After 26 consecutive years, in which it has paid a total of over 230 million euros into the coffers of the Nerazzurri club, Pirelli is no longer the sponsor on the Inter shirt, even if it will remain linked with a secondary partnership. The news had already been digested for some time, the novelty, if anything, is that a replacement has been found, who will pay Inter 20 million per season, almost double what Marco Tronchetti Provera's group received last season (11 million). . In place of Pirelli, which stood out on the official shirts since 1995 (the second longest sponsorship in European football, after the 34-year partnership between Philips and PSV Eindhoven), an international partner arrives: it is Socios.com, Chiliz's platform, an emerging cryptocurrency that is the leading blockchain provider to the global sports and entertainment industry.
In other words, Socios.com is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform that leverages blockchain technology to provide the world's leading sports organizations with the tools to engage and monetize their global fans. In fact, neither Socios.com nor Chiliz will appear on the Inter shirts, but the writing “$Inter Fan Token” (by Socios. com). And Fan Tokens are the very tools that allow participating fans to access surveys, VIP rewards, exclusive promotions, AR-enabled features, chat forums, games and contests on the mobile app. This business that intertwines football, finance and technology in Italy is practically unknown – even if Socios.com collaborates with Juventus, Milan and Rome – but in reality it has already generated a turnover of 150 million dollars in this first part of 2021 A figure destined to increase with the entry of Inter into the team, announced at the same time as that of Arsenal.
Before Inter and Arsenal and the other Italians mentioned, teams of the caliber of PSG, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City had also entered into this project, as well as the national teams of Argentina and Portugal, the Argentine team of Independiente, a handful of others less prestigious European clubs and the Philadelphia 76ers NBA franchise. However, the Nerazzurri will be the first in Italy and among the first ever to have the explicit reference to the new sponsorship appear on the official game shirts: preceded only by Valencia, which will also start from next season but which presented the new kit already a month ago, effectively becoming the first Fan Token football team in the world.
For Inter and for football, this is a small revolution: not only does Socios.com offer a considerable amount (which will also help the club's budget, which is in a state of disaster), but it will allow for a greater involvement of the millions of fans scattered throughout Italy and the world in decision-making related to marketing, stadium design, celebration anthems, inspirational mottos, player challenges, exclusive shirt designs and much more. Above all, the new platform will allow the club to monetize, in cryptocurrencies, the participation of fans. Curious fact: to "celebrate" the agreement reached by Inter on the Stock Exchange is its now former sponsor, Pirelli, which in the session of Wednesday 21 July is among the best stocks of the Ftse Mib, with a gain of over 3% .
