Crypto.com becomes official sponsor of 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar

cointelegraph.com:

FIFA, an international governing body for many major soccer tournaments, has announced that cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com will be an official sponsor of its next World Cup in Qatar.

In a Wednesday announcement, the association said Crypto.com’s branding will appear both inside and outside of stadiums for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 scheduled to begin in November. The crypto exchange will provide opportunities for its users to attend matches and win official merchandise as part of the sponsorship.

According to FIFA chief commercial officer Kay Madati, the deal will help grow the games “on a global scale,” citing Crypto.com’s partnerships with other entities around the world. In November, the exchange inked a deal to rename the Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment venue Staples Center to the Crypto.com Arena for 20 years. Crypto.com has also partnered with the Australia Football League in a $25 million deal, signed a $100-million sponsorship agreement with Formula 1 and inked a 10-year $175 million sponsorship agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Though trading cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) has been largely illegal in Qatar since the country’s central bank announced a ban in 2018 — and reaffirmed in January 2020 by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority — Crypto.com is likely to reach a more international crowd given the popularity of soccer on the world stage. FIFA reported that more than 3.5 billion people watched the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, with more than a billion watching the final between France and Croatia.

Related: Penalties and extra time: The scoreboard for soccer club crypto deals

With less than eight months until the World Cup begins, the event has been shadowed