SailGP Partnership Paves Way For Dao Team

International sailing series SailGP and blockchain development platform NEAR Protocol have announced a new wide-ranging partnership that includes the intent to establish a team owned and managed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

The DAO, a community-owned organisation whose financial transactions and rules of governance are stored on a blockchain, may be able to determine athlete selection, team management, commercialisation options, operations and team strategy.

In response to how much detail DAO members will be able to determine team operations, SailGP said, “The specifics of this DAO, such as its structure, make up rules and governance, will depend on the group and its collective goals. Together, the fans will decide on how to fund and execute their mission.”

Adding, “Some of the big challenges will be how the team will be put together and what the league will represent. Will the team be part of a nation? A cause? A charity?

“Ownership balance will also need to be addressed. If one fan puts in more money than other investors – do they have more voting rights or greater say in the direction of the team? How do we ensure that the playing field remains level and democratic if fans aren’t contributing the same amount of money into the DAO? The challenges will be addressed by the community that comes together to own the team – while we focus on delivering new experiences and services for the fans.”

Subject to compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, SailGP have indicated that the DAO team could join the SailGP starting line-up as early as Season 4 in 2023, however, a significant amount of money will need to be raised on the NEAR Protocol before any sale can take place. According to the series, a new SailGP team costs $25m (£19m), with a further $7m (£5.3m) required annually for operating costs.

In addition to the unprecedented DAO ownership model that this partnership hopes to achieve, the new agreement will enable NEAR Protocol to leverage SailGP events around the world in order to educate fans, developers and companies on the capabilities of the platform and the potential of web3 technology.

NEAR and SailGP will collaborate on various fan engagement initiatives, including ticketing, NFTs, app integration, and gaming.

“Both the NEAR foundation and SailGP have been actively looking for partners that share the same values and vision for inclusivity, diversity and sustainability,” said Marieke Flament, CEO NEAR Foundation. “For NEAR, SailGP is a good fit as it not only meets all the criteria for a good partner, but also shares an openness to innovation and its potential to democratise access to sport and make it more inclusive for all. Together NEAR and SailGP are creating  opportunities that empower fans to play a major role in deciding the future of global competition – this has never been done before – and it’s very exciting!”

Sir Russell Coutts, CEO SailGP, said, “We see ourselves as a disrupter in the sports space, and as a new sports and entertainment property, it allows us to do something that other, more established, leagues might struggle with. Like NEAR, SailGP has a strong community spirit and well-established fanbase that spans the globe, and it is this audience, coupled with SailGP’s well-respected brand, that will help to show the world what Web3 can do for fan engagement, while also setting a precedent for  other kinds of sport.”

SailGP Founder, Larry Ellison, said, “We welcome NEAR to the SailGP family and we are looking forward to them participating in the most exciting racing on-water, featuring the world’s best sailors.”

The final round of SailGP season 2 concludes this weekend (starting 26th March) in San Francisco.