THE FOUNDERS of The Sports Metaverse have said they are simply ‘in awe at the number of people already having bought their piece of land,’ as the first phase of sales winds up this week.
Earlier this year the Voice spoke with Alexi Yovanoff who explained how excited he was to bring to fruition a project his team has been working on behind the scenes for the past few years.
The Sports Metaverse by SportsIcon is the world’s first virtual world specifically focused on sports.
Yovanoff said the organisation is aiming to offer sports fans a unique virtual experience with some of their favourite stars.
The news followed hot on the heels of SportsIcon announcing their partnership with UFC champion Amanda Nunes, who will be offering personal training in the Metaverse.
In a good sign for the space this week, an independent report by Technavio, a global market research firm, revealed that the real estate market in the metaverse is projected to pass $5 billion by 2026.
Explaining how for the first time in history, the biggest sports stars, brands and clubs are coming together in one place, Yovanoff enthused: “We’ve been working on this for a while now.
“And this sports Metaverse that we have been building out for many, many months, quietly, is all about the engagement with the athletes and the fans.
“That’s been the ethos of the company from when it was founded back in 2020. It’s all about bringing the athletes closer to the fans and vice versa.
“We’re delighted to be working with Amanda, she is an absolute legend of UFC and a lovely person as well.
“We were filming with her out in Washington DC recently, capturing all of the volumetrics that is required to recreate someone in the Metaverse.
“So it will be a really immersive experience for people that are in there. It’s a 3D environment with a 3D Amanda that you can interact with.
“She’ll be talking to users about her career, about her experiences and showing a few moves. A bit of shadow boxing etc, some tips and tricks, just trying to make it as immersive as possible for the fans that want to enjoy it.”
Nunes is just one of the high profile athletes to get involved with SportsIcon since the company announced their partnership with Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku.
The Metaverse space is being built at a rapid pace, despite there still being a lack of widespread understanding on how the virtual environment will serve everyday people.
Yovanoff says however, that they are building it because people will come.
“It’s a more immersive experience that we can build using blockchain technology.
“It’s going to come into life more and more, there is going to be much more of a blend between IRL, in-real-life stuff, and digital blockchain stuff, one is going to continue to seep into the other.”
Working with formidable backers ranging from Roham Gharegozlou, Founder of Dapperlabs, NBA Top Shot and Flow to Chad Hurley, Founder of Youtube and Andrew Masanto Co-founder of Hedera, Reserve and NFT.com, the integrity of this project is not in question.
The current sale happening on the Sports Metaverse website will be closing on July 28 at 5pm UK time.
*NB: This is information – not financial advice or a recommendation.
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