Highlights
- Berlin-based OneFootball is a soccer-focused media platform.
- It raised US$300 mn in Series D funding led by Liberty City Ventures to expand Web3.
- Its new OneFootball Labs is a joint venture with Liberty City Ventures and Hong Kong-based gaming platform Animoca Brands.
Berlin-based soccer app OneFootball on Thursday announced raising US$300 million in Series D funding to expand into Web3 space and offer affordable digital assets.
The funding round was led by blockchain fund Liberty City Ventures with additional investment from Animoca Brands, Dapper Labs, DAH Beteiligungs GmbH, Quiet Capital, Senator Investment Group, RIT Capital Partners, and Alsara Investment Group.
The funds will be used to expand the company and its new joint venture, OneFootball Labs, with Liberty City Ventures and Hong Kong-based gaming platform Animoca Brands.
OneFootball Labs seeks to help football clubs, leagues, federations, and players to create a digital fan experience on the blockchain. The platform intends to offer users affordable and unique fan experiences to boost the adoption of blockchain technology in soccer.
The company plans to offer affordable digital assets and collectibles to football fans.
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OneFootball delivers information from various soccer competitions and leagues worldwide to more than 100 million monthly active users.
The company has more than 360 employees from 40 countries.
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Lucas von Cranach, founder and CEO of OneFootball, cited by Bloomberg, said, “We believe the future of football away from the stands and off the pitch will be decentralized and built on web3, giving back the ownership of data and digital assets to the fans.”
OneFootball is not the only company excited about venturing into Web3. Footwear company Adidas bought a land plot in The Sandbox metaverse to sell its products.
In December last year, Nike acquired digital sneakers maker RTFKT. They unveiled their first virtual sneakers this month.
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Bottom line:
Experts believe the virtual gaming segment will never be out of fashion. There is even a fan-token category for real-world, sports-crazy fans in the crypto space.
With the growing interest in virtual assets and different use cases of blockchain technology, people can expect many new entrants in the future.