After Real Madrid and Barcelona applied for a co-owned Metaverse trademark, the interaction between football and blockchain has reached a new level. The well-known trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis disclosed that the two Spanish clubs' applications for the Metaverse are for international classes 9 and 41.
Kondoudis claims that the two clubs want to give supporters access to a variety of club-related items in the Metaverse. The clubs will launch an electronic wallet and applications for controlling crypto-related transactions utilising the blockchain with the Class 9 trademark. Contrarily, Class 41 will provide virtual reality games, interactive entertainment, and other virtual reality-related activities for the clubs.
FC Barcelona has made previous attempts at doing cryptocurrency-related ventures. Recall that FC Barcelona floated its fan token ($BAR) on the Chiliz platform around June 2020 in collaboration with Socios.com. A well-known blockchain-based outlet for organisations in the sports and entertainment industries is the Chiliz platform. Through a partnership with Ownix, an NFT marketplace, the club debuted an NFT collection of a few key moments the previous year.
Joan Laporta, the club's president, described the collection as a chance for supporters to view a piece of the club's history. The purchase, however, fell short of expectations after allegations of forgery and sexual assault were brought against Ownix chief Moshe Hogeg.
Due to these accusations made against the club, Barcelona was compelled to renegotiate the contract. The club came close to signing a jersey sponsorship agreement with Polkadot early this year as part of its foray into the cryptocurrency market.
Meanwhile, it's unexpected that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona filed for a Metaverse Trademark jointly. Both nationally and in European play, the two clubs are fierce competitors. As the two clubs represent various political movements, this rivalry transcends merely athletic competition. A prominent representative of the Catatonia region of Spain is FC Barcelona. Madrid, on the other hand, embodies the principles of Spain's royal dynasty.
Catalonia has always pushed for its independence from Spain. The separatist movement has caught FC Barcelona's attention, and the club has openly supported the region's separation. As a result, the team once received a fine from UEFA for demonstrating support for the area during a Champions League game.
Finally, this weekend will be a crucial start for both teams as they compete in La Liga.
Madrid will look to build on its success from the previous year, which saw the team win both the domestic and UEFA Champions League titles. FC Barcelona will simultaneously work to erase memories of the departure of its legendary player, Lionel Messi. The club's lack of success in the previous campaign, which was mostly due to Lionel Messi, is evident.