David De Gea to Real Madrid was the mega-transfer that never happened – but the outcome would have been different if football had adopted blockchain technology.
The Manchester United goalkeeper seemed certain to join the Spanish giants in 2015 but the deal fell through as the paperwork was not submitted in time to beat the transfer deadline.
A blockchain firm has revealed that more than ten football clubs, most of them from the Premier League with others from the Championship, La Liga and Italy’s Serie A, have approached it in recent weeks to revolutionise how they do business.
That would prevent a repeat of the De Gea farce. “There are major gains to be made with regard to sponsorships and the way clubs interact with all their business partners,” Omar Jackson, director of Cryptech World, told Business Leader.
“The buying and selling of players becomes faster, more efficient and more cost-effective if all the information needed to complete transfers is kept on a blockchain.
“This will be particularly important on deadline day to make sure last-minute deals go through. It will also bring more transparency by recording payment of player and agent fees to show what percentages of transfer fees goes where.
“From the 2020-2021 season we could start seeing a lot more blockchain involvement in football, leading to players being bought and sold through cryptocurrencies and even being paid in crypto.
“Football is a business, profit is vitally important to the clubs, and blockchain can help them cut costs massively, making many processes more efficient, saving time and money.
“We are welcoming these conversations and the clubs we’re talking to are all interested in learning more about how blockchain can benefit their business; there are many ways for this to happen.”
Cryptech World, which has offices in London and Dubai, says blockchain can help clubs tackle forged matchday tickets, the problem of touts and reduce costs for fans.
Italian giants Juventus and French club Paris Saint-Germain have launched cryptocurrency tokens through Socios.com as they look to increase their global fanbase.
The tradeable tokens will allow fans across the world to engage through a mobile voting and polling platform, through which the clubs will ballot their fans, allowing the supporters’ voices to be heard.
“The recent move by France’s Paris Saint-Germain to partner with blockchain platform Socios.com highlights how clubs can use their own cryptocurrencies to build a stronger bond with fans,” said Jackson.
“All team sports, especially cricket, can benefit enormously from blockchain. F1 will be a huge arena to implement the technology too.”