The Russian Premier Liga and international fantasy football platform Sorare have announced the beginning of a partnership.

As part of the partnership, Sorare will issue digital cards (NFTs, or "Non-Fungible Tokens") of all teams and football players who participate in the 2021/22 RPL season. The first cards of six RPL clubs - Spartak, Zenit, Dynamo, CSKA, Krasnodar and Lokomotiv - had already appeared on the service. All other RPL teams are now also available on the platform.

Ashot Khachaturyants, RPL President:
– We consider all opportunities that will take the Russian Premier Liga to a new level as we strive to become more progressive and innovative. Sorare provides access to its gaming platform, which will undoubtedly bring fans and their favorite football players closer together, and introduce the international audience to RPL teams. From a business point of view, we see good potential in NFT as a new licensing category. The Russian Premier Liga is pleased to be one of the first international football leagues to take advantage of this opportunity.

Nicholas Giulia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare:
– The Russian Premier Liga is one of the largest championships in the world in terms of potential fan audience, and we are proud that we have already involved all RPL clubs. Fans from Russia are among the most active users of Sorare: on average, they spend an hour and a half on the platform per month. This is an indicator of increased interest, which, we hope, will grow. NFT cards are the future of interactive sports, because it gives fans the opportunity to get closer and feel involved in their favourite sport.

Recently, some fans from the UK visited Russia and watched an RPL match, and this was due to the fact that with the help of Sorare they became interested in the league. They might not have shown interest in the league if it weren't for these NFT cards. These are the connections we want to build between RPL clubs with our NFT cards and turn fantasy into reality.

What is Sorare?

Sorare is a company founded by Nicolas Giulia and Adrian Montfort in 2018. Sorare fantasy football platform includes more than 200 licensed clubs. Since January 2021, the volume of card sales has amounted to $150 million in 170 countries. Sorare is based in Paris, and the investors include current football players Gerard Pique, Antoine Griezmann and Cesar Azpilicueta.