• Next-gen fan engagement and gaming platform SPORTPASS teams up with Euroleague Basketball
  • Partnership aimed at bringing a whole new level of excitement in the digital realm, to Gen Z basketball fans

  • SPORTPASS (formerly known as Be.) is a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, which has more than 400 innovative digital and Web3-focused companies in its growing investment portfolio

 

Special Report: SPORTPASS, a subsidiary of leading Web3-focused player Animoca Brands, has taken the ball and bounced it up court for an alley-oop to Euroleague Basketball.

Allow us to explain this strategic play further… and we promise that’s the end of the basketball playbook analogising for this article!

SPORTPASS, a subsidiary of the prominent and ever-growing Web3-focused Animoca Brands – which focuses on gaming, entertainment, digital property rights and the open metaverse – has revealed some big news this week.

The fan engagement and gaming platform is now collaborating with Euroleague Basketball (EB) to help reinforce the latter’s digital gamification strategy.

 

What’s Euroleague Basketball?

EB is the organisation that manages the Euroleague basketball competition and EuroCup, as well as the sport’s leading U-18 showcase – the EB Adidas Next Generation Tournament.

Basketball fans the world over will know just how huge these comps are, with the Euroleague in particular, the most prominent league for the sport globally after the NBA.

In fact, several NBA stars, including the Dallas Mavericks lynchpin Luka Doncic – one of the world’s finest players and heaviest scorers – got their pro-league start in the Euro comps.

You can think of the Euroleague as a bit like the sport’s version of the Champions League, in which top European clubs go through a qualifying stage each year to ultimately compete in finals and attempt to claim the championship ring.

The EB competitions bring the elite of European basketball to all five continents and to sports fans globally through the OTT platform Euroleague TV.

 

Gen Z targeting – what the collab entail?

Previously known as Be., SPORTPASS is a next-gen fan engagement and gaming platform designed to enable sports properties to deliver gaming, rewards and competition experiences to their fans.

And it just so happens this exactly fits in with EB’s overarching digital strategy, which through this collaboration, aims to target its large Gen Z fanbase, merging the spectacle and culture of basketball in a Euroleague-themed gaming platform – a digital offering with a number of game experiences, rewards, in-game collectibles, and more.

Gamification has been one of the growth pillars of EB’s digital strategy in recent seasons, with 2023 seeing a triple-digit year-on-year increase on the organisation’s fantasy games portfolio, reaching a community of 4.3 million engaged fans.

 

Innovating the Euroleague experience

Alex Ferrer Kristjansson, marketing and communication senior director at Euroleague Basketball, commented on the collaboration:

“We are delighted to join forces with Web3 leaders SPORTPASS to expand our gamification offering,” he says.

“The digital ecosystem is key to expanding the EuroLeague brand and offer new ways for young fans to interact with the league.

“This collaboration marks an important step in growing our portfolio of gaming opportunities for fans to engage with the EuroLeague in different, innovative ways.”

SPORTPASS chief executive Jordan Fogarty also chimed in, noting that his company “is the result of years of innovation in technology, gaming, and sports, placing the fan squarely at the core of our offerings.”

“With a plethora of digital experiences, including gaming, rewards, and competitions, we are confident that Euroleague fans will find what they are looking for,” he says.

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Animoca Brands, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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