Major League Soccer to create metaverse environment for fans

GreenPark Sports inked a multi-year partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) to create a metaverse environment that offers multiple fan ‘universes’.

The social sports gaming developer’s application allows fans to play games, enter contests and collect items for their avatar.

Starting this season, MLS fans will be able to design avatars with officially licensed kits and compete in games and in-match challenges against friends, other supporters of their favorite club, and rivals' fans.

This experience may be enhanced with real-time match data to create live fan engagement activities and parties, allowing fans to win merchandise and other goodies.

Chris Schlosser, senior vice president of emerging ventures at MLS, said GreenPark brings new cutting-edge digital experiences to life for MLS fans around the globe.

GreenPark is among several firms banking on growing demand from sports fans for immersive, digitally-native experiences that comprise the ‘metaverse,’ which is a persistent, virtual environment that acts as a digital counterpart to the physical world.

The metaverse has become a growing area of interest for sports organizations, and MLS is a GreenPark partner with the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), Spanish soccer's LaLiga, and the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Last year, the LA-based firm raised US$31 million in a Series B funding round and is looking at integrating non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into its platform.