Fan tokens are a relatively new and exciting way for football supporters to engage with their clubs, and two Serie A teams are at the forefront of the technology.

 A fan token is a digital asset backed by cryptocurrency that gives fans certain benefits upon purchase. It’s a bit like being a member of a fan club, only your membership is dictated by your ownership of a token, and that token has value. With a fan club, you’d pay a fee, and that would be that, but with a fan token, you could theoretically sell your membership, perhaps even at a profit.

 Unlike normal crypto, fan token value can increase with success on the field. When Inter Milan stumbled in the Serie A title race, AC Milan’s fan token value surged as a result. They’re two teams currently touched by the Socios product; Milan have a fan token released on the platform, while Inter have shirt sponsorship from the company as well as the digital asset. The Milan teams are not the only major Italian clubs on the Socios platform; Juventus, Roma and Napoli are also there, and many European heavyweights join them.

 Barcelona, Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain also have Socios fan tokens. They offer holders exclusive content, access to competitions on the app and a chance to vote in club polls. These are focused on a range of topics, such as the colour of the club bus (Trabzonspor) or the message on the captain’s armband (PSG). In Italy, several key decisions are being made by supporters this summer.

 At Juventus, fans can currently vote on the new goal celebration song, played whenever La Vecchia Signora hits the back of the net at home. The vote over at Roma is based around music also; fans can vote which song will be played for their warm-up at home games, the first of which will be against U.S. Cremonese in the 2022/23 season. Over in Milan, fans of the Serie A champions can vote on the motto displayed on the dressing room wall as they begin their title defence in late summer.

 Socios are not the only fan token provider in the Italian game, but they are the most prominent. However, Roma’s city rivals Lazio have signed with Binance, their front-of-shirt sponsor for the season, and despite being on a different platform, they top deliver unique influence to supporters. The most recent vote has allowed fans to choose which colour the company logo appears in on the famous blue shirts; white or dark blue?

 If viewed as an investment, there are limitations to fan tokens. Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Socios, has stressed they’re not marketed as an investment but aimed at supporters who wish to engage with their clubs. “We think it matters for fans to be recognized by the club, [wherever] they are in the world as someone who belongs to a community,” he said.

 “Secondly, as soon as I am part of a membership program, it is normal that I have some influence. Of course, this cannot happen on the field, it cannot happen on the business [side], but there are many other things you can still try to push clubs to give to the fans. Our job is to try to push the clubs to give more to the fans.”

 With influence over some major clubs this summer, fan tokens holders certainly seem to be given something for their investment, which can only be a good thing for Italian football.