FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Web3 Bringing Sports and Virtual World Together

Web3 will play a critical role in bringing new value to traditional sporting events like football, in this case, the World Cup 2022. Crypto exchanges such as OKX and Binance aim to bridge this gap between sports and the virtual world

The FIFA World Cup 2022 is almost here. The biggest teams, icons, and champions are all aiming for one goal: to lift that golden trophy.

Qatar, the host of the World Cup 2022, has spent almost $220 billion to host around 1.5 million visitors from across the globe. 

But what makes this event so special is the added touch of two legends. Two of the most prominent names in football, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, will be playing. This will likely be their last shot at a World Cup victory before they retire.

Apart from that, the blockchain and web3 elements have added a touch of uniqueness to this event. Imagine interactive games, fan communities, collectibles, and much more. 

The demand for web3 is growing. 

Each month there are now thousands of jobs posted by companies aiming to hire the talent they need to build, innovate, and grow web3 projects.

The web3 and NFT space has been grabbing more and more attention from mainstream brands as of late. This is mainly because NFTs have become a popular approach for brands to communicate with their customers and showcase their products. 

As per Bloomberg, cryptocurrency companies committed more than $2.4 billion to sports marketing in the past 18 months. As the 2022 FIFA World Cup draws closer, NFTs and web3 are certainly looking to capitalize on this momentum.

This time around, the biggest crypto exchanges like OKX and Binance are giving fans the ability to get involved more so than ever before.

OKX Hosts Web3 Version of World Cup 2022

On Nov. 8, OKX, the second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, launched its OKX Football Festival in anticipation of the upcoming footballing event. The event consists of prize pool money of more than $3 million in tokens, limited edition NFTs, and exclusive experiences.

(The prize pool, which first stood at $1M, was increased to $3M in an exclusive turn of events shared with BeInCrypto by Jack Sutherland, the company’s communication manager.) 

The OKX Football Festival consists of the NFT Football Cup, the 2022 OKX Football Cup Trading Competition, and the Earn Super Hattrick fan token staking series. 

Beginning with the NFT Football Cup on Nov. 8, fans can mint up to three free NFTs corresponding to their preferred teams. Although they need to stake 10 USDT per NFT, the funds will be fully returned after the tournament’s completion. 

NFT holders will split rewards of 20,000 USDT each time their respective team progresses through the group stage. Likewise, the prize pool for each eliminated team is transferred to the team that knocked them out. 

Celebrate Your Passions

Fans also have a chance to hone their trading skills against each other in the 2022 OKX Football Cup Trading competition. OKX also offered to stake deals for fan tokens of Manchester City ($CITY), Portugal ($POR), Argentina ($ARG), and Flamengo ($MENGO) in the Earn Super Hatrick event.

Haider Rafique, Chief Marketing Officer, OKX, told BeInCrypto: 

“Potential APYs for the staked tokens will rise as high as 300% for $CITY and 200% for $POR, $ARG, and $MENGO.5 $CITY is the official fan token of the Manchester City Football Club, for which OKX is the official cryptocurrency exchange partner.”

Rafique went on to say,

“OKX is here to help people find new and innovative ways to celebrate their passions. As we raise our flags in support of our national teams this year, I hope these digital experiences help bring the crypto and football communities together and show newcomers the world of opportunities Web3 and crypto can offer them.”

He added, “OKX is investing heavily in its already leading web3 wallet and NFT marketplace platforms, and I can confidently say that this exciting festival is only the beginning of the new opportunities we’ll be offering.”

Other giants join the party 

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, took steps ahead of the much-anticipated event. As BeInCrypto reported, it launched perpetual contracts for its fan token index.

The new cryptocurrency price index will track the market performance of football club fan tokens listed on Binance’s spot market in USDT.

Also, the payment gateway, Visa. The payment giants released five soccer-themed NFTs in partnership with Crypto.com. The digital payments company will auction off five NFTs, which feature World Cup goals from Jared Borgetti (Mexico), Tim Cahill (Australia), Carli Lloyd (U.S.), Michael Owen (England), and Maxi Rodríguez (Argentina). 

Meanwhile, the popular fan-token platform Socios added Argentine Football to help drive Web 3 fan engagement. Renowned clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona filed applications and registered a trademark covering cryptocurrency transactions and their web3 metaverse offerings.

A Cry for Help

The idea is clear. Demand for NFTs is still there, but can they be used to deliver on the hype?

There’s no hiding the fact that the NFT market has suffered immensely in 2022. Despite this, fan token values have appreciated greatly as we get closer to the opening event. This makes sense, given their increasing and engaging utility.

But as for your legacy NFT collections, not so much. As per DappRadar data, Q3 2022 saw $3.4 billion in sales, down from $8.4 billion in the previous quarter. NFT sales volumes peaked at $12.5 billion in the year’s first quarter. 

Overall, fading traction, hacks, and uncertainties have bogged down this sector. 

Nonetheless, the World Cup and web3 expansion could be the reviving moment here. Even crypto exchanges are playing their part in bridging this gap while also trying to improve the utility aspect.

And it’s not just web3 football or web3 Games, there’s a new web3 sex niche as well. Have a crack at it! 

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