Stephanie Douse 
Manchester City and their new partner Sony have begun the initial stage construction of a virtual duplicate of the Etihad Stadium, which will serve as the team’s Metaverse centre. The move will let fans be a part of live and recorded matches around the world.
Manchester City, England’s premier soccer team at the present, plays their home games at Etihad Stadium. On February 18, the team announced the signing of a three-year deal with Sony, which will supply virtual reality professionals with image analysis and skeletal-tracking technologies from subsidiary Hawk-Eye.
Manchester City is hoping that fans would make use of all the advantages of having a virtual stadium. Despite the fact that Covid restrictions continue to limit travel possibilities for some, the opportunity to watch games in an immersive Metaverse setting could be a welcome reprieve for those who have been longing to return to a gaming setting.
By constructing the virtual Etihad Stadium, the club is breaking down geographic barriers for fans who want to be a part of live or recorded games. Nuria Tarre, the chief marketing officer of City Football Group, told Inews on February 18 that:
“The whole point we could imagine of having a Metaverse is you can recreate a game, you could watch the game live, you’re part of the action in a different way through different angles and you can fill the stadium as much as you want because it’s unlimited, it’s completely virtual.”
Hawk-Eye, a Sony subsidiary, has long been committed to improving sports for spectators and authorities. It uses sophisticated playback technology to assist referees in making in-game decisions in real-time. In the Metaverse, its visualization technologies will be used to reproduce the dimensions of Etihad Stadium.
Liverpool FC may be interested in Man City’s push into Web3 and the Metaverse. According to ECHO, a Liverpool news outlet, the Reds may follow suit in order to increase revenue.
Rivals Manchester United has also entered the Web3 ecosystem, announcing a new relationship with Tezos (XTZ) on February 10. Tezos will be the team’s official cryptocurrency and training equipment partner, as well as a potential partner in the development of digital products.