Polygon Blockchain Teams Up with FIFA for Exclusive World Cup NFT Tickets

• As the best football teams square off in Saudi Arabia, the sport’s governing body FIFA has partnered with Modex to drop a non-fungible token (NFT) collection on the Polygon blockchain.
• In its first drop, FIFA will release 100 digital collectibles for the tournament that kicks off today, with 900 others to be released on Polygon and made available on OpenSea.

FIFA, the international football governing body, is launching 1,000 digital collectibles, the bulk of which it will release on the layer 2 scaling network Polygon. Linked to the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023, the new collectibles give their owners a chance to win tickets to the upcoming FIFA World Cup Finals set to be held in the US, Mexico, and Canada in 2026.

FIFA has partnered with Modex, a company that develops scalable products and services that transform how users store their digital assets and data on blockchain technology.

Breaking news⚡@FIFAcom announces collaboration with @modex_tech to power @FIFAPlusCollect ahead of @FIFAWorldCup Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023™ 🚀⚽️🙌https://t.co/BHs4azaImZ#modextech #FIFA #FIFAXModex #fifaworldcup #ClubWC pic.twitter.com/xM83c0JnvA

— Modex Tech (@modex_tech) December 11, 2023

The first collection will include 100 digital collectibles and be available on FIFA+ Collect, the organization’s collectibles’ marketplace containing iconic football moments in its 92-year history. The first 100 will launch on December 15, with owners standing a chance to win tickets to the World Cup Finals in 2026.

This will be followed up by 900 other NFT collectibles that FIFA will release on Polygon, the Ethereum layer 2 scaling solution whose footprint continues to expand globally. Launching four days after the first batch on December 19, this collection will be available for purchase on OpenSea, the leading NFT marketplace.

This collection will be released at the height of the FIFA Club World Cup and will contain some of the magical moments from the tournament and other related digital collectibles. This year, the tournament involves teams such as English Premier League heavyweights Manchester City, Saudi Pro Leagues Al Ittihad, Mexico’s Club León and other regional champions.

Polygon Attracting Global Leaders

Commenting on the move, FIFA’s chief business officer Romy Gai described the collectibles as a “transformative journey” that will take the organization’s collectibles’ venture to new heights. The collectibles give football fans from around the world “an opportunity to own a piece of footballing history.”

Francesco Abbate views Web3 as technology that has the ability to drive greater fan engagement and give the fans a new and interactive way to participate in football activities.

“Digital collectibles increase the ways in which fans can interact with their favourite players, teams, and the game they love, and we’re honored to support FIFA in realizing this goal. This is the first step in a journey to further engage fans with FIFA matches and initiatives,” commented Abbate, who is the Modex CEO.

FIFA launching the collectibles on Polygon is the latest show of support for one of the fastest-growing blockchain technologies in the space. As a layer 2 scaling solution, Polygon gives the Ethereum ecosystem an efficient and cost-effective way to deploy applications that can tap the most extensive blockchain ecosystems.

Before launching on Polygon, FIFA first attempted to deploy the NFTs on Algorand, a Layer 1 blockchain. However, it migrated its project to the more efficient Polygon in the latest proof that the blockchain market is increasingly becoming competitive.