Alipay Top Scorer trophy unveiled for UEFA Nations League

Alipay's distinctive trophy will be awarded to the top scorer at the 2021/22 UEFA Nations League finals, with the winner's scoring records being uploaded to blockchain for permanent storage.

Sculpted in the shape of the Chinese character "支" (pronounced zhi, and meaning 'payment' as well as 'support'), the barefooted player on the trophy reflects the egalitarian footballing ideal that success on the pitch comes regardless of background or status. The hash code on the base of the trophy, meanwhile, underlines AntChain's commitment to ensuring a permanent, incorruptible record of the top scorer's achievements with blockchain technology.

AntChain, the flagship technology brand of Ant Group, announced a new five-year global partnership around blockchain technology with UEFA earlier this year. According to the agreement, AntChain will become the official global blockchain partner of UEFA national team football.

Blockchain technology is a method of recording data to ensure that there is a permanent, widely-distributed record of every update, ensuring that transactions cannot be hacked or retrospectively tampered with. Now blockchain is being deployed by AntChain to store top scorer records too, not just for the UEFA Nations League, but also for youth football in its native China via Alipay's Campus Top Scorer Incentive Programme.

In 2004, Alipay was established as an escrow service to address a lack of trust between online buyers and sellers in China's budding e-commerce market. Today, Alipay has transformed into a leading payment and lifestyle platform. As the world's most-used mobile app outside of social apps, Alipay is committed to building trust and supporting commerce both online and offline.