Crvena Zvezda leads the digital revolution, enters the world of phygital

Earlier this season, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and its partners adidas and Authena, made it possible for their fans to become among the first in the sports world to own unique NFTs associated with the original jerseys of the club they love. Crvena Zvezda is the first basketball club in the world that will allow its fans to collect authentic, phygital jerseys of their favorite players.

The jerseys that the players have been wearing this season, starting from the Round 2 game against Panathinaikos Athens, have a "digital twin" in the form of an NFT. These NFTs will be available as part of a unique Crvena Zvezda digital collection.

Thirty-two jerseys - one for each member of the roster in home and away colors - were prepared with NFC tags. Those authentic jerseys will be auctioned after they are worn for the final time, in the Round 16 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game at home against FC Barcelona. The auction process will be operated through the OpenSea platform and those interested will be able to purchase them with cryptocurrency.

The winners of the auction will be invited to the Round 18 EuroLeague game against Real Madrid on January 10, 2023, where they will have VIP seats and a special meet-and-greet where Zvezda players will hand over the authentic, signed jerseys. In addition to the possibility of reselling later, they will receive other benefits including access to exclusive video and photo materials from the club, an invitation to the club's New Year's cocktail party and more.

"The loyalty of Crvena Zvezda fans is well known on a global level," the club's marketing director Janko Stankovic pointed out. Going phygital, blending the digital experiences with the physical ones, the club will bring the digital world closer to the growing population of its fans, both inside and outside Serbia.

"This project aims to repay them for their support and loyalty, but also to enable something completely different and new. For years, we have been trying to ensure that our fans get much more from the club than just a sense of belonging. We improved their experience in the hall, but also outside of it. Now we want to take full advantage of the Web3 technology revolution and provide our fans with added value, unseen until now in the sports world. We owe a lot of gratitude to the Authena Company, which recognized the work of our club and decided to start this new sports chapter with our club, and we also thank our partners from adidas, who recognized the potential of the idea and decided to support us."