where players can buy, sell, or trade virtual cards. Since then, the blockchain-based digital trading card game has seen its revenue grow more than twentyfold and has announced big plans to partner with Paris-Saint Germain F.C. Now, the global fantasy football game will be launching out of beta in the United States.
Having just earned the title of 2020 Champions League Finalist, PSG will be helping usher in Sorare’s official launch in the US, which was announced at the end of September. The partnership will give Sorare access to current and former prolific players from the Paris-Saint Germain roster, including David Beckham.
Good Business
Sorare’s ambitious expansion is certainly a strategic one, especially in the case of Paris-Saint Germain with the club‘s social media presence ranked 6th in the world across all sports. The French champions stand to strengthen their global engagement through the partnership as well, however.
Fabien Allegre, Merchandising and Paris Saint-Germain Brand Diversification, explains: “Paris Saint-Germain is the new generation club. We are driven by our values of competitiveness. At the forefront of innovation, we are always looking ahead, looking to the future, to offer our fans new experiences. To constantly improve them, and to offer better coverage for our brand, Sorare will enable us to reach out to new, young communities, especially in Asia and America. We are proud of this new collaboration”.
From One Field to Another
Current PSG players Neymar and Kylian Mbappé will be joining athletes from clubs like West Ham United, Juventus, and Porto, in the virtual game, becoming their very own tradable cards. Sorare will also submit cards of former PSG players, like David Beckham, tokenizing the famous footballer in blockchain.
Limited-edition trading cards and cards of varying rarity are sure to be included, an offering that has become increasingly attractive with the advent of blockchain because of the provable scarcity of collectibles on such a transparent platform. This and the versatility of blockchain has made it a popular tool for lottery and online casino style video games where gambling or trading is involved.
MLS Sign-ons
The Major League Soccer Players Association and OneTeam Partners also recently signed a partnership with Sorare to allow for the likenesses of over 700 players from MLS teams to appear in the fantasy soccer game. The deal came just before MLS players planned to reconvene in Disney World for a special tournament since the suspension of the season in March due to coronavirus concerns.
An Eager Market
Sorare’s market in the United States has organically grown into the second-largest user base for the platform, averaging an hour and fifteen minutes of play per day per user and reporting a continuous growth of 70% month on month. The official launch in the United States will help cement signings with teams and players associations in the country, fueling the plan to expand and ultimately delivering to a market with an obvious and passionate appetite for fantasy and sports card trading games.
Sorare CEO, Nicolas Julia, commented on the launch: “We are delighted to officially launch in the US today, getting Sorare one step closer to closing game-changing partnerships with major teams and clubs in the country. Expanding into the US early on in our growth is a strategic step for Sorare both in terms of market acquisition and brand recognition with users, soccer teams, and investors alike. With the inclusion of PSG to the platform, soccer fans in the US and elsewhere will be able to leverage their soccer knowledge to play as a strategic manager and compete for rewards with skin in the game. PSG fans will be able to join the economy of their passions in a way that wasn’t possible before Sorare’s global fantasy soccer game.“