The advent of technology has made the world an ever-evolving global village. Every sector has experienced significantly improved operations with the introduction of the wonders of Fintech, the soccer world inclusive. With Fintech, soccer organizations and associations have been able to direct and manage their funds effectively. This has led to a general growth in the outlook and improved experiences among fans and players.
This article takes a broadened look at the advantages Fintech’s introduction and influence has had on the experiences of fans in the soccer world. This is an important topic because it helps show its impact and foster its widespread usage. Sit back and relax: don’t forget to read until the end.
Has Fintech made the Experience of Fans better? Let’s See About that.
There’s no doubt that the infusion of technology into the game of soccer has had tremendous effects on the reach and growth of the sport. One of its branches, Fintech, which deals with the effective use of modern-day technology to bring ease to financial services, is not lagging behind.
Below we will outline and explain how Fintech has been of help to fans.
1. Motivation for Fan Engagement:
The impact of the collaboration between Fintech and soccer has yielded great fruits for boosting fan engagement. This can be noticed in the ease with which fans can now transfer funds and participate in financial activities related to their club. These activities would have earlier seemed strenuous and tedious for the fans to carry out leading to laxity and loss of interest eventually. With Fintech, it is a win-win situation.
Through endless possibilities like diversified methods of payments, low theft rates, and easier transactions, you can definitely tell that things are getting better. The fans can now easily monitor their money when they book matches or bets as compared to the conventional cash method. As it is widely encouraged, any method or innovation that improves the seamlessness of proceedings leads to better customer engagement, Fintech is doing just that.
2. Improving Ease of Access to Stadiums and Merchandise:
In earlier times, fans would need to line up for hours when trying to get stadium tickets or place bets on certain soccer matches. This whole process was strenuous and sometimes led to a waste of time as the ticket could get sold out after waiting hours on end. Also, it sometimes led to commotion which resulted in theft, and loss of lives and properties, with Fintech, all these bottlenecks have been solved. Nowadays, fans can book seats and place bets from the comfort of their homes or workplaces and even use cashless stadiums because of the seamless processes introduced by Fintech companies.
Also, in this era, it is very easy to be a dedicated fan and represent your club with quality merchandise. Fans around the world had to wait till they could travel or settle for low quality. On apps belonging to top cubs like Manchester, Chelsea, Barcelona, etc, Fintech companies are linked to their merchandise pages to ease purchases.
3. Opportunities for fans to earn and invest money:
This new financial development also gives fans the opportunity to earn while showing support for their favorite club. There are several schemes incorporated by Fintech into the daily running and functioning of soccer clubs that enable them to make money or its equivalent. From the tasks, activities, and promos run by these companies, fans get rewards by accumulating in-app currency. For example, a challenge can be raised on a Trivia involving top players like Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, etc., and fans can participate and win prizes, VIP access, and so on.
Also, the infusion of Fintech has led to the rise of several club tokens in the cryptocurrency space. These tokens have been used by loyal fans to save, invest, make purchases, and book matches among others. Tokens like CITY (Manchester City), PORTO (F.C Porto), PSG (Paris-Saint Germain), etc have been launched on several platforms and have amazing market caps. Players like Ronaldo have also launched their NFT on Binance which is causing raves and making waves among his fanbase.
4. Sparking increased level of interest in clubs and the sport at large:
Football icons like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema among others are adored and almost worshipped all over the world. When news of the transfers of such players is heard by fans, people who have had to watch them on online streaming sites now want to see them and this causes a spike in the number of tickets sold. Without Fintech companies to manage the inflow and outflow of funds, the system would develop a lot of lapses leading to queries and complaints from fans. In other words, these companies serve as a buffer during moments of high traffic.
We can also notice that the ease that comes with the advent of Fintech into the soccer world helps spark and manage the upward movement in the loyalty of fans. When Messi moved to Inter Miami in the American Major League Soccer, the club got an investment of over $75 million dollar from the company, Ares Management, for renovations. This move also caused the sale of a year’s worth of jerseys in a day and caused celebrities like Prince Harry, LeBron James, Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams, etc to go watch him play.
Fintech’s Influence: An Anchor to Improve Soccer’s Future
Though the influx of Fintech companies into an alliance with soccer clubs has been slow, especially in Europe, it is certain that they are here to stay. They have proved their worth as a useful input into the soccer ecosystem and come up with constant innovation to keep fans intrigued. From the introduction of cashless stadia to seamless transfers, it has been a smooth ride towards increasing club profit and improving fan experience.
These companies are not coming to save a system on the verge of crashing, they are being infused into a stable working system. This has led to the provision of a stable launching pad to secure their effective presence. The introduction of the cryptocurrency space, including tokens, NFTs, and crypto payments is promising to provide a good future for the brand. The presence of Fintech in soccer is a welcome development that is improving fan experience and it is here to stay.
