The Argentine Football Association (AFA), in partnership with Chiliz – the creators of Fan Tokens and the Socios.com fan engagement platform – have announced plans to launch an Official $ARG Fan Token for the Argentina National Team.

Fan Tokens are collectible digital assets, minted on the Chiliz blockchain, that provide owners with access to voting rights in polls, VIP rewards, exclusive promotions, AR-enabled features, chat forums, games and competitions on the mobile app Socios.com.

Argentina are among the most successful national sides of all time with two World Cup wins, 14 victories in the Copa América and an incredible production line of talent, which includes, arguably, the two greatest players of all time in Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.

Argentina will become the first national team to launch a Fan Token, joining an elite international network of more than 30 leading sporting properties on the Socios.com roster, including FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan and Manchester City. Argentine Primera División side Club Atlético Independiente have also launched a Fan Token on Socios.com.

Notably, a number of the stars of the Argentina national team are already playing for clubs in the Socios.com network, including Sergio Aguero (Man City) Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) Angel Di María, Leandro Paredes and Mauro Icardi (PSG), and Ángel Correa (Atlético de Madrid).

Driven by the central tenet that transitioning passive fans into active fans is essential to the future of sport, Socios.com is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform that leverages blockchain technology to provide the world’s leading sporting organizations with the tools to engage with and monetize their global fanbases.

The news that the Argentina National Team will launch a Fan Token completes a hat-trick of announcements for Socios.com today, who earlier revealed that 3 Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket teams (Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings) will join their network and that NASCAR team Roush Fenway Racing will launch a Fan Token.

Created by Chiliz, the leading blockchain provider for the global sports and entertainment industry, Socios.com has major global expansion plans for 2021 and will increase their existing presence in Europe, while targeting many more Fan Token launches in the U.S, U.K, Asia and South America. Socios.com has multiple office locations around the world and will open new European, U.S. and South American headquarters in Madrid, North America and Sao Paulo in 2021.

The $ARG Fan Token for the Argentina National Team will launch ahead of the 2021 Copa América tournament which will be held in July. In addition, all current Argentinean users on Socios.com will receive one $ARG Fan Token for free. This only applies to existing registered users on the Socios.com app.

Claudio Tapia, President of AFA, said: “We are very happy to announce this important agreement with the multinational and innovative brand Socios.com.

“Since assuming our management, we have faced the challenge of generating greater income for the AFA, developing new revenues and enhancing the commercial presence of our National Team in the world.

“This agreement clearly responds to our strategy and also reinforces our digital growth. Through Fan Tokens, fans will feel closer to our national team and will be able to influence the team, earn rewards and enjoy exclusive experiences.

“We are very excited about this new announcement, which reinforces the confidence of large companies in AFA’s commercial projects. We welcome you to Socios.com and look forward to working together to achieve great results. “

Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com, said: “Two World Cups, 14 Copa América titles, geniuses like Messi and Maradona that have cast a spell on billions with their brilliance – Argentina are legends of world football.

“We’re therefore incredibly proud that they will become the first national team in the world to launch a Fan Token on Socios.com. This is also a massive day for Argentina’s famously passionate fans, who will now have an incredible new way to engage with and influence their beloved team.

“In a single groundbreaking day we’ve added new partners from three continents to our ever-growing roster.

“The future of sport rests on transitioning passive fans into active fans through transactional fan engagement; our fan engagement platform enables our partners to plug into a global network of elite sporting organizations and achieve this necessary evolution.”