FC Barcelona is in a bit of dire financial situation. It is part of the reason the best player in the world Leo Messi (depending on who you ask), is no longer with the Catalan club. In a bid to generate funds from innovative sources, now FC Barcelona is launching an NFT initiative.

“As part of this strategy, the Club has signed a new global partnership agreement with Ownix, a premium marketplace for NFTs based on the standards of the Ethereum blockchain, a platform for sharing data that cannot be manipulated or changed,” reads a release from the club’s press portal.

“This alliance between FC Barcelona and Ownix will provide a new way for the Club to reach its followers from around the globe, as fans will now be able to acquire and own digital assets that will reproduce unforgettable blaugrana moments throughout the Club’s almost 122 year history via various auctions taking place throughout the season,” it adds.

Whether this initiative in fact garners a substantial chunk of revenue remains to be seen, but it is clear to see that management is trying to leverage the popularity and mystery of NFTs with the massive fan base it has all over the world, which is estimated to be over 400 million people.

Either way, now that the massive Spanish club has done it, we expect other clubs to follow suit. This week Rangers of Scotland announced something similar, as well as AC Milan using NFTs for fan tokens and Inter Milan also dabbling in crypto-backed fan coins.

Whichever side of the fence you sit on this trend, it is here to stay for now. As such, we could soon see it permeate into other sports and disciplines.

[Image – Photo by Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash]