German professional soccer league, Fußball-Bundesliga, has joined in a partnership with The Topps Company to debut a new non-fungible token (NFT) collection. 

Bundesliga is celebrating the 2020-2021 season with the release of the league’s first NFT collection. According to a press release from trading card company Topps, the collection will be exclusive to ToppsNFT.com in collaboration with Ava Labs and powered by the Avalanche blockchain platform. Avalanche serves as a quick and cheap public blockchain that has been dubbed as an eco-friendly option. The Topps NFT  platform offer uses a centralized place to buy sell and trade their NFTs from licensed Topps properties. 

The debut collection from the German pro league will feature superstars, rising talent, and notable moments from the previous season of play. “The site unites the familiar, user-friendly experiences of traditional e-commerce applications with the power of blockchain infrastructure,” according to Topps. The goal of the platform is to make collecting NFTs easy and a process that appeals to fans of digital trading cards without experience in digital currency or blockchain transactions. Tobin Lent, Vice President and General Manager of Topps Digital Sports & Entertainment stated in the press release that  ToppsNFT is “an extension of the pioneering vision we’ve had for digital collectibles since our mobile apps launched in 2012.” 

Bundesliga 2020-2021 season celebration NFT collection

Topps’ new Bundesliga collection will be available starting on Tuesday, August 10 at 1 pm ET for purchase via credit card. Cards come via packs much like traditional trading cards and can be either of the standard or premium level. Rarities for the NFT collection range from common to legendary with cards containing video highlights or animated motion effects. Additional features include facsimile signatures of superstar players and classic designs from Bundesliga’s past.

In the press release, Topps quotes Bundesliga International CEO Robert Klein saying, “We are proud to support our partner Topps in bringing the best of the Bundesliga 2020-2021 season to life as NFT digital trading cards for the first time, allowing fans to relive top plays and own NFTs with their favorite moments from a legendary season that saw Bayern Munich earn their fifth star.” The CEO goes on to say that the team wishes to preserve and admire certain moments from last season that “take our collective breath away.” 

The Bundesliga collection is the latest NFT offering from Topps, which has been in the sports card industry since 1938. The company has offered digital sports cards since back in 2012 before NFTs became a thing, and, according to Topps, “is among the first to fully embrace the potential of NFT digital collectibles.”