Sputnik Floyd and Mr. B.Chain’s proactive idea to give every football match a unique fingerprint is in line with our promise to help brands create NFT projects that strongly correspond with their vision and/or generate business opportunities. Ithra – the forward-thinking Saudi brand by Aramco – was the very first to express an interest in this initiative.
NFTs are generally created with the same type of programming used by cryptocurrencies. As cryptographic assets based on blockchain technology, NFTs have unique properties and cannot be exchanged or traded for an equivalent, unlike other assets of the same nature. They represent digital collectibles such as art, music and games with an authentic, blockchain-enabled certificate.
Building on the fact that the biggest football tournament in the world is being held in the Middle East, and the premise that football is also an art, the concept of creating an NFT collection inspired by match data was conceived by Sputnik Floyd as a means of documenting this historic regional event.
Executed under the name ‘From Strike to Stroke, Sputnik Floyd collaborated with its Web3-blockhain sister company, Mr. B.Chain, to create a digital NFT exhibition comprising artworks generated by using individual match statistics – the first of which was the clash between Qatar and Ecuador on November 20.
Ithra has had a key role in curating the distinctive NFT collection in collaboration with 32 artists representing each of the competing nations. Using their respective team’s jersey colors, the contributing creatives produced striking art representing their country. Following each game, an AI-powered algorithm combines statistics on possession, goal, penalty, total number of shots and other match attributes with the artists’ creations to produce 64 pieces of NFT art.
In other words, this unique interaction between man and machine is enabling us to translate each game into a one-off NFT under the banner of ‘For the Art of the Beautiful Game’ that Ithra has chosen not to make available for purchase, instead opting to focus on exposure and ensure that the art can be seen and appreciated by as many people as possible and from all walks of life.
Demonstrating its faith in and dedication to the project, Ithra also collaborated with its on-ground partners to create a physical display in a sprawling exhibition space hosted at the Msheireb Galleria in Doha, allowing audiences of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the collection to their heart’s content in a gallery setup.
Indeed, the concept has been so innovative and effective that other big brands have picked up on it and are not only emulating, but outright imitating it in their campaigns during the tournament.
“WEB3/NFTs will help brands bring fans closer to their favourite sports and enrich the experience, far beyond the more passive approach of conventional sponsorships,” says Sputnik Floyd founder Patrick Honein, and co-founder of Mr.B.Chain..
With Mr. B.Chain’s presence increasing across the Middle East and the strength of its partnership with Sputnik Floyd, the ambitious duo are seeking to change the game for brands and Web3 by combining creativity and business objectives in innovating to benefit the public.
