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Carlo Ancelotti, the first foreign manager ever to lead Brazil’s national football team, isn’t exactly sweating his World Cup debut. In a pre-match press conference ahead of Brazil’s opener against Morocco on June 13 at MetLife Stadium, the Italian coach declared that Brazil “has the quality and experience” and enters the tournament “with full confidence, knowing it can compete with any opponent.”
A squad worth nearly a billion euros, minus two key pieces
Brazil’s roster reads like a fantasy football cheat code. According to Transfermarkt, the squad is valued at approximately €928.20 million, with the attacking unit alone accounting for roughly €519 million of that figure.
Stars like Vinicius Junior and Raphinha anchor a team that, on paper, has few equals. But the opener comes with complications: Neymar and Wesley have both been ruled out for the Morocco match, trimming some firepower from what should be a relentless front line.
Ancelotti took the Brazil job in May 2025 after departing Real Madrid. For Brazil, the stakes are arguably even higher. The Selecao haven’t lifted the trophy since 2002, a 24-year drought that feels particularly painful for a nation with five World Cup titles.
Morocco reached the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, becoming the first African team to do so.
Fan tokens and FIFA’s blockchain play
The Brazil National Football Team Fan Token, known as BFT, lives on the Bitci Chain and gives holders voting rights, event access, and digital collectibles tied to the team.
FIFA itself has gone deeper into blockchain infrastructure. The organization migrated FIFA Collect, its digital collectibles platform, to the Avalanche-based FIFA Blockchain in 2025. The move was designed to enhance the digital fan experience with faster transactions and better scalability compared to its previous setup.
The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, is the first major tournament to run on this upgraded infrastructure.
What this means for crypto investors
Fan tokens like BFT sit at the intersection of sports entertainment and crypto trading. They’re sentiment-driven assets that live and die by match results and team news.
The Avalanche ecosystem stands to benefit from FIFA’s infrastructure choice. Every digital collectible minted, every transaction processed on FIFA Collect, runs through Avalanche’s network.
Fan tokens have a mixed track record. Many launched during the 2021-2022 bull market saw their values collapse alongside the broader crypto downturn. Socios, the largest fan token platform, faced criticism for tokens that offered limited real utility beyond voting on trivial team decisions like which song plays after a goal.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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