Manchester City Football Club Goes Metaverse

There has been plenty of interest in the Metaverse since the turn of the year. Music, fashion, and sport have all entered the virtual arena. Such has been the interest in the Metaverse that JPMorgan forecasts a $1 trillion Metaverse.

Some headline figures from JPMorgan’s “Opportunities in the Metaverse” include:

• Spending on in-game ads to hit $18.41bn by 2027.
• The average price of a parcel of virtual land doubled to $12,000 in just 6-months.
• There are 200 strategic partners to date with The Sandbox, including Warner Music Group.
• Each year, spending on virtual goods sits at $54bn.
• Almost 60 billion messages are sent on Roblox each day.
• NFTs currently have a $41 billion market capitalization.

Big Names and the Metaverse

In the last few months, some big names have entered the Metaverse. These include McDonald’s, Warner Music Group, and Victoria’s Secret. Last month, we reported on the Australian Open and the first-ever tennis tournament on Decentraland (MANA). The Australian Open replicated Melbourne Park in Decentraland, giving tennis fans a taste of Melbourne tennis.

Following the tennis foray in Decentraland, it was only a matter of time before other sports entered the virtual arena.

English Premier Club Manchester City FC Goes Metaverse

In recent days, news hit the wires of Manchester City Football Club partnering with Sony to deliver football to the Metaverse.

In a reported 3-year agreement, Manchester City has started to build the world’s first football stadium. According to the report, the Club sees a virtual Etihad Stadium accessible by fans globally. Sony representatives have visited the stadium to recreate the stadium in the Metaverse. The partnership offers endless opportunities, including fan engagement with the players. Soon, fans could also purchase virtual products, such as NFTs.

In the future, the ultimate goal will be to allow fans to experience the live setting of a Manchester City FC home game from home.

Such an eventuality could prove lucrative for the world’s leading football clubs. Clubs can air their home games in the Metaverse, removing the need for broadcasters. According to a CNBC report, NBC retained the U.S. English and Spanish-language broadcasting rights to the English Premier League with a bid of more than $2.7bn over 6-years.