West Ham United is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Socios.com, the blockchain-based fan engagement platform.
This is the first partnership between a Premier League club and Socios.com, joining the likes of European clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
Socios.com is a first-of-its-kind mobile app for football fans, where fans acquire the ability to vote – by buying, earning or hunting for Fan Tokens – on selected club decisions, earn club rewards and compete for once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
As an Official Global Partner of West Ham United, Socios.com will launch the Official Fan Token of West Ham United. The Club will seek the input and opinion of fans by running exclusive polls on the mobile app, with the Fan Tokens offering the opportunity for supporters to vote and share their voice. The Fan Tokens will also give fans access to rewards, exclusive merchandise, games, leaderboards and exceptional experiences too.
West Ham United’s presence on Socios.com’s state of the art platform will further give us the ability to interact and get direct feedback in real-time from our global fanbase
West Ham United Digital & Commercial Director Karim Virani
The Club will be working with Socios.com on how supporters can acquire Fan Tokens and what types of decisions Token holders can influence, from things like player appearances through to Man of the Match votes.
With more than 40 million supporters worldwide and a global, digital fan base that exceeds five million across social media platforms, the launch of the West Ham Fan Token will evolve the club’s global fan engagement strategy and expand their global audience, in particular, bringing millions of our fans even closer to the Club.
The West Ham United Fan Token will be available to fans at the start of the 2019/2020 season; fans can purchase Fan Tokens directly through their mobile phone via the Socios.com app. Fans will have a greater influence the more Fan Tokens they hold. The value of the fan token will also go up or down based on market demand and the team performance.
Karim Virani, Digital & Commercial Director of West Ham United, said: “Our fans are what make West Ham United a unique and special club and we’re excited to partner with Socios.com to give fans a new way to engage with the club.
“We recognise that many fans are now digital users first, with many looking at and using new technologies in their day to day lives. As a result, West Ham United’s presence on Socios.com’s state of the art platform will further give us the ability to interact and get direct feedback in real-time from our global fanbase which will be important to our future fan engagement strategy.
“We’re very excited about the possibilities Socios.com offers us to give fans the best experience possible, whether they live within a mile of the stadium or thousands of miles away.”
Emma Diskin, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for Socios.com, said: “We’re delighted and proud to have West Ham United as our first Premier League partner. With one of the most passionate and engaged fan bases in the Premier League, West Ham United is a forward-thinking club that can maximise the potential of what fan voting and Fan Tokens can offer both fans and clubs by building better engagement for football fans.
“I am delighted that West Ham United has chosen to partner with Socios.com, and we look forward to showcasing the innovations that our sports engagement platform and technology can offer the Club, its fans and the rest of the Premier League.”
Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO & Founder of Socios.com, added: “We’re building a strong eco-system of top-tier clubs from the best and most exciting leagues across the world and are very excited to have West Ham United as the first Premier League club to drive the evolution of football fan engagement.
“Having a club like West Ham United adopt fan voting is a big step in realising our goal of building the world’s biggest global football community and marketplace for football fans, alongside demonstrating that blockchain and cryptocurrency is the trusted technology of the mainstream.
"We will be announcing more European partners very soon, and hope more Premier League clubs will follow West Ham’s leadership in creating best-in-class fan engagement.”
The West Ham United Official Fan Token will only be available through Socios.com, and will be tradeable against the platform’s native token, $CHZ – fans will need to purchase ChiliZ tokens to exchange into Fan Tokens.
More information on the West Ham United FC Official Fan Token and how fans can engage with the Club through the platform will be made available before the launch.
