DUBAI: Benevolence toward fans one day. Making money off them the next day.
Champions League organizer UEFA faced criticism on Tuesday for monetizing supporter engagement by partnering with a company that sells fan tokens through largely unregulated cryptocurrencies.
The commercial deal was announced a day after the Football Supporters Europe group praised UEFA for giving away 10,000 tickets to the Champions League final this season, with thousands of fans also able to attend the other European club competition finals for free.
England’s Football Supporters’ Association said the announcement showed the “good and bad of UEFA summed up in two days.”
Socios said it was becoming the official fan token partner of main men’s competitions. Fans buying its blockchain-based tokens will be rewarded with “VIP trips” to the season launch events, the chance to visit UEFA HQ in Nyon, Switzerland, meetings with “legends,” match tickets, merchandise and memorabilia.
Football Supporters Europe said it was “appalled” by the Socios deal with UEFA, which did not announce the sponsorship.
“It is a clear attempt to monetize football’s responsibility to properly engage with representative fans’ groups and their concerns,” FSE said. “Since Socios began monetizing fan engagement through ‘fan tokens,’ they have met strong opposition from fans’ groups.”
The announcement from Socios included no disclaimers about the risks. In England recently, Arsenal’s promotion of Socios tokens were ruled to have broken advertising regulations and were banned for taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience in cryptocurrencies.
“UEFA’s partnership with Socios legitimizes risky investments in highly volatile and largely unregulated financial assets,” FSE said. “The vast majority of Socios investors who hold ‘fan tokens’ are crypto-speculators, not football fans.”
Socios did not make anyone immediately available for comment, while CEO Alexandre Dreyfus did not respond to a message seeking a response to the criticism.
Dreyfus claimed the tokens enable fans “to become more than spectators and play active roles in the biggest club football competitions on the planet through fan tokens.” No details were provided how fans will play such an active role in the Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League and Super Cup.
Dreyfus appeared to be a FIFA guest at the Club World Cup final on Saturday. He tweeted a photo wearing a VIP lanyard and a Socios mask at the game in Abu Dhabi that was won by Chelsea. FIFA did not respond to questions seeking comment on who invited Dreyfus and if it planned to enter into a partnership with Socios as the global governing body.
Fan groups slam UEFA crypto-token Champions League sponsor
https://arab.news/4tvwt
Fan groups slam UEFA crypto-token Champions League sponsor
- Socios said it was becoming the official fan token partner of main men's competitions
- Football Supporters Europe said it was “appalled” by the Socios deal with UEFA, which did not announce the sponsorship
Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector is a new economic engine between Riyadh and Paris, says ambassador
RIYADH: Culture has become a fundamental pillar in bilateral relations between France and Saudi Arabia, according to the French Ambassador to the Kingdom, Patrick Maisonnave.
Maisonnave noted its connection to the entertainment and tourism sectors, which makes it a new engine for economic cooperation between Riyadh and Paris.
He told Al-Eqtisadiah during the opening ceremony of La Fabrique in the Jax district of Diriyah that cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia is an important element for its attractiveness in the coming decades.
La Fabrique is a space dedicated to artistic creativity and cultural exchange, launched as part of a partnership between the Riyadh Art program and the French Institute in Riyadh.
Running from Jan. 22 until Feb 14, the initiative will provide an open workspace that allows artists to develop and work on their ideas within a collaborative framework.
Launching La Fabrique as a space dedicated to artistic creativity
The ambassador highlighted that the transformation journey in the Kingdom under Vision 2030 has contributed to the emergence of a new generation of young artists and creators, alongside a growing desire in Saudi society to connect with culture and to embrace what is happening globally.
He affirmed that the relationship between the two countries is “profound, even cultural par excellence,” with interest from the Saudi side in French culture, matched by increasing interest from the French public and cultural institutions unfolding in the Kingdom.
Latest estimates indicate that the culture-based economy represents about 2.3 percent of France’s gross domestic product, equivalent to more than 90 billion euros ($106.4 billion) in annual revenues, according to government data. The sector directly employs more than 600,000 people, making it one of the largest job-creating sectors in the fields of creativity, publishing, cinema, and visual arts.
Saudi Arabia benefiting from French experience in the cultural field
Maisonnave explained that France possesses established cultural institutions, while Saudi Arabia is building a strong cultural sector, which opens the door for cooperation opportunities.
This comes as an extension of the signing of 10 major cultural agreements a year ago between French and Saudi institutions, aiming to enhance cooperation and transfer French expertise and knowledge to contribute to the development of the cultural system in the Kingdom.
He added that experiences like La Fabrique provide an opportunity to meet the new generation of Saudi creators, who have expressed interest in connecting with French institutions and artists in Paris and France.
La Fabrique encompasses a space for multiple contemporary artistic practices, including performance arts, digital and interactive arts, photography, music, and cinema, while providing the public with an opportunity to witness the stages of producing artistic works and interact with the creative process.
