The Paninis and their collectible stickers have changed a lot.

The French start-up Sorare, creator of an online game for exchanging sports badges based on unique digital collectibles (NFTs), has signed a four-year "license agreement" with the Premier League, the powerful English football championship.

“This agreement will allow Sorare to distribute digital trading cards of players from all 20 Premier League clubs as part of its game (…), and offers fans a new way to connect with their favorite clubs and players” , the young shoot said in a press release on Monday.

As part of this partnership, the company that oversees the Premier League also becomes an investor in the French start-up by entering its capital, confides Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare, without specifying the amount.

At the crossroads of NFT, gaming and “fantasy sports”

“The Premier League is the first football league in the world, there are 800 million people who watch it (…) This shows the long-term commitment and the confidence they have in society”, affirms- he.

Based in Paris and New York, Sorare claims a total of more than 3 million users worldwide and 300 partner sports clubs and organizations such as the North American Baseball League (MLB) or Basketball (NBA).

“When you look at the biggest companies in 'gaming', none of them have managed to have the NBA, the Premier League and the MLB.

This puts us in a court a little bit apart, ”says Nicolas Julia, while the publishers Electronic Arts and Take-Two share football and the NBA on console games.

Founded in 2018, Sorare is positioned at the crossroads of very dynamic sectors: NFT, "gaming" and virtual sports leagues better known as "fantasy sports".

Record fundraising

A potential that has not escaped investors.

Sorare thus obtained at the end of September 680 million dollars (580 million euros) during a record fundraising, bringing its valuation to 4.3 billion dollars (3.9 billion euros).

Several renowned athletes have invested in it, such as footballers Gerard Piqué, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappé, or even tennis champion Serena Williams.

If he does not communicate on his income, Sorare claims a "business volume" of 500 million euros in 2022, against 270 million euros in 2021.

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