Ahead With the FIFA World Cup kicking off later this month, Sorare has launched “Global Cup ’22”, a new free-to-play social fantasy football game.

As in other Sorare fantasy football competitions, the game allows players to build a 5v5 lineup of players from 18 national soccer teams who use NFT trading cards and then compete in the Sorare World Tournament to win higher value Sorare cards.

The name of the game suggests that it is not a FIFA licensed game. However, Sorare has been associated with 18 of the 32 national teams that reached the World Cup final, including Argentina, Belgium, France and Germany. This means players can create squads and earn exclusive event collectibles. In-game digital trading cards feature a football player linked to blockchain-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

“At Sorare we are building the next giant in sports entertainment, giving fans new ways to enjoy the sports they love and connect with their favorite stars,” said Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare.

While Global Cup ’22 features national team player cards minted especially for the event, Sorare also hosts other licensed fantasy games featuring 300 sports teams and organizations, including LaLiga, the Bundesliga and Serie A. The club is wearing (unlike the national team) player cards so that existing players can use them in an additional International Special Tournament which will run during the World Cup.

Since its founding in 2018, Sorare has reached more than 2 million users worldwide. In 2021, the company was valued at $4 billion, after raising $680 million in a Series B round. Sorare capitalized on the football craze around this major event to launch its first major marketing campaign, OwnYourWorld. Like other brands using digital collectibles and targeting a mainstream audience, Sorare no longer mentions NFTs or blockchain.

An audit revealed that the 2018 FIFA World Cup attracted an audience of 3.5 billion people around the world, including those who watched the games at home. Given the anticipated viewership of the 2022 World Cup, Sorare is not the only company bringing football to the blockchain. However, when it comes to fantasy games, it is the one with the longest blockchain track record.

Yesterday, FIFA announced a series of licensed World Cup games, and some of them are similar to Sorare’s fantasy game.

Visa announced its own campaign, partnering with Crypto.com, starting with an NFT auction ahead of the World Cup. Crypto.com is a world cup sponsor, making the website a dedicated cryptocurrency trading platform for the tournament. And he’s also running a fantasy game.