An increasing number of Japanese amateur and semi-professional football teams are seeking to launch so-called “fan tokens” – prompting some to ask if a new model is developing for fundraising in grassroots sport in the country.
Per Keizai, Coedo Kawagoe FC, a Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture-based football team established last year, has partnered with the crowdfunding platform Financie. The parties have struck a deal that will see the club launch its own token as it bids to gain entry to the J-League – the Japanese top flight.
In spring this year, one of Coedo’s rivals for a top-berth spot, Shibuya City FC, which also plays in the Prefectural Leagues, also struck a fan token deal with Financie.
Yano Takashi, a former J-League coach who now trains a number of youth teams in Kashima, in Ibaraki Prefecture (Greater Tokyo), told Our:
