Manchester-based Horizon Union teams up with blockchain fantasy sports company Sorare

14 April 2023

When we talk about new and relatively new trends and technologies that have emerged over the past decade or so, esports and blockchain tech are certain to be included. Considering the rapidly growing appeal of esports in the UK and worldwide, and the blockchain’s potential to make users true owners of their data and their content, it only seems a matter of time before esports organisations and blockchain companies start linking up to offer even more immersive experiences and, more importantly, more value to players, fans and other stakeholders. We are clearly not the only ones with an eye on this potential, because just a few days ago, British esports organisation Horizon Union announced a new partnership with Sorare, a cryptocurrency-based fantasy sports video game.

Who are Horizon Union?

Horizon Union is a British gaming and esports organisation located in the city of Manchester. It was founded back in 2017 by Kieran Wood, former account manager at Kairos Media, and William Mollett, former campaign manager at Kairos, and focuses on both esports and content creation. As Horizon puts it, they work “creators, helping them pursue their long-term aspirations whilst building extensive brand affinity across the globe as a forward thinking, innovative organisation in the gaming industry”. As far as esports are concerned, the organisation competes in different titles, including FIFA23 and Apex Legends.

What is Sorare?

Sorare is a fantasy sports game that operates on the Ethereum blockchain network, one of the major blockchain networks at the moment. Since its creation in 2018, football, basketball (NBA) and baseball (MLS) have been added to the game, in which players have to compose and manage teams of five players, represented by digital player cards in the form of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). The game is divided in gameweeks and the goal is to win as many points as possible with a team of five players every gameweek. The best performers can win very nice rewards, including new player cards that are worth real-life money and regular cash prizes in ETH (or Ethereum, which is the native cryptocurrency for the Ethereum blockchain.

Focus on the UK

While a lot of details regarding the new partnership between Horizon Union and Sorare still have to be revealed, Horizon did already explain what they want to achieve with it. By building awareness, engagement and affinity with key football gaming communities in the UK, they hope to encourage even faster growth. Among other things, there will be an official in-game Sorare league for Horizon where players can earn exclusive Sorare players cards, Premier League tickets and other prizes.

“We have seen Sorare skyrocket in the fantasy sports space, creating new and engaging experiences for fans from announcing Messi as an ambassador to partnering with the Premier League. We and our creators are thrilled to partner with Sorare to bring their unique football fan experience to gaming audiences together”.