Yahoo News Visa auctions 5 historic goals as NFTs ahead of World Cup
To commemorate the World Cup in Doha, Qatar later this month, Visa — one of FIFA's official sponsors — is auctioning off NFTs depicting historic goals scored by footballers in past World Cups.
In a partnership with fellow FIFA sponsor, Crypto.com, the effort is the latest act by the payments giant to flex its own crypto expertise while highlighting the technology’s potential to a global audience.
It also signals how Visa could become one of the emerging technology’s more formidable patrons as crypto-linked sports sponsorships cool year over year.
“We feel like this fusing of football, art and crypto technology and transforming that into these dynamic works of art is the summation of the kind of world around us today and how fast these different ways of commerce are evolving,” Andrea Fairchild, senior vice president of Visa’s global sponsorship strategy, told Yahoo Finance.
The two-part sponsorship called "Masters of Movement" includes an NFT auction on Crypto.com through the first eight days of November where enthusiasts can bid on the NFTs of these historic goals that have been reinterpreted as abstract art by London-based XK Studio in collaboration with each of the players.
They range from goal #16 of the 1998 France World Cup scored by Michael Owen in the Argentina v. England match, Jared Borghetti's header goal at a 2002 World Cup game for Mexico against Italy, and most recently, Team USA's goal scored by Carli Lloyd against Japan during the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada.
Winning bidders will also take home a signed piece of memorabilia from each player, such as a jersey or soccer ball.
Part two is a “live activation” that starts November 19 in Doha and runs through December 18 where World Cup attendees can create their own NFTs.
The process starts with fans donning wearable data sensors at the site's indoor pitch and playing soccer, said Visa's Fairchild. Based on a player's movement, the data is recorded, run through an algorithm, and then spit out as a custom piece of digital art minted as an NFT.
As for crypto’s growing involvement with sports, the pace of deals has markedly slowed since last year’s "spending rush," according to Peter Laatz, global managing director of sports sponsorship consultancy IEG.
Crypto firms racked up more than 73 active deals last year, according to data tracked by IEG, which only counts crypto sponsorships with the"Big Four" leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL). For the same period in 2022, deals have declined 30% from 2021 levels to 49 for 2022.
Though IEG doesn’t count advertising media buys, player endorsements, and activation costs, it shows approximately 90% of the new 2022 crypto deals were signed in the first half of this year, before cryptocurrency prices plummeted. Yet total spend over 2022 — $245 million — still beats last year's figure of $200 million, according to IEG
"There have been 40 or so crypto brands that have been spending in sports, I think in 2023 there will probably be four that our spending," Laatz told Yahoo Finance, citing Crypto.com, FTX, Coinbase, Webull and fan token platform, Socios, all as contenders.
Visa wouldn't disclose the cost of the sponsorship. All proceeds from the auction go to FIFA-featured charity, Street Children United.
The sponsorship also adds to Visa's growing presence in the crypto space that includes an NFT accelerator program for creators, a central bank digital currency advisory and more than 71 partnerships with crypto firms, many of which involve issuing a crypto-linked credit or debit card.
"This certainly is a first-of-its-kind experience for us," Fairchild said of the World Cup NFT sponsorship. "We just believe in the technology and how we can educate and enable people to use this new type of commerce."
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