[DigitalToday reporter Chi-gyu Hwang (황치규)] Global sports blockchain company Chiliz on Wednesday unveiled a roadmap to innovate the sports industry's financial structure and create a $1 trillion market through tokenisation of real-world assets (RWA).

Chiliz said the roadmap's core is shifting from a simple, consumption-focused fandom model to a “Stakeholder Model” in which fans participate in the economic value of clubs and athletes.

It plans to digitise sports assets and provide liquidity through its own mainnet, the Chiliz Chain, to open what it called the SportFi era.

Chiliz defined the sports industry's digital transformation as a three-stage process and built its future roadmap accordingly. It said it proved the feasibility of digital ownership by launching fan tokens and building a large user base through the first-stage “Era of Participation” through 2024. In the “Era of Infrastructure” running through 2027, it plans to upgrade the Chiliz Chain and introduce RWA products such as stakes in stadiums, while testing legal and technical foundations.

Finally, it said that in the third-stage “Era of Institutions” from 2028, tokenisation of media broadcasting rights and participation by global investment banks will gather pace, and a regulated financial environment will be established that includes advanced financial derivatives such as hedging player injury risk.

Chiliz also stressed technical stability and regulatory compliance to support large-scale asset transfers. It said its Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus algorithm ensures security and speed, and compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine provides broad usability.

A Chiliz official said sports assets are a unique asset class that is resilient to economic downturns and has strong global scalability. “The Chiliz Chain will go beyond a simple database and become a fortress of trust capable of accommodating $1 trillion in assets,” the official said.