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Liverpool Echo

Sport

Dave Powell

Liverpool don't rule out revisiting controversial off-field move in future

Liverpool Billy Hogan NFT Football Off Pitch

Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan believes that there will be scope to explore more opportunities in the NFT space despite a disappointing launch earlier this year.

The Reds' NFT launch, done in conjunction with London auction house Sotheby's back in March, was met with criticism from some supporters due to the volatility of a market that remains largely unregulated and can be detrimental to the environment due to the energy required to 'mint' each individual NFT.

As of June the LFC Heroes Club collection had sold only 11,000 of its more than 171,000 available, meaning that 93.5 per cent went unsold. The sale did deliver more than £1.1m in revenues, with more than £300,000 of that heading to directly support the work of the LFC Foundation.

The NFT market exploded last year and football clubs and leagues across the globe attempted to get involved for a slice of the action from a new revenue stream that had arrived at a time when traditional income had been affected due to the pandemic.

But since that boom the market has taken a dive, related to the cryptocurrency crash, with sales of NFTs globally hitting a 12-month low last month. Markets can be volatile, especially ones that are unregulated and in their infancy, but while the current state of it may not be in rude health it is an industry that will evolve in some way, highly unlikely to simply disappear off the face of the planet.

Liverpool heading back into the NFT space imminently doesn't seem likely after the issues that were seen with their March launch, but Hogan is keeping an open mind when it comes to what the future may hold in the space, loathe to completely rule out markets that may not have yet fully developed.

Speaking to Off The Pitch, Hogan said: "There was some criticism, but there was also a lot of support for it. I think it probably split opinion, to be fair. I think from our perspective, it was it was an important opportunity to try something that was new and different.

"One of the really positive aspects of the project was that it raised almost £300,000 for our Foundation, so I don't think that it's something that we will shy away from. I think that there's opportunities for us to continue to explore.

"But I think we would look at how we engage and how we involve ourselves within that category industry and ensure that we're doing it in the right way, in the most authentic way as it relates to the values of the club."

Liverpool are one of a number of clubs that are urged to take a socially conscious path when it comes to the partnerships that they engage with and how they conduct their business. As owners Fenway Sports Group have found during their tenure, to do things the wrong way risks angering fans, as was seen with their attempts to raise ticket prices, attempts to furlough staff and plot to join the European Super League. All three of those thing saw them reverse their original decisions due to fan pressure.

Liverpool have been clear on their stance over their commercial partnerships that they must mesh with the club's values.

Speaking exclusively to the ECHO last month, Liverpool commercial director Ben Latty said: "As a leadership team led by Billy (Hogan) we've got responsibility to operate and make decisions in the best interests of the football club. That's the best interests of everyone connected to the football club as well, whether it's our ownership, our fans or other partners. The way we operate now, and let's make this really clear, every decision we make, whether it's positive or negative, is done with the club's best interests at heart.

"I'd like to think that we're almost the guardians of the commercial side of the football club here. So, if we're at odds, ends with other areas of the football club that doesn't make sense. We always make sure that whenever we're partnering with someone that we've done our full due diligence around them. We look at it and see whether there's any risk attached to it."

But as new markets emerge and develop, and as the biggest clubs continue to seek to find ways to grow revenue streams to keep up with each other and ensure they can invest in the product on the field, completely ruling out moves into new markets for the future might be putting the handbrake on way too soon.

The advent of Web3.0 is set to open up more opportunities in the 'metaverse', where the legions of Reds fans around the world will have chance to digitally engage in a more immersive way than they have traditionally. That could become a valuable revenue stream.

Speaking to Off The Pitch, Hogan added: "Crypto and blockchain and some of the new areas kind of within Web 3.0, are areas that we absolutely will explore."

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