A few years ago seeing a cryptocurrency business strike a partnership deal with a major sports brand like Tottenham Hotspur was unconceivable. And even less believable was to hear that over half a dozen Premier League teams will be accepting Bitcoin online payments.
But luckily, we live in different times today – a time when cryptocurrency-promoting companies can team up with the best in UK football to promote and spread the use of digital assets. That’s exactly what happened this week when e-trading platform eToro signed a sponsorship agreement with 7 Premier League teams that will be paid in Bitcoin only.
Sponsorship Rights for BTC
In an official press release from crypto-trading platform eToro, the company announced that it has entered a new sponsorship agreement with seven clubs from the Premier League. Apart from Tottenham Hotspur, other clubs who reportedly partnered up with eToro were Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Southampton, and Cardiff City.
eToro, which is based in Israel, has entered the agreement through a sports marketing company SportQuake following six months of preparations. Reportedly, the deal will see the Israeli company gain access to a number of assets, including tickets, LED boards, digital rights, access to players, as well as interview backdrops. According to eToro, this is the first instance where a Premier League partnership will be paid in Bitcoin.
eToro’s sponsorship of the clubs is an attempt to bring cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to the world of premium football. Prior to receiving payments in BTC, the seven clubs all set up individual Bitcoin wallets with the eToro online platform. The payments made were trials to see how cryptocurrencies could be implemented by each of the respective clubs. This is also not the first time a Premier League club partnered with a cryptocurrency company. That milestone is reserved for Arsenal FC, which signed a sponsorship deal with CashBet in February this year.
Bitcoin Payments to Revolutionize Football?
According to eToro, Bitcoin could soon be used to pay for transfers of top players. The trading platform has “no doubt” that the world’s biggest cryptocurrency will be able to eventually replace the Pound Sterling in the multi-billion industry of football transfers. Bitcoin is also expected to help clubs fight sales of counterfeit merchandise and ticket touting (resale), a representative from the company told the media in a Monday briefing.
To stimulate the clubs into getting their first taste of Bitcoin transfers, eToro has sent them their first coins in the newly registered wallets. Iqbal Gandham, the company’s managing director for UK who spoke to the Daily Telegraph, confirmed that the clubs received Bitcoin payments in an effort to spark interest. He also told the news agency that Bitcoin could help add more “transparency” to the football industry.
Comments were also given by some of the clubs’ heads who confirmed that the teams are interested in exploring the technology. Tottenham’s head of partnerships, Fran Jones, stated that the agreement was struck because the club feels a commitment to both innovation and technology. Brighton’s chief executive, Paul Barber, also expressed the club’s interest in cryptocurrencies and said that this new agreement will help Brighton understand “the true potential offered by blockchain” more clearly.