Blue United Corporation and Ween Games announced as finalists of the Microsoft’s Global Sports Innovation Center Tech Innovation Awards 2021

Blue United Corporation and Ween Games have been selected as finalists of the Microsoft’s Global Sports Innovation Center Tech Innovation Awards 2021, among other powerhouses in the sports and entertainment industry such as Real Madrid Next and Banco Santander.

This recognition has been giving to reward Blue United and Ween Games for the most outstanding best practices implemented in the design and execution of the e-Pacific Rim Cup 2021.

Due to the global Covid situation, the Pacific Rim Cup from Blue United Corporation (an international football competition hosted in Hawaii) turned into an esports competition thanks to Blue United and Ween Games, involving gamers and NFT technology to innovate in the traditional sports ecosystem.

The winner of every tournament was crowned as the e-PRC 2021 Champion of each game, in the same way that Consadole Sapporo and V-Varen Nasaki were crowned as Champions of PRC in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Moreover, participants could acquire a CryptoBlue (Blue United FC’s NFTs), and have access to different premium experiences such as:
● To be showcased as a SUPER PLAYER on the tournament’s social media account
If CryptoBlue owner won the tournament:
●  Press conference and interview with the Winner.
●  Press release about the Winner.
●  NFT trophy as a Winner of the Championship (first e-PRC trophy).

Comments from Takehiko Nakamura (Blue United Corporation President & CEO)
Our view of sports business has always been different from others. To us, creating new values was always more important than doing what someone else had already done. One of those innovations we have been proud of was the Pacific Rim Cup, and e-PRC through the partnership with Ween was a statement that we would keep striving even if the pandemic tried to stop us. In that sense, this recognition is not just an honor but also a testament that our values are aligned, and a tremendous encouragement to us. We look forward to continuing to be forward-thinking and to be considered one of the leading sports business companies in the world.

Comments from Javier Sanz Ortiz (Blue United Corporation, VP Business and Legal Affairs)
One of the core values we have as a company is to always be focused on innovating and on leading unique projects, for our clients, and for Blue United’s properties. This recognition by the Microsoft’s Global Sports Innovation Center is another indicator that we are on the right track and having our brand associated with Banco Santander and Real Madrid gives us even more motivation to continue pushing ourselves.

About Pacific Rim Cup

Pacific Rim Cup 2018 brought professional soccer back to Honolulu for the first time in six years. The inaugural tournament consisted of two double-headers at Aloha Stadium featuring Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Columbus Crew SC from MLS, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo from the J.League and Iwaki FC from TOHOKU Member of Society Soccer League, with Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo taking home the PRC championship title.

In 2019, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Iwaki FC returned and were joined by MLS side Real Salt Lake and V-Varen Nagasaki from J.League, with matches set for Feb. 8 and 10 again at Aloha Stadium. The tournament kicked off on Feb. 8 with Real Salt Lake winning 2-1 against Iwaki FC, followed by V-Varen Nagasaki winning 3-1 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Third place match on Feb. 10 featured Iwaki FC edging Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-0 before the night ended with the championship game. In the final V-Varen Nagasaki took home the championship title at the second annual Pacific Rim Cup 2019 with a 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake.

Pacific Rim Cup is focused on giving back to Hawaii and its community. In 2018, the tournament generated an economic impact of $1.5 million for the state, along with more than $2 million in 2019 through creation of jobs, revenue generated by local businesses, investment made in facilities, donation of equipment and fundraising to help local organizations. Moreover, Pacific Rim Cup uses soccer to impact the lives of local keiki to help improve overall self-esteem and lifestyle through its popular soccer clinic.

This is not only a soccer tournament but a week-long event full of activities such as a free soccer clinic where 300 kids participate and fills up in 20 minutes, U23 Hawaii All Star Game, VIP Party where more than 150 people gather, and a lot more. The event generates a local economic impact of $2M and we are proud to continue to build this property.

More information about PRC: https://pacificrimcup.com

　About Blue United Corporation

Blue United is an innovation, marketing, PR, and business development agency, that founded two global sports properties, with offices in the US and Japan (New York, Massachusetts, Tokyo, and Nagano), which serves clients in North America, Asia, Europe, and South America.

Focuses on elevating companies and brands on a global scale and help them on expanding internationally (business development and expansion, PR/Communications, social media, marketing, etc.).
　-  Renders advice to clients in regard to innovation and technology.
　-  Renders legal advice to clients in the international landscape.
　-  Designs and executes the organization of major events and activations.
　-  “Blue United eFC”
　　　　o Owns and manages the first professional eSports FIFA-focused team in Japan, founded in 2017.
　　　　o https://www.blueutd.com/efc/en/
　- “Pacific Rim Cup”
　　　　o Owns and manages the only football professional tournament among club teams within the Pacific Rim
　　　　o Top 10 Best International Sporting Event of the Year SPIA Awards in 2018 and 2019.
　　　　o https://www.pacificrimcup.com

Client history:

Ween Games, Imagine AR, Kashima Antlers, Sevilla FC, Matsumoto Yamaga, Yanmar, Under Armour, J.League (SHC), Omiya Ardija and Pacific League Marketing (Japanese Baseball League), among others.

To learn more about Blue United Corporation, please visit: blueutd.com or contact us: info@blueutd.com .

About Ween Games

Ween is a project focused on creating new business opportunities and technological solutions for brands as well as legendary experiences for users in the esports ecosystem.
Ween is a technological esports engine where users can play their favorite games and win great prizes in all the competitions. The company aims to create iconic moments and esports experiences for gamers to feel like true esports professionals and also involve brands by generating their own territory in the ecosystem.

Ween operates globally for any brand across the world interested in connecting with this high-speed growing community of gamers. A highly skilled human team and many years of experience among gamers provide efficient and successful solutions for their partners and customers.
For more information or to explore working with Ween, please visit: https://www.ween.games

About The Microsoft’s Global Sports Innovation Center

The Global Sports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft (GSIC) is a non-profit association that works with the philosophy of a business cluster. GSIC was promoted by the Microsoft Sport team in 2015 and brings together all kinds of sports entities (clubs, federations, associations), institutions, technology companies (from startups to companies), research organizations, investors and key figures from the sports industry to improve its value chain. For this we focus our activities and services on 6 main points: entrepreneurship, networking, applied research, showcase, Microsoft Partners Solutions and advice on digital transformation. More than 340 companies from 41 different countries have already received the support of the GSIC through different activities, as well as its ambassadors and network of professionals in the sports industry.