SSC Napoli Announces Its Entrance Into the Metaverse via Partnership With The Sandbox

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 14, 2024--

The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming platform and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, announced today that Italian football club SSC Napoli will be entering the metaverse for the first time via its platform. The partnership offers fans a chance to connect and create memories with the club, its players, and fellow fans worldwide while playing innovative new games and experiences.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240814233176/en/

To celebrate the announcement, SSC Napoli will launch its first series of virtual pop-ups – the SSC Napoli Official Metaverse Store – within several user generated experiences in The Sandbox. Different players from the SSC Napoli team, including Leonardo Spinazzola, Frank Zambo Anguissa, Amir Rrahmani, and Matteo Politano, will guide players through each pop-up. By visiting all four pop-ups, fans will also have the opportunity to enter for a chance to win tickets to SCC Napoli home games, signed merchandise, virtual Napoli apparel, and more.

“We are incredibly excited to enter the metaverse with The Sandbox,” said Tommaso Bianchini, Chief Revenue Officer of the Club. “This venture represents a significant milestone for SSC Napoli as we continue to innovate and find new ways to connect with our fans. Our goal is to expand our global fan base more and more, and the partnership with The Sandbox seeks to use the tools of – and speak the same language as – the new generations of fans we want to engage through the virtual world, so as to create ever closer connections with supporters in every continent. The SSC Napoli Official Metaverse Store will be a revolutionary platform for our supporters to experience the club in an entirely new dimension.”

“We’re proud to be the Web3 platform for SSC Napoli's entry into the metaverse,” said Sebastien Borget, COO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox. “This partnership significantly expands the experiences available in The Sandbox for sports fans, including new and current players, creators, and builders. By introducing a new vertical of entertainment and co-experience through sports, The Sandbox is becoming a premier destination where fans can connect, celebrate their fandom with fellow supporters, and engage with their favorite teams in immersive and meaningful ways.”

The partnership kicks off during Coppa Italia, the annual domestic cup of Italian football, and will continue throughout the season with more exciting announcements and rewards to come. Additionally, throughout the 2024-2025 season, The Sandbox will be featured at SSC Napoli home games across the various screens on and around the pitch.

To visit the Official SSC Napoli Metaverse Store pop-ups and enter for a chance to win both virtual and real-life prizes, visit www.sandbox.game/en/events/napoli-event. Be sure to follow The Sandbox on X, Medium, and Discord to stay up to date on the latest news.

About The Sandbox

The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is an immersive metaverse platform in which users play, create, and monetize unique experiences alongside their favorite brands, IPs, and celebrities across gaming, entertainment, music, art, and more. The Sandbox leverages web3 technologies to fully enable end-user creation and creator economies, disrupting existing platforms by providing both players and creators with true ownership of their assets, creations, and rewards as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Over 400 partners have joined The Sandbox, including Warner Music Group, Gucci, Ubisoft, Paris Hilton, The Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Lacoste, Steve Aoki, The Smurfs, and many more. For more information, please visit www.sandbox.game and follow the regular updates on Twitter, Medium, and Discord.

About Animoca Brands

Animoca Brands, a Deloitte Tech Fast winner and ranked in the Financial Times list of High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2023, is a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gaming. The company has multiple subsidiaries, including The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Bondly, and Lympo. In addition, Animoca Brands has a growing portfolio of more than 150 investments in blockchain companies and decentralized projects that are contributing to building the open metaverse, including Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, Star Atlas, and others. For more information, visit www.animocabrands.com or follow on Twitter or Facebook.

Leonardo Spinazzola, Frank Zambo Anguissa, Amir Rrahmani, and Matteo Politano from SSC Napoli (Graphic: Business Wire)

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) — Germany beat Slovakia 3-0 despite the absence of No. 2-ranked Alexander Zverev, and 2023 runner-up Australia came out on top in its duel with France on Tuesday as the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals kicked off.

Four groups play across four cities this week to qualify for the Final 8 knockout stage to be held in Malaga, Spain, in November. The top two in each four-team group will advance.

Germany and Slovakia were the first teams in action on Tuesday playing in China in Group C, which also includes the United States. The U.S. plays Chile on Wednesday.

Germany sent out Maximilian Marterer in the first singles match and the 104th-ranked player won 6-4, 7-5 against Lukas Klein. Yannick Hanfmann then saved a match point and rallied from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) against Jozef Kovalik in the second singles match.

U.S. Open doubles finalists Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz completed the German win by claiming a 7-5, 6-3 against win over Klein and Igor Zelenay.

After finishing runner-up the past two years, Australia is again among the favorites and beat France 2-1 in Group B in the Spanish town of Valencia.

Thanasi Kokkinakis gave Australia a 1-0 lead with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) win over No. 25-ranked Arthur Fils.

Kokkinakis, ranked 78th, fought back from a 4-2 deficit in the second set to record a first top-30 win in the team competition.

“Arthur is a great player, he’s going to be leading the French team for a while, so I knew it was a tough challenge,” Kokkinakis said. “I just tried to hang in there and I think I played steady on the big moments. There wasn’t much in it.”

Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Edouard Roger-Vasselin saved a match point then took the second set of the decisive doubles match but ultimately lost to Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. Purcell and fellow Australian Jordan Thompson won the men's doubles title at the U.S. Open last weekend.

Among the big names competing this week are Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and British player Jack Draper, who made it to the U.S. Open semifinals last week.

Italy beat Australia for the 2023 title.

Playing in Group D, Denis Shapovalov converted all four break points to defeat Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-3 and give Canada an early lead. Felix Auger-Aliassime then beat Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-3 to clinch Canada's victory. It ended 2-1 after Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni came from behind to beat Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in doubles.

In Group A, Belgium beat the Netherlands 2-1.

Eds: Note this story corrects U.S. opponent on Wednesday to Chile.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Belgium's Raphael Collignon plays Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp during their Davis Cup tennis match at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno, near Bologna, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Michele Nucci/LaPresse via AP)

Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp, top, plays Belgium's Raphael Collignon during their Davis Cup tennis match at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno, near Bologna, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Michele Nucci/LaPresse via AP)

Belgium's Raphael Collignon plays Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp during their Davis Cup tennis match at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno, near Bologna, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Michele Nucci/LaPresse via AP)

Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp plays Belgium's Raphael Collignon during their Davis Cup tennis match at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno, near Bologna, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Michele Nucci/LaPresse via AP)

Argentina's Sebastian Baez in action against Canada's Felix Auger Aliassime, during the Davis Cup group stage finals match at the AO Arena, Manchester, England, Tuesday Sept. 10, 2024. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Canada's Felix Auger Aliassime returns the ball to Argentina's Sebastian Baez during the Davis Cup group stage finals match in Manchester, England, Tuesday Sept. 10, 2024. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)