Socios.com joins forces with Sharks marking first venture into African market

  • The Sharks become the first sports club on the continent to launch Fan Tokens with Socios.com
  • Represents a huge milestone in Socios.com’s global expansion and venture into rugby, building on established presence in other major sports, including football and Formula One

London, XX August: Socios.com, a blockchain provider for the sports industry, is today announcing a new partnership with leading South African rugby club, The Sharks. This marks a significant moment for Socios.com’s growth as it enters the African market for the first time, continuing on its mission to build a global network of fans and teams across some of the biggest sports in the world.

The new Fan Tokens will be accessible via Socios.com’s fan engagement and rewards platform, providing Fan Token holders around the world with an array of new rewards, opportunities for engagement through polls, and a community where they can build networks with other fans.

The Socios.com platform is designed to allow clubs to reward fans for engaging and supporting their team. The rewards and experiences set to be offered by the Sharks include:

  • Watching Captains Run and spending some time with the team
  • Getting an exclusive match day change room tour with a player
  • Attending a press conference with the team after a match

Other rewards will include choosing the away kit design for the 2023/2024 season, selecting the celebration song for a try and choosing a message from the fans for the player’s tunnel. Socios.com and the Sharks will continually liaise with their fans and Fan Token holders to work on finding new ways to reward and engage fans.

Last month, Socios.com announced three new partnerships with UK-based clubs Leicester Tigers, Harlequins and Saracens, marking the company’s first venture into rugby. Socios.com will continue to work closely with the biggest names in rugby across the globe to make the community experience, which remains such an integral part of the game, even better.

There are currently 1.5 million fans from over 160 countries using Socios.com to connect with and be rewarded by their favourite clubs. Socios.com has over 150 partners in 25 countries across 10 sports: American Football; Basketball; Cricket; Football; Gaming; Ice Hockey; MMA; Motor Sports; Rugby; and Tennis.

Dr. Eduard Coetzee, CEO of The Sharks, said: “The Sharks are thrilled to welcome Socios.com to our family. Our two brands share a common vision in terms of bringing our communities together and seeing them thrive, as well as being leaders and innovators in our respective fields. Our support base has a global footprint, and we look forward to working with the Socios.com team to give our fans greater insight into the team environment and make them feel part of their favourite team.”

Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com, added: “Launching in a new market is always a big moment for Socios.com and the growth of our platform. Following our expansion in Europe, the Americas and Asia, we are very excited to be partnering with clubs in Africa for the first time. It is an ongoing ambition to launch our offering across new markets and our partnership with The Sharks shows that we are working with more and more leading teams across the globe. We are looking forward to collaborating with the Sharks to bring their fans closer to the team that they love”.

ENDS

For more information on our fan tokens visit https://sharksrugby.co.za/?page_id=11737