Real Sociedad’s new digital scarf that offers fans perks and discounts could end football’s half-and-half hell
Knock-off scarves with both team names are one of football's biggest nightmares, and the Spanish club may have found a solution
REAL SOCIEDAD could carve out a place in folklore if they somehow end football’s half-and-half-scarf madness.
Fans donning knock-off scarves with both team names on and brought from a man outside the ground are one of the ugliest sights in the beautiful game.
And the Spanish club might have found a solution to football’s epidemic with their new digital scarf.
The ‘One Club Man’ scarf was launched during their 3-1 win over Real Madrid at Anoeta on Sunday and developed by award-winning tech company SOLOS.
Football kits and merchandise aren’t cheap, but Real Sociedad want to reward fans for buying authentic with their new product.
The digital scarf is priced at 20 Euros - five Euros more expensive than a regular scarf - and is designed to communicate with fans via an app on their phone.
It features names of club legends from over the years and plans are afoot to launch a digital replica kit, too, in the coming seasons.
After linking to the mobile app, scarf owners receive food and drink vouchers, exclusive videos and content, and a chance to win experiences.
Once Sociedad’s Anoeta Stadium redevelopment is complete, the club want fans to be able to use the scarf as a contactless payment method and even as a match ticket.
Real Sociedad head of digital Juan Iraola said: “This is an opportunity for us to create the best possible experience for our fans, rewarding them for their loyalty to the club and to transform Anoeta into a world-leading smart stadium.
"Barcelona have a big project to renovate their stadium and also do Real Madrid.
"Athletic Bilbao have just built a new stadium as well so there's a lot of investment around and because of this the club has to think about new ways to make revenue.
"The technology can activate quite fast but we have to upgrade the stadium at the same time and those things take a bit longer.
"La Liga are trying to grow their brand all over the world and supporting the technology of clubs, and this is another thing they're pushing."