Socios to Sign More Main Kit Sponsor Deals?
Jul 28, 2021, by Chris
Update: We have imagined how the kits of Bayern, Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea would look with the Socios advertising. Of these teams, Arsenal and Barcelona already have regular sponsorship deals with Socios.
What If? 2021-22 Kits With Socios Sponsor
Italian giants Inter Milan have become the latest club to sign a deal with Chiliz, $CHZ (Socios), a blockchain provider for the global sports and entertainment industry. Will Socios sign further teams and main shirt sponsorship places?
Update: This article stated that the UFC Token was trading at a 95% loss from its initial €2 pricing. This was an error on our part as there was a mix-up with the Union Fair Coin token, which is also known as UFC. It appears that the actual Ultimate Fighting Championship Fan Token is not yet traded publicly as it was only launched in late June.
Socios Already Sponsors Dozens of Big Teams & Other Sports
Socios allows fans to "get closer to their club and, for example, vote for some things such as the design of the bus, or makes (social media) contests".
Earlier this week, Socios.com also added Arsenal to its portfolio. Their range of deals includes major football clubs Barcelona, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan and Atlético Madrid as well as leading MMA brands Ultimate Fighting Championship plus some Formula 1 teams.
Socios can afford sponsorships due to "highly profitable business" rather than investor money
A report from SportBusiness suggests Socios can finance the deals by themselves and not by an investor.
According to Matthew Glendinning from SportBusiness, the brand’s marketing spend is not driven by investor capital, but by its profitability to date. They can afford sponsorships due to "highly profitable business" rather than investor money.
It seems pretty certain that it is the fans who lose their money & that Socios will sign more teams
With Socios apparently having a profitable business, it seems well possible that they will sign further front-of-shirt sponsor deals.
Socios.com Cryptocurrency - Rip-Off Of Fans?
However, while the concept of Socios sounds great at first glance, there are some questions about whether it is just a big rip-off of club supporters.
The business model and possible problems for fans were highlighted by @uglygame on Twitter.
What Socios Is
- A cryptocurrency company that partners with sports clubs to issues Fan Tokens
- People (they don't have to be club fans) buy these tokens, giving access to votes on aspects of the club
- Barca, Juve, PSG, and others are signed up
- Each club issues tens or hundreds of millions of tokens
- To buy tokens, you have to use Socios's own cryptocurrency, Chiliz
Problems With Socios
- Socios makes "indefinite" money of Initial Token Sales - they do not say how much money they make from the initial token sales
- Charges fans for influence on their club
- Votes often on pointless issues
- Anyone can buy tokens - inc. fans of other clubs
- Not One member, one vote
- Uses cryptocurrency
- Prices subject to wild swings for non-football reasons
- Encourages financial speculation
In the end, it seems to be all about speculation and the recent hype about crypto has helped most coins tokens gain a fair bit of traction earlier this year. The Chiliz (CHZ) coin price is up more than 1100% since the start of the year, but down almost 75% from its all-time high on March 13th.
Chiliz has a revenue target of $150m (€127.2m) in 2021, of which half is shared with its affiliated sports organizations. Socios is also investing $50m in an expansion into the US.
Socios pays Inter 20 million Euro for one season
It remains to be seen if Socios will sign further main sponsorship deals in the future but we would not be surprised to see them in the Premier League as well.
Do you think we will see Socios on the front of the kits of more football teams? Comment below.
Erling Haaland Shows Off Nike Phantom 6 Signature Boots
Manchester City star Erling Haaland has provided the clearest look yet at his upcoming Nike Phantom 6 signature boots for the 26-27 season. After previously being spotted wearing the pair during training sessions with the Norwegian national team, the striker shared an image holding the finished low-cut boots inside the dressing room.
The new signature boots feature a Sky Blue and White color scheme that aligns naturally with Manchester City's primary colors. A distinctive cloud-like graphic wraps around the heel and rear section of the boot, adding an exclusive graphic touch over the light blue upper.
The Nike Phantom 6 Haaland boots are scheduled for an official launch on 1 October 2026.
Spezia Calcio 26-27 Third Kit Released
Kappa and Italian club Spezia Calcio have officially unveiled their new third kit for the 26-27 season. Titled "Liberty Soul," the new strip draws direct inspiration from the local decorative art and architecture of La Spezia.
The Spezia Calcio 26-27 third shirt comes in a rich garnet base, overlaid with an intricate tonal floral pattern inspired by the Liberty-style stained-glass windows adorning historic buildings throughout the city. Clean white accents provide contrast on the Kappa logos, the club crest on the left chest, and the main shirt sponsor. Honoring club heritage, Spezia's historic 1944 championship badge is placed on the upper back below the collar.
The new third kit completes the club's 26-27 collection alongside the white 120th-anniversary home shirt and the black-and-gold away jersey. It is available to purchase now via Spezia's official online store.
Special Adidas Argentina Messi 2026 'Farewell' Kit Collection Leaked
Based on leaked image, our partner @whatthekit_x created a mockup of Leo Messi, Emiliano Martínez and Rodrigo De Paul wearing the special Argentina kit, goalkeeper kit and pre-match shirt, respectively, featured Messi's personal brand logo to honor his legendary career with the national team.
Napoli Women 26-27 Away Kit Released
Following the launch of their ocean-themed home strip, Napoli Women have unveiled their new away kit for the 26-27 season. Produced in partnership with Swedish brand Craft and creative agency Modì, the jersey represents the second chapter of the club's "Dagli abissi al cielo" (From the abyss to the sky) narrative concept.
The design draws unique inspiration from Urania, the Neapolitan protagonist of Ernesto Capocci's 1857 proto-science fiction novella about the first woman to journey to the Moon. Capocci, a famed astronomer and former director of Naples' Capodimonte Observatory, penned the story nearly a decade before Jules Verne. To reflect this lunar theme, the shirt adopts muted gray and lilac tones paired with a crater-like lunar soil texture across the raglan sleeves, side panels, and shorts. A crisp white panel on the upper back features the inscription "To the Moon," while the chest carries Napoli Women's new emblem rendered in pearl-white 3D PVC.
Accrington Stanley 26-28 'Stanley-Noir' Third Kit Released
Accrington Stanley have officially unveiled their brand-new 'Stanley-Noir' third kit for the 26-28 seasons, designed in direct collaboration with technical sponsor Macron. The strip adopts a sleek, dark steel gray aesthetic characterized by a subtle diagonal wave pattern across the torso, paired with monochrome white applications for the embroidered club badge, Macron Hero, and front-of-shirt sponsor Wham, who return for their tenth consecutive campaign. Rounded off with dark shorts and socks featuring Fagan & Whalley branding, the new alternate strip is now available to purchase through the club's online store and physical retail shop.
Unreleased Puma Ultra Nitro 7 Boots Spotted On Pitch
A brand-new colorway of the next-generation Puma Ultra Nitro 7 football boots has been spotted on the pitch, laced up by Kevin Santos during a recent pre-match warm-up. The unreleased pair gives us our first look at what Puma has in store for its flagship speed silo in the upcoming autumn collection. Thanks to rkidfootball & bootsclub.
The spotted boots feature a clean white base highlighted by an eye-catching purple and blue gradient that wraps around the toe box and lower lateral section. Puma completes the aesthetic with dark Cat branding outlined along the upper and subtle light blue accents across the collar and soleplate, offering a sharp contrast to the bold launch edition.