Delhi Capitals to Launch Digital Collectibles and NFTs, Marketing & Advertising News, ET BrandEquity

Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Capitals has entered into an exclusive partnership with FanCraze, the cricketing metaverse company, to issue digital collectibles and create Web 3.0 experiences, becoming the first IPL team to do so.

FanCraze also recently announced that they have secured the official association partnership of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) with their sponsorship of the Women’s T20 Challenge.

The metaverse company launched the ICC (International Cricket Council) NFT (non-fungible token) program to launch the cricket metaverse.

“Delhi Capitals is proud to partner with FanCraze and launch the Indian cricket ecosystem into the next generation of sports-based assets and apps,” said Vinod Bisht, Acting Managing Director of Delhi Capitals.

“We will be launching the first Delhi Capitals NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) in early June and are really excited to give our fans the opportunity to own some of their favorite team and players. FanCraze has already shown us what’s possible when you combine creators, cricketers, content and commerce,” Bisht added.

Anshum Bhambri, CEO of FanCraze, said, “FanCraze is at the forefront of new innovations in sports-based digital collectibles with its thriving NFT cricket market and games like FanCraze Flash. The partnership with Delhi Capitals will allow us to further accelerate our foray into the game to make money and bring to market new offerings for Indian cricket fans.

For a very long time, BCCI had refrained from involving NFT companies as sponsors and also asked Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises to ‘keep the distance’.

This burgeoning world of digital assets has opened up a new market in which tens of billions of dollars have been invested, while sparking discussions about how they could be useful in the real world.

The likes of Paris Hilton, Gwyneth Paltrow and Serena Williams have bragged about owning NFTs and many under 30s have been enticed to gamble for the chance to make a quick buck.