FC Barcelona shirts are, for millions of fans around the world, much more than merchandise. They are the tangible expression of a collective legacy built over generations. Until now, these items have been resold through informal, fragmented channels outside the club, with no guarantee of authenticity and without the value generated returning to the entity that created them.

The Barça Innovation Hub (BIHUB), Barça Licensing & Merchandising (BLM) and Drelife have joined forces to change this and position FC Barcelona at the forefront of a fast-growing market segment that, until now, operated entirely outside the clubs..

The BIHUB investment: Strategic boost to innovation in sports retail

To bring this initiative to life, BIHUB has formalised its entry as an investor partner in Drelife, a Barcelona-based start-up specialising in circular economy solutions for the retail sector. The investment is part of BIHUB’s strategy to identify and accelerate technology companies capable of transforming the sports industry, providing not only capital but also access to the FC Barcelona ecosystem, specialised sector knowledge and the capacity for global-scale implementation.

With this operation, Drelife becomes the fifteenth start-up in the BIHUB portfolio, alongside Visualfy, OLIVER, Onalabs, CeleBreak, Made of Genes, Fyxbody, Rimbarlat, Genomcore, Omniscope, Riterz, Metrica Sports, Admefy, AdSpective and Scircle, further consolidating BIHUB as a leading innovation and investment vehicle in the sports and technology sectors.

BLM: operator of Barça’s official digital channel

BLM is the company responsible for the full operation of FC Barcelona’s e-commerce platform. Its role in this project is decisive as it ensures that the second life channel is not an external platform but a natural extension of the official store, with all the associated standards of quality, authenticity and service.

BLM’s involvement also ensures that the data generated by this new channel (collector behaviour, demand by shirt type, user profiles) returns to the club as a high-value strategic asset, with a direct impact on commercial decision-making and fan engagement.

Growing market segment now led by the club

The global market for sports merchandise second life is experiencing sustained double-digit growth and is worth billions of euros annually. Until now, however, it has operated entirely outside of clubs: without verification, without guarantees of authenticity and without the economic value generated returning to the originating entities. With this project, FC Barcelona becomes one of the first clubs in the world to reclaim this value, establish a recurring revenue stream from existing assets and generate top-tier knowledge about its fans’ collecting habits.

Àngel Riudalbas, FC Barcelona Board Member in charge of BIHUB and Board Member of BLM:

“Through BIHUB, we wanted to go a step further with Drelife. We will drive a pioneering initiative in the sports industry that will allow us to open up new business avenues for the club. This collaboration will give us the opportunity to transform our retail ecosystem into a more efficient and profitable model, generating recurring income from existing products while strengthening our bond with our fans.”

Beto Miralles, Drelife founder and CEO

“For Drelife, this collaboration with FC Barcelona represents much more than a strategic agreement: it is an opportunity to build a pioneering model that can redefine the relationship between clubs and their retail assets. In my case, it also has a particularly personal dimension, having been part of the club for ten years as a handball player.”

About Drelife

Drelife is a technology platform that enables any brand to activate its own second-life channel immediately and at scale. Its end-to-end infrastructure manages the entire product lifecycle, turning sustainability into a profitable business model. For companies, it provides full control and strategic data that multiplies customer value; for the market, it offers a versatile solution capable of transforming sectors such as sport by converting technical merchandise into verified circular consumption assets.

About BLM

In June 2018, FC Barcelona created BLM (Barça Licensing & Merchandising) to directly assume the management and control of the brand and the exploitation of its merchandising rights, with the aim of continuing its global expansion and advancing its retail business growth plan.

Currently, FC Barcelona has 15 Barça Stores managed 100% by the Club, eight of which were opened during the 2022/23 season. Among them, the Canaletes store stands out as the flagship store and the second largest in terms of surface area, only behind the Spotify Camp Nou store. In addition, the Club also has eight franchised Barça Stores.

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