Andrew Ivison is a UK-based crypto entrepreneur best known as the CEO of Nifty Football, a project positioned around football themed digital collectibles and gameplay using non-fungible tokens (NFTs). He has also been associated with early stage crypto investing and incubation through roles connected to Alphabit Fund and Launchpool, which have operated in the seed and community crowdfunding segment of the market.
Overview
Ivison’s profile sits at the intersection of crypto venture building and consumer-facing NFT products. Public biographies describe him as active in the crypto sector since 2016, with founder roles that span an investment fund structure and a launchpad style ecosystem for early stage token projects. His best known operating role is leading Nifty Football, which has promoted a model that combines collectible NFT “player cards” with competitive gameplay mechanics.
History and Background
CryptoSlate biographical information lists Ivison as entering crypto in 2016, later becoming a founder of the Alphabit Fund in 2017 and a co-founder of Launchpool in early 2021. In addition to these founder roles, CryptoSlate lists his education as a BEng in Engineering from The Open University. His professional track record has largely been framed around building and supporting early stage Web3 projects, often through community-driven distribution and incubation models.
In 2021, Launchpool was publicly linked to ecosystem building initiatives such as the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator in London, which highlighted partnerships between Launchpool and Alphabit in the context of supporting blockchain startups and tokenization-oriented teams.
Core Products and Services
Nifty Football: Nifty Football has been described as an NFT-based football collectables platform and game built on Ethereum. The project has promoted digital trading cards representing football players, designed to be collected and traded, while also being usable in game formats where users assemble squads and compete. Public announcements around the project have emphasized scarcity and uniqueness, with each card minted as an NFT and assigned traits that influence collectability and, in some designs, gameplay utility.
Launchpool and Launchpool Labs: Ivison has been associated with Launchpool and its broader incubation efforts, including Launchpool Labs, which has described itself as a chain agnostic, community-centric incubator that supports early stage teams with product co-building, community development, and pre-seed or seed fundraising pathways.
Technology and Features
Nifty Football’s approach aligns with common patterns in the NFT gaming segment: digital scarcity, tradable on-chain assets, and the use of metadata to encode attributes. By using NFTs, collectible ownership can be transferred peer-to-peer, and authenticity can be verified on-chain, subject to the limitations of smart contract design and marketplace integration. In practical terms, projects of this type tend to rely on well-audited token standards, custody safe user experiences, and marketplace interoperability to support trading liquidity.
- NFT-based player trading cards with trait-based uniqueness
- Secondary market trading dynamics typical of NFT assets
- Gameplay framing centered on squad building and competition
- Integration considerations with wallets, marketplaces, and network fees on Ethereum
Use Cases and Market Position
Ivison’s work with Nifty Football targets sports fandom, collectible culture, and game mechanics that aim to extend engagement beyond passive ownership. Projects in this category often compete with both traditional digital collectibles and established sports NFT platforms, where brand partnerships, licensing clarity, and community traction can materially shape adoption. Positioning a football collectible product as both a trading experience and a competitive game is also a response to a common market constraint: purely collectible NFTs can see demand fall sharply when speculation declines, while utility-driven designs attempt to sustain engagement through gameplay and participation loops.
Funding and Ecosystem Links
Public information most often connects Ivison to early stage crypto funding and incubation via Launchpool and Alphabit. These structures have historically been discussed in the context of seed investment access, token launches, and accelerator style programs. For founders, such networks can provide distribution and advisory support; for participants, they can introduce higher risk exposure typical of early stage token projects. Ivison’s presence across both product building and incubation reflects a broader industry trend in which founders combine consumer applications with capital formation and community-led growth channels.
Risks and Considerations
NFT and sports-adjacent products carry several recurring risks. Licensing and intellectual property are central concerns, especially when projects reference player identities, club brands, or league marks. On-chain collectibles also introduce smart contract risk, marketplace dependency, and custody challenges for mainstream users. Where assets are issued on Ethereum, network congestion and transaction fees can affect user experience and trading behavior.
More broadly, the NFT segment has been cyclical, with demand sensitive to market conditions and shifting collector preferences. Projects that frame NFTs as game assets face additional execution risk, including balancing token economics, designing fair competition systems, and sustaining engagement after initial drops. These factors shape both user outcomes and the long-term viability of NFT gaming businesses.
