FIFA Doubles Down on Web3 Ambitions by Building Its Own Blockchain on Avalanche
FIFA Teams Up With Avalanche to Build Own Blockchain, Expanding Web3 Ambitions
In 2022, ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, FIFA unveiled a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Algorand blockchain.
Author: Margot Nijkerk | Edited by: Aoyon Ashraf May 22, 2025, 10:00 AM
Key points:
- FIFA, the world's governing body for football, is set to use the Avalanche network to create its own dedicated layer-one blockchain.
- In 2022, FIFA launched a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Algorand blockchain ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
FIFA, the world's governing body for football, is set to use the Avalanche network to create its own dedicated layer-one blockchain.
FIFA's blockchain is Avalanche L1, a customizable blockchain that uses Avalanche technology (also previously known as subnet). This announcement comes after the recent major update Avalanche9000, which was aimed at attracting new developers and encouraging them to create custom L1s.
Thursday’s announcement isn’t FIFA’s first foray into the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. In 2022, the soccer organization launched a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Algorand blockchain ahead of the Qatar World Cup. FIFA also hinted at the change in April, mentioning it was moving its collection to an EVM-compatible blockchain while continuing its Web3 initiatives.
While the NFT frenzy that saw major institutions and companies jumping on the bandwagon has largely died down following the harsh crypto winter that severely impacted sentiment in the industry a few years ago, a major organization like FIFA continuing to focus on blockchain likely indicates that the technology's application hasn't died down, and large enterprises are still looking for opportunities to participate in the space.
“Avalanche is designed for enterprises and organizations looking to develop custom, high-performance blockchain solutions,” said John Nahas, chief business officer at Ava Labs, in a press release provided to CoinDesk. “FIFA’s decision to run L1 on Avalanche is a testament to our technology’s ability to support global-scale applications with speed, flexibility, and security.”
FIFA currently only has a collection of World Cup NFT cards and a digital collecting platform, but the organization has not revealed what other plans it has for its new blockchain.
Read more: FIFA backs national football matches to celebrate highlights of classic games at 2022 World Cup
