Sports was among the first sectors to enjoy the benefits of NFTs since their creation. At the beginning, NFTs were associated with high end art but since then, they have found application in different industries. With the sports industry in Japan being valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, NFTs are set to engage sporting fanatics with a new experience especially since many high profile teams and sports organizations are rolling out their digital collectibles which could be publicly traded in exchanges like normal stocks. Many teams and leagues globally are testing out NFTs, setting up the sector for tremendous growth. In other places around the world like in the US where the NBA(National Basketball Association) League has applied NFTs, the sector has seen considerable growth and shown potential to skyrocket in the future.
In Japan, Mizuno has launched its first round of NFTs. The latest entrant to the sector is a giant sports company in Japan and globally. The company prides itself in manufacturing of high-end sports wear and sports equipment. The sports accessories it manufactures serve several games among them volleyball, swimming, golf, Judo, running, soccer and tennis. The firm has in a recent statement revealed that it had launched 3 NFT collections, one for each of the sports it specializes in. The 3 sports include soccer(football), Judo and running. According to the statement, the collections are already available on the OpenSea platform. The collections are set to be sold on auction through the Ethereum network.
Mizuno also serves the rest of the world seeing as it is among the world’s largest manufacturers of Judo gi equipment. It provides products to national Judo teams in USA, Brazil, France and also within Japan. The NFTs were commissioned by the firm through a tender offered to Ryokke Draw, a digital artist, and are based on several judo champions within the Japanese league. This list includes finalists from Tokyo Olympics from both men and women.
Outside martial arts, the company is re-known in manufacturing running and football footwear. Mizuno has a wide influence as it sponsors the Osaka Marathon, World Athletics Gold Label Race among other notable sporting events. The company’s running NFT collection is based on actual shoes and it allows for users to redeem their tokens with actual shoes from the firms manufacturing line. Apart from that, the company has launched 3 redeemable NFT football boots. The move by Mizuno to back their NFTs with real world assets that are valuable among collectors and fans in the sporting world gives viability to the plan.
The latest NFT collections from Mizuno have caught the eyes of many Japanese players. The firm is set to auction the digital assets on Opensea platform. The bids for the assets will close at midnight on the 31st of March, Japanese standard time. The bidding process will open at Ethereum(ETH) 0.5 for the running NFT collection. Judo and soccer collections will have their bids begin at Wrapped Ethereum(WETH) 0.3. The Japanese government has shown its dedication towards supporting the adoption of crypto by handing out rewards and setting up a task force in the associated ministries to fast track growth in the sector.
