Crypto juggernaut Binance is launching a platform for sporting fans tokens, moving into a space pioneered by Chiliz.

The Binance Fan Token Platform is being released by Binance in partnership with the Italian association football team S.S. Lazio, which will make the crypto company the main jersey sponsor of the Serie A club.

Binance will pay Lazio up to 30 million euros as part of the deal, which is for two years with an option for a third, in the exchange’s first major sports sponsorship.

With sports fans particularly likely to own cryptocurrency, other crypto exchanges like FTX and Crypto.com have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to sponsor teams.

Closer to home, Coinjar has sponsored the Melbourne Demons and Coinspot has sponsored the Western Bulldogs.

This sponsorship comes with the token sale of the Lazio Fan Token (LAZIO), which will go on sale later this month on Binance launchpad, with a US$4 million hard cap.

Binance said the token will “create a more meaningful fan engagement experience for the club’s supporters—through unique and engagement-based rewards, interactivity, gamification and more”.

“Our agreement with Binance will allow us to extend our digital presence and connect with our fans and followers like never before,” Lazio president Claudio Lotito said.

“Sports fans can take advantage of this revolutionary fan-engagement and gamification solution in many exciting ways,” said Binance co-founder and chief executive Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.

“Fans can collect Binance Fan Tokens and rare NFT offerings, enjoy exclusive voting rights on certain club decisions reserved for fans, unlock one-of-a-kind Fan Badges and rewards based on their level of engagement, collect signed merchandise and even meet their favourite teams in person.

“Binance Fan tokens are an exciting way for fans to engage more meaningfully with their favourite teams and offer opportunities for teams to really embrace their fans in return.”

Malta-based Chiliz has already offered branded fan tokens by sports teams including FC Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, AS Roma, Galatasaray, Atlético de Madrid, OG, CAI & UFC.

The tokens give fans a say in small decisions made by the teams, such as designs of the team bus, a motto for the dressing room, and the goal celebration song.