Former Manchester United players including Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs have teamed up with Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim and his son Kiat Lim to create CO92 DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focusing on investments in professional soccer projects, according to a Bloomberg report.
A DAO is a business structure that has no company headquarters and is built with the help of smart contracts—lines of code that self-execute under predetermined circumstances. DAOs are governed by token holders from around the world and seek to replace traditional corporate hierarchies with flat management structures.
The purpose of CO92 DAO is to connect sports enthusiasts globally and allow fans to make sports-related investments.
“We have access to unique sporting projects and want to work together with fans to create value together,” Gary Neville said in a statement.
It’s unclear what these projects are precisely, but CO92 DAO said it may include investing in both soccer clubs with high growth potential and soccer-related technologies and ventures.
Currently, CO92 DAO is reviewing a range of opportunities and “will announce developments in the months ahead," Kiat Lim told Bloomberg.
"Access to this industry does not come easy or cheap, we are bringing many cumulative years of experience and personal high-level networks into this project to try to make it as big a success as it can be,” he added.
Public token sale
CO92 DAO says it wants to offer investors more affordable access to professional sports, an investment category that has historically been available primarily to high-net-worth individuals.
To that end, CO92 DAO is planning a public token sale with no minimum amount required to participate. Other details like the amount of money involved or token allocation have not been disclosed at this stage.
“Building on the principles of an ownership economy and leveraging Web3 technology, we are creating a more inclusive and engaging environment for fans to be involved in decision-making, participate in the whole ecosystem of the game, and share in all the aspects of success together,” added Kiat Lim.
Manchester United’s Class of ‘92 is a collective name given to a crop of some of the most talented players in the club’s history. The group of iconic players, which also included the likes of David Beckham and Gary Nevill’s younger brother Phil, were the core of the Red Devils in the late 1990’s and 2000’s, helping to bring home numerous Premier League titles and win the UEFA Champions League in 1999.
Peter Lim, one of the wealthiest people in Singapore, is the current owner of Spanish soccer team Valencia FC, which he acquired in 2014.
Along with the majority of the Red Devils’ Class of ‘92, Lim is also a shareholder of Salford City FC, a club competing in League Two, the fourth tier of the English soccer league system.