Major League Soccer and the Portland Timbers today announced a multi-year partnership agreement with next generation fan engagement and rewards company, Socios.com, making the company an Official Partner of MLS.
With a shared vision in leveraging next-generation technology mixed with progressive experiences, the Socios.com-MLS-Portland Timbers partnership forges a deeper connection with fans, and fuels League growth on and off the field.
With 26 Club deals, including the Timbers, Socios.com seeks to create a unique community for MLS fans to celebrate their passion for the game and win life-time experiences all from one app. Starting with the 2022 season, the partnership intends to give fans access to exclusive rewards, polls, and opportunities for their favorite Clubs. From forums and chat rooms to polls, MLS envisions that fans will be able to have the chance to win prizes for making correct game-related predictions and for correctly answering questions.
“At Major League Soccer, our Emerging Ventures team is always looking for ways to apply the latest technology to provide North America’s youngest and most tech-savvy fans with new opportunities to be connected in a significant way to our players and clubs,” said Chris Schlosser, Major League Soccer’s SVP of Emerging Ventures. “We’re excited to continue our progressive approach to blockchain technology at MLS with Socios.com.”
With the highest percentage of millennial audience of any major U.S. sport, the deal with Socios.com seeks to enable the Timbers and MLS to combine its commitment to innovation and technology to leverage blockchain technology to provide the League and our clubs tools to engage with fans in more immersive ways. Socios.com will be integrated across League and partner clubs’ social channels and receive digital signage at partner club home games.
“Joining forces with the Timbers and MLS to explore what the best iteration of our blockchain-based fan engagement product will become is truly exciting,” said Max Rabinovitch, Socios.com’s Chief Strategy Officer. “This partnership is going to have far-reaching positive impacts on our evolution and shed light on what the Socios fan engagement universe on the blockchain can be as a whole. MLS is the perfect home to begin that educational journey in North America.”
The agreement also enables Socios.com, the Timbers and MLS to work together on new fan engagement products in the years ahead.
Socios.com has indicated that it has major global expansion plans and will increase its existing presence in Europe, while targeting many more launches in the USA, Asia, and South America with the world’s leading sports properties. Socios.com will debut a mobile app specifically designed for users in the United States later this year and recently announced international soccer legend Lionel Messi as the company’s first Global Brand Ambassador.
