Socios, the all-in-one influence and rewards app for sports fans across the world, has become the Official Partner of the Gazzetta Sports Awards 2021. Socios CEO Alexandre Dreyfus will officially hand over the Award for the Team of the Year during the event.

The Gazzetta Sports Awards is an annual gala event celebrating the best athletes from the Italian sports scene of the calendar year. Winners from nine main categories, created by La Gazzetta dello Sport, will be revealed at the event, which will take place in Milan, and is returning for the first time in two years after last year’s event was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Rewards are at the heart of Socios, with tens of thousands of fan token holders already having had the opportunity to watch games in style and meet their heroes. Fittingly, Socios will use the occasion of the Gazzetta Sports Awards to reward fans, with several to be invited on stage as the award is handed over.

Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios, said: “Socios was inspired by a desire to empower sports fans, to provide them with a more active role in their clubs and to bring them closer to their heroes.

“The Gazzetta Sports Awards, which have been honoring the best athletes and teams for over 40 years, are among the most prestigious awards in sports, but they are special because they are chosen by fans, making this partnership very fitting.”

Gilbert Camilleri, Marketing Director for Socios, said: “We are excited to partner with Gazzetta dello Sport and look forward to handing over the award for Team of the Year after such a glorious year for Italian sport.

“There’s real synergy between our two brands. We’re both crazy about sports and have fans across many different verticals, from football to basketball, to tennis, motorsports and more.

“We also look forward to doing what we do best – reward fans – and welcoming them on stage with us to hand over the award.”

THE PIT, a play-to-win NFT game developed by VC backed Kodoku Studios, is set to launch on 3rd December 2021. The game will bring NFT ownership and engagement into a new realm, going above and beyond current trends revolving around pixilated JPEG images exhibiting bubble like characteristics.

THE PIT NFTs will provide digital asset and gaming enthusiasts the opportunity to truly own their in-game avatar, with blockchain technology providing an entirely transparent ownership and gaming experience. The NFTs will partake in unpredictable, simulated, and decentralised programmatic “play-to-win” combat games of chance, that will lead to either a rise or fall in the value of each NFT.

Unlike the growing variety of play-to-earn games out there, the play-to-win environment of THE PIT offers players the opportunity to be a real winner, along with the fame and fortune befitting such status.

Hewie Rattray, Founder of THE PIT, said:

“NFTs are set to be an integral part of everyday life as they become an increasingly popular leisure pursuit. By combining NFTs and gaming with the launch of THE PIT and building it with the transparency that blockchain technology affords, we are bringing gaming experiences into the 21^st Century. This development is a natural progression towards all the promise that the Metaverse brings, where crypto, NFTs and gaming will enter a new paradigm.”

This novel new way for people to have direct ownership of a unique gaming avatar will not only provide them with an engaging experience, but allow them to freely trade their NFT, for instance on the well-known NFT exchange OpenSea. THE PIT’s gaming schedule, which starts in December 2021, will involve regular battles and allow the NFT owners to earn crypto rewards tokens.

THE PIT has been developed by Kodoku Studios, with the backing of major VC firms NFT Investments and Pioneer Media, both leaders in the digital assets space and listed on London’s Aquis exchange.

Socios, the all-in-one influence and rewards app for sports fans across the world, will be Official Partner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or Awards, which will mark the return of football’s most desired individual recognitions after last year’s edition was cancelled due to the pandemic.

The creators of Fan Tokens have reached an agreement with Amaury Média, the Amaury Group’s advertising department : L’Équipe (newspaper, magazine), L’Équipe website, L’Équipe mobile app, la Chaine L’Équipe, France Football, le Journal du Golf, Vélo Magazine and le Ballon d’Or.

Socios will have brand visibility on the Red Carpet, where the biggest figures in world football will be shining next Monday, November 29th, as they make their way to the Parisian Théâtre du Châtelet, on the banks of the River Seine, where the ceremony will take place.

Socios will also host two photobooths in which the 750 guests attending the ceremony will be able to take a picture with the iconic trophy and have the chance to earn a Fan Token from one of the platform’s 100+ partners.

Alexandre Dreyfus, Founder and CEO of Socios, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual awards ceremony in football, and to be part of a ceremony that has become one of the most anticipated events in the sports calendar.

“Socios was created to bring fans closer than ever to their heroes, and the Ballon d’Or is the event that gathers football’s biggest stars, so it’s a perfect combination.”