Deal Marks Leading Blockchain Company’s First Major Sports Partnership
The Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) today announced it has begun a partnership with Splinterlands, the worldwide leading blockchain gaming developer.
This unique deal, starting with Genesis League Soccer (GLS), will see the two companies collaborate to incorporate MLSPA players into a new Web 3.0 opportunity. The MLSPA and Splinterlands will work together to create and develop a play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain soccer-based game, allowing MLSPA players to connect with their fans in new ways across both desktop and mobile devices.
Genesis League Soccer, from the makers of Splinterlands, will be the first and flagship game of the company’s new sports gaming platform, Genesis League Sports, which will augment a new paradigm for sports fans, blockchain enthusiasts, and gamers around the world.
The new sports game experience will see MLSPA players, in their fictional in-game card formats, matched with each other. Points and wins will be tallied in a variety of ways based on in-game events and numerous player statistics, mimicking real-world soccer performance in a digestible, digital format. The blockchain technology of Web 3.0 in a mobile interface allows a unique, immersive, and enhanced player experience for fans and gamers alike, with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) playing a significant role both in and outside of the game.
"As the MLSPA continues to expand our players' commercial footprint, we strive to identify partners at the cutting edge of innovation, technology, and new category creation," said MLSPA Chief Operating Officer Dan Jones. "Joining forces with Splinterlands, a pioneer and demonstrated leader in the fast-expanding world of play-to-earn gaming, allows our players to shape the future and create new gaming experiences to engage fans around the world."
Dr. Jesse “Aggroed” Reich, Splinterlands Co-Founder and CEO said, “This is an incredible innovation in the sports industry, and MLSPA is one of its biggest players. Web 3.0 offers new standards and development possibilities set by its community members, and these form a new pathway to massive opportunity for all involved: for those within the industry as well as for fans and sports enthusiasts. We're thrilled to be partnering with them in this groundbreaking model, and I look forward to these exciting ways of connecting sports, gaming, crypto, NFTs, DeFi, and blockchain technology.”
OneTeam Partners, the group player licensing partner of the MLSPA, facilitated the new partnership. OneTeam is a global sports company unleashing the collective power of world-class athletes to drive business via group licensing, marketing, media, and venture.
To receive access to the game’s whitelist, along with other exclusive giveaways, readers can now visit https://www.genesisleaguesoccer.com.
About Splinterlands
The Splinterlands company was founded in 2018 by Jesse Reich and Matt Rosen. Its fantasy-themed collectible card game, Splinterlands, currently boasts 2.4M registered users and more than 1M unique active wallets, handling 3-5M blockchain transactions a day. The unique blockchain soccer game announced today is from the same publishers as this worldwide gaming hit, and is a welcome new frontier for the company. Genesis League Sports, following the successful model of Splinterlands, will offer an expansive and connected community to its users. Through the power of Web 3.0 technology, the publishers take regular user input into account for growth and development in powerful and innovative ways.
About the Major League Soccer Players Association
The Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) is the labor union and exclusive bargaining representative for all Major League Soccer (MLS) players, ensuring the protection of their bargained-for rights. Established in 2003, the MLSPA serves to promote players' collective best interests, amplify their voices, and represent them in their group commercial and licensing activities. The MLSPA is a democratic organization, run by and for players. To learn more, please visit www.mlsplayers.org.
About OneTeam Partners
A licensing, athlete marketing and media powerhouse, OneTeam launched in 2019 as a joint venture between the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), MLB Players Association (MLBPA), and RedBird Capital Partners to maximize the collective value of athletes’ rights through group licensing, marketing, media, and other ventures. OneTeam represents a range of commercial business interests on behalf of the athletes of the NFLPA, MLBPA, MLSPA, U.S. Women’s National Team PA, WNBPA, NWSLPA, U.S. Rugby PA, and League of Legends Championship Series PA, as well as those of thousands of college athletes. To learn more visit www.joinoneteam.com.