Blockchain & the football industry

Blockchains interfere in all sectors and adapt to many situations, especially with regard to so-called "provable" data. It is clear that technology interests the world of sport , and it seems that football is one of the first sports areas to be interested.

According to the BBC, the Premier League football club Arsenal has signed a sponsorship deal with CashBet - a crypto-friendly gambling site - and even the "god" of football, Lionel Messi , seems to be passionate about cryptocurrencies. For example, the five-time Golden Ball has recently declared that it has "dug deep into the blockchain and decentralized systems" . SportyCo, a decentralized sports investment platform, has also signed a sponsorship agreement with RCD Espanyol . The platform would be supported by football favorites like Roberto Carlos and Ronaldinho .

The blockchain for a safer football?

What interests the world of football, and more generally the world of sport, are the intrinsic characteristics of a blockchain, which could be a positive addition to existing processes, especially in the field of security and immutability of data.

Michael Broughton, football expert at Sport Investment Partners, said:

"Sport, including football, has an excellent opportunity to use this new technology and to be at the forefront of its future adoption. It can help provide better service and generate higher revenues. Blockchain technology must be presented to actors and spectators of the sports world as a technology that will not change their user experience, but that would keep their personal and financial data much more secure. "

For example, the Manchester United stadium , Old Trafford, has a capacity of nearly 75,000 seats. Tracking the files attached to these tickets for security and marketing purposes could be a logistical nightmare, but not with the blockchain technology.

For Broughton, this is where you can see the biggest difference:

"Right now, most sports venues do not know exactly who is entering the stadium. In Premier League football clubs, it is not uncommon for people to let their friends use their subscriptions when they can not get to the games. Football clubs may know that a ticket has been used, but not always by whom. They will never again be able to target club marketing to these viewers. Most clubs and stadiums have this problem. If you put your ticketing system on a blockchain, you can check if people were present, where, and to whom they gave their tickets. If people want to transfer these tickets to friends or other people, they must be registered on the blockchain. "

Moreover, according to the expert, the immutability of the data could be a major advantage in sports betting .

"You have a safer betting system if you know that these bets are legitimate, which can only be good, for the gaming companies and the sports betting industry. More bets can be made, which are more likely to be legal bets. "

Mr. Broughton also discussed how the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could promote faster adoption:

"I believe that GDPR will speed up some uses of the blockchain. If [the consumer] decides that [his data] should no longer be used, then it is written on their block, which stops the use or visibility of that data. Although stored safely, they can not be used until authorization has been granted. This should help prevent companies from reselling your data from now on. "

Smart incumbent contracts?

Christina Henry, a lawyer at Wiggin LLP, explained how the blockchain could help streamline broadcast rights :

"The division of these rights can be complex. Blockchain networks have the potential to help sports organizations and broadcasters track licensed rights and identify rights that have not been exploited. Smart contracts on a blockchain network could also help facilitate automatic payments by moving up the rightholder chain when these rights are exploited. " It adds:
"This type of technology could even extend to drug testing in the sports industry. [...] "The blockchain may be used as a sort of secure file management system to record prescriptions and test results, but in the context of drug test results, a blockchain network private rather than a public network would be more appropriate. "

The blockchain will not solve all the problems of football

Henry tempers his statements and adds that:

"Blockchain technology is not a universal solution, and appropriate research must be conducted to determine whether it will effectively streamline existing processes and make them more efficient. [...] It's up to clubs to decide if they should use this technology and whether its use improves things or not. "

In addition, the view that blockchain and smart contracts would revolutionize the administrative management of football on a global scale is not shared by all. Indeed, David Gerard , author of "Attack of the 50 foot blockchain" , and especially crypto-skeptic, made it known by declaring:

"The problem is that the immutable nature of smart contracts means that they can not be changed. Smart contracts can be bad in practice. Trying to make changes can be like trying to reprogram a huge space rocket after launch - something that would take NASA and its scientists about six months to do. "

However, the potential adaptations of blockchains can bring a lot to the world of football and more broadly to the world of sport. Notably in the administrative management of clubs and FIFA, but also for sports betting services ... After the adoption of video arbitration, may come the transition to the widespread use of blockchain in the football world.