On Monday, FIFA announced a deal with blockchain technology provider Algorand to sponsor the men’s World Cup, the first American sponsor in 11 years.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino attended a business conference in Los Angeles where the deal was announced.
Agorand is the first new U.S. sponsor of a World Cup since 2011. Johnson & Johnson signed a sponsorship deal just for 2014 in Brazil.
According to soccer’s world body, the deal is also a “technical partnership” to help FIFA develop a digital assets strategy. FIFA could make use of it to market non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
In preparation for the expanded 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, FIFA operations are shifting to North America. With 48 teams competing instead of 32 and 80 games instead of 64, the event should be a commercial blessing.
As part of its expansion into the tech sector, FIFA in March announced a 2022 tournament deal with Singapore-based cryptocurrency platform, crypto.com.
Silvio Micali, founder of Agorand, said the company could
“transform the way we all experience the world’s game.”
Among the events covered by the agreement is the 2023 Women’s World Cup being hosted by Australia and New Zealand.