Sorare partners with Premier League for fantasy sports Web3

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Sorare, the creator of blockchain-based fantasy sports games, has struck a deal with the most-watched football league in the world: the English Premier League. The game will release player-based cards from all 20 EPL football clubs. These will debut alongside new gameplay features such as league-specific competitions, draft-based gameplay, and a salary cap mode.

"The way supporters follow their favorite teams and players is changing and the Premier League is always looking for ways to interact with fans. Sorare's digital maps and innovative online play represent a new way for them to feel closer to the Premier League," Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said.

Sorare started with soccer when the NFT-based fantasy sports title launched in 2018. Today, the company has deals with nearly 300 soccer clubs across 50 different leagues. These include big names like Italy's Serie A, Spain's La Liga, Germany's Bundesliga and America's MLS. This network effect between the various top leagues will help keep fans engaged.

In addition, Sorare has partnered with FIFA to launch a free version of its game for the 2022 World Cup. During this partnership, over 585,000 fans have signed up for Sorare.

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Sorare has expanded into different sports. The company has signed agreements with the NBA and MLB allowing Sorare to reach football, basketball and baseball fans.

The Premier League is looking for an NFT partner. Reportedly, talks with rival ConsenSys for a four-year deal worth over $450 million have collapsed amid crypto winter. While the Premier League's caution is likely to cost itself revenue (around $118m a year), this partnership appears to be focused on long-term fan engagement. Sorare's gameplay and slow but steady growth helped him avoid the stigma of a speculative get-rich-quick asset.

This agreement indicates that NFT and blockchain partnerships will be valued very differently in 2023 than in 2022.

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