Connecting over 1 billion cricket fans globally with NFTs
In a first for Australian cricket, Rario and BlockTrust have signed an official licensing deal with Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association that will see digital collectible NFTs (non-fungible tokens) from Australian cricket and play-to-earn virtual gaming made accessible to over one billion cricket fans globally.
Using eco-friendly blockchain technology, the multi-year exclusive CA/ACA partnership will introduce NFTs to cricket fans, creating a new fan engagement tool that celebrates the rich history of Australian cricket.
The partnership will support the growth of the game along with supporting past and present players through their historic achievements being featured in NFT moments.
Rario, creators of the world’s first Cricket NFT platform, along with joint-venture partner BlockTrust, will now help Australian cricket fans understand, collect, and engage with NFTs by creating an Australian cricket metaverse of collectibles and gaming.
Traditionally collectibles have only featured still images, whereas NFTs can also show the full story of a sporting moment by featuring officially licensed broadcast vision.
The shot and reaction when Ellyse Perry registered her Ashes double century, the magic moments of Scott Boland’s MCG spell or, back in time, Steve Waugh’s last ball boundary at the SCG in 2003, can now be captured in full action for digital trading cards and memorabilia that fans can own and trade exclusively.
The engagement possibilities are vast, from providing collectibles that introduce fans to the history of the game, gaming experiences that allow collectors to play games against each other around the world (which over 100 million cricket fans already do), to trading card sets that act as visual coaching tools for children starting out in the game.
Rario and BlockTrust have led a consortium of leading ecosystem partners in successfully procuring this project, including ConsenSys and Amazon Web Services. Further announcements on NFT releases and player partnerships will be made in the coming months.
Ankit Wadhwa, co-founder and CEO of RARIO said, “Yet again Australia has led the way in cricketing innovation by entering the metaverse with Rario and BlockTrust,”
“This historic collaboration is a first in the cricketing world, where a national board (Cricket Australia) and players’ association (ACA) have come together to define the future of fandom with NFTs.”
“Rario is a global cricket NFT platform with partners across Australia, Asia, the Caribbean and the Americas. With this partnership, we are excited to give cricket lovers the opportunity to own a part of the sport they love, collect memorable moments and player cards and indulge in cricket NFT based games in the Rario metaverse.”
Mike Alexander, co-founder and CEO of BlockTrust said, “We are very excited to team up with Rario, Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association to establish Australia’s first sports metaverse designed for the Australian cricket community.
“BlockTrust has quickly established itself as a leader in the development of bespoke NFT marketplaces and web3 experiences, assisting a range of brands and organisations globally to develop and tokenise physical and digital assets.”
Nick Hockley, CEO of Cricket Australia said, “We are excited to step into the metaverse with our partners Rario, BlockTrust and the Australian Cricketers’ Association for this historic deal, which will open up huge opportunities for innovation and fan engagement,”
“The game’s deep connection with its past, the passion of our fans and the appeal of Australian cricketers to a global audience, means the incorporation of NFTs is another way that fans across the world can engage and be part of the sport,”
“This is just the start and I have no doubt we will see enormous benefit for fans, players and the sport itself as we build this exciting partnership.”
Todd Greenberg, CEO of the Australian Cricketers’ Association said, “This is an exciting opportunity for Australian cricket, and this has been reflected in the cooperative spirit that the ACA and Cricket Australia have partnered with Rario,”
“Once you begin to learn about NFTs you soon understand the engagement possibilities between past and present players with fans are huge. We all look forward to bringing this program to life in the coming months with new and innovative concepts.” he said.
