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Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea would be a Real Madrid player now if football had embraced blockchain technology, a move some football pundits suggest now seems inevitable in the next couple of seasons.
De Gea’s switch from Old Trafford to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium famously fell through in 2015 because the paperwork was not submitted in time for the transfer to be completed.
But the collapse of deadline day deals in such circumstances should soon become a thing of the past, according to experts who are in talks with a number of English Premier League clubs on the benefits of blockchain technology.
“There are major gains to be made with regard to sponsorships and the way clubs interact with all their business partners,” said Omar Jackson, director of Cryptech World. “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 crypto-currencies and even being paid in crypto.”
Omar said that Cryptech World has been approached in recent weeks directly and indirectly by more than 10 football clubs, most of them from the Premier League, as well as the Championship, the second tier of English Football, La Liga in Spain and Serie A from Italy.
While discussions are at an early stage, the company says the foundations are being laid for revolutionary changes to the way top football clubs do business.
Omar believes that while football is taking the lead in embracing blockchain technology, its impact on the global sports industry will be magnified by developments across a wide range of team and individual sports such as cricket, Formula One, rugby, tennis, golf and boxing.
“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,” he claimed. “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 says blockchain will also help football clubs eliminate the traditional problem of forged match day tickets, tackle the issue of touts snapping up blocks of tickets to sell at inflated prices and, perhaps most importantly, help bring down the cost of football and supporting football clubs to the man on the street.
The recent move by France’s Paris Saint-Germain to partner with blockchain platform socios.com highlights how clubs can use their own crypto-currencies to build a stronger bond with fans, says Omar. PSG is launching a Fan Token Offering (FTO) giving supporters access to branded club tokens. These will make it easier to buy club merchandise and tickets, and also give fans voting rights on matters such as player-of-the-month awards and stadium music.
“All team sports, especially cricket, can benefit enormously from blockchain. F1 will be a huge arena to implement the technology too,” he added.
With offices in Dubai and London, Cryptech World invests in ideas and start-ups utilising blockchain and actively trades the top four crypto-currencies in the world, namely Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin. The company recently signed a sponsorship agreement with Britain’s former world boxing champion, Amir Khan.
As for De Gea, he is out of contract in the summer although Manchester United do have a clause the club can trigger to extend it by another season. But reports suggest officials are trying to agree terms on a new deal to show their appreciation for his fine form.
However, according to one English national newspaper, the goalkeeper wants a huge pay rise. Whether it’s by cash or crypto-currency, whether he stays or whether he goes, one thing is guaranteed … he’ll be coining it in.
