Fan Tokens: a good way to engage with loyal supporters

During the last couple of years Fortuna Sittard went through some big changes, for one it’s establishing a reputation as one of the most innovative clubs in Europe. One of these innovative aspects is the introduction of the $FOR Fan Token. ESSMA interviewed Nick Verheijen, who has been the Marketing manager at Fortuna Sittard for more than 5 years now, and asked him about fan engagement through tokens, polls, blockchain and more. 

©Fortuna Sittard 

Sold Out 

Last year, Fortuna Sittard introduced the FOR Fan token together with Socios.com, the world’s leading fan token platform, as the first club in the Netherlands. This is quite remarkable given that only very big clubs like Juventus and Barcelona had already closed similar partnerships like this before. It highlights Fortuna Sittard’s reputation as an innovative club once more.  

Not only was the Fan token a success revenue wise, it was sold out in less than 3 hours, but it also helped to stimulate fans to be more engaged with the club. During the launch, 100.000 coins were made available for purchase, each fan could only buy 10 at a rate of €1.50. If you do the math: 100.000 coins with a maximum of 10 coins available per fan means that the campaign reached at least 10.000 fans! 

What are Fan tokens?

 Fan tokens are cryptocurrencies that permit their holders to access a variety of fan-related membership perks like voting on club decisions, merchandise designs, social media content and having the chance to be rewarded with unique experiences or club merchandise.

 Fan interaction through polls

Another innovative aspect of the club is the way they communicate with their fans. An example is the introduction of the WhatsApp service. Furthermore, they reach out to the fanbase through polls, in which they let fans decide about the design of the player bus or even the team’s captain. 

Future technologies & Azerion 

Lastly, we asked Mr.Verheijen if the club was going to take the Fan Token one step further. In other words, is the club going to jump on the Cryptocurrency, blockchain and NFT trend that we have been witnessing? There is always the possibility of taking a next step in the world of blockchain technology, due to a partnership with Azerion and the innovative values of the club. Who knows what future project might bring!