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- Binance to produce new NFT fan tokens for Argentina national teams
- Chiliz launches legal action against AFA for ‘flagrant breach of contract’
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has unveiled a new five-year partnership with Binance which will see the cryptocurrency exchange platform become the global main sponsor of Argentina’s national soccer teams.
However, the wide-ranging agreement, which also includes naming rights to the Argentinian top-flight Primera Division and designation as the official fan token of the AFA, has caused a rupture with rival blockchain firm Chiliz.
The AFA signed a naming rights deal with Chiliz last year that saw the Primera Division named ‘Torneo Socios.com‘ for the 2021/22 season and included the launch of a fan token on the Socios platform.
Following the announcement of the AFA’s deal with Binance, Chiliz has said it will take legal action against the Argentinian national soccer body for a ‘flagrant breach of contract’.
In a statement to Crypto Noticias, Chiliz said: ‘We are stunned by the statement made public today by AFA announcing an agreement to grant the rights that legally correspond to us, to another provider.’
Chiliz also told the cryptocurrency news outlet: ’We will do everything in our power to avoid it and to protect the rights of the fans who acquired the ARG fan tokens.’
The deal is Binance’s first global partnership with a national soccer body. The partnership will see the cryptocurrency exchange company launch a new non-fungible token (NFT) for the AFA, and secures Binance prime branding inventory across digital and physical national team assets.
“The agreement with Binance meets all the conditions we are looking for. A leading global brand in its field, innovative and with a vision of creating new digital assets,” said Claudio Tapia, president of the AFA.
“We are very happy with the incorporation of Binance as a commercial partner of the AFA. An alliance that, without a doubt, it is strategic and will generate excellent results for both parties.”
He Yi, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Binance, added: “Soccer and cryptocurrencies are life in Argentina, so it makes sense for Binance to partner with the Argentine Football Association.
“Through this agreement, we hope to support Argentine soccer at all levels and introduce Binance, the crypto world and the blockchain to soccer fans across the country and the world.”
