Russia’s Football Association Uses Blockchain Voting at Virtual Summit

Tim Alper
Last updated: | 1 min read

Blockchain has found a new role in the world of sport – and football in particular – with the Russian Football Union (RFU) adopting blockchain voting, allowing the governing body to do away with paper ballots and hold virtual summits.

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The RFU, headquartered in Moscow, is the official governing body of football in Russia. With the coronavirus pandemic still raging in the nation, the RFU decided to hold its annual conference on October 2 online, rather than risk a physical meetup.

With a number of pressing matters to vote on, the RFU decided to enlist the aid of one the nation’s leading software providers, Kaspersky Lab. The latter provided its Polys blockchain-powered virtual meetings platform, which allows participants to register their votes on a “tamper-proof” blockchain network.

The RFU has some 160 regional delegates based all over Russia and items on the agenda today included the election of a new RFU Executive Committee.

Per RIA Novosti Sport, operators stated that the platform would allow “delegates and members of the RFU to vote from any device: PCs, laptops, tablets or smartphones.”

Kaspersky has seen the popularity of its platform surge during the pandemic. It launched the solution back in February this year.

Since the rollout, takers have included the Russian Supreme Court’s Russian Council of Judges, as well as two leading Moscow-based universities: the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration and the Higher School of Economics. The universities have used the platform to elect student leaders and governors.
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