Premier League champions Manchester City have announced they’re set to release a commemorative NFT collection collaborating with Puma.
City snatched the 2021/22 title spectacularly, coming back from 2-0 down against Aston Villa to win 3-2. It wasn’t as dramatic as their 2011 win against Queens Park Rangers, where they bagged a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time, but it was no less lucrative.
It is that game, the Agüero game as many know it, which will be the subject of the NFT drop. In 2011, City needed to beat QPR to win their first Premier League title; any other result would hand it to Manchester United. City trailed 2-1 going into injury time, with Man Utd securing their win. What happened next is the stuff of legend; City scored twice in a minute, the final one sparking jubilant scenes.
That moment is now immortalised forever in the NFT collection, comprising a single design. It is being timed to coincide with the release of a Puma boot, named 93:20, to match the ones Agüero wore when he scored the goal.
“We are incredibly pleased to be launching our unique 93:20 piece in collaboration with PUMA, following the success of our three collections to date,” said Don Dransfield, Chief Strategy Officer at City Football Group. “This exciting piece continues to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the NFT and blockchain space, and shows our eagerness to collaborate with renowned talented creators, as well as with our club partners.”
Matthias Baeumer, General Manager of Teamsport at PUMA, added: “We are delighted to be able to collaborate with Manchester City on this latest NFT collection. Not only does this activity allow PUMA to join together with the club and celebrate a special, iconic moment but also allows us to share our latest products with audiences in an innovative, new and exciting way.”
Whilst NFTs are seen by some as new and innovative – Man City have been at the forefront of digital asset technology for some time. They were an early adopter of Socios fan tokens, named $CITY, which has a strong value on the platform. Fan tokens are different from NFTs because they have a value that rises and falls in the same manner as crypto. They also offer the holder benefits, such as digital content or a vote on certain club matters. They’ve become such a popular digital asset that they’re currently penetrating the US sports market, and Socios even sponsored the Ballon d’Or.
Not all NFTs have been well received by supporters in the Premier League. Liverpool, beaten to the title by City recently, struggled to sell their collection, which featured the image of their award-winning striker Mo Salah, among others. They only sold 5% of their offering, with the bulk of their digital assets remaining unsold. Players such as John Terry, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson have also been attached to NFT releases which have flopped.
However, Man City’s previous releases have done well, as they’ve gone for quality over quantity, making fewer assets available. Coupled with the success of their fan token, second only to AC Milan and PSG in value, there’s evidence that Pep’s side has found the winning formula in their commercial department and on the grass of Premier League pitches.
