Belgium salvaged a 1-1 draw against Egypt in their World Cup Group G opener on June 15, with Romelu Lukaku’s second-half introduction sparking the comeback. The match arrived less than two weeks after Belgium’s national team launched its own fan token, $BELG, and just six days after Kraken became the first crypto exchange to secure an official FIFA World Cup sponsorship.

What happened on the pitch

Belgium found themselves trailing 0-1 at halftime against Egypt. Egypt conceded an own goal in the 66th minute, shortly after Lukaku entered as a substitute, leveling proceedings at 1-1.

The $BELG fan token and Kraken’s FIFA deal

Chiliz launched the $BELG fan token through a Fan Token Offering on its Socios.com platform on June 3-4, making 2 million tokens available at $1.00 each. The token gives holders voting rights on minor team decisions and access to exclusive content.

By June 11, $BELG had expanded its listing footprint to include Solana-based exchanges, broadening accessibility beyond the Chiliz Chain ecosystem.

On June 9, Kraken was announced as FIFA’s Official Crypto Exchange Supporter, making it the first cryptocurrency platform to hold a formal sponsorship role at a World Cup event.

Why this matters for crypto investors

During the 2022 World Cup, fan tokens for participating nations saw sharp volume spikes that correlated directly with match results. Wins pumped token prices. Losses cratered them.

Kraken’s sponsorship reaches the roughly 5 billion people who watch the World Cup, a figure drawn from FIFA’s own viewership figures from 2022.

Lukaku’s earlier Socios-related collectibles included ERC-721 NFTs tied to match balls from his goals.