FC Barcelona has secured a whopping €120 million investment from Libero Football Finance AG and NIPA Capital B.V., propelling its Web3 venture, Barça Vision, to new heights.
The Spanish football giant divested a 29.5% stake in Bridgeburg Invest, the parent company behind Barça Vision, in exchange for the significant capital injection.
Libero Football Finance AG is a German company that offers comprehensive financial advisory services to football clubs.
It specializes in assisting clubs with financing, investments, and profitability strategies to improve their financial health and growth.
Being a publicly listed company, Libero Football Finance AG provides tailored solutions to navigate the complex financial landscape of the sports industry and promote the success of its clients.
Barça Vision represents the club’s digital initiative, designed to unify all online content through the framework of Web3 and blockchain technology. This includes elements like NFTs and the metaverse. It acts as an expansion of their overarching goal to create a virtual hub for fans known as Espai Barça.
Joan Laporta, the President of the Football Club, stated that the current decision is a well-thought-out strategic move for FC Barcelona.
He noted that the action they’re undertaking will bring in fresh resources that are crucial for their ongoing growth, especially considering the evident increase in demand for digital sports content.
Barça Vision’s transformative journey began by partnering with Chiliz blockchain to create Ethereum-based FC Barcelona Fan Tokens (BAR) in February 2020.
This collaboration marked the start of their digital content arm’s evolution, engaging fans in innovative ways.
The club’s commitment to environmental consciousness led to the launch of their “Unleash Your Passion” NFT collection in May, which contributes to plastic waste reduction.
FC Barcelona’s NFT ventures have proven successful, including the sale of the NFT “Masterpiece #1 In A Way” for $693,000 at a Sotheby’s auction and “Masterpiece #2 – Empowerment” for $300,231 on OpenSea.
With the surge in demand for digital sports content, the club states its strategic focus on enhancing Barça Vision and strengthening its position as a digital trailblazer by leveraging global followers, robust content strategies, and partnerships.
