Socios partners with Turkish soccer club union to explore digital revenue models

The soccer world continues to seek out new revenue models amid the coronavirus pandemic, which saw the suspension of league matches in some countries, and new partnerships form to find sustainable answers in the digital space.

Representing soccer clubs playing in the Süper Lig, Turkey’s primary soccer league, the Turkish Union of Clubs has partnered with fan engagement platform Socios.com to promote innovation in the country’s soccer landscape, according to a July 1 announcement.

“Few countries in the world match the unique passion that Turks feel for the game of football,” Socios and Chiliz CEO Alex Dreyfus told Cointelegraph:

“This partnership will benefit the entire Turkish football ecosystem in a critical moment for the industry, in which it is crucial for sports properties to shift their fans’ role from passive to active.”

Socios already launched fan tokens for six Turkish soccer teams playing across different leagues. Along with over 40 global sports organizations, Turkey’s Alanyaspor, Bursaspor, Galatasaray, Göztepe, İstanbul Başakşehir and Trabzonspor are using fan tokens and Socios’ voting and reward app to engage and monetize their fans.

Related: Crypto fan tokens a mixed bag for game-deprived soccer fans

The new partnership makes the sports-focused blockchain company the fan engagement partner of the Union of Clubs. Socios will help the union to apply new technologies to Turkish professional clubs to improve fan engagement, generate new revenue models and increase financial sustainability.

As part of the deal, the Union of Clubs and Socios.com will co-host a number of workshops and seminars to engage the industry’s main players in conversations around the latest trends affecting the business of football, the announcement reads.

Ticket sales and streaming deals account for a big part of revenue for the soccer industry. Since the games are either suspended for a period of time or played without a full audience in most leagues during the pandemic, clubs are in need of fresh business models. Clubs see fan tokens as a strategic move to enhance their digital presence and stay closer to fans.