- FIFA announced on Friday that it will launch FIFA Collect+ later this month
- The Web 3.0 project is built on the Algorand blockchain
- NFTs will play a huge part in the scheme, perhaps helping adoption
FIFA recently announced that its Web 3.0 experiment FIFA+ Collect will launch later this month ahead of the World Cup in Qatar. Football’s governing body signed a deal with the Algorand blockchain to host its digital collectibles back in May, and four months worth of work is on the verge of being completed and showcased. FIFA says that FIFA+ Collect will “provide football fans around the world with the chance to affordably own unique digital collectibles” and will represent a huge opportunity for the blockchain and NFT world to lay some long-standing criticisms to rest.
Favourite World Cup Moments as NFTs
When FIFA announced back in May that it had chosen Algorand to host its move into Web 3.0, the body said that the platform would “provide the official blockchain-supported wallet solution” as well as assisting FIFA in “further developing its digital assets strategy”. This has borne fruit with FIFA+ Collect, which FIFA said on Friday would launch this month on its digital channel FIFA+.
FIFA+ Collect will see a range of initial collections released alongside details of upcoming exclusive and limited-edition collections on the way, with FIFA Chief Business Officer Romy Gai explaining in a press release what fans could expect:
This exciting announcement makes FIFA collectibles available to any football fan, democratising the ability to own a part of the FIFA World Cup. Just like sports memorabilia and stickers, this is an accessible opportunity for fans around the world to engage with their favourite players, moments and more on new platforms.
Best Chance of Actual NFT Adoption Yet?
Interestingly, FIFA didn’t mention the term ‘NFT’ anywhere in the press release, probably for fear of the backlash as we have seen previously. There is hope, however, that if fans begin engaging with NFTs, perhaps without even knowing that they are, some of the stigma will fall away and people can start enjoying them for what they actually are and what they can do.
