West Ham to use blockchain-based fan voting system Socios.com

Premier League football club, West Ham United, will use a blockchain-based platform that will give fans an opportunity to vote on what they call “soft decisions”.

The east-London club join French champions, Paris Saint-Germain, and Italian giants, Juventus, in securing a deal with digital voting provider Socios.com.

Fans will be allowed to vote on which player should be awarded Man-of-the-Match and which TV camera should be used in the pre-match build-up.

However, the right to vote will come at a cost. Fans will be required to purchase cryptocurrency tokens in order to vote.

The announcement by West Ham was met with confusion and pessimism on their social media channel, with some supporters being left perplexed at what a blockchain is, and what it’s used for.

Sky Sports spoke to Socios.com chief executive, Alexandre Dreyfus, who revealed that tokens will be “affordable and accessible to all fans”.

Dreyfus said: “We haven’t yet agreed a price for each West Ham United fan token, but like with our other club partners, the price point will be low (under £10) so as to be affordable and accessible to all fans – and so fans can buy more than one if they choose. Fans can also earn or hunt for fan tokens for free”.

West Ham football club has a wide array of famous supporters, with the likes of Russell Brand, Danny Dyer, Barack Obama and even The Queen supporting the Hammers.

The completion of a deal with a club of West Ham’s stature is a huge acquisition for Socios.com. Not only does it demonstrate a change in behaviour towards blockchain technology, it also highlights the commercial value of giving fans or citizens the power to make decisions.

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