Arsenal partners with Ultimate Champions to release NFTs

Arsenal, one of the popular clubs within the English Premier League, is venturing into non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Arsenal has announced that it will be teaming up with Ultimate Champions, a Unagi fantasy football game.

Arsenal joins the NFT hype

Arsenal and Ultimate Champions will be in a long-term relationship where users will be given a chance to play cross-league fantasy football at zero charges. There will also be an option for the player to trade NFTs with other users on the platform.

The fantasy football game will also support an in-game virtual currency that will support earning and spending on the platform. The game also supports the creation of a top-performing team featuring real-world players. The rewards will be granted depending on how the selected players perform in real life.

The scoring system developed by Ultimate Champions will consider all the player’s positions. This game was created using a play-to-earn model, and the player NFTs will be similar to collectible football stickers issued in digital format. Those who record more wins during the game unlock more NFTs that can be sold to other users.

The game also has a free option that does not require players to buy digital player cards. This free option is suitable for players who want to understand the dynamics or those who want to have better engagement with the football club without buying an NFT.

The Ultimate Champions platform used its utility token CHAMP to facilitate user purchases for digital cards. However, users will receive rewards in MGC tokens that represent manager contracts.

Bringing NFTs into sports

According to the chief commercial officer at Arsenal, Julie Slot, this move would foster global fan engagement and allow fans to experience the ultimate gaming experience. He added that Arsenal was the first club within the EPL to partner for a game with both free and paid options.

“Unagi’s Ultimate Champions represents the next generation of fantasy football gaming. We are privileged to be the only Premier League club to join the free-to-play game and bring this brilliant concept to our supporters around the world, giving them the opportunity to apply their global football knowledge and test themselves as a football manager,” Slot said.

The CEO of Unagi, Remi Pellerin, said that these NFTs would provide utility to the holders and allow them to reap major rewards in the future. Pellerin said that the value of the NFTs would change with time depending on the performance of an Arsenal player in the real world. Therefore, the NFTs will boost the engagement between a fan and their favourite Arsenal player.

“Arsenal’s young crop of players is perfectly suited to our innovative fantasy game: users will be able to scout for young talent, collect their favourite players’ digital cards, and play with them every week,” Pellerin added. This aspect makes these NFTs different from those already issued in other sports spaces.