Burnley exploring alternative ticketing options and engaging with fans through new NFT technology

Initially trialled through the Burnley FC Women’s team, the partnership with YellowHeart – the NFT marketplace for music and ticketing - is one of the first instances of a professional European football club exploring alternative ticketing options through the blockchain, as well as engaging and connecting with fans through NFTs.

YellowHeart and Burnley FC will experiment with using NFTs as a way for fans to collect historic moments from the club’s history, reward loyal fans with special discounts and experiences and own digital collectibles dedicated to their favourite players.

The exploration of NFTs is the latest introduction of new technology at Turf Moor since the club was acquired by US sports investment firm ALK Capital.

In January, Burnley became the first Premier League club to launch a global open talent search for new academy players using artificial intelligence, powered by mobile phone app AiSCOUT.

Earlier this month, the club also unveiled plans to introduce state-of-art digital branding and LED big screen technology at Turf Moor, as part of a wider vision to make the stadium one of the most digitally connected in English football.

Earlier this year, YellowHeart launched its NFT marketplace and powered historic moments for NFTs in music. In March 2021, YellowHeart worked with Kings of Leon to present the first NFT album titled “NFT Yourself.”

Most recently, YellowHeart collaborated with electronic music artist ZHU to build the first fan community by issuing free community tokens and the first to issue tokens tied to a live experience.

Josh Katz, Founder and CEO of YellowHeart said: “The fan experience is at the core of everything we do and it’s our mission to help people engage and connect with the things they love.

“We’ve been at the forefront of pioneering NFTs in music over the last year and are excited to bring that expertise to help Burnley FC interact with their fans in unexpected, unique ways worldwide.”

Alan Pace, Chairman of Burnley FC, added: “There is a technological revolution going on in the world right now and it is something that as a club we want to be a leader on in football.

“This partnership with YellowHeart is our first step in introducing NFTs and blockchain to the club, and I believe both technologies will drive huge efficiency in ticketing but also take fans’ connectivity with the club to a whole new level.”

NFTs are non-fungible tokens - a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable.

NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files.