FIFA taps Avalanche to build dedicated blockchain for football NFTs, dumping Algorand for EVM

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the world’s football governing body, is ramping up its Web3 strategy through a partnership with Avalanche. The football association plans to develop a dedicated blockchain platform to support its digital infrastructure. 

On Thursday, Avalanche announced that FIFA will launch a purpose-built blockchain called the FIFA Blockchain. The network will be developed on Avalanche’s architecture for FIFA’s digital products, beginning with the migration of FIFA Collect, the organization’s official digital collectibles marketplace.

FIFA and Avalanche join forces to build L1-network

According to Avalanche’s press statement, the FIFA Blockchain will operate as a sovereign layer-1 network with high throughput, low latency, and governance autonomy. Despite its independence, the blockchain will remain interoperable with Avalanche’s ecosystem and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

FIFA intends to use Avalanche to host fan experiences, trading platforms, and digital collectibles that can scale to match its five-billion-strong global audience.

“By selecting Avalanche, FIFA is not simply embracing blockchain, it is establishing a long-term digital foundation capable of supporting the scale, speed, and flexibility required by the world’s most-watched sport,” the statement read.

FIFA sets sights on EVM-compatible blockchain, migration from Algorand

Prior to Thursday’s announcement, FIFA had announced its blockchain network will support its NFT platform, FIFA Collect. As part of the transition, FIFA Collect will migrate from the Algorand blockchain to the new network. 

The association also stated that the migration will begin no earlier than May 20, promising to provide step-by-step instructions on what holders need to do.

After the move, Algorand-based wallets such as Pera and Defly will no longer be supported. Users will instead connect to FIFA Collect using MetaMask or other EVM-compatible wallets via WalletConnect. 

Last year, FIFA revealed a new collaboration with Mythical Games to develop “FIFA Rivals,” a mobile soccer game set for release this month. The title will be free-to-play on iOS and Android.

New title in the 'Rivals' franchise!

Introducing @FIFARivals, an officially licensed mobile game from @playmythical and @FIFAcom ⚽

Powered by Mythos chain, build your dream team, own your players, and compete in real-time arcade action.

Available in 2025 on iOS & Android. pic.twitter.com/2S5EnhV3sB

— Enter the Mythos (@EnterTheMythos) November 22, 2024

Players can build and manage their own football clubs while competing in real-time arcade gameplay. “FIFA Rivals” will feature an in-game NFT marketplace where users can trade football star collectibles on the Mythos blockchain. 

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