The Italian football league, Serie A, says it has become the first-ever major football league to broadcast a live game in the metaverse. 

Milan’s 1-0 win over Fiorentina was broadcasted live inside the ‘Lega Serie A’ room of The Nemesis platform, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Serie A worked in collaboration with telecommunications partner TIM and Blockchain firm ConsenSys, to bring the game to The Nemesis, a virtual reality that allows brands to construct virtual neighbourhoods that house interactive experiences.

The game was chosen to be broadcasted as Serie A says the youthful audience of the game aligns with the digitally native fans that prefer to use new technologies to access entertainment. 

The MENA region also presents fewer complications as the matches are currently streamed on youtube, with no permanent rights partner in the region. 

Serie A chief executive, Luigi De Siervo, said: “We have chosen to be the first to broadcast a soccer match in the metaverse because we believe that the frontier of technological innovation is extremely important for a modern league such as Serie A.”

“MENA represents a strategic area for us due to the dominant presence of Generation Z and the particular receptivity to new developments. 

“This is the continuation of a path that began with the release of the first NFTs in May 2021 and continued with the construction of the International Broadcasting Centre in Lissone,” said the chief executive.

The National Football League (NFL) has also geared towards the metaverse to attract and engage audiences, building digital environments on Roblox.

Uefa also used the Roblox platform to unveil the recent official mascot for the upcoming women’s European soccer championships in England.