A.S. Roma ‘Fan in the Box’ unique initiative

Article posted by Coliseum, July 4^th, 2023

Image: AS Roma

The ‘Fan in the Box’, an unprecedented initiative of Italian football, featured six fans in the company of ‘Giallorossi’ (A.S. Roma) (Italy) legend Vincent Candela (French former football player) taking on unusual and thrilling challenges coinciding with a football match.

‘AS Roma’ stated that by answering this simple question – ‘What would you be willing to do to watch A.S. Roma?’, six holders of $ASR Fan Tokens put their hats in the ring to be picked from over 400 participants in the ‘Fan in the Box’ contest on the Socios.com platform for a VIP experience at the A.S. Roma home ground Stadio Olimpico for a Roma vs. Udinese Calcio fixture.

Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as A.S. Roma or simply Roma, is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, the Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence (Serie A), except for the 1951-1952 seasons.

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The Stadio Olimpico is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, North of the City. The structure is owned by the Italian National Olympic Committee and it is used primarily for association football. It serves as the home arena of the A.S. Roma.

Vincent Philippe Antoine Candela is a French former professional footballer. Candela was with the France national team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup™ and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) EURO 2000. He played for A.S. Roma from 1997-2005. He won one scudetto (Serie A title) with Roma, as well as the Supercoppa Italiana in 2001, also helping the club to reach the 2003 Coppa Italia Final.

The Supercoppa Italiana is an annual Super Cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it will feature four teams from the 2023 edition onwards: The winners and runners-up of the previous season’s Serie A and Coppa Italia.

The Coppa Italia is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the Italian Football Federation League (FIGC) until the 2009-2010 seasons and by the Lega Serie A ever since.

The Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy), which currently competes in the Serie A. It was founded on November 30^th, 1896 as a sports club, and on July 5^th, 1911 as a football club. The 25,132-capacity Dacia Arena serves as their home ground.

‘AS Roma’ further stated that yet, this was just the start of the fun and games set up by Roma and their Official Partner.

After enjoying all the creature comforts of the club’s 1927 hospitality area, the six invitees got the opportunity to meet Vincent Candela. They laughed and enjoyed drinks with him and a few words about the game and some customary selfies before being accompanied to the Socios.com exclusive Stadio Olimpico suite, while being totally oblivious as to what they were about to experience.

The fans took their seats and while they were watching the ‘Giallorossi’ warm-up, primed and excited about the start of the match, the curtains suddenly dropped, preventing the Token Holders from seeing the pitch.

Candela’s voice then revealed the surprise package, as he declared, “Welcome to the ‘Giallorossi’ Escape Room!”

To get out, the six competitors had to overcome several obstacles. There were food challenges, such as eating an outrageous reinterpretation of the traditional amatriciana (denoting a spicy pasta sauce made with tomatoes, pancetta or bacon, and basil) conceived following a vote by Roma fans on Socios.com on ‘Carbonara Day’ (on April 6^th, enjoy the flavors of Italy and celebrate National Carbonara Day!), unaware that it would be included as part of the Escape Room, to challenges which really tested the A.S. Roma knowledge of these fans.

‘#BeMoreThanAFan’ is all about Socios.com’s aim to make the ‘Giallorossi’ supporters increasingly involved in the club’s activities. The initiative involving the six Token Holders is a prime example of this. Thanks to the collaboration between A.S. Roma and their Official Fan Token Partner the fans were able to enjoy an once-in-a-lifetime experience, one which was unprecedented for a football match.

The Socios.com is a blockchain-based fan engagement platform that allows sports and entertainment organizations to monetize their fan bases. The platform allows fans to buy, trade and execute voting rights in their favorite sports teams. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Malta (island in Southern Europe).

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