S’pore entrepreneur Kiat Lim launches world’s first football DAO, backed by Man U legends

Local entrepreneur Kiat Lim has launched the world’s first professional football DAO to allow football fans to own a stake in the sport.

Called CO92 DAO, it is backed by Kiat’s father, Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, and former Manchester United players such as Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, who are all dubbed “legends” of the Class of 1992.

DAO refers to a decentralised autonomous organisation, and it is essentially a distributed governance model that connects people with shared passions, values and beliefs.

In particular, the goal of CO92 DAO is to unite sports enthusiasts all over the world with their passion for the sport by allowing them to participate in decision-making for the projects supported by CO92 DAO via token ownership.

Essentially, it allows football fans to invest in sports-related opportunities. Traditionally, participation in the professional sports space has been typically limited to high net-worth investors in closed circles.

A DAO bridges this gap, offering its token holders “more affordable and inclusive access” and tangible benefits that are not typically available to most fans.

“The purpose of CO92 DAO is to make football fan ownership accessible to everyone. We have access to unique sporting projects and want to work together with fans to create value together,” said Neville.  

The DAO will focus on strategic projects with football-related entities to create value, building on the expertise and access to pro sports projects by the Class of 92 and Peter Lim, a sports enthusiast who owns Valencia CF.

Some of these projects could include football clubs with high growth potential, as well as football-related technologies and ventures.  

Revolutionising the concept of football club ownership

CO92 is touted to be the only professional football DAO that is rooted in the passion, insights and knowledge of its ex-Manchester United creators.

“The Class of 92 has unique insights into the world of professional football on the one hand, and the passion of fans firmly in its grasp on the other. This means that we are always selecting the best projects, and doing it right by the community and fans,” said founder Kiat Lim. 

The 28-year-old entrepreneur has been very involved in the Web 3.0 journey. He co-founded ZujuGP to transform football consumption, followed by ARC, a social networking platform that uses non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as proof of membership.

With CO92 DAO, he is focused on revolutionising the concept of football club ownership.

“This is not a fan token. With CO92 DAO, the DAO structure democratises professional sports ownership and breaks down traditional barriers to allow more opportunities for involvement,” he explained.

“Building on the principles of an ownership economy and leveraging Web 3 technology, we are creating a more inclusive and engaging environment for fans to be involved in decision-making, participate in the whole ecosystem of the game, and share in all aspects of success together.”

Besides Kiat, CO92 DAO’s management team is made up of team lead Gabriel Yang, who sits on the intersection of technology, football and cryptocurrencies, and specialist blockchain and crypto advisors Sherwin Lee and Darius Sit, who is also the founder of QCP Capital.

While it is still early days, CO92 DAO said that is already reviewing a range of professional football project opportunities, and will announce developments of the DAO in the months ahead. 

On a whole, it seems like sports and crypto partnerships are becoming more common. Most recently, Bundesliga league football club TSG Hoffenheim partnered with Dogecoin-inspired Baby Doge Coin to announce their NFT partnership.

Additionally, Lebron James Family Foundation has recently partnered with Crypto.com to educate children about blockchain technology, Metaverse, and everything related to crypto.

Cryptocurrency companies are also quickly becoming some of the biggest advertisers and sponsors in sports. According to a media report, the crypto sector is expected to spend over US$160 million on sports sponsorships in 2022.

As CO92 DAO aims to connect football enthusiasts globally, it is set to truly revolutionise the fan experience, allowing them to have a stake and potentially influencing club decisions even from afar.

The possibilities for what it can do for the sports arena are endless, and we can’t wait to see what it has in store as we move towards Web 3.0.

Featured Image Credit: CO92 DAO / Alex Livesey via Getty Images