The Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) has partnered with NEAR Basis to construct a blockchain-powered Web3 fan engagement app for the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India, which guarantees to achieve a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of followers over the following six weeks.
Cointelegraph spoke completely to ICC head of digital Finn Bradshaw and NEAR CEO Chris Donovan, who unpacked particulars of the Web3 cellular app aiming to drive fan engagement earlier than, throughout and after matches on the world sporting occasion in India.
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The ICC’s first foray into the world of Web3 was the creation of a nonfungible token (NFT) platform referred to as FanCraze in 2022 that gave followers the flexibility to personal highlights of historic moments from varied ICC tournaments. Bradshaw stated that it laid the inspiration for future Web3 exploits:
“We beloved the group that grew round that product, so we’ve got been on the lookout for different use instances that assist strengthen our followers’ love of cricket.”
The app will permit followers to play prediction video games requiring technique picks for video games throughout the competitors. Followers will earn factors reflecting their picks and the precise consequence of matches, counting towards leaderboards and rewards throughout the competitors.
Bradshaw stated that cricket’s governing physique and NEAR share an analogous imaginative and prescient for a way Web3 expertise can enhance digital experiences for followers and that NEAR’s Blockchain Working System’s interoperability with different networks was a key issue within the partnership:
“A giant a part of that’s about creating merchandise with higher interoperability throughout blockchains.”
Whereas NEAR is a layer-1 blockchain, it options scalable infrastructure supporting communication, sensible contracts and transaction capabilities with different blockchain ecosystems. Donovan stated this function might show helpful as extra use instances are explored within the partnership that ends in December 2025:
“The ICC is just targeted on working with a single layer-1 blockchain associate for now, however they’re conscious of the Blockchain Working System’s interoperability capability.”
As Cointelegraph has explored at size, advertising and marketing and promoting in varied sports activities have pushed the adoption of cryptocurrencies and Web3 basically. Donovan believes {that a} Cricket World Cup being hosted in India presents one other alternative to current working use instances of blockchain expertise.
“In partnering with the preferred sport on the sub-continent, we count on it to be a showcase for the ecosystem’s expertise and companions in demonstrating what a mass-market Web3 utility seems like.”
In response to Donovan, NEAR Basis’s enterprise improvement group labored alongside the ICC for 4 months, researching and figuring out use instances for the Cricket World Cup. The match begins on Oct. 5, and the ultimate is scheduled for Nov. 19.
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