Earlier this week, the NEM Group announced that it had partnered with football legend Sir Kenny Dalglish and current Manchester City player and English Premier League Champion Riyad Mahrez on the “creation of one-of-a-kind digital memorabilia as NFTs.”
As mentioned in a release shared with Crowdfund Insider, the collections of “unique” illustrations are powered by Symbol. They aim to capture the “key” moments of the sports stars’ careers and will be available for fans “to collect and own through an engaging user experience that pairs digital with physical.”
Sir Kenny Dalglish, former Liverpool player and manager, remarked:
“NFTs give fans the chance to collect unique moments from the careers of their favorite players and provide athletes with a whole new way to reward their most devoted supporters. The launch of the NFTs powered by Symbol is an exciting development and it’s brilliant to see this revolutionary technology creating collectible mementos for the fans.”
NEM’s entry into the digital collectibles space is mainly focused on offering a “premium” product experience that will aim to bring both fans and their supporters “closer to the brands and icons they love.”
Led by premier sporting stars, the first or initial talent lineup notably includes Sir Kenny Dalglish, the “most successful and celebrated” of Liverpool FC’s players and managers.
As noted in the announcement, Dalglish is “rightly renowned as a legend in the sport, having won the European Cup with Liverpool as a player twice; becoming the first Liverpool manager to win the league and cup double with Liverpool in 1985; and securing the prestigious ‘Manager of the Year’ title no less than three times.”
Joining Sir Kenny Dalglish will be Riyad Mahrez, the Algerian former “African Footballer of the Year” back in 2016 and a member of the current Manchester City squad.
As noted in the update from the NEM Group, Mahrez’s contributions helped Manchester City in becoming the 2020/21 EPL Champions. They’ve managed to secure their place in the 2021 European Champions League final, due largely to Mahrez’s three goals “across the two legs in the semi final vs. PSG.”
Mike Sotirakos, Managing Director of NEM Software, stated:
“With hundreds of millions of fans globally, Symbol provides the ability for athletes to share their stories directly through a next-generation collectible platform. Blockchain technology enables us to bring creators and consumers closer together with the goal of promoting access and inclusion to an entirely new tokenized economy – and we’re excited for NEM to be at the forefront of that.”
Symbol is described as a “next-generation” (proof of stake) PoS blockchain protocol. It’s considered a “natural fit for this new tokenized economy,”
With “individually configurable” assets and fast, “frictionless” transfers, Symbol aims to offer a simple, secure, and “reliable” experience for the “creation of one-of-a-kind digital assets.”
As noted in the announcement, NEM is helping create a new economy movement, developing real-world apps that make “disruptive” technologies like blockchain or DLT accessible to everyone.
The NEM Group aims to support the development of NEM Symbol, a “trusted” and secure enterprise-grade blockchain that “smooths” business friction, “increasing the flow of data and innovation to supercharge the creation, exchange and protection of assets.”
NEM Group comprises three separate entities. They reportedly include NEM Software, NEM Trading, and NEM Ventures.