Global sailing league SailGP – founded by Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison – and the NEAR Protocol are creating a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to enable fans to be owners of sports teams, according to a statement on Thursday.

"We are ushering in a brand-new era of entertainment by combining sports and technology to elevate the fan experience to a level that has never been seen before, and we’re proud to be leading the way alongside a like-minded organization that shares our core values and vision,” said Marieke Flament, CEO of the NEAR Foundation, the non-for profit entity that oversees development on the NEAR blockchain.A DAO is a blockchain-based form of organization or company governed by code, rather than leaders. Anyone who purchases the DAO’s native token has the right to vote on important matters related to the DAO. The NEAR Protocol’s native token is called NEAR (NEAR), and it’s higher by 7% today.The DAO team could join the SailGP lineup as soon as Season 4 in 2023. Members of the DAO will be able to determine athlete selection, team management and team strategy.Also part of the multi-year partnership, Ellison’s sailing league and NEAR's developers will work on integrated technology and R&D initiatives like ticketing, NFTs, app integration and gaming, as well as global Web 3 community development."We welcome NEAR to the SailGP family and we are looking forward to them participating in the most exciting racing on-water, featuring the world's best sailors," said Ellison.DAO’s have been growing in popularity, with today’s news, the Bessemer Venture Partners DAO, and another that raised $3 million for Ukraine last month as three recent examples.

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