The normalization of cryptocurrency advertising took another leap forward this week as Europe’s most successful soccer club announced a partnership with a Turkish Bitcoin (BTC) trading platform.
Rangers Football Club, Europe’s most trophy-laden team with 115 competition wins to its name, will partner with Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Bitci Technology. The partnership will run until the end of the 2022–2023 season, and will see the Bitci brand appear on the club’s strip. The club will also launch its own fan token as part of the deal.
The official Twitter account for the club announced the news on Feb. 17, stating:
“RangersFC are delighted to announce an exciting new Official Partnership with Bitci Technology, in a wide-ranging agreement that will see the @bitcicom brand appear on the Rangers First Team shorts, through until the end of the 2022/23 season."
Founded in 1872, Rangers is one of Europe’s oldest and most successful soccer teams. Although the club plays in the lesser-known Scottish Premiership, Rangers regularly attracts in excess of 50,000 fans to its stadium every week. Rangers supporters clubs have popped up i Sudan, Australia, Spain, the United States, and beyond.
Rangers marketing director, James Bisgrove, celebrated the partnership, noting the positive impact it stands to have on commercial revenue, stating, “It will have an immediate and positive impact on the continued growth of commercial revenues.”
Bitci Technology founder Çagdaş Çağlar predicted the symbiotic relationship between cryptocurrency and the sports industry stood to benefit both parties in the long run:
“We believe that blockchain technologies will become a crucial part of the sports industry in the near future. Sports clubs that are capable of seeing the importance of this trend today will attain a great advantage in the future.”