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JOSÉ FONTE AND EDER BECOME THE FIRST FOOTBALLERS IN THE WORLD TO LAUNCH NFTs

Date:

EURO 2016 champions have produced unique and authentic digital art pieces
to be auctioned online starting today
Lisbon, 7 May 2021 – European champions and Portuguese Internationals José Fonte
and Éder are the first two footballers worldwide to launch their own Non-Fungible
Tokens (NFTs), creating unique and authentic digital art pieces that will be auctioned
online. The two NFTs were made in partnership with Jedi3 and part of the revenues
raised through the auction will revert to social and community support. The creations
will be auctioned on the well-known platform of NFTs, OpenSea, starting today and
can be found here:
https://opensea.io/collection/eder-lopes-2016-european-champion
https://opensea.io/collection/jose-fonte-2016-european-champion
The creative concept of both pieces was developed by the athletes themselves together with
the project Jedi3. Fonte focused his illustration on his career path and all the obstacles he
had to overcome in order to become an international player and win EURO 2016. Eder’s
piece is a digital creation of the boot he used to score the winning goal for Portugal in the
final of the European Championship against France.
In this first launch, there will be:
● 10 limited digital editions of Éder’s right boot that scored the Euro final goal, in a
digital 3D version;
● 10 limited digital editions of an illustration that represents the path followed by José
Fonte until the title in the Euro;
● Furthermore, a “masterpiece” of Éder’s boot that will give the right to the digital item
plus the real boot he used to score the winning goal in the final.

The auction started today on the Open Sea platform and will last for a week and all
transactions will be made in Ethereum cryptocurrency. Fonte and Eder follow in the footsteps
of NFL and NBA players who have already participated in the creation of NFTs.
José Fonte talked about the launch: “Everybody follows what is going on in the US with
NFTs, and I’ve been following it too for the last few months. Some of my favourite people are
exploring this new world, this new connection with the fans. I tried to explore this connection
with the fans, to give them something that is new and authentic. This creation means a lot to
me, because the story of it is about my career, about what I’ve been through in my life. It’s
about resilience, showing determination and never giving up and showing that anything is
possible with hard work. I’m excited. I want the fans to be open minded. First of all, it’s for a
good cause as well. Part of the money will go into some foundations and institutions that we
want to help. We want to give something back to the
people, which is really important to us.”
Eder showed all his enthusiasm about this project: “It’s a fantastic world. It’s been booming
in the US because of the NFTs that have been created in the NBA. José Fonte and I expect
to be the first football players to launch an NFT in the world. An NFT is unique, has value for
the person that creates it, it’s art and I think that has a lot of value for the fans. We’ve
participated in a big victory at the Euros and I know our fans will be amazed by a creation
like this. My creation means a lot to me and to Portugal. It’s the boot that scored the winning
goal at the final and it’s really important to me. It’s something that the football fans will
appreciate. Another important reason is helping an institution that we will give part of the
funds to. It’s something important to do and a big step.”
Part of the profits from the auction of each of the pieces will revert to charities and
community institutions. Éder will benefit PAJE – platform of support to young former foster
children, association of which he is godfather and partner. Regarding José Fonte, the focus
will be the community of Penafiel, where he was born, by donating funds to the local
Firefighters corporation, where his grandfather was the 2nd Commander, to the ERPI –
Estrutura Residencial para Idosos de Penafiel, and the APADIMP – Associação de Pais e
Amigos dos Diminuídos Mentais de Penafiel. The Lille central defender will also donate
funds to support football in Portugal to institutions yet to be defined.
For João Matos Cruz, from Jedi3, “this project is born from the fusion of diverse interests of
a group of friends: football, blockchain and digital art. In a context where the technology of
distributed registration allows to protect, authenticate and promote, for example, artists’
work, or relevant moments, we felt it was time to give visibility, in the digital world, to two
iconic figures in the history of Portuguese football: Éder Lopes and José Fonte. In the first
case, through the boot with which he scored the goal of the Euro 2016 final, as a
masterpiece of a moment of collective transcendence. In the case of José Fonte, illustrating
his path that was also one of overcoming, of constant struggle against adversity, until the
final consecration as European champion.”
What are NFTs?
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a type of cryptographic token on a blockchain, which
represents a unique asset. They can be fully digital assets or tokenized versions of
real-world assets. As NFTs are not interchangeable with each other, they can act as proof of
authenticity and ownership in the digital realm.
There are numerous success stories of sportsmen or sports-related individuals who have
launched their own NFTs in recent months in the US. The mythical quarterback Tom Brady
will even launch a platform for the creation and sale of NFTs called “Autograph” where he
promises to bring together several well-known names from the music, fashion and
entertainment industries. Those who have already launched their own NFT’s include Patrick
Mahomes, the 2020 NFL champion and Zion Williamson, one of the NBA’s most promising
stars.
The value of an NFT derives from the story that is told, what gave rise to the NFT and who
actually issued it. It is a certificate of authenticity per se, identified by a unique,
non-falsifiable “contract address”.
The technology used for this purpose, blockchain, thus allows a direct and decentralised
interaction between athletes and their digital admirers / followers. In this case, these players
become stars, also, in the digital world, directly launching tokens, whose artistic and
authentic character, guarantees their buyers a unique collector’s item.

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