Rewards Program Powered by Polkadot
Beneficiary:Overview
This is a revised proposal for the IMCF Rewards Program, the official fan engagement platform for Inter Miami CF (IMCF), powered by Polkadot. Following the community’s rejection of Referendum 1575, we have scaled back the initial scope to focus on onboarding users and leveraging the partnership’s assets to deliver unparalleled fan experiences. This proposal requests $250,000 paid in USDC to cover platform licensing, development, activation, and deployment, with IMCF and MLS support reducing the community’s financial burden.
Background
The original referendum (https://polkadot.subsquare.io/referenda/1575) proposed a broader platform, including a predictions market, built with Galactic. The community voted it down, citing concerns over scope and cost. Since November 2024, we have worked with Major League Soccer (MLS) to secure approvals for a blockchain-based fan engagement application. MLS created a new category, “Blockchain Technologies,” recognizing Polkadot’s technological potential beyond finance or crypto. We have now obtained approval to build an application leveraging Polkadot’s blockchain, marking a pivotal moment to act.
We have partnered with Smart Media Technologies (SMT), the industry leader in fan engagement platforms, which has on boarded over 10 million fans for global brands like the Olympics, Manchester City, FIFA, NBA, 49’ers, XGames, Huntington Bank/Live Nation, NY Yankees/NY Life, Visa, and more (https://www.smartmediatech.io/fan-engagement-solutions).
SMT will power the IMCF Rewards Program, ensuring enterprise-grade quality and immediate time-to-value. The SMT fan engagement SaaS platform is a proven turn-key solution that rewards fandom through tokenized rewards and delivers higher ROI for sponsors by enabling Polkadot to easily onboard, engage and reward fans.
Revised Scope
The IMCF Rewards Program will focus on:
- Onboarding Fans: Rapid deployment to engage Inter Miami’s global fanbase, leveraging Lionel Messi’s unparalleled reach (third-most-followed person globally).
- Money-Can’t-Buy Experiences: Free access to exclusive rewards, such as VIP matchday experiences, player meet-and-greets, and signed merchandise, powered by Polkadot’s blockchain for transparency and security.
- Scalable Engagement: A foundation for future features, like fan governance and predictions markets, to be implemented in later phases based on community feedback.
SMT will handle platform development, and IMCF has committed to covering management fees, with additional resource support from the club and MLS, minimizing community costs.
Budget
We request $250,000, allocated as follows:
- $200,000: SMT platform licensing and development fees for a fully functional fan engagement app.
- $50,000: Activation, user acquisition, and deployment costs to maximize adoption.
This budget covers all upfront costs for the program’s launch and operation through the 2025 season, including IMCF’s playoff run. IMCF retains the option to extend the program into 2026.
Strategic Value
This partnership positions Polkadot as a leader in Web3 fan engagement:
- Unmatched Exposure: Messi’s global influence (charges $1-5M per post) amplifies Polkadot’s brand through organic media, training days, and matchday imagery, at no additional cost. Our CPM rates have outperformed.
- MLS Endorsement: MLS’s creation of a “Blockchain Technologies” category and approval for this application validate Polkadot’s technological leadership, opening doors to further league partnerships.
- Scalable Model: Success with IMCF and SMT, which has onboarded 25 million fans, creates a blueprint for sports clubs, leagues, and entertainment properties to adopt on-chain fan governance and rewards.
- Ecosystem Synergy: Polkadot’s ecosystem is thriving—Mythical leads gaming, Hydration dominates DeFi, and Nova secures the wallet space, all funded by the treasury. The IMCF Rewards Program complements these efforts, showcasing Polkadot’s versatility with a high-profile marketing opportunity.
Why Now?
The fan engagement market is shifting to Web3, with clubs and leagues adopting blockchain for governance and rewards. MLS’s approval is a green light to act, and SMT’s expertise ensures delivery. Backed by IMCF’s funding and Messi’s global appeal, this is a low-risk, high-reward chance to showcase Polkadot’s technology. If we delay, another chain will seize this opportunity. The Polkadot ecosystem is ready—gaming, DeFi, and wallets are locked in. Now is the time to leverage the world’s most marketable athlete and a committed club partnership to drive adoption.
Risks and Mitigation
- Risk: Community skepticism from the prior referendum’s rejection.
Mitigation: Scaled-back scope, clear budget, and IMCF/MLS support demonstrate fiscal responsibility. - Risk: Adoption challenges.
Mitigation: SMT’s track record (10M+ fans onboarded) and Messi’s appeal ensure engagement. Marketing funds will drive acquisition. - Risk: Future feature creep.
Mitigation: Phased approach prioritizes core functionality, with community input for expansions.
Call to Action
The IMCF Rewards Program is more than an app—it’s a gateway to redefining fan engagement on Polkadot. With MLS approval, SMT’s expertise, IMCF’s support, and Messi’s global reach, we have the partnerships, technology, and vision to lead Web3 innovation. The Polkadot ecosystem is flourishing, and this is our chance to showcase its potential through one of the largest marketing opportunities in sports. Will the community seize this moment, or let another chain claim the future of fan engagement?
Vote to fund the IMCF Rewards Program. Let’s build history together.
As a reminder, the vision for this partnership, which was voted on by the community, has always been to move forward to showcase the technology pending the league's approval of a fan engagement application. That approval has now been secured, Inter Miami CF is engaged and excited about a new way to reach their fans, and we are committed to seeing this initiative through as planned. Watch the original vision here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgArBLSbt3o
About the SMT Fan Engagement Solution
The SMT Fan Engagement Platform is an enterprise-grade, SaaS-based solution designed to transform passive audiences into deeply engaged fan communities that drive real economic impact. Proven across the world’s most iconic sports brands—including FIFA, NBA, the Olympics, and Manchester City—this platform consistently delivers 10x fan engagement, setting a new benchmark for how sports organizations activate and monetize their audiences.
Enterprise-Grade & Proven at Global Scale
Trusted by global leaders such as Visa and the International Olympic Committee, SMT’s platform has already onboarded over 10 million fans, demonstrating the scale, security, and reliability that top-tier clubs, leagues, and sponsors require. Built to handle the demands of the largest sporting properties, it ensures seamless execution and compliance at every level.
Lightning-Fast Deployment
Unlike fragmented tech stacks that take months to integrate, the SMT platform is built for speed. Clubs and partners like Polkadot can launch a fully branded fan engagement app in a matter of weeks. With a two-click onboarding experience, fans are immediately immersed—reducing friction and maximizing early adoption.
Engaging Fans at Home and In the Stadium
The platform is engineered to reach fans wherever they are—inside the stadium or across the globe. Its features include:
- AI-powered discovery feeds that deliver tailored challenges, content, and experiences, keeping fans coming back day after day.
- Gamified quests like AR treasure hunts or having it Polkadot Points in AR with every goal and interactions that build emotional loyalty and deepen the connection.
- A dynamic marketplace where fans can redeem their Polkadot Points for priceless experiences like VIP matchday access, player meet-and-greets, and exclusive merchandise—turning engagement into unforgettable memories.
Purpose-Built for On-Chain and Off-Chain Rewards
SMT’s flexible architecture supports both on-chain and off-chain loyalty ecosystems, making it the perfect bridge between the blockchain-powered Polkadot community and traditional sports fans. Whether rewards are recorded on-chain for transparency or delivered through classic digital mechanisms, fans enjoy a seamless, intuitive experience.
From Issuing Points to Driving Profits
While the immediate focus is on scaling fan engagement through Polkadot Points, this program is also strategically laying the groundwork for the next phase: driving ancillary revenue streams by bringing other IMCF sponsors onto the platform. This evolution turns the app into a powerful commercial ecosystem—transforming it from a pure cost center into a growth engine that can generate millions in potential profits. A portion of these revenues can flow back to the Polkadot community, helping offset the platform’s costs and demonstrating how on-chain loyalty programs can directly benefit token ecosystems both directly through revenue share and indirectly through token appreciation.
Why This Matters for Polkadot and MLS
By deploying SMT’s proven platform, Polkadot can immediately leverage its investment in the Inter Miami CF sponsorship, driving rapid ROI while showcasing its technology to millions of fans inspired by Lionel Messi’s unmatched global influence. It establishes a scalable model that can extend across the entire MLS and beyond, positioning Polkadot as the blockchain that powers the future of sports loyalty, engagement, and shared economic upside.
✅ In essence: The SMT Fan Engagement Platform turns passive audiences into active, emotionally connected fan bases—moving from simply handing out loyalty points to generating potential tangible profits that fuel both the club’s ambitions and the broader Polkadot ecosystem.
Interview with CEO Tyler Moebius - Smart Media Technologies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_Vo75apyzc
Co-Founder Reeve Collins - Smart Media Technologies - https://reevecollins.com/
Comments (6)
PolkaWorld votes NAY
First, we believe this type of project is not where Polkadot’s resources are most critically needed at this stage. The conversion of Web2 users into Web3 participants is inherently a long-term and complex process — especially in the sports vertical, where user expectations around display and engagement often diverge from the native strengths of Web3 technology.
It’s difficult to expect sports fans to become true Web3-native users based on a single interactive experience. This audience doesn’t align closely with the ecosystem’s current priorities, such as attracting developers, DeFi users, or active on-chain governance participants. In that sense, the proposal’s target demographic does not reflect the key needs of the ecosystem’s current growth phase.
Second, from a budgeting perspective, the proposal lacks clarity. Many line items are not broken down in enough detail to assess whether costs are reasonable. In particular, the licensing and development fees, user acquisition and activation expenses, and expected outcomes are not sufficiently explained — making it hard for the community to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the initiative.
Fundamentally, this proposal appears to aim at converting Miami-based fans into Polkadot users — a goal we understand, but the execution plan is vague. It lacks defined milestones, clear deliverables, and a transparent overview of how many participants are involved. In addition, the proposal does not clarify the product’s revenue model, which is important in determining whether it fits within the scope of Treasury funding.
Lastly, we want to reiterate a broader principle: the Treasury should not be used to fund commercial applications. It should return to its core purpose — supporting essential common goods that serve the broader ecosystem.
As the network may moves toward a lower inflation rate (5% or below), Treasury resources will naturally shrink. We believe now is the time to prepare for that future by focusing funds on what truly matters — critical infrastructure and ecosystem-wide public goods.
You can read our full feedback [here].
This comment is a reply to Learn Polkadot who is one of the involved parties in this referendum and on the Inter Miami sponsorship.
https://x.com/LearnPolkadot/status/1944501218791108617
We still maintain that there are valid criticisms of this referendum and other things beyond the scope of this referendum.
IM remains to the day the most expensive non-incentive referendum which has shown no significant results so far despite its size where results are expected to be also big. These are not irrelevant metrics in our view. No visible conversion from all this exposure is apparent either as BD, community reach or increase or price impact, whatever the name of the metric is. Hospitality packages are also a question mark. So, if a sponsorship hasn’t blown those numbers, expectations or at least shown significant conversion/results (it hasn’t even reached the promised numbers in the original referendum – now nuked with a boilerplate replacement) then it makes it impossible for the sponsoring entity to continue as is and it seems natural to reconsider and it's logical to reignite the questions about active conversions. If you didn't wow us with results, at least bring the data (W. Edwards Deming ghost about our IM deal - possibly).
This is more or less our same point of view only for Saxemberg it happened earlier than others and because of this referendum execution now it is now evident to us all. This technical integration was a chief concern of us even back in the initial vote same with BD, and other things. Once we realized that the current situation would be the outcome of a +10M sponsorship we proceeded to vote NAY. It is on the record that one of our members even requested to have a budget for tech on the initial referendum or at least to have a plan for integrations. So in short, yes, we agree that this mobile app is something we are not exited about given the entire context, expectations and promises made.
Right now there is proof that Messi is now the sales point for Polkadot we were led to believe during the initial vote. No matter how much Messi, Inter Miami and others are pushed into the community and into the world, these "Impressions in the millions" have had limited or no impact in a product such as Polkadot, its price, infrastructure, VIP attention, etc. In short, these million upon millions of promised impressions of Messi translate to little or nothing and it’s been shown. Just because said sponsorships are apparently a “good deal” doesn’t mean we gotta take them. We think that Polkadot is exactly at the same place it would had been had it not sponsored IM.
In any case, the point here was that the contract is with IM and not the Messi brand so based on the past experience, we are not that sure that this app in particular can relate to Messi, Beckham or any name that can be photographed / shared / named on social media.
As for the 2026 doubts we think this is a valid criticism.
The referendum itself says that it ONLY covers the 2025 season (It ends the early days of Dec. 2025 after the playoffs) , so it cannot be a 12 month deal. It’s a -6 month deal as the 2025 season ends in, well 2025 hence our heavy doubt. (pic)
+10M is likely what a sponsorship renewal with IM would cost as the current deal cost the treasury more or less that. Can you prove that Inter Miami will let Polkadot and others use their brand and assets past the end of Dec. 2025 (a 12 month deal) which is the end of Polkadot’s sponsorship time. Without an IM renewal for +2026 we frankly don’t see how this app can be an IM app or related to it in any way shape or form when in 2026 the team gets new sponsorship deals. We don’t see Autonation doing anything Inter Miami related anymore. So, we can safely assume that Polkadot needs to renew the deal with IM to continue using that sponsorship in 2026, does it not?
No idea what actually has been clarified about our post on Polkassembly so we are posting this on Subsquare so that it actually gets clarified. Not sure how this migration to AssetHub/PolkadotHub is going to look now however. Hopefully SMT clarifies that point too.
In any case, consider engaging with the current DVs as all specific feedback, continued comms, etc. have been discontinued until further notice. That was part of our DV effort in accordance to our DV applications. All present interaction is just a part of past actions as DVs which seem relevant given the comments left on X.