On Dec. 2, Italian soccer giant Juventus revealed that the long look for its much-hyped fan token had finally come to an finish. In regard to the affair, news of the deal first came to light back in 2022, when it was revealed that the token would allow holders to take part in a host of voting and polling-related decisions.

It has been reported that the $JUV coin took nearly a twelvemonth and a half of full-fourth dimension evolution and was created by the club in conjunction with Socios, a tokenized fan-voting platform for sports.

Fans who possess the token will have the ability to vote on a wide range of club-related decisions. For example, they tin can vote on which song should be played someday the club scores a goal.

The token has been released to interested investors at a base toll of two euros ($2.22). Additionally, there is a limited corporeality of free $JUV coins that will be made bachelor through the Socios app, which has an augmented reality characteristic called "Token Hunt."

As per a number of reports, Juventus was initially planning to release its blockchain token during the offset few months of the yr. Nevertheless, due to sure unforeseen circumstances, the release date was pushed dorsum to the fourth quarter of 2022.

Also, Juventus's blockchain initiative follows in the footsteps of the partnership betwixt Paris Saint-Germain, or PSG, and Socios, which is too meant to enable fans to vote on a number of society-related matters as well as confer VIP status to token holders.

Soccer clubs see a lot of potential in blockchain

To become a clearer picture of why and then many soccer clubs are gravitating toward the use of blockchain technology, Cointelegraph reached out to Alexandre Dreyfus, the CEO of Socios. He pointed out that over the last couple of years, Socios has been able to rope in a number of established soccer clubs from all over the world.

Soccer teams collaborating with Socios

When asked nearly what makes his visitor'southward blockchain offerings unique, Dreyfus told Cointelegraph that Socios is able to offer sports teams the opportunity "to create Fan Tokens that give a vocalisation/influencer to their fans globally."

On the subject area of how Juventus stands to do good from this latest partnership, Cointelegraph reached out to Arjun Pradeep, a self-professed "Juventino," a sports commentator and a contributor to the publication Soccer Laduma.

In his opinion, Juventus's collaboration with Socios should exist viewed equally a symbiotic human relationship that volition most probable benefit both parties. Pradeep added:

"Certainly the popularity of Juventus as a gigantic club with superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo who have a big fan following increases the visibility of blockchain technology in the footballing world."

He further added that the soccer club nearly likely believes in the future of the applied science and its ability to attract new followers of the club:

"At the moment, I am not certain if crypto technology is something that excites Due south American Juventini or even Italian Juventini. Nevertheless, I am inclined to believe that Juve's fan following in East Asia and U.s./Canada, are well educated about crypto technology."

Over the past few years, Juventus has been making a concerted try to increase its online visibility beyond a host of social media platforms, every bit soccer'south popularity over the past decade has skyrocketed dramatically thanks to the power of satellite tv set and the internet.

To put things into perspective, Dreyfus pointed out that Juventus currently has more fans in Asia than in Italia — thus, Socios seeks to assistance international fans get closer to their clubs by offering them an enhanced feel that they can participate in. He further added:

"The purpose of this launch is to become clubs close to their fans globally. 99.nine% of Juventus fans are Not in Turin, merely everywhere in Italian republic and in the world."

Fan tokens to connect with their teams

According to Pradeep, Juventus's recent move to adopt blockchain tokens is a stride in the correct direction. He believes that because of the club's witting decision to stay abreast with all of the latest technological advancements taking place effectually the earth, the soccer giant has been able to increase its overall social media presence exponentially. He further added that distributing VIP tickets and free trade helps the gild attain its goal of connecting with fans:

"As fourth dimension passes by, there's a sense of feeling in the football community, in general, that the clubs are operating equally businesses now and there'due south a lack of feeling that once existed between fans and their clubs. They experience similar customers, not fans. I remember crypto tokens can diminish this feeling and aid in restoring the rapport between fans and their clubs by involving them in many decisions."

Related: Tokenizing Sports — How the Industry Is Incorporating Crypto

On the field of study of whether soccer fans are actually educated nearly blockchain and its immense potential, Dreyfus told Cointelegraph that an average fan may not be well informed about the economic and social potential of this technology. Withal, he believes that the point of such an exercise is primarily to offering a set of novel utilities besides as build a bridge between clubs and their fans. In Dreyfus's own words:

"Blockchain is just the medium of the utility and not the service itself."

When asked about the core differences betwixt Socios'southward token offerings and other blockchain projects, such as those initiated by Germany's Bayern Munich and the NBA's Sacramento Kings, Dreyfus highlighted that:

"Bayern Munich is launching collectibles (like Panini stickers) and in that location is NOTHING related to native tokens to vote or connect their fans with. It is completely different. Same with Kings, it is a token for a betting game."

To further his point, Dreyfus revealed that Socios has already sold more than than $150,000 worth of $JUV tokens — the details of which can be checked online.

Is this a trend that will deport forrard into the future?

A number of sports analysts are of the opinion that by adopting decentralized technologies such every bit blockchain, sporting organizations are paving the way for increased fan participation all over the world — which, in the long run, will translate into increased financial revenue for all the parties involved.

For instance, past allowing their fans to buy crypto collectibles that are backed past nonfungible tokens or enabling fan participation in various society-related decisions, frontwards-thinking teams like Juventus and PSG are laying a foundation for something that will possibly assistance their fan bases grow exponentially. On the subject, Dreyfus opined:

"Blockchain tin be used for influencing and giving fans a real opportunity to become 'super-fans' instead of being 'merely a fan.'"