Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com has enhanced its relationship with Italy’s Serie A, becoming the first innovation and technology partner of Italian football.
The multi-year agreement builds on a previous deal inked with Italian football earlier this year, which saw the firm gain sponsorship of the Coppa Italia knockout competition, marking the first partnership between a professional sports league and crypto platform.
Under the terms of the new partnership, Crypto.com will present the Lega Serie A Goal of the Month and function as the presenting partner of the league’s Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) and Goal Line Technology – with the VAR Centre in Lissone co-branded from now on as the Crypto.com VAR Centre.
Crypto.com anticipates gaining substantial brand exposure, as decisions requiring VAR technology are commonplace in Serie A – a total of 2,372 incidents occurred throughout the 2020/21 season – and VAR interventions are integrated into global Serie A broadcasts to 775 million households in over 150 countries.
“We are extremely proud to deepen our partnership with Lega Serie A to enhance the fan experience with technology and innovation at the core,” remarked Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder and CEO of Crypto.com.
“Since its introduction, VAR has brought greater transparency and reliability to football, features which we value deeply at Crypto.com.”
Crypto.com has also worked on the creation of NFT collections for Serie A since the initial arrangement in May, with an additional range of collectible products related to Serie A, the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in development as a result of the most recent agreement.
Outside of football, the platform has further depended on its presence in professional sports by linking with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) MMA promotion, Stanley Cup finalists the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One team.
Luigi De Siervo, CEO of Lega Serie A, commented: “We are very happy and honoured by this important partnership with Crypto.com, a leading cryptocurrency company that has chosen Lega Serie A to develop increasingly engaging products for all the fans of Italian football.
“This multi-year agreement confirms the strength of our brand worldwide and through this unique partnership with Crypto.com, we will write a new page of innovation, bringing our fans closer to the game through technology.
“Over the next few months, we will be developing a number of commercial and marketing initiatives to expand our fan base and engage more and more fans.”
