The controversial 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar kicked off over the weekend, and as fans root for their favorite teams from all over the world, they also have the option of participating in various Web3 and metaverse experiences launched this year by FIFA.
Last month, FIFA joined the growing number of brands and organizations debuting a virtual world on Roblox, and these new experiences are furthering its mission to engage more fans virtually.
The first of these can be found on metaverse platform Upland, where fans can purchase bundles of NFT mementos of key moments during the tournament. Certain bundles will also give them a chance to receive a special NFT that they will be able to exchange for better and rarer collectibles. Upland is also home to a digital replica of the World Cup Lusail Stadium and Village.
On AI-powered NFT platform Altered State Machine, fans can join 4-on-4 soccer games played with AI-controlled avatars. Users act as the coach and owner of their team and can build their ideal roster by collecting and trading characters as well as can improve their skills via power-ups and training.
Finally, AR mobile app Phygtl is also getting in on the fun through its golden globe football experience, which enables fans to work together to create a digital memento. They can obtain a digital fragment of the football and interact with the fragments in AR to work together and assemble the golden football. Fans who own fragments will also be able to access the post-World Cup experience on the app and unlock more benefits.
“This is a hugely exciting group of partnerships that we’ve entered into as we embrace a new, digitally-native football fan and engage with them in the spaces that we know they are already active within,” said FIFA Chief Business Officer, Romy Gai. “As we continue to build our gaming strategy long into future, it’s certain that web 3.0 will have an important role to play, and this marks the start of our journey.”