Oxford City Football Club is reportedly gearing towards being the pioneering National League football club to accept matchday payments in BTC when the season begins on Aug. 6th. 

Specifically, the development will reportedly make it possible for customers to buy tickets, food, and drink at Oxford City’s RAW Charging Stadium using Bitcoin facilitated by the Lightning Network. Legacy payment measures like cash and card are still accepted.

At the moment, Oxford City Football Club (OCFC) is a member of the sixth tier of English football, the National League South. The club entered a multi-year collaboration with CoinCorner, a firm headquartered in the Isle of Man. 

CoinCorner will reportedly provide sponsorship in a back-of-shirt manner for the club and released a limited edition Oxford City FC Bolt Card to mark the occasion.

The Hoops, as referred to in the local scene, will sport a BTC logo on the back of the matchday shirts, as included in the scope of the collaboration between CoinCorner and the team. CoinCorner is also the official match sponsor for Oxford City FC’s (OCFC) opening game on Aug. 6.

Also on that day, Peter McCormack’s pro-Bitcoin football club, Real Bedford, will reportedly add Bitcoin to its list of payment measures for matchday tickets. Nonetheless, the Bedford team plays in a lower local league, the Spartan South Midlands League.

CoinCorner CEO Danny Scott provided explanations that OCFC is the “first adopter of Bitcoin payments in the National League.”

“We believe this move will set a trend across Non-league and Football League divisions as digital currency establishes itself as the new normal for sports fans and event-goers across the U.K.”

Bitcoin advocate and founder of OxBit – the Oxford Bitcoin meetup – Coach Carbon reportedly shone further light into the way the deal took place. In December last year, OCFC hosted the Bitcoin Ballers Winter Cup festival – a Bitcoin-focused footballing day out.