Brentford FC has become the first-ever team in the English footballing pyramid to integrate near field communication (NFC) technology Fabricks directly onto players’ match-worn shirts.
The Netherlands-based SportTech will be debuted at the GTech Community Stadium tonight as Brentford face Everton in the Premier League.
The technology will allow memorabilia collectors and fans to digitally check the authenticity of the match-worn shirt and the Bees become the company’s most recent adapters, following suit of the likes of Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord.
Fabricks is an NFC technology that, upon tapping the heat-pressed chip with a smartphone, will provide a digital certificate detailing the shirt’s authenticity and originality, alongside storing key details and content about the match-worn shirt.
The West London club announced the beginning of a long-term partnership this season with Fabricks’ sister company MatchWornShirt to give fans the chance to own match-worn and signed shirts straight from the pitch.
“We’re incredibly excited to strengthen our collaboration with Brentford FC by incorporating Fabricks into every match-worn and signed shirt,” said Tijmen Zonderwijk, founder of MatchWornShirt and Fabricks.
“The response from fans, collectors and clubs has been overwhelmingly positive about this cutting-edge technology, so we’re delighted to be expanding this across various partners in the memorabilia industry.”
Adam Ward, head of partnership services of Brentford FC, added: “We’re delighted to collaborate with Fabricks and become the first-ever English club to introduce this groundbreaking verification technology, bringing a fresh and dynamic element to our MatchWornShirt auctions.”
Brentford’s match-worn and signed shirts will only be available through auctions on the MatchWornShirt platform.
The club’s proceeds from these auctions are donated to the Heart of West London initiative, a partnership between Brentford FC and several charities and organisations campaigning to improve cardiac health in the local community.