The newly named Torneo Socios.com is the premier domestic football league in Argentina.
BUENOS AIRES, JULY 15TH: The Argentina Football Association (AFA), in partnership with Chiliz – the creators of Fan Tokens and the Socios.com fan engagement app, have announced that the Primera División, the country’s leading football league, will be renamed the Torneo Socios.com for the 2021/22 season.
The newly named Torneo Socios.com is among the most prestigious and storied domestic competitions in world football. It is also among the very oldest, being the first association football league formed outside of the United Kingdom in 1891.
The competition, which is organised by AFA, will resume on Friday July 16th under its new title as defending champions Boca Juniors travel to Santa Fe to face Club Atlético Unión at 19:00 AST.
The new agreement builds on the partnership between AFA and Chiliz announced in May that led to the Argentina men’s soccer team becoming the first national team in the world to launch a Fan Token on Socios.com. The newly crowned Copa América champions officially launched their Fan Token on June 11th.
Fan Tokens are collectible digital assets, minted on the Chiliz $CHZ blockchain, that provide owners with access to voting rights in polls, VIP rewards, exclusive promotions, augmented reality features, chat forums, games and competitions related to their favourite sporting organisations on Socios.com.
A rapidly expanding 40+ strong roster of leading sporting organisations have partnered with Chiliz to launch Fan Tokens on Socios.com, allowing their global followings to enjoy an enhanced fan experience and become part of a vibrant worldwide digital community of supporters.
Partners include major European soccer clubs FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan, Atlético Madrid, Manchester City, Valencia and the Portugal national soccer team, as well as MMA giants UFC and a number of leading teams from F1, esports and cricket. The company is also growing its presence in the US market, with New Jersey Devils of the NHL and NBA giants the 76ers and Boston Celtics the first major franchises to get on board.
CA Independiente are the only Argentina-based domestic club to partner with Socios.com so far. S.C Corinthians and Atlético Mineiro of Brazil’s Campeonato Serie A and Universidad de Chile of Chile’s Primera División are the other South American teams who have partnered with Socios.com to launch Fan Tokens.
Socios.com is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform that leverages blockchain technology to provide the world’s leading sporting organisations with the tools to engage with and monetize their global fanbases. Fan Tokens have generated over $150M in revenues to be shared with Socios.com partners in 2021 alone.
Socios.com is undergoing a sustained period of hypergrowth. The company has major expansion plans and will increase its presence in Argentina, throughout LATAM and across the world driven by the goal to shift passive fans into active fans and bring about a new era of enhanced global fan engagement in sports and entertainment.
Socios.com has multiple office locations around the world and has already opened new regional headquarters in Madrid, Istanbul, São Paulo in 2021. The company will open a new office in North America in the near future.
AFA President Claudio Tapia, said: “We are very happy to kick-off this journey with Socios.com. It is a very important agreement, since it’s the first time the Argentinian league partners with a commercial brand to rename the tournament. We’ve been partners of Socios.com for some time now with the Argentinian National Team. This new agreement will strengthen our relationship and have a very positive impact on both parties. Argentinian football must continue to grow, increasing its audience and global visibility. To achieve this growth, it’s important that we partner with global leading brands willing to work shoulder to shoulder with AFA in the same direction. We warmly welcome Socios.com to the Argentinian league”.
Liga Profesional de Fútbol (LPF) President Marcelo Tinelli, said: “I’m happy and proud that a company like Chiliz, creators of the Socios.com platform and globally renowned for being innovative, is backing our competition. The Liga Profesional de Fútbol is going to have a very powerful name. I’ve known this company for a long time and I know it will strengthen the prestige of the Primera División tournament. It’s a global brand and it will take our football, followed and admired by millions across the globe, even closer to the fans. AFA and LPF welcome Socios.com with open arms and the willingness to build a long-lasting partnership”
Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com said: “Today’s announcement is a major statement of our intent to establish Socios.com as the global brand name for digital fan engagement, increasing our visibility throughout Argentina and LATAM exponentially.
“There will be immense pride when the first-ever Torneo Socios.com league season begins tomorrow evening. We look forward to building on this huge milestone, adding more partners across Argentina, LATAM and continuing our mission to lead a new era of global fan engagement.”
