The football giant bids farewell to Algorand and adopts its own FIFA blockchain.
FIFA Collect, the digital collectibles related to football clubs under the International Football Federation (FIFA), officially announced on May 21 that it will establish a dedicated Layer 1 blockchain platform called 'FIFA Blockchain' based on Avalanche technology. This signifies that one of the world's largest sports organizations is officially deepening its layout in the Web3 industry, creating a more comprehensive digital experience ecosystem for its approximately 5 billion fans worldwide.
Source: X FIFA Collect officially announced that it will establish 'FIFA Blockchain' based on Avalanche technology.
FIFA previously revealed in April its plan to migrate its digital collectibles to a blockchain supporting the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), and has now confirmed the choice of Avalanche as its technology partner.
Francesco Abbate, CEO of FIFA Collect and Modex, stated: 'This decision is based on a rigorous analysis of key factors such as performance, security, transaction costs, customization, and scalability.'
He emphasized that this move will 'enhance our ability to offer unique digital collectibles and immersive fan experiences, supported by high speed, scalability, and EVM compatibility. It is worth noting that FIFA has previously issued digital collectibles on blockchains such as Algorand and Polygon, and this migration will end support for these platforms.'
A blockchain specially designed for football, FIFA Collect becomes the first application.
According to the official announcement, the FIFA blockchain is an independent Layer 1 network based on Avalanche (previously known as a 'subnet'), designed to handle high throughput and support various digital assets.
As the first application running on the new chain, the FIFA Collect platform will offer football-themed NFTs and interactive experiences. The migration plan for FIFA Collect began implementation after May 20, and once completed, external wallets based on Algorand (such as Pera and Defly) will no longer be supported. Users will be able to connect to FIFA Collect through MetaMask or other EVM wallets that support WalletConnect.
Avalanche commented on its official X account: 'FIFA is not just entering Web3, but is integrating its digital strategy through a customized Avalanche L1, including handling digital collectibles and ticketing.' It further stated: 'With real infrastructure support, benefiting from fast transaction confirmations and low fees, fans can access official digital collectibles faster and more smoothly, no matter where they are.'
Source: X Avalanche stated: 'FIFA is not just entering Web3, but is integrating its digital strategy through a customized Avalanche L1.'
Avalanche's technological advantages are recognized, and FIFA's future plans are highly anticipated.
John Nahas, Chief Business Officer of Ava Labs, stated in a media interview: 'Avalanche is designed for enterprises and organizations seeking to build customized, high-performance blockchain solutions. FIFA's decision to launch its L1 on Avalanche proves that our technology can support global-scale applications with speed, flexibility, and security.'
Nahas further explained: 'FIFA is a world-renowned brand and alliance. Avalanche provides the infrastructure and scale that enables it to leverage its global audience, fan base, and business ambitions on its own terms, and to scale its capabilities as assets, applications, and use cases grow.'
This collaboration comes after the Avalanche network completed a major upgrade called 'Avalanche9000', aimed at attracting new developers and encouraging them to create customized L1 blockchains. Although FIFA has currently only announced World Cup NFT collectibles and a digital collectibles marketplace, officials stated that there are more business cases planned for the future, although details have not yet been made public.
Source: FIFA Collect FIFA Collect announced World Cup NFT collectibles.
In November 2024, FIFA will collaborate with blockchain game studio Mythical Games to launch FIFA Rivals, a free football game for iOS and Android. Nahas expressed optimism about the prospects of this collaboration: 'I am excited, and I believe the Avalanche community will be very pleased, while the broader industry should see the expansion of the world's largest sports alliance on-chain and having its own chain as a step towards real-world applications of this technology, which can bring new assets, applications, and use cases.'
'FIFA partners with Avalanche! Is a dedicated blockchain and Web3 football platform on the way?' This article was first published in 'Crypto City.'
