This article is from cointelegraph.com.br and the original article can be read here in Portuguese
Leading Brazilian e-Sports organization, Furia, signed a sponsorship contract worth R$ 15 million with cryptocurrency exchange FTX – the biggest in the history of eSports in the Brazil, according to a report by the Estado de São Paulo published on Thursday, 21.
Currently, Furia has seven sponsors, including Red Bull, Banco Santander and Twitch, but the values of the contract closed with FTX are greater than the sum of the revenue generated by the sponsorship of all the other companies that support the organization.
Cryptocurrencies
FTX is the sole sponsor of the cryptocurrency industry, Furia’s director of sales and partnerships, Aline Maryama, told the report. Preliminary research carried out by the organization revealed that much of Furia’s audience still has limited knowledge of the cryptocurrency market.
The association with FTX is seen as an opportunity to create educational initiatives capable of bringing this public still afraid of investing in cryptocurrencies closer to the market. Although it received proposals from other companies in the field, Furia chose to close the deal with FTX as a matter of “convergence of ideals”:
“Furia is more than a sports organization, we are a sociocultural movement. We want to impact people’s lives, whether our professional athletes, streamers and employees, through sport, performance, technology and good decision making. We care about the future and the lives of the people who are connected with us. We are not just looking for a sponsor, but also partners who want to grow with us, with our bold ideas of provoking and seeking change.”
The new agreement equates Furia’s sponsorship revenues with those of some of the top clubs in the Brazilian football market, revealing a paradigm shift in the sports marketing market. It is estimated that the organization’s revenues are at least double the value of the sponsorship recently closed with FTX, as Furia’s main source of revenue comes from awards and arena rights.
E-Sports sponsors get a longer exposure time for their brands, which can be in evidence for hours at a time during competition broadcasts via the internet.
History of Furia
Furia was founded in 2017 in Uberlândia (MG) by André Akkari, Jaime Pádua and Cris Guedes, and grew rapidly due to the success of its gamers in e-Sports championships, especially in “Counter Strike: Go” tournaments.
It was Furia’s Counter Strike: Go team that raised the organization to worldwide success. Since participating in the game’s world championship in 2019, the Furia team has been accumulating trophies and is consolidated among the top ten on the planet. Currently, it occupies the eighth position in the world ranking, which makes the Furia team the best in Brazil.
A declared fan of Counter Strike: Go, Neymar is one of the most famous fans of the organization and now and then publishes posts on his social networks encouraging Furia gamers.
In addition, Neymar has been increasingly expanding his presence in the cryptocurrency universe. Earlier this week, the star of the Brazilian team and Paris Saint-Germain acquired a NFT from the Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection for BRL 800 million. It is his third private collection Ape, as he had previously purchased two Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs.