Oxford City Football Club will become the first National League football club to accept matchday payments in BTC
United Kingdom Bitcoin (BTC) payments adoption just recruited a new player. Oxford City Football Club looks to become the first National League football club to accept matchday payments in BTC when the season kicks off on Aug. 6. For the first time in the sixth-tier English football league, the club will wear the BTC logo on their shirts, and fans will be able to buy tickets with Bitcoin over the Lightning Network.
Fans will also be able to purchase food and drink at Oxford City’s RAW Charging Stadium with Bitcoin over the Lightning Network. Legacy payment methods such as cash and card are still accepted.
Oxford City Football Club (OCFC) now plays in the sixth tier of English football, the National League South. The club struck a multi-year partnership with an Isle of Man-based Bitcoin company CoinCorner. To mark the occasion CoinCorner will be a back-of-shirt sponsor for the club and release a limited-edition Oxford City FC Bolt Card.
The Hoops will sport a BTC logo on the back of the matchday shirts as part of the partnership between CoinCorner and the team. CoinCorner is also the official match sponsor for Oxford City FC’s (OCFC) opening game on Aug. 6.
On the same day, the pro-Bitcoin football club, Real Bedford, Peter McCormack’s, will accept Bitcoin for matchday tickets. The Bedford team plays in a lower, local league, the Spartan South Midlands League.
Danny Scott, CoinCorner CEO explained that OCFC is the “first adopter of Bitcoin payments in the National League.” Scott continued:
“We believe this move will set a trend across Non-league and Football League divisions as digital currency establishes itself as the new normal for sports fans and event-goers across the U.K.”
Bitcoin advocate and Founder of OxBit, the Oxford Bitcoin meetup, Coach Carbon clarified to Cointelegraph how the contract came about. In December 2022, OCFC hosted the Bitcoin Ballers Winter Cup festival–a Bitcoin-centric footballing day out.
OxBit has since introduced various meetups at the club grounds and Carbon endures to advocate for Bitcoin adoption around the city. Carbon managed a relationship with the football club’s new commercial director and shared “numerous informal discussions about engaging and helping the community through events & education.”
“A three-way call was arranged and things progressed from there once the football club understood and could see the impact CoinCorner could make with regards to Bitcoin education and adoption.”
Justin Merritt, Director of Football at Oxford City FC, explained: “More than 3.3 million people living in the U.K. now own Bitcoin – an increase of approximately one million people in the last year alone.”
In June 2021, Cointelegraph reported that, per an FCA report, up to 2.3 million Brits own BTC, whereas a Coinbase report stretched that figure. Merritt continued:
“It’s not mandatory for people to engage with our new technology, but we believe in time, paying via Bitcoin will become the new normal in English football.”
Across the United Kingdom, grassroots Bitcoin adoption is growing, while Edinburgh looks forward to hosting a Bitcoin conference in October 2022.
