AEG and Socios.com Launch Partnership for the Inaugural Soccer Champions Tour Featuring Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona, Juventus, Club America and Club Deportivo Guadalajara

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company, and Socios.com, the leading fan engagement and rewards app for sports fans across the world, have launched a new marketing partnership for AEG’s inaugural Soccer Champions Tour, a new marquee, global soccer event taking place between Friday, July 22 and Saturday, July 30, 2022. The new event will feature five of the world's most iconic soccer clubs competing in top-tier matches in the span of only nine days across four major U.S. host cities including: Las Vegas, San Francisco, Dallas, and Los Angeles. Participating clubs include current La Liga and UEFA Champions League winner Real Madrid CF, La Liga powerhouse FC Barcelona, Serie A's Juventus, and Liga MX's Club América and Club Deportivo Guadalajara. This tour marks the first return of play in the U.S. for Barcelona and Real Madrid since 2019 and for Juventus since 2018.

As part of the agreement, brokered by AEG Global Partnerships, Socios.com becomes an official partner of the tour, which kicks off on July 22 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The new agreement will provide Socios.com with increased visibility and platforms to deliver enhanced game-day experiences across all five of the tour’s high-profile matches, including on-site activations for fans to enjoy in Las Vegas (July 23), Dallas (July 26) and Los Angeles (July 30). This new relationship also marks the latest of more than 130 major sports organizations to have joined the Socios.com network including three of the five soccer giants participating in the tour – FC Barcelona, Juventus and Club Deportivo Guadalajara. Socios.com also has partnerships with leading sports franchises in all four of the tour’s host cities including AEG’s LA Galaxy (MLS) and LA Kings (NHL), as well as an assortment of professional basketball, football and hockey franchises in Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. With this new partnership, Socios.com builds on its growing roster of teams and deepens its ties to both its new and existing sports fans across all four of the tour’s major North American markets.

“We are proud to expand our existing relationship with AEG as we work together to deliver world-class soccer and unforgettable experiences to fans in the United States,” said Max Rabinovitch, Chief Strategy Officer, Socios.com. “We look forward to connecting fans throughout the country with these global brands in authentic, exciting ways this summer and beyond.”

Socios.com, the pioneer of fan tokens, is an engagement and rewards platform that leverages blockchain technology to build fan communities for the world’s leading sporting organizations. Through token-gated communities, Socios.com increases access to teams, players and prizes by rewarding fans based on the level of engagement they reach with their favorite clubs.

As an official partner of the Soccer Champions Tour, Socios.com will engage fans with exclusive on-site benefits and prizes, including the chance to gain pre-match access to the pitch for team photos and the coin toss. Additional fan rewards include the opportunity to compete in a halftime challenge which will provide the winner with the once-in-a-lifetime experience of presenting the “Man of the Match Award” to the top performer at the conclusion of the action. As part of the agreement, Socios.com will also treat fans to various surprise and delight activations on match days including exclusive giveaways and more. These game-day activations will provide fans in attendance with a preview of the kinds of custom rewards and unique fan experiences users can expect to enjoy on the company’s forthcoming U.S. app, which is set to launch later this summer. Content of the activations and additional giveaways will live on Socios.com's USA Twitter and Instagram pages.

“We are honored to be growing the relationship between AEG and Socios.com, a category leader that shares our commitment to emerging technology, enhancing the game-day experience and engaging our fans in new and meaningful ways,” said Nick Baker, Chief Operating Officer, AEG Global Partnerships. “We’re excited to debut the innovative programming and game-day promotions we have in store for this tour as a result of this new partnership, and we look forward to helping Socios.com forge an even deeper connection with millions of loyal soccer fans through this highly anticipated global sports event.”

“AEG is thrilled to partner with Socios.com on the inaugural Soccer Champions Tour,” said Tom Braun, AEG Senior Vice President of Soccer & Business Operations and Business Development. “Its innovative technologies will bring exciting new experiences and programming to fans in the U.S. and around the world. We are excited to build upon this growing partnership.”

Socios.com has indicated that it has major global expansion plans and will increase its existing presence in Europe, while targeting many more launches in the USA, Asia and South America with the world’s leading sports properties. The company boasts partners across the globe, including additional European soccer giants such as Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Atlético Madrid, Valencia Manchester City, Inter Milan, Arsenal and the Portugal national soccer team, as well as a number of leading teams from F1, esports and cricket. In the U.S., the list of Socios.com partners includes franchises in the MLS, NBA, NFL and NHL.

Soccer Champions Tour Event Schedule

• Friday, July 22 – 8:00 PM PT
  Juventus vs. Club Deportivo Guadalajara at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
• Saturday, July 23 – 8:00 PM PT
  Real Madrid CF vs. FC Barcelona at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
• Tuesday, July 26 – 7:30 PM PT
  Real Madrid CF vs. Club América at Oracle Park, San Francisco
• Tuesday, July 26 – 7:30 PM CT
  FC Barcelona vs. Juventus at Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas
• Saturday, July 30 – 7:00 PM PT
  Real Madrid CF vs. Juventus at Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles

For more information on the Summer Soccer Tour including the full schedule, tickets, individual game and venue-specific details please visit SoccerChampionsTour.com.

ABOUT SOCIOS.COM

Sporting organizations can now offer fans access to an intuitive app where they can join highly engaged communities and be recognized and rewarded for their support. The name of that app is Socios.com. Powered by the latest technology, Socios.com provides sporting organizations with an unparalleled way of strengthening relationships with all fans through Fan Tokens, digital assets that unlock access to a gamified engagement and rewards community. Over 160 major sports organizations, including massive soccer teams from Europe and Latin America, premium Formula One™ teams, giants from NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS, leading esports teams and the UFC are on board with many more to come in the future. Socios.com has over 300 employees and regional headquarters in Miami, Madrid, Malta, London, Istanbul, Milan and Sao Paulo. The Socios.com app is available in 10 languages. Socios.com is powered by Chiliz, the world leading blockchain provider for the sports and entertainment industry. For more information please visit www.socios.com.

ABOUT AEG:

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, AEG is the world's leading sports and live entertainment company. The company operates in the following business segments: Facilities, which through its affiliation with ASM Global, owns, manages or consults with more than 300 preeminent arenas, stadiums, convention centers and performing arts venues around the world; Music through AEG Presents, which is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performances, including producing and promoting global and regional concert tours, music and special events and world-renowned festivals such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival; Real Estate, which develops world-class venues, as well as major sports and entertainment districts like Crypto.com Arena and L.A. LIVE, Mercedes Platz in Berlin and The O2 in London; Sports, as the world's largest operator of high-profile sporting events and sports franchises including the LA Galaxy, LA Kings and Eisbären Berlin; and Global Partnerships, which oversees worldwide sales and servicing of sponsorships including naming rights, premium seating and other strategic partnerships. Through its worldwide network of venues, portfolio of powerful sports and music brands and its integrated entertainment districts, AEG entertains more than 160 million guests annually. More information about AEG can be found at www.aegworldwide.com.