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1 July 2022, Sofia, Zug

Bulgarian Football Union signs a 5-year partnership BLOCKSPORT AG, a leading Swiss sports tech solutions provider, to create the full digital ecosystem with the launch Fan Engagement App, Fan Token and NFTs as World’s first football federation to fully embrace the power of blockchain technology and tokenization for the benefit of the Bulgarian football and Bulgarian sport as a whole. This is the world’s first when it comes down to the entire digital ecosystem as many football and sports federations have opted for a silo effect by signing up with multiple partners in a way that does not connect the dots. 

By signing this 5-year partnership, BFU has positioned itself as the first football and sport federation in the world to fully embrace the power of blockchain technology, digitalisation, and tokenization. The partnership aims to develop new digital ways for fans to be more involved with the national team starting with the launch of a new interactive app for fans which will see engagement and digitalization go beyond the borders of Bulgaria and the region. It will be followed by the launch and release of BFU’s NFTs, and eventually the national team’s own Fan Tokens which will be utility based, hence totally non speculative. Bulgarian football produced some of the most famous world footballers including the Golden Generation that reached the semi-finals of the 1994 World Cup. 

While trading fan tokens might be great, Blocksport brings something a little different to the table. It is currently the only company that offers non-speculative utility fan tokens, specifically designed to drive real fan engagement. Several top-tier clubs are leveraging these tokens to create digital memberships that give fans exclusive perks depending on their membership level. Fans get real value and engagement based on their level, while teams get to build loyalty and cash in on new revenue streams.

Borislav Mihaylov, President of the Bulgarian Football Union, said;

“I am honoured and proud with the fact the Bulgarian Football Union will be the first football federation and the first football league with a fully completed digital ecosystem which will not only benefit our national team, our first league clubs but our football fans too. You often read in the press how American, Asian, English, German sports leagues and federations go ahead of the curve in this space and announce commercial arrangements that further benefit their already well run and funded sports infrastructure. However I feel this is a turnaround for this part of Europe, which has historically been full of potential and talent It is a great privilege to be at the helm of the football federation that has recognised this potential and is prepared to open up new frontiers in the digital space which in return will make us stand out from the crowd and attract investment not only into our football industry but our sport too. I truly hope that other successful sports in Bulgaria (and Balkans region) will follow in our footsteps and recognise the opportunity and potential in what we are doing. I would like to thank my team for working relentlessly over the past 12 months and bringing this solution based out of Switzerland and the world’s most regulated and transparent crypto valley, Zug, to my attention. I very much look forward to the next steps and the journey ahead.”

Vladimir Liulka, CEO and Co-Founder at Blocksport said:

“As Mr Mihaylov said, it is a great privilege to be announcing this exciting new partnership with the world’s first football federation which has fully understood the unique approach we offer at Blocksport and which has trusted us to lead the way in educating both them, inside the BFU, but also their clubs and fans in the process too. I am very much looking forward to ensuring that such partnerships travel a long way and become the case studies how things in the sports industry ought to be done. I am thankful to my team for making such partnerships happen and can’t wait to see the concrete results in the weeks and months to come. ” 

Vladimir Stevanovic, Blocksport Representative for the Balkans, added:

“Being a part of sports history by announcing the world’s first sports federation and league in this way is a great honour. It has been a long journey, with lots of challenges in the process, however it is all worth it when everything falls into place and things work out exactly how you intended them to. As a big fan of Bulgarian football and its former glory days I very much believe that such projects and ventures could end up being a positive turning point of Bulgarian sport and it is great to see how Mr Mihaylov’s leadership at the helm of BFU opens up brand new frontiers for not only Bulgarian football scene but the Bulgarian sport as a whole.”

NFTs have been around in the art industry since 2014 and have become the hot topic and a big phenomenon in the sports industry only in the past couple of years where many major clubs including the likes of Liverpool FC, have got their strategy and partnerships wrong, by teaming up with the likes of Sotheby’s, one of the biggest auction houses in the world, which ended up being a wrong move. However what is important that even mistakes and wrong calls are used as a part of the learning curve. Hence this partnership between Blocksport and BFU aim to deliver a long term value for not only for the BFU, but the country’s football industry and the sport as a whole. 

The Future Is Now: Generation Y and Z are the new faces of fandom. Understanding their needs and tailoring one’s brand for the digital realm presents new opportunities for engagement. It is the key to making them feel more connected to one’s club, national team and the chosen sport. When fans are happy, it is also a victory for the club or national team they support. Blockchain gives sports clubs, leagues and football and other sports associations the chance to do just that.

About Bulgarian Football Union

The Bulgarian Football Union is a football association based in Bulgaria and a member of UEFA. It organizes a football league, Bulgarian Parva Liga, and fields its Bulgaria national football team in UEFA and FIFA -authorised competitions. A legal entity that it claims descent from was founded in 1923 as the football department of the Bulgarian National Sports Federation, which existed until the Soviet invasion of 1944. The football governing body was then known as the Central Football Committee until 1948, the Republican Section for Football from 1948 until 1962 and the Bulgarian Football Federation from 1962 until 1985. On 27 June 1985, the organization was renamed the Bulgarian Football Union, the name that it carries today. The First Professional Football League, also known as the the efbet League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league, located at the top of the Bulgarian football league system. Contested by 16 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Second Professional Football League. The Bulgarian football championship was inaugurated in 1924 as the Bulgarian State Football Championship and has been played in a league format since 1948, when the A Group was established. The champions of the First League have the right to participate in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League based on the league’s European coefficient. Additionally, two UEFA Europa League spots are allocated to the second team in the final standings and the winner of the European playoffs. Since 1948, eleven different teams have been crowned champions of Bulgaria. The three most successful clubs are CSKA Sofia with 31 titles, Levski Sofia with 26 titles and Ludogorets Razgrad with 11 titles. The current champions Ludogorets Razgrad won their eleventh consecutive title in their eleventh First League season in 2021–22. The competition has been dominated by Sofia-based teams. The Sofia teams have won together a total number of 70 titles.

About BLOCKSPORT

Blocksport is an innovative Technology provider providing solutions for the sports industry. The blockchain- focused Sports Tech was founded in 2019 in Zug, Switzerland. Today, the company’s flagship product serves over 40 clients globally and among them top clubs like Empoli FC, FC Dynamo Kyiv, Partizan BC, Red Star RLC, Kaizer Chiefs FC, Bulgarian Football Union, ARIS BC, FC OH Leuven, FC Metalist 1925 Kharkiv, Cordoba PCF, KMF Ekonomac, Partizan VK, Wild Boars American Football, to name a few. Blocksport is designed to demonstrate how cutting edge technologies can assist sport clubs generate new revenue streams and help sports fans enjoy a better digital experience with their beloved clubs.  Many top-level teams and clubs are embracing blockchain-based solutions to ramp up engagement and monetize their ever-growing fan base. Implementing this innovation is critical to the survival of sports clubs and associations in an increasingly competitive space.

On Tuesday, 17th of May 2022, Ukraine will play a friendly solidarity match against the Seria A team Empoli, one of Blocksport’s latest partners who joined the Blocksport eco-system. Having spent the last few months working very closely with UAF (The Ukrainian Association of Football), a rather perfect opportunity emerged in relation to a football match, which also presented an opportunity to get across a great message to say no to war. This match will now also release a collection of very special and unique NFTs which will help the Ukrainian Federation raise further funds which will be donated to Ukraine United24, a platform launched by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the main headquarters for the collection of charitable donations in support of Ukraine.

To purchase a special NFT from the Ukraine-Empoli collection you need to connect your MetaMask wallet to Blocksport Platform app.blocksport.io and then you can place a bid for the NFT you like. The collection will include 10 NFTs. The starting price will be 0.2 BNB and it will be available for purchase from the 18th of May at 15:00 CET. Furthermore, by purchasing NFT at the Blocksport platform you can earn passive income participating in NFT staking pools.

Ukraine is holding a retreat in Slovenia with the players taking part in the Ukrainian league in preparation for the June playoff for the Qatar 2022 World Cup and will play some friendlies before the official matches.

Aurelio Andreazzoli’s Empoli will face the Ukrainian national team in a friendly match, led by Oleksandr Petrakov, who are preparing for the world play-offs in June (in Glasgow against Scotland and then, if they beat the Highlanders, in Cardiff against Wales). An evening of football, but also of friendship and solidarity will take place today, at 20.30 at the Carlo Castellani stadium in Empoli.

Vladimir Liulka, CEO OF BLOCKSPORT said: “This project goes way beyond your usual commercial business deal; it promotes the solidarity between some of Europe’s top football clubs and the national team of Ukraine with a simple message of peace, not war. We are honored and privileged to be able to make a small impact when it comes down to the launch of unique NFTs which will help raise funds for the Ukraine United24 platform. We hope this will be the beginning of a long-term relationship between Blocksport and UAF and we are very thankful to Oleg and Roman for making it happen and having it agreed by the UAF Board. Blocksport’s full ecosystem Empoli has fully embraced will be put to use and for the good cause in tomorrow’s match and we are thrilled about it and are looking forward to making it all happen.’

Rebecca Corsi, Vice President of Empoli: “We are very happy to join forces with the Ukrainian national team and our technology partner Blocksport on this project. The launch of NFT regarding this friendly match represents a unique opportunity to convey a strong positive message of peace, as the CEO of Blocksport said this initiative will help raise additional funds. Sports like art and music have transformative powers and it is a real privilege to be able to make a difference in this way “.

Yuri Zapisotsky, General Secretary of UAF, said:  ‘Ukrainian  Association of Football is interested in development and implementation of modern technologies and NFT is the one we consider as perspective one. When we received a proposition from Blocksport to join this project we accepted it. Especially, because it is not only about modern digital technologies but for providing additional funds to the charity initiative to support Ukraine.

We see great potential in it as we know that there is a big power of football fans all over the world to unite and stand for one team and the name of this team now is Ukraine!’

With Ukraine winning the Eurovision Song Contest this weekend with Ukraine’s folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra in Turin, which marked the first major cultural event in which Ukrainians since the February invasion, this match in Italy is very well timed to carry the sentiment of the justice forward.

Photos with Baresi, Maldini, Facchetti, and Mazzola, Italian Baloon D’or winners Rossi and Rivera, 1982 world champion and legendary goalkeeper Zoff, and other historical players of Serie A will be presented in a unique NFT collection by Blocksport. 

The first collection will include in-match photos of Inter Milan and AC Milan legends – unique and non-published from the private collection. It will be released on the 19th of April on the day when the next Derby Della Madonnina will take place in the 2nd leg of Coppa Italia. This will be the first part of the collection including many Serie A stars from the 1970s up to the 1990s with many famous names, historic venues, and matches. All NFT photos will be available for purchasing at Blocksport NFT platform app.blocksport.io. 

NFTs will be divided into 2 categories – rare and unique. Rare NFTs will have 10 copies of each NFT and starting price of 0.2 BNB each. Unique NFTs will be only in 1 original copy with a starting price of 0.5 BNB. 

NFTs are non-fungible tokens that have proof of uniqueness written in blockchain so every asset is unique and can’t be faked. That’s why by buying a unique NFT photo every fan will receive only one copy of the photo that can be always identified and verified. We give all the sports and football fans from Italy and all over the world to build their own collection of unique photos from matchdays with this NFT collection and have a part of Calcio history with them.

Andrea Donega, Blocksport representative in Italy:

“We are pleased to launch this collection that will allow us to certify, thanks to blockchain technology, some historical images of the Italian Serie A and open up new opportunities for fans, collectors, and enthusiasts.”

Blocksport is a Swiss fan engagement tech provider for sports and esports clubs and organizations. It already partnered with Italian Serie A side Empoli to launch a fan app, NFT collection, and fan tokens and also works with Molfetta Calcio from Serie D. Among other partners Blocksport has famous basketball clubs Partizan Belgrade and ARIS, top tier British rugby team Salford Red Devils and 30 more clubs. Blocksport vision is to provide digitalization and tokenization in the world of sports. 

1 April 2022, Kragujevac, Zug

Kragujevac Wild Boars have been known for their consistency in building their organization. In the past few years, they’ve been a complete powerhouse of Serbia, and abroad. In 2017, they managed to reach the CEFL Bowl, however SWARCO was still a too big of a bite to take. It’s interesting to mention that the Wild Boars are the first ever CEFL champions (2006). Wild Boars have won seven national championships – 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2017, and participated in the final of the Serbian Cup in 2005. In 2011, they played the EFAF Cup finals in London against the London Blitz. 

By signing this 5-year partnership, Kragujevac Wild Boars have become the first European American football club to go down the road of digitalisation and commercialisation which puts both them and Blocksport in the unique position of opening up a new sporting space and leading the way. 

Marko Vujanac, President of Kragujevac Wild Boars added;

“Kragujevac Wild Boars is the club with rich history, the club with many national championships and the club that has huge aspirations both regionally and internationally. We are soon entering the CEFL (Central European Football League) Cup and will be competing against Czech, Polish and Hungarian champions and very much hope we will come on top of that major tournament. We have huge aspirations and historically have brought players and coaches from America, who all helped us to have raised the level of American football in Serbia and across the entire region of Central and Eastern Europe. Those included Larry Kentera, former coach of Arizona Sun Devils and Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. I am excited about this new journey and privileged to be a part of the history too!”

Vladimir Liulka, CEO and Co-Founder at Blocksport said:

“We are very excited about this new partnership and the new sporting arena Blocksport is entering. We truly want to democratise, digitalise and commercialise the global sport and partnerships like this are hugely important to us. I very much look forward to what the future holds and cannot wait to see the launch of Wild Boars Fan App, as well as NFTs and Fan Tokens too in due course. ” 

Vladimir Stevanovic, Blocksport Representative for the Balkans, added:

“Having signed a long term partnership with VK Partizan, it is great to see our entry into the new sport which in my view is massively undervalue and underrated and I am thankful to my local team and Marko Vujanac for spotting an opportunity here and taking a leap of faith to move in the direction that offers so much potential and so many opportunities and I very much look forward to the next steps.”

About Kragujevac Wild Boars

Kragujevac Wild Boars have been known for their consistency in building their organization. In the past few years, they have been a complete powerhouse in Serbia, and abroad. In 2017, they managed to reach the CEFL Bowl, however SWARCO was still a too big of a bite to take. It’s interesting to mention that the Wild Boars are the first ever CEFL champions (2006). The first steps of American football in Kragujevac were made in October 2002, when a group of enthusiasts in this sport, inspired by NFL broadcasts on the Third Channel of RTS, gathered to play the sport themselves. With the advent of Aleksandar Ćirić and Mladen Pavlović, it went to a higher level, in mid-August 2003, when the club was officially registered. Then, came the idea that the club will be called Wild Boars, according to an animal that is a symbol of the city. Previously, the club played the first match of the American football in Serbia, on March 22, 2003, in front of about 500 fans at the stadium of the Kragujevac Football Club Jadran, where the Wild Boars beat Belgrade’s Vukovi, 15:14. Even though the club did not win the title in the 2011 season, Wild Boars made the biggest club success in the history of this sport in Serbia, playing in the final of the EFAF Cup. After this season, the Boars took 10th place in the TOP 10 European teams. 2017 season was probably the most successful in clubs history. Defending the championship title and adding the seventh National championship trophy, Wild Boars made a comeback in a great way. In CEFL Bowl they were at the biggest test in the history of the Serbian club football team and, despite having had to satisfy the name of the vice-champion, they did not wear up against one of the most successful European clubs, Swarco Raiders, the triple champion of Europe, at a beautiful “Tivoli” stadium in Innsbruck. In the middle of the season, Wild Boars were on the list of TOP 10 teams of Europe, but after the defeat of Austrians they ended the year on the 16th position.

25 March 2022, Zug, Buenos Aires

Blocksport, one of the world’s leading SportsTech solutions provider, announces the appointment of its representatives for the Latin and South American market, as a part of its global strategy to lead the market with the launch of non-speculative fan tokens, as well as lead the way in the sports industry when it comes down to digitalization and commercialization, leading by best practices and educating the industry in the process.  This move is designed to take an initiative aimed at the sports marketplace where the fans remain very passionate and committed to their beloved sport clubs, bringing the latest fan engagement blockchain technology to the exciting part of the world. 

Samir Ceric, COO of Blocksport says: “Having recently launched our representative office in KSA and MENA region, and having started the conversations in Nigeria and some other African countries, we cannot possibly ignore the fact that South and Latin America have some of the most passionate and committed fans in the world and we feel Blocksport ought to play a significant role in bringing state of the art blockchain technology as well as the fully fledged digitalisation and tokenisation to this market full of opportunities. We feel we have picked amazing partners in Jonathan Ayerbe and Ficha Fede Sanchez (and their teams), the guys who not only know so much about the sports industry but who are possibly some of the most educated and most experienced guys in the blockchain and metaverse space. I am very excited about this journey and the fact that Blocksport over the past few months seems to be globalising its presence and paving the way for a hugely successful 2022, in preparation for the major 2023-2024, which I personally predict to be highly successful years for the company on the global stage. Despite the recent ups and downs of the global economy and all challenges businesses around the world are facing, we believe that what we have to offer is here to stay medium to long term and ensure that all our partners and their die-hard fan bases benefit with our fan engagement capabilities. “

Jonathan Ayerbe says: “We are thrilled with this appointment as we believe the Latin and South American market is ripe for blockchain solutions sports tech leaders like Blocksport offer. What made us believe Blocksport is the right partner for us is the fact that they have a unique offering which is not only about Fan Tokens or NFTs but much more than that. This sports tech company offers  a unique digital ecosystem designed to create new revenue streams for South American clubs, leagues, federations and athletes which also don’t engage in speculative activities but first and foremost protect fan base as well as clubs’ reputation and credibility. We are excited about the opportunity that is offered to us hence we are convinced all important sporting properties of this market will soon partner up with Blocksport. We very much look forward to working with COO Samir Ceric and CEO Vladimir Liulka and their teams and can’t wait to start our conversations with clubs and federations decision makers. “

This announcement comes at the time when Blocksport continues its global growth plans by slowly but steady entering all important geographical locations including South America, Africa, Australia and soon Canada and North America as bigger and bigger sporting properties are coming on-board of the concept that is designed to create new revenues short, medium and long term and most importantly directly improve and increase fan engagement between sports organisations and their fan bases in an open, transparent and genuine way with real and long lasting benefits for all.

About BLOCKSPORT

Blocksport is an innovative Technology provider providing solutions for the sports industry. The blockchain- focused Sports Tech was founded in 2019 in Zug, Switzerland. Today, the company’s flagship product serves over 40 clients globally and among them top clubs including Empoli FC, Dynamo Kyiv, OHL, Metalist, Partizan BC, Red Star RC, Cordoba PCF, ARIS BC, to name a few.

18 March 2022, Belgrade, Zug

The second most successful water polo club in Europe of all times, Vaterpolo klub Partizan (VK Partizan), with seven European champion titles, 27 national titles and 24 Cup titles, is the first water polo club in the world fully embracing the power of blockchain technology, digitalisation, and tokenization by signing a 5-year partnership with Swiss-based Sports Tech company Blocksport. Following in the footsteps of Partizan BC, this partnership with the club with rich history whose players helped Serbia and Yugoslavia win many gold medals at the Olympics, European and World championships, VK Partizan starts a new journey and breaks away in the direction that is making it the market leader off the ‘pitch’ (water polo pool arena).   

By signing this 5-year partnership, VK Partizan has positioned itself as the first water polo club in the world to fully embrace the power of blockchain technology, digitalisation, and tokenization. The partnership aims to develop new digital ways for fans to be more involved with the club starting with the launch of a new interactive app for fans which will see engagement and digitalization go beyond the borders of Belgrade and Serbia. It will be followed by the launch and release of VK Partizan’s NFTs, and eventually their own Fan Tokens which will be utility based, hence totally non speculative. VK Partizan produced some of the world’s most successful water polo players and dozens of Serbia national team players too including the world’s best water polo player of 2021, Filip Filipovic, awareded by FINA, the international governing body for 6 aquatic disciplines, and presented at a gala at the Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island Hotel on 17 December 2021, in conjunction with the World Short Course Swimming Championships (https://swimswam.com/fina-honors-maggie-steffens-filip-filipovic-as-2021-best-water-polo-players/).  

 Nikola Kuljaca, Director of Partizan VK added;

“Partizan VK is very proud to be recognized as a partner of such a respected company.  Furthermore, we are looking forward to explore the world of digital products and cannot find a better partner than company Blocksport. Best of luck to all of us!”

Vladimir Liulka, CEO and Co-Founder at Blocksport said:

“Partnerships like this have big importance for Blocksport when it comes down to looking at sports other than football where the spending power is huge. Waterpolo is a space that in our view is massively undervalued. Also we are well aware that Serbia and the whole region is full of talent and potential and with our third sports club now on-board, we are very optimistic about the prospects and potential behind these partnerships. I am looking forward to the development of our relationships and Serbia and beyond and am looking forward to the next steps. Waterpolo and Serbia stand for Top of the World in this sport for years and decades now and we could not have started with a better partner than VK Partizan. ” 

Vladimir Stevanovic, Blocksport Representative for the Balkans, added:

“With so much recent development in Serbia, I am thrilled with the latest partnership knowing that Serbia and VK Partizan have made the water polo history on a global level already. Being a part of a new history making with the blockchain and digital solutions behind this highly celebrated water polo club is an incredible feeling and none of that would have been possible without the forward thinking senior management of the club. Hence I take this opportunity to highlight the fact that they have recognised the huge potential behind digitalisation and commercialising of the club and similar to how Serbia has become one of the major tech nations, the Serbian sport is now following in the similar footsteps. I cannot wait to see the launch of VK Partizan’s own Fan App and NFTs behind some of the golden generation of the water polo world and the club’s historical winning moments too.”

About VK Partizan 

VK Partizan is a professional water polo club based in Belgrade, Serbia. VK Partizan is one of the sports clubs in Serbia that is part of sport society Partizan. As of 2021–22 season, the club competes in the Serbian Water polo League A, the highest level of men’s water polo in Serbia, organized by the Water polo Federation of Serbia. With seven European champion titles (the last in 2011 against Pro Recco), VK Partizan is the second most successful European team in water polo history along with Mladost, and behind Pro Recco with nine titles, 27 national titles and 24 Cup titles. VK Partizan produced some of the world’s most successful waterpolo players and dozens of Serbia national team players too including the world’s best water polo player of 2021, Filip Filipovic, awareded by FINA, the international governing body for 6 aquatic disciplines, and presented at a gala at the Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island Hotel on 17 December 2021, in conjunction with the World Short Course Swimming Championships (https://swimswam.com/fina-honors-maggie-steffens-filip-filipovic-as-2021-best-water-polo-players/).  

About BLOCKSPORT

Blocksport is an innovative Technology provider providing solutions for the sports industry. The blockchain- focused Sports Tech was founded in 2019 in Zug, Switzerland. Today, the company’s flagship product serves over 40 clients globally and among them top clubs including Empoli FC, Dynamo Kyiv, OHL, Metalist, Partizan BC, Red Star RLC, ARIS BC, Cordoba Futsal, KMF Ekonomac, to name a few.

11 March 2022, Kragujevac, Zug

One of the most successful futsal clubs in Europe, by winning 11 national championship, Ekonomac became the most successful futsal club of all time in Serbia. As the most successful futsal club in the history of this sport in the country. The club has attracted the likes of top Brazilian futsal players such as Daniel, Divanei (former Kairat Almaty player)  and João Carlos Gonçalves Filho also known as Nenê who also played for the lieks of Sporting CP  and Benfica, competing with the best in Europe for many seasons. The club made its first appearance in the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2008 when they reached the elite round. They qualified as the Serbian champions and started the competition in the main round. Ekonomac set a large list of records in its eight appearances in the UEFA Futsal Cup, being the only Serbian futsal club who participated eight times. The club also reached the elite round every time it participated in UEFA competitions. By frequently participating in the UEFA Futsal Cup, Ekonomac was ranked high, often in top 6, in the UEFA club ranking list. In 2015, when UEFA published the new futsal club ranking list, KMF Ekonomac was ranked as the fourth futsal club in Europe with 21,000 points. With this new ranking, Ekonomac qualified directly to the elite round for the 2015–16 season, thus setting a new record for Serbian futsal. The club became the highest-ranked Serbian futsal team in the history, and is also the only Serbian futsal club who has qualified directly to the elite round.

By signing a 5-year partnership with Swiss-based Sports Tech company Blocksport, Ekonomac has positioned itself as one of the first futsal clubs in the world to fully embrace the power of blockchain technology, digitalisation, and tokenization. The partnership aims to develop new digital ways for fans to be more involved with the club starting with the launch of a new interactive app for fans which will see engagement and digitalization go beyond the borders of Kragujevac and Serbia. It will be followed by the launch and release of Ekonomac’s NFTs, and eventually their own Fan Tokens which will be utility based, hence totally non speculative. Ekonomac produced some of the world’s most successful futsal players and dozens of Serbia national team players too. 

 Petar Veselinovic, President of KMF Ekonomac added;

“Ekonomac is a futsal club with rich history and we are very proud to be the world’s second futsal club to join the blockchain journey which will make our club a global player. Ekonomac has so much to offer and we have been rebuilding the club for some time now and this partnership could not have come in a better time for us. I look forward to this exciting journey and have no doubts that all our partners, sponsors, supporters and fans will benefit from these decisions and steps we are taking to make Ekonomac go beyond the borders of Serbia and the region. 

Vladimir Liulka, CEO and Co-Founder at Blocksport said:

“Partnerships like this have big importance for Blocksport when it comes down to looking at sports other than football where the spending power is huge. Futsal is a space that in our view is massively undervalued however the popularity around the world is growing and having partnered up with Cordoba Futsal and now KMF Ekonomac, we are seriously exploring the entire sport of futsal on a global stage. Deepening our base in Serbia and the Balkans is also important to us as we see sports such as futsal, waterpolo, handball and athletics very important for Blocksport’s sports ecosystem (in addition to football and basketball) and starting to work with the Serbian clubs that happen to be some of the best in Europe and the world and whose players have been voted as the best in the world holds additional significance to the Blocksport long term strategy. Although I have not been to Kragujevac where Ekonomac is based, I hear some wonderful things about this sporty and University City and I am looking forward to following this partnership closely personally and via my team on the ground.” 

Vladimir Stevanovic, Blocksport Representative for the Balkans, added:

“I am personally pleased with this announcement and this new partnership in Serbia as I have personally known the Club’s president for some time now and I know how passionate and committed he is to the growth, development and success of Ekonomac. Kragujevac is a great business, sport and university city in Serbia and I have no doubts that such partnerships will also inspire the generations of new students to embrace such technology innovations and pursue them professionally after graduation. I see an opportunity for Blocksport and Ekonomski Universitet to partner up in the future and possibly inspire and educate the new generation of digitally competent professionals which can only help digitalise and commercialise the sport industry as that generation will tomorrow become one of the biggest ‘consumer’ of digital assets and virtual goods this partnership will be promoting and creating such as Fan App, Fan Tokens and NFTs.”

About KMF EKONOMAC

Ekonomac Kragujevac is a Serbian futsal club based in Kragujevac. Ekonomac is currently competing in the Prva Futsal Liga, which is the premier futsal league in Serbia. One of the most successful futsal clubs in Europe, by winning 11 national championships, Ekonomac became the most successful futsal club of all time in Serbia. As the most successful futsal club in the history of this sport in the country, Ekonomac continued with what might be the club’s best season so far, by winning the championship in the 2013–14 season with an undefeated record (only one draw). In the 2014–15 season, Ekonomac won the Serbian championship again as well as reaching the elite round of the UEFA Futsal Cup. The club made its first appearance in the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2008 when they reached the elite round. They qualified as the Serbian champions and started the competition in the main round. Ekonomac set a large list of records in its eight appearances in the UEFA Futsal Cup, being the only Serbian futsal club who participated eight times. The club also reached the elite round every time it participated in UEFA competitions. By frequently participating in the UEFA Futsal Cup, Ekonomac was ranked high in the UEFA club ranking list. In 2015, when UEFA published the new futsal club ranking list, KMF Ekonomac was ranked as the fourth futsal club in Europe with 21,000 points. With this new ranking, Ekonomac qualified directly to the elite round for the 2015–16 season, thus setting a new record for Serbian futsal. The club became the highest-ranked Serbian futsal team in the history, and is also the only Serbian futsal club who has qualified directly to the elite round.

About BLOCKSPORT

Blocksport is an innovative Technology provider providing solutions for the sports industry. The blockchain- focused Sports Tech was founded in 2019 in Zug, Switzerland. Today, the company’s flagship product serves over 40 clients globally and among them top clubs including Empoli FC, Dynamo Kyiv, OHL, Metalist, Partizan BC, Red Star RC, ARIS BC, Cordoba Futsal, to name a few.

Spanish futsal club from Primera division is on the way to digitalization and tokenization of their relationship with fans together with the Blocksport platform. Cordoba will launch its own fan app with prediction games and sponsors dedicated sections and will later have the possibility to introduce an NFT collection.

The development of a fan engagement ecosystem will help to unite all the fans in one digital space, to receive special rewards for most active fans, and take part in clubs’ life. Fan app will provide fans with gamification features like fan rating, fan missions, predictions, chats – fans can also buy tickets, merchandise and read all the news.

Cordoba Futsal is a Spanish futsal club established in 2013 and currently playing in Primera Division – the first tier of Professional Spanish futsal (the best league in the world). The club plays its home games at Palacio Municipal de Deportes Vista Alegre with a capacity of 3500 people, colors of the club are white and green in the current season the main goal for the future of the club is to finish in the Champions League zone to play against the best European teams in the next seasons.

Blocksport is a Swiss-based SportsTech company that currently works with many European top sports and esports clubs. Blocksport specializes in tokenization and digitalization of fan engagement and relationships between fans and sports organizations. Currently, more than 30 organizations joined the Blocksport platform, among them Empoli FC from Italian Serie A, ARIS BC from Greek Basketball League, FC Dynamo Kyiv and Salford Red Devils – British top-tier rugby club.

Today we are pleased to announce our new visual style, as a modern and developing company we want to show that our visual assets follow the vision and key messages of Blocksport. 

In general, our new branding became more falt and simplified to present how simple and clear can be digitalization and tokenization for every sport and esport club and organization, as digital and blockchain are new to most of the fans and sports executives we want to show that it can be simple to understand for everyone and enjoy the new possibilities. 

We decided to keep up with the blue color for our branding as the main color that symbolizes the modern blue ocean strategy of business which is all about partnership and collaboration and that’s what Blocksport strategy is all about.

Our new logo and branding identify the key aspects of Blocksport – a symbol of a block that presents blockchain the system which is a basis for all our products and services, tokenization, and digitalization of sports and esports. The second symbol which is inserted into a block is a ball – which is a part of most sports both team and individual, you can see it in football, basketball, volleyball, golf you can see it as a puck in hockey and in many different other sports. 

That’s why our new visual style simply implies what Blocksport is – ‘block’ and ‘sport’ and their combination to open the world of tokenization and digitalization for all sports organizations and their fans and to show the transparent way of using those technologies to build new relationships between organizations and fans. 

Blocksport, one of the world’s leading SportsTech solutions provider, announces the appointment of its representatives for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and MENA Region, as a part of its global strategy to lead the market with the launch of non-speculative fan tokens, as well as lead the way in the sports industry when it comes down to digitalization and commercialization, leading by best practices and educating the industry in the process.  This move is designed to take an initiative aimed at the sports marketplace of the MENA Region, starting with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to ensure the safeguarding of clubs’ and sporting entities’ biggest asset base, which is their fan base.

Samir Ceric, COO of Blocksport says: ‘Far too many cases of fan base ‘abuse’ are appearing in the marketplace today, and we at Blocksport want to demonstrate that one can win business and be profitable by ensuring that it can be achieved in the honest and transparent fashion, assisting clubs, leagues and federations in ensuring the safeguarding of clubs’ and sporting entities’ biggest asset base, which is their fan base.  The MENA region is of great importance for Blocksport and starting with THE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and our representatives on the ground there is the step in the right direction. This is also a very important year for the MENA region with the Word Cup being held in Qatar in November and December 2022 and I feel that Blocksport is best placed to service the entire region by offering non-speculative, utility, tokens which is in line with the Islamic finance regulations. Being more than Fan Token provider but a true technology partner for clubs, leagues and federations, I am very confident that our journey in the MENA region, which is starting with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), will be highly successful and fruitful and the appointment of SPORTS TEAMS office supports that optimism and ambition. The Middle East continues to invest in the sports industry not only in the MENA region but outside and we have seen that recently with the acquisition of Newcastle United FC by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), chaired by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

Naif R.K. Bin Hethlain of SPORTS TEAMS says: “We are thrilled with this appointment as we believe the KSA and MENA region are ripe for blockchain solutions sports tech leaders like Blocksport offer. What made us believe Blocksport is the right partner for us is the fact that they have a unique offering which is not only about Fan Tokens or NFTs but much more than that. They offer a unique digital ecosystem designed to create new revenue streams for Middle Eastern clubs, leagues and federations which also don’t engage in speculative activities but first and foremost protect fan base as well as clubs reputation and credibility. We believe Blocksport will play a major part in this World Cup Year in Qatar and are excited about the opportunity that is offered to us hence we are convinced all important sporting properties of KSA and MENA region will soon partner up with Blocksport. We very much look forward to working with COO Samir Ceric and CEO Vladimir Liulka and their teams and can’t wait to start our conversations with clubs and federations decision makers. “

This announcement comes at the time when Blocksport continues its global growth plans by slowly but steady entering all important geographical locations including South America, Africa, Australia and soon Canada and North America as bigger and bigger sporting properties are coming on-board of the concept that is designed to create revenues short, medium and long term and most importantly directly improve and increase fan engagement between sports organisations and their fan bases in an open, transparent and genuine way with real and long lasting benefits.

 About BLOCKSPORT

Blocksport is an innovative Technology provider providing solutions for the sports industry. The blockchain- focused Sports Tech was founded in 2019 in Zug, Switzerland. Today, the company’s flagship product serves over 40 clients globally and among them top clubs including Empoli FC, Dynamo Kyiv, OHL, Metalist, Partizan BC, Red Star RC, Cordoba PCF, ARIS BC, to name a few.