Blockchain and Metaverse for Professional Football Clubs!

Last Updated: 10. November 2023By

The Metaverse and the underlying technologies are changing our lives and are also making their way into professional football. In the framework of a study of the future by WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, 103 renowned industry experts are giving their first outlook on how blockchain, artificial intelligence and immersive technologies could transform professional football and its business models by 2030.

Blockchain technology and Metaverse will significantly change the business models of professional football clubs Active participation rights, digital jerseys and seats in virtual football stadiums – the Metaverse and the underlying technologies offer a variety of applications that will be commercially exploited in the future by professional football clubs, thereby significantly changing their business models. This is the result of a current study of the future by WHU under the direction of Prof. Dr. Sascha L. Schmidt. Unlike survey-based studies, in a Delphi study selected industry experts discuss – here 12 – preformulated future projections and assess both their likelihood of entry, how desirable the entry of said projection would be and what effects could go along with it.

The Metaverse offers numerous application possibilities, but in many cases these are not yet accepted in practice. Even qualified experts – including managers of renowned football clubs, officials of football leagues and associations, representatives of broadcasting companies and digital agencies – often still come to different assessments. However, there is agreement that immersive hardware such as augmented reality headsets or virtual reality (VR) equipment will increasingly be integrated into the entertainment offering of football clubs in the future (76% likelihood of entry). Thus, fans should be able to experience football matches live in a virtual stadium with the help of VR glasses in the future, without having to leave their home.

A new profession is emerging: Head of Metaverse In addition, the experts are highly likely to assume that professional football clubs will be able to significantly reduce their marketing costs by 2030, as they increasingly turn to tailor-made, AI-supported advertising offers in the Metaverse (75%). The interaction between club and fans should also be significantly improved by the use of Web3 applications (72%). Possible here is, for example, that football fans in the future will buy more virtual fan tokens. Through these they could subsequently receive exclusive access rights, preferential treatment when buying (VIP) tickets or even significant participation rights to significantly influence the decisions of their club.

Finally, the experts consider it possible that professional football clubs will create the position of a „Head of Metaverse“ in the near future (68%) or already generate more than five percent of their sales through virtual goods and services (60%). Other projections, including the possible use of so-called smart contracts in the context of personnel management (51%), appear to the experts as comparatively unlikely.

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