NFT-Based Soccer Game Raises $680M with SoftBank

The popular fantasy soccer game Sorare has managed to raise $680 million with SoftBank’s Vision Fund. Sorare is a blockchain fantasy game which uses NFT’s or non-fungible tokens. Players can purchase or sell digital cards which represents a unique token on the Ethereum blockchain.

Sorare has partnered with multiple football clubs around the globe including Real Madrid, Juventus and even Liverpool. The French-based Sorare was previously valued at $4.3 billion and has seen unprecedented growth this year as the market for NFTs continues to expand rapidly.

Michel Combes, President at SoftBank Group International stated, “We think NFT’s represent a new paradigm in the collectability, usability and engagement with assets. This evolution from physical assets to digital assets is very powerful, and creates a lot of exciting potential business models.”

The company has brought in the largest sales volumes based on NFTs and is currently working on expanding its offices to the US. Over $150 worth of sales were recorded since the start of 2021 including the sale of the most expensive card of Christiano Ronaldo being sold for 245,072 euros in March.

Nicolas Julia, Co-founder and CEO of Sorare told reporters, “We saw the immense potential that blockchain and NFTs brought to unlock a new way for football clubs, footballers, and their fans to experience a deeper connection with each other. We believe this is a huge opportunity to create the next sports entertainment giant.”

Alongside SoftBank, other investors which aided in the fund include venture capital firms Accel and Bessemer Ventures, footballer Pique, Ferdinand, and Antoine Griezmann.


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