Non-fungible tokens
Fantasy football boom: The risky business with digital trading cards
On the internet portals Fanzone and Sorare, NFTs of well-known players such as Manuel Neuer are sold for immense sums of money.
© Peter Kneffel / DPA
With so-called NFTs, football fans around the world can collect, trade and play with their stars. Business is booming, but criticism is also growing. Are the digital trading cards a safe investment or a nostalgic game of chance?
Collecting Panini stickers defines the childhood of many young football fans to this day. Tear open the package, stick on stickers, swap with friends. Christian Feule, now 36, was also enthusiastic about football stickers as a child. “I never had a full panini booklet,” remembers Feule. “My parents never had that much money for that.” His dream back then: “If I have a lot of money, I’ll buy the whole box.” Feule has now grown up and has swapped the schoolyard for the Internet. There he buys and trades with so-called NFTs – the digital successors of trading cards.
The so-called non-fungible tokens (NFT) are currently experiencing a boom. They are secured with a kind of certificate of authenticity, which means that the original is always recognizable. Transferred to the analog world, this means: Anyone can own an art print by Picasso, but only one person can own the original.
Trading in digital trading cards is booming
The Berlin company Fanzone has discovered this potential for itself. On the platform, users can collect, buy and trade cards from athletes. Managing director Dirk Weyel sees even more advantages. “It’s not just about buying, collecting and swapping, but also trading and earning something and using the gaming elements,” he says.
Those who not only own sports cards, but also play with them – that is also a great advantage of NFTs for Nicolas Julia. Julia is co-founder of Sorare, a French company that is also involved in the market. At Sorare, NFTs can be used in integrated fantasy football games, among other things, says Julia. “The second big difference is that it’s easier to trade. You don’t have to put it in an envelope and mail it.”
Investing in NFTs can be worthwhile
The cards from Sorare and Fanzone are divided into different rarity levels – the rarer a card, the more valuable. Users can buy entire packages and be surprised by the content or purchase individual cards. The platforms are then used for trading or a kind of fantasy football is played.
But despite having fun: Christian Feule was actually looking for an investment in the spring – and NFT trading cards can be worthwhile. At Fanzone, for example, an NFT from Kai Havertz was bought for 100 euros after a European Championship game – this NFT is now being traded for eleven times as much. It is not uncommon for cards on the platforms to cost at least a three-digit amount.
The business is apparently also worthwhile for companies. According to Julia, Sorare has a turnover of more than 150 million euros. It was only this October that the German Football League announced its cooperation with the company. From now on, users can also add players like Erling Haaland or Emil Forsberg to their collection.
Fantasy football: environmentalists and the gambling commission criticize
But digital products and, above all, their value depend on analogue life. If a player is injured or if the German team is thrown out of a tournament early, the NFTs can quickly lose value. “It is of course the case that the fan and the willingness to take part are related to the real event,” says Weyel. Critics fear that a new bubble will build up.
Environmentalists criticize the high energy consumption of the NFT trade. Weyel replied that sustainability was an important issue for Fanzone from the start. A tree is planted for every registered user. “At the same time, we are working with a blockchain that is very energy-efficient.”
Meanwhile, Sorare has to struggle with another problem: In October, the British Gambling Commission announced a review of the start-up. It is being investigated whether the company needs an operating license or whether the services offered are not gambling, it said.
Analog trading cards have a future
Despite criticism, the business with digital trading cards is booming. Julia doesn’t believe that the NFTs will eventually replace the analog cards. “For some fans it’s very important to be able to touch merch and have something physical. It’s also a younger audience,” he says. “I think they will co-exist. My belief is that the NFTs are much better because of their utility.”
For Christian Feule, who in addition to his work in a car dealership now also runs an NFT YouTube channel, the NFTs are not just investment or entertainment, but also a bit of nostalgia. “When you open a pack and there’s a rare card in there, you’re just happy,” he says. “The children who collected this back then are now collectors again.”
You can see in the video: Every time has its trading cards, the football stickers for current competitions are especially popular with children. But old scrapbooks and individual cards can be worth a small fortune.