US-based technology company FanCraze has been announced as SA20’s official digital collectibles partner in a multi-year partnership that will take South Africa’s franchise based T20 league into the Metaverse.
Interestingly, Sundar Raman, who is a co-owner alongside Cricket South Africa and SuperSport in the company that was established to manage SA20, is the co-founder of Fancraze along with Anshum Bhambri. The web 3.0 was set up in 2001
Coming back to the collaboration announcement, SA20 and FanCraze will launch official digital player cards from this week.
SA20 league commissioner Graeme Smith said: “We are an innovative and digitally-led League so it makes sense for us to partner with a brand on the forefront of technology. We want to give our fans an all-round immersive experience on and off the field and we hope this partnership will take our offering to the next level.”
The partnership will see the league pioneering into FanCraze’s digital collectibles world. Current franchise players in the League will also be benefitting from the association and revenue streams.
Starting this week fans will be able to purchase official League collectibles on www.fancraze.com.
South African Cricketers Association (SACA) CEO Andrew Breetzke has hailed the landmark deal. “SACA has had extensive engagement with Betway SA20 on the introduction of a number of exciting commercial initiatives – all of which will benefit the league and the players. This partnership between SA20 and FanCraze will further enhance the reputation of the SA20 as a leading League in the world and open up additional revenue streams for players.”
SA20 joins the International Cricket Council (ICC), Cricket West Indies, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and a number of teams, leagues and cricket stars in the stable of the fast-growing multi-million dollar company.
Bhambri said: “FanCraze is thrilled to partner with the inaugural SA20. With the launch of SA20 Player Cards and an innovative gaming experience for fans, FanCraze continues to solidify our position as the market leader in cricket digital collectibles. We cannot wait to unlock even more categories of collectibles, games, and multi-modal digital experiences as we evangelise the Web 3.0 space for cricket audiences around the world.”
The first match of the League will feature MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals at Newlands on Tuesday, 10 January.
