The Ballon d’Or, an annual football award, will be announced on October 17. On the occasion of the award’s 66th anniversary, the French newspaper L’Équipe group announced the launch of NFT collections with some exceptional services as perks.
The Ballon d’Or (or Golden Ball) is the most prestigious award for football players and the most famous asset of the L’Équipe group.
L’Équipe group’s foray into Web3 will give birth to a collection of NFTs designed in collaboration with contemporary artist Léo Caillard, a visual artist and cryptoartist member of the NFT Factory collective, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
The NFTs are based on pyrites, the precious stone found in the trophy’s base. Tezos, a proof-of-stake blockchain, has been chosen to be a part of this project.
The first collection, “True Pyrite”, will be auctioned off on September 15 with a floor price of 999 euros per piece. These NFTs will grant holders VIP access to the ceremony on October 17.
The five winners (male Golden Ball, female Golden Ball, Kopa Trophy, Yachine Trophy, Gerd Müller Trophy) will receive the digital double of their trophy in NFT during the award ceremony.
The “Pyrite Fragments” NFTs will be available on October 23 for 249 euros. An advance sale of 1,772 NFTs at a reduced price of 199 euros each will be held, with priority given to those who participated in the previous auction.
So a total of 2,022 “Pyrite Fragments” NFTs will be sold, granting access to benefits such as guaranteed access to the Ballon d’Or ceremony for the next twenty years or exclusive Sorare Ballon d’Or cards.
Finally, on November 8, two other NFTs by the artist Léo Caillard will be auctioned off during the annual sale of art photos by the group l’Équipe. Their owners will be able to attend the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Fondaction L’Équipe, which supports sports-related projects of general interest.
