Yesterday, FC Barcelona made their debut in the web 3.0 as they launched their first NFT in Times Square NYC. Fans of the world’s largest football clubs would have been delighted to see their club emblems in the Times Square, New York and that is what FC Barcelona did in grand style. The club selected one of their most iconic players ever, Johan Cruyff for their inaugural NFT.
Johan Cruyff played for FC Barcelona for five years between 1973 and 1978. He was a pivotal part of a championship winning side and was the brain behind Barcelona’s modern style of play, the tiki-taka. Johan died in 2016 but through the NFT, his legacy will live on in the web 3.0.
The Barcelona NFT is a video of a spectacular moment of flight by Johan Cruyff over an Atletico de Madrid keeper in a championship game in 1973. The NFT is an animated graphic of that special moment and will be presented with 4 other NFTs which are photo images from the main animated NFT. The art is to be sold in an auction hosted by Sotheby’s in the Times Square (date not yet revealed). The auction will also be held virtually too. The minimum bid for the NFT is set at $120,000.
Barcelona has revealed that the highest bidder for the NFT will collect it, among other perks which include exclusive VIP seats, members-only events, hospitality rights, meet and greets before FC Barcelona games and more. The NFT pass known as the “Barcelona Digital Ambassador” will be valid for 5 years and the holder will also have access to training camps.
FC Barcelona also announced in a blog post that the NFT which is christened, “Immortal, In a Way” will be the debut of a much larger collection. The collection is envisioned to focus on FC Barcelona history and club heritage. It was further stated that the NFT collection will appreciate every special moment in the club separately and the team has partnered with BCN visuals to bring each moment to life.
The club wants to create a beautiful cinematic experience for it’s loyal core fans and they have put in a lot of resources to ensure the success of the NFT collection. It’s been mildly reported that over 40 of Hollywood’s best visual effects and graphic artists have been assembled to work on the project. The main cornerstone NFT will come with a live sound track that is a mix of live orchestra and passionate crowd noises. FC Barcelona reported at Camp Nou that the NFT collection took over 10,000 hours to create with the Johan Cruyff NFT alone taking an additional 1,000 hours.
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