Fanton partners with Cointelegraph Accelerator for Telegram-based fantasy football game.

What could be a more effective method than merging the globe’s most beloved sports with the most social elements of Web2 to familiarize new users with Web3 through gaming? Association football, commonly known as soccer, has the largest following among sports fans, with an estimated 3.5 billion individuals supporting their preferred teams. Primarily designed for football enthusiasts, the fantasy sports sector has expanded into a $25 billion global market, comprising a vast array of virtual sports leagues where users can assemble their own teams.

Integrating fantasy football with blockchain elements such as nonfungible token (NFT) cards could serve as an optimal gateway to Web3 for a broader audience. Nevertheless, existing platforms often feature intricate mechanics that can be daunting for newcomers, and many lack in-platform user engagement — a significant drawback given the social nature of fantasy football.

Collectible cards featuring soccer stars

Fanton has developed a fantasy football game that is embedded within Telegram, leveraging the instant messaging service’s user base of 800 million. It includes collectible cards of prominent football players that accumulate points based on their real-world performances. These cards are minted on the blockchain as NFTs and can be readily exchanged among players.

The game takes advantage of Telegram’s recent integration with The Open Network (TON) blockchain, allowing users to utilize a noncustodial wallet directly from the Telegram application. Players can assemble a virtual football team using their player cards and earn points based on their players’ actions in actual matches.

The teams consist of five players: a goalkeeper, a defender, a midfielder, a forward, and a substitute. These players earn points according to their performances in real-life football games. Points are awarded for various actions, including goals, assists, and saves made by the goalkeeper. The total points accumulated contribute to the team’s overall score.

Tournaments are arranged in alignment with the match days of real football leagues, such as the English Premier League, Spanish LaLiga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, and the French Ligue 1. Players can also participate in a special championship featuring the most significant matches from the five European leagues, the Brazilian Championship, and the UEFA Champions League, recognized as the world’s most prestigious tournament.

Users can enter these tournaments by paying a participation fee, with 85% allocated to the prize pool and 15% retained by Fanton. Teams that achieve higher points than others are rewarded with TON coins and collectible cards.

Fanton features soccer superstars as NFT cards. Source: Fanton

Cards are categorized into rarity tiers based on their scarcity, which imparts value and distinctiveness. Non-NFT cards are deemed common, while NFT cards can possess rare, epic, and legendary classifications. The game is free to play and offers common cards at no cost to anyone wishing to participate. The rarer NFT cards must be purchased to enter special NFT tournaments with larger rewards.

Fanton has joined the Cointelegraph Accelerator program with its straightforward product that is already demonstrating solid traction in user acquisition and revenue generation. The Cointelegraph Accelerator team was motivated by the innovative game-in-a-messenger format, seamless user onboarding, and the potential for crypto adoption through messaging platforms. The platform boasts over 350,000 users and has exceeded $40,000 in monthly revenue. With a skilled team of 15 located in Spain and Indonesia, the game successfully raised $300,000 in a pre-seed funding round in February.

On October 27, 2023, Fanton launched its product on Product Hunt, a platform for users to discover and upvote new offerings. Fanton invites its supporters to visit Product Hunt on Friday and cast their votes for the product.