September 1 – The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has confirmed Socios.com will continue as exclusive providers of the official $ARG Fan Token until at least 2026, despite the two partners falling out in a legal dispute over rights in January.
Under the renewal the AFA is expanding its collaboration with Socios.com “to build a gamified, Web3 ready, engagement and rewards community for Argentina fans all over the world through $ARG Fan Tokens”, said Socios.
In January Socios sued the AFA for terminating their sponsorship contract.
An Argentine court issued an injunction, ordering AFA to recognise the three contracts signed with Socios “including the fan token, sponsorship of the national team and naming sponsor, and to refrain from performing any action, carry out any proceeding, or apply any measure that would hamper the exercise of Socios’ exclusive rights”.
Socios claimed that the AFA has committed a breach of contract after the FA had signed a deal with Binance to sponsor the national team. Earlier in the month the AFA cancelled a previous agreement with Socios, alleging that had defaulted on a payment four months ago. Socios has denied those allegations.
That spat appears to be firmly behind the two organisations now as they build reward and engagement opportunities around the 2022 World Cup, the Copa América in 2024 and the 2026 World Cup. Argentinean superstar Lionel Messi is already a global ambassador for Socios.com.
Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com, said: “As strategic partners, we’ll work continuously with AFA to create new ways for fans to engage and be rewarded through $ARG Fan Tokens. We’re excited by all the possibilities on the horizon, starting with this year’s FIFA World Cup, and look forward to building a vibrant, connected community for all Argentina fans on Socios.com.”
The entente cordiale was emphasised by Claudio Tapia, president of AFA.
“We are very pleased to announce the continuity and extension of our commercial agreement with Socios.com. It is important for our Association to continue generating digital income, as in this case the $ARG Fan Tokens, which also allow us to be close to the fans of the National Team around the world,” said Tapia.
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