Finance guru salutes Man City amid behind-the-scenes reveal – ‘not many clubs could pull this off’
Man City are one of only a handful of clubs that have the expertise to be successful in the metaverse – but they likely see the technology as a long-term investment.
That is the view of Doctor Dan Plumley, who spoke exclusively with Football Insider about Man City’s U-turn regarding the use of metaverse technology alongside the club’s media.
City began to use augmented or virtual reality technology in their media output last season, with the Premier League champions becoming the first football club to create a digital reconstruction of their stadium for VR users in the metaverse.
They managed this through their partnership with Sony, which began back in November 2021.
City followed this up by partnering with Puma to launch their 2022-23 third kit in the metaverse, allowing players to explore and interact with the kit through the video game Roblox.
However, Football Insider sources revealed on Friday (30 December) that City are moving away from the idea of using augmented or virtual reality technology in their media output.
Plumley was surprised by the sudden change of direction by the club and backed them to eventually figure out a blueprint to implement the technology within club media.
“I still think that this is going to be the next big thing moving forward,” the finance expert told Football Insider.
“We don’t quite know the details of it or what it will look like and that’s probably the challenge facing Manchester City is that it’s so new and there is no blueprint to follow.
“So it is a challenge to implement a strategy like that. However, if a club can pull it off it’s a club like Man City that have connections all around the globe.
“It is an interesting change in strategy and while it may not be at the top of their list at the minute I still think it will be there in the background.
“That deal with Sony was signed and I think it’s still on the table and they’re just exploring their options.
“I’ll stick my neck out and say I still think it’s coming. It just depends on what it looks like further down the line, so it might just be pushed down the priority list but it’s not gone away.“
In other news, Frank McAvennie backs Manchester City to make a transfer swoop for “confident” Arsenal star