SBI Chile and Tokyo Green Lions sign a memorandum of understanding for joint development of club tokenization models

Global sports entertainment blockchain company Chiliz and SBI Holdings’ joint venture SBI Chiliz announced on the 16th that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tokyo Verdy, Inc., one of Japan’s oldest professional football clubs and a founding member of the J.League, to jointly explore the possibility of club tokenization.

Tokyo Verdy is a well-known club in the J.League, having won the top league championship seven times and holding 25 major titles. The company will collaborate with the joint venture SBI Chiliz to officially explore a blockchain-based “fan engagement” model, which is expected to become a significant milestone for Japan’s sports and Web3 industries.

The business cooperation agreement signed by both parties aims to assess the practical feasibility of issuing fan tokens in Japan and to build a new sports ecosystem utilizing blockchain technology. Specific plans include co-developing applications that greatly enhance fan participation, such as fan voting, digital collectibles (NFTs), and participation reward systems. In this regard, Takaki Nakamura, director representing Tokyo Verdy, stated, “We are very excited to explore the future of digital fan interaction together as the J.League season begins,” and explained, “We will carefully study how Web3 technology and fan tokens can create richer, more interactive experiences.”

Additionally, both parties plan to expand the Web3 audience by producing educational content for fans and hosting offline events, while establishing an operational and compliance system that adheres to Japan’s strict legal regulations, thereby creating a stable and responsible environment for fan token issuance.

This agreement is a follow-up measure after the announcement in May 2024 of the establishment of SBI Digital Asset Holdings (a subsidiary of SBI Holdings Group) and Chiliz Group’s joint venture. Takuya Sugiyama, director of Chiliz, emphasized, “We are pleased to leverage global expertise and SBI Group’s insights into Web3 to launch Japan’s first project and actively contribute to energizing the Japanese sports market.” Chiliz currently partners with over 70 top sports organizations worldwide, including Arsenal, FC Barcelona, and Manchester City, and operates the world’s largest Web3 fan engagement platform, Socio.com.

Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz, stated, “Japan is a crucial market globally for innovative technology and passionate fan culture,” and “Our collaboration with Tokyo Verdy will be a meaningful step in building a responsible Web3 fan experience framework based on education and clear use cases.”