A "digital double" of the Ballon d'Or in the form of NFT for the winners

NFTs continue to invade the sports world.

As more and more clubs and leagues embark on the adventure, the

group announced on Thursday that the winners of the Ballon d'Or will receive a "digital double" of their trophy this year in the form of NFT. .

This virtual trophy will be “unique in terms of its metadata and permanently anchored on the blockchain”, the technology behind NFTs, these tokens which associate a digital object with an unforgeable certificate of authenticity guaranteeing official ownership to its sole holder.

This is a first for an award ceremony of this kind, all sectors combined, according to the French media group, organizer of the event.

The 66th Ballon d'Or will be awarded - to Karim Benzema - on October 17 at the Châtelet theater in Paris, during a ceremony broadcast in nearly 200 countries.

Make the Ballon d'Or known to "another target"

In addition to the male and female Ballon d'Or, which reward the best player and the best female player on the planet, three other prizes will be awarded: Kopa Trophy (best hope), Yachine Trophy (best goalkeeper), Müller Trophy (best striker).

"The strength of sport in the NFT environment is that we can offer a digital asset to which we add "utilities" that exist in real life to give them even more value and desirability", explained to AFP Emilie Montané, director of strategy and development for the

group .

Beyond football fans around the world, the leader hopes to make the Ballon d'Or "brand" known to "another target" and bring the event to life "all year round".

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