This year's football world cup is still a couple of months away, but FIFA is already giving fans reasons to be excited. On September 2, the international soccer governing body announced the launch of its NFT platform, FIFA+ Collect, which has been developed in association with the blockchain network, Algorand.

This is FIFA's first foray into digital collectables, and the NFT platform was touted as one of the significant events leading up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. FIFA+ Collect will feature digital assets tied to the greatest footballing moments from the FIFA men's and women's world cups.

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"This exciting announcement makes FIFA collectables available to any football fan, democratizing the ability to own a part of the FIFA World Cup," said Romy Gai, FIFA's Chief Business Officer.

"Fandom is changing, and football fans around the world engage with the game in new and exciting ways… Just like sports memorabilia and stickers, this is an accessible opportunity for fans around the world to engage with their favourite players, moments and more on new platforms," he added.

FIFA+ Collect is expected to go live this month (Sept 2022) and will be available in 3 languages - English, Spanish and French – with support for more languages expected shortly. The NFT marketplace will be a part of FIFA+, the federation's official digital content platform. FIFA+ currently provides fans access to live streams, interactive games, match updates, tournament info and football news. And soon, it will host NFTs too.

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FIFA+ Connect is expected to share similarities with Top Shot, the NBA's official marketplace that allows basketball fans to collect and trade NFT video clips, known as 'Moments'. These clips are iconic game snippets from the National Basketball Association and Women's National Basketball Association.

FIFA+ Collect will function along similar lines. However, it will also feature art and imagery in addition to the greatest game moments from the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women's World Cup. The "exclusive and limited-edition collections" are expected to create tons of hype amongst fans and establish a new level of engagement.

FIFA+ Collect is the first product unveiled under the federation's partnership with Algorand that was announced in May. The agreement makes Algorand the official blockchain platform for FIFA. It also names Algorand as a Regional Supporter (North America and Europe) for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and an Official Sponsor of the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023.

Algorand is a carbon-neutral blockchain built with an environmental focus from the beginning. The blockchain also boasts quick processing speeds (1,000 transactions per second with a sub-5-second block time) and affordable transaction fees (starting as low as 0.001 ALGO). These are a few reasons why FIFA decided to bring Algorand on board and why 2,000 other businesses have chosen the blockchain network as their technology partner.

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"We are delighted to announce this partnership with Algorand. The collaboration is a clear indication of FIFA's commitment to continually seeking innovative channels for sustainable revenue growth for further reinvestment back into football ensuring transparency to our stakeholders and worldwide football fans — a key element of our Vision to make football truly global. I look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Algorand," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the agreement announcement.