UFF Sports Officially
Launches Platform,
Announces Key Partnerships
Ultimate Franchise Fantasy Sports has officially launched on the Zilliqa blockchain, backed by a trio of industry leaders in the hockey world — EliteProspects, InStat and Fantalytica.
“We’re thrilled that our platform is now live and we’re excited to have secured these key partnerships to take us to the next level,” said UFF Sports president and co-founder Tony Charanduk. “The future is bright for our hockey operations and for all the sports to come!”
EliteProspects, the most informative hockey database on the web since 1999, is populating the player profiles for the UFFS platform, which already features more than 3,100 hockey players owned as NFTs by franchises and scouts. That sounds like a lot — considering there are less than 750 players on NHL rosters — but it is just scratching the surface of EliteProspects database, which has surpassed 840,000 players past, present and future.
“We’re excited to help power the UFFS platform with prospect stats and data,” said Peter Sibner, president of EliteProspects.com and parent company, ESMG North America Inc. “Fantasy hockey is growing in many shapes and forms right now and we’re happy to be a part of this interesting venture.”
InStat, founded in 2007, is a leading provider of performance analysis services in ice hockey, football/soccer and basketball. InStat Hockey is the premier resource for scouting thanks to their worldwide database of video, including players of all ages and all levels. UFFS scouts will have the opportunity to use InStat as a video scouting tool, with the ability to watch player shifts or access a playlist of more than 90 statistical metrics broken down by InStat.
“Fantasy sports is an exciting new venture for InStat, but everyone knows how this industry continues to grow and change. The team at UFF Sports is on to something big, and we are happy to grow alongside this group — starting with our hockey platform, and hopefully expanding to more sports and development areas in the future,” said Ed Palumbo, InStat’s North American media coordinator and manager of hockey.
Fantalytica, which just launched in January 2021, is a fantasy hockey analytics platform that leverages proprietary tools to help manage, research and find value in NHL prospects for dynasty and keeper leagues. Fantalytica is also appealing for UFFS scouts, with plans to develop UFFS-specific filters for identifying the top available prospects at various levels.
“UFF Sports is growing an incredible idea into a cultivating new experience for fantasy hockey consumers,” said Robert Love, founder of Fantalytica.tech and manager of business development for EliteProspects. “We are very excited and proud to be a partner of UFFS, and hope to provide fantastic opportunities for consumers to grow the value of their fantasy teams.”
UFF Sports is a fantasy sports ecosystem mirroring the real world 1:1 through digital asset (NFT) ownership. UFFS debuted with hockey and currently consists of two leagues — the Ultimate Fantasy Hockey League (NHL) and the UFAHL (AHL), featuring a combined 64 franchises following the recent expansion auction that fetched $10K USD for the 32nd franchise in the UFHL — with plans to expand to every sport at every level.
That will include junior and minor leagues as well as Legends simulation leagues in the future, assuring forever value for all competitive athletes as digital assets (NFTs). Wherever they are playing in the real world, they will be playing in the UFFS equivalent leagues on this platform, with their real world stats contributing to the gameplay — aside from the Legends.
The UFFS scouting program provides an opportunity for aspiring scouts to monetize their eye for talent. There are 36 active scouts as of today — 28 branded as agencies — with several real world scouts operating on the UFFS platform, including former NHL general manager and Stanley Cup champion Craig Button.
“This platform offers the most realistic experience for GMs and scouts. It can be a proving ground and a portfolio for real world careers,” said Charanduk. “We mimic the real world leagues as closely as possible, from roster sizes and salary caps down to the most minute details. This is as close as you’ll come to being an NHL GM in the fantasy world.”
UFF Sports is expanding to golf in August — having recently unveiled the Ultimate Fantasy Golf Association (UFGA) — and a handful of other sports will be announced in the coming weeks and months, with hopes of having seven sports and eight leagues (two hockey) by the end of 2021.
UFF Sports has been functioning in beta form since January 2020 while transitioning from the Ethereum network to the Zilliqa blockchain over the past year. Zilliqa offers faster transactions with much lower fees as the most efficient blockchain partner for the UFFS platform.
UFF Sports is also on the verge of launching their in-game token, the Score Coin (SCO). That private sale starts May 1, with the public sale to follow on June 1.
“It’s been a whirlwind first year for UFF Sports, but everything is trending up in the present and for the future,” said Charanduk. “NFTs are all the rage right now and our NFTs come with utility and sustainability — our NFTs have staying power!
“This token sale is another huge step for us and we have big plans beyond fantasy sports with DeFi projects and more. Exciting times ahead!”
