Manchester City score Sony partnership

Sony announced as the club’s Official Virtual Fan Engagement Partner.

Premier League champions Manchester City have teamed up with Japanese conglomerate Sony Corporation, which will see the latter become City’s official virtual fan engagement partner with the primary focus of the deal centred on developing new digital fan experiences.

Sony will work on creating a global online fan community that will allow City fans worldwide to connect and get closer to the players. The partnership will also see the creation of a ‘metaverse’, which will become a virtual recreation of the Etihad Stadium.

City have stated that the experiences will be ‘at the cutting-edge of global sport.’

Nuria Tarre, Chief Marketing & Fan Experience Officer at City Football Group, commented:

“At Manchester City we have a strong pedigree of continuously embracing the latest technologies to enhance our operation – with particular focus on exploring ways to engage and entertain our global fan base.

“This partnership with Sony puts City at the development stage of an exciting project that will create immersive digital fan experiences that have never been seen before in football. We’re looking forward to launching this collaboration and bringing together Sony’s industry-leading technologies with the global network of Manchester City fans.”

Toshimoto Mitomo, Officer in Charge of Intellectual Property and Business Incubation Platform at Sony Group Corporation, added:

“Through this PoC, Sony will support Manchester City to further increase the value of its content and engagement with its fans around the world.

“Sony aims to create an online fan engagement platform that brings the Club and its global fans closer together, demonstrating our commitment to the sports entertainment business and supporting our partners in seeking new opportunities.”