Liverpool supporter union Spirit of Shankly have released a statement saying they will not 'endorse' the club's sale of NFTs.
After months of consideration, alongside speaking to fans via questionnaires and in consultation with the Spirit of Shankly group, the club announced they will be releasing the 'LFC Heroes' Club collection of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) while also working collaboratively with kit supplier Nike.
NFTs have come into a lot of criticism recently but the Reds have confirmed that the drop will also raise funds for the LFC Foundation and their work in the community, while half of Liverpool's proceeds from the ‘Legendary’ one of one auction, which go on sale on March 30 and end on April 1, will go to supporting the LFC Foundation. An additional 10 per cent from the Reds' limited edition ‘Hero’ sale and 10 per cent of all future resale royalties also going to the Foundation.
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However, the move was not received warmly by fans on social media and Spirit of Shankly were among the voices online who questioned the move. While the union did acknowledge that it is up to fans to buy what they want from the club, they called for Liverpool to be in constant communication with supporters regarding NFTs going forward.
A statement read: "Liverpool FC today launched an official collection of NFTs.
"In January, Spirit of Shankly attended a two-hour meeting with the club, as part of the revised approach to open engagement, in order to discuss their plans for this new venture. NFTs are a digital phenomenon that have exploded over the past year and we asked them why they were considering a move into this market.
"We were able to challenge, scrutinise, and question their desire to enter into this. We also raised concerns about financial, environmental sustainability and other risks involved.
"LFC do not require our consent in relation to merchandise and up to now we have not endorsed any LFC merchandise, digital or otherwise and similarly it is not for us to endorse this product.
"It is a fan’s decision alone what they choose to buy from the club. We only hope that the risk involved here is apparent and we expect LFC to assess this marketplace constantly and communicate with supporters."
