Argentina’s Football Association accused of breach of contract

By Estudio Chaloupka

Socios.com, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform that leverages blockchain technology to provide sporting organizations with the tools to engage with and monetize their  global fanbases, accused the Argentine Football Association (AFA) of a “flagrant breach of contract” after a recent agreement with Binance was announced.

“We are thoroughly outraged by AFA’s recent actions. AFA has issued a press release announcing a new fan token partnership, sponsorship and naming rights with a different provider barely 9 months into a 3 year contractual relationship with Socios.com that remains in full force.Wwe will be taking all necessary legal actions, in every forum and jurisdiction, to protect the rights of Socios.com, the fans and to ensure AFA comply with what they have agreed with,” said Socios.com in a statement.

In May 2021, AFA and Socios.com announced plans to launch an official $ARG Fan Token for the Argentina National Team. Fan Tokens are collectible digital assets that provide owners with access to voting rights in polls, VIP rewards, exclusive promotions, AR-enabled features, chat forums, games and competitions on the mobile app Socios.com. However, in January 2022 AFA signed an agreement with the bitcoin and cryptocurrency platform Binance, which includes sponsorships and the launch of fan tokens.

“They pretend to grant the same rights we currently enjoy to a third party and we will be doing everything in our power to defer AFA from proceeding and to protect the rights of the fans who have purchased $ARG Fan Tokens,” Socios.com added.

On July 2021, AFA also announced that the Primera División, the country’s leading football league, would be renamed the Torneo Socios.com for the 2021/22 season. In response to Socios.com accusations, AFA stated that “there is no existing legal relationship between the parties."