Beyond new revenue opportunities, the model gives FIFA more visibility into who ultimately attends its events. In the traditional ticketing ecosystem, much of that information is controlled by secondary markets.
“The current administrator of those tickets, FIFA, has no idea who people are buying,” Carbonaro said. “That data is on SeatGeek, StubHub, Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats.” He argued that FIFA Collect’s RTB and RTT system gives FIFA greater insight into how ticket rights change hands within its own ecosystem, rather than relying on third-party platforms that typically control the customer relationship.
With RTB and RTT, FIFA can better track how fans progress through the ticketing process, while keeping personal information off-chain and using blockchain records as a verification mechanism.
Ultimately, that data component can prove to be as valuable as the ticketing functionality itself. Sports organizations increasingly view direct fan relationships as strategic assets, particularly as artificial intelligence tools make first-party data more valuable.
It remains to be seen whether FIFA’s ticketing model will become a model for future tournaments. Critics might argue that the introduction of tradable purchasing rights simply creates another layer between fans and tickets.
Either way, the World Cup offers a glimpse of where blockchain adoption will go. Instead of asking consumers to adopt cryptocurrencies, projects like FIFA Collect are trying to hide them completely. And for the Avalanche, that may be the biggest test of all.
