📈The Market

All sources mentioned in this document are public and can be verified.

Despite the large salaries of players and the revenue and infrastructure of the big top teams, only 1.5% of the natural talents ('jewels') manage to play professionally due to the lack of financial and social support. That is, the renewal cycle of high-performance players is getting longer and longer, burdening teams with maintaining great players and concentrating talent in just a few clubs.

The pandemic brought a new perception of revenue sources - all clubs felt the need to look for revenue alternatives (since there were no more games or fans at games). Thus, many clubs began to consider and evaluate actions that could generate revenue such as: (i) using social platforms and fan numbers to sell club items and provide differentiated experiences and (ii) the entry of investment funds with participation in the commercial rights of the club.

The strategy appears to have worked. According to the IMARC Group, the market for soccer articles reached a value of USD 3.2 billion and should grow at a rate of 4% a year - as soccer is now considered not only a fan sport, but an effective and fun way to stay healthy and fit.

In 2022, the biggest European clubs - known as the 'BIG FIVE' - had revenues of around USD 100 billion, an important recovery after the pandemic (Source: Delloite - Football Financial Report, 2022). Still according to Delloite, the participation of fans and fans in this revenue reached an average of 16% of the total, and, in some clubs, it reaches 20% of participation - a very relevant value and with a tendency to grow much more, since that, according to the Statista.com website, 48% of frequent users of social networks - use them to buy items from brands with which they identify most. FIFA - International Football Federation - released the player transfer figures for the year 2022: an impressive 71,000 international transfers, of which 22,000 are professional players and 49,000 are amateur players (men and women), generating revenue from fees of transactions in the order of USD 6.5 billion. Brazil was the country that transferred the most players to other countries - 998 players. Deloite, in its report, also points out that Modern Football also involves actions and strategies off the field - which include: the inclusion and use of new technologies; proximity to fans and supporters and the consumption of brand-related items. It is exactly in this scenario, of inserting new technologies, as well as taking advantage of opportunities to identify with fans and supporters, combined with the need for 'new' talents, that the OLEFOOT project operates: to bring a unique experience to football lovers through the game and products, support new talent through NFTs and generate financial returns for investors.