Cryptocurrency group confirms bold plans to buy League Two side Bradford City

An American cryptocurrency firm has made an ambitious bid to buy League Two side Bradford City.

WAGMI United are believed to be planning to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to create a new model of sports club ownership.

NFTs have no physical form but can be bought or sold. WAGMI held a Twitter "space" announcement on social media on Thursday, without naming any club.

The group outlined their plans, claiming that their end goal was to get the club they purchase into the Premier League. It was later revealed that the club in question is the Bantams.

A report in the Washington Post says that the group's aim is to complete their purchase of an EFL club in the next month.

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It adds that they plan on using sophisticated analytics to drive the club forward.

Despite the speculation of the last 24 hours, Bradford chairman Stefan Rupp released a short statement on Thursday night saying that the takeover was not a formality and that WAGMI had so far only put in an offer to purchase the club.

Mr Rupp said: "Despite various reports claiming a change of ownership is imminent, I can confirm it is not.

"Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a representative of the WAGMI United group with an offer to purchase Bradford City AFC.

"That is all I have received, nothing more, and no further action has taken place."

Bradford are currently 14th in the fourth tier of English football.

This season they appointed Derek Adams as manager, after the Scot led Morecambe to an unlikely promotion into League One last season.

The big problem for City has been turning draws into wins. Of their 21 league games so far, 11 have ended in stalemates and the side are seven points shy of the play-offs.

Despite their lowly position, many see Bradford as team punching well below its weight.

The club has a rich history, having been in the Premier League back in 2001, they have a ground bigger than three current top flight sides and are based in a city with a population of more than 500,000.

All of these are thought to be attractive selling points to any potential owners. Rupp purchased Bradford five years ago but it remains to be seen if he will end his association with the West Yorkshire club by selling up to the crypto-backed firm.

Crypto-currency has taken a more prominent role in sports over the last few years.

In 2018, Turkish side Harunustaspo became the world's first football team to purchase a player using Bitcoin.

More recently, eToro have become major players in advertising and sponsorship after signing deals with the likes of Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Newcastle United.

And in Formula One, back in March, Aston Martin became the first F1 team to partner with a cryptocurrency firm when crypto.com appeared on the brand's cars.