TOPGOAL's Footballcraft European Cup Airdrop: How It Worked and What Happened After

On June 14, 2024, over 191,000 people signed up for an airdrop that promised free NFTs tied to a football game they’d never heard of. By July 1, only 10,000 of them got the reward. This wasn’t some random crypto scam. It was TOPGOAL’s Footballcraft European Cup Airdrop - one of the biggest Web3 sports events of the year. But here’s the real question: Did it work? And what happened to all those people after the hype faded?

What Was the Footballcraft European Cup Airdrop?

The Footballcraft European Cup Airdrop was a timed campaign by TOPGOAL to get football fans into its AI-powered mobile game, Footballcraft. The goal? To onboard non-crypto users into Web3 by linking real-world football excitement - the 2024 UEFA European Championship - with a digital experience. The reward? 10,000 special edition NFT mystery boxes, each tied to the tournament.

Unlike typical airdrops that ask you to follow a Twitter account and call it a day, this one was complex. You had to complete nine steps: join Twitter, Telegram, Discord, download the app, add TOPGOAL to your CoinMarketCap watchlist, retweet with tags, get a Partner Code from CoinMarketCap’s Diamond Store, and enter it in the app. It wasn’t just about signing up - it was about proving you were serious.

Why so many steps? Because TOPGOAL wasn’t chasing quick numbers. They wanted users who’d stick around. And it worked - at first. The Discord server grew 387% during the campaign. The app saw a spike in downloads. CoinMarketCap, with over 100 million monthly users, helped spread the word. But complexity came at a cost.

How Did People Actually Participate?

Most participants spent between 18 and 22 minutes completing all nine steps. That’s longer than most people spend deciding what to watch on Netflix. For crypto veterans, it was manageable. For a casual football fan who just wanted to get a free NFT? It was a headache.

Reddit user u/CryptoSoccerFan92 said they spent three days troubleshooting because the Partner Code wouldn’t register. Trustpilot reviews from July 2024 show 42% of users praised the airdrop’s organization - but 58% complained about glitches, confusing instructions, and app crashes. One user wrote: “I did everything right. The app said ‘code accepted.’ Then nothing. I had to email support twice.”

The technical requirements weren’t easy either. Footballcraft needed Android 8.0+ or iOS 13.0+. That meant older phones - common in emerging markets where football fans are most numerous - were locked out. And if you didn’t already have a crypto wallet? You had to create one. That’s another barrier.

Even the “simple” steps had hidden traps. Twitter verification sometimes took hours to sync. Telegram groups had bots that misdirected newcomers. Discord servers were flooded with spam. The airdrop wasn’t just hard - it was messy.

What Did People Get?

Winners didn’t get cash. They didn’t even get $GOAL tokens. They got mystery boxes - NFTs that unlocked in-game items in Footballcraft. Think virtual jerseys, player cards, or boosts for your AI-controlled team. No direct monetary value. No trading on OpenSea. Just in-game perks.

That’s intentional. TOPGOAL isn’t trying to be a crypto trading platform. It’s trying to be a game. The $GOAL token powers the ecosystem, but the airdrop was about locking users into the Footballcraft experience. The idea? Once you’re in the game, you’ll want to keep playing. Maybe even spend real money on upgrades.

But here’s the catch: Footballcraft is still in Early Access. The game is functional, but it’s rough. Players report AI behavior that doesn’t feel realistic, lag during matches, and a UI that’s clunky. If you’re used to FIFA or eFootball, this feels like a beta test. And that’s exactly what it is.

Did It Attract the Right People?

TOPGOAL claimed it wanted to bring “the next 4 billion sports fans” into Web3. That’s a bold claim. The global football fanbase is around 4 billion. But Web3 adoption? Around 1.2 million daily active users across all blockchain games, according to DappRadar in mid-2024.

The airdrop pulled in 191,499 participants - huge for a Web3 gaming project. But how many of them were real football fans? Or just crypto hunters chasing free NFTs? Discord analytics showed a 63% drop in daily active users after the airdrop ended. That’s not retention. That’s churn.

Compare this to Sorare, which raised $680 million in 2022 by letting fans collect real-world player cards. Or Chiliz, which partners with real clubs like Barcelona and Juventus to issue fan tokens. Those platforms have legitimacy. TOPGOAL has no official team partnerships. No licensed players. No real-world data feed. Just AI simulations.

That’s the core tension. Footballcraft is trying to be a next-gen football game. But without real teams, real stats, or real players, it’s hard to convince fans it’s more than a gimmick.

How Does It Stack Up Against Other Web3 Games?

Most Web3 game airdrops are simple: connect your wallet, earn tokens. TOPGOAL’s was different. It demanded social proof, app downloads, and platform integration. That made it harder - but also more selective.

Immutable’s $IMX airdrop in 2024? Just connect a wallet. 2 million participants. Low barrier. High volume. Low retention.

TOPGOAL? High barrier. Lower volume. But higher potential for engagement - if the game delivers.

Industry analysts at Messari called it “an ambitious but high-risk proposition.” They weren’t wrong. The sports gaming market is worth $13.5 billion. But Web3 games still struggle to retain users. The average 7-day retention rate for blockchain games in Q2 2024? Just 12.3%.

TOPGOAL’s biggest advantage? Partnerships. Binance, OKX, CoinMarketCap, and BNB Chain backed the campaign. That gave it credibility. No other Web3 football game had that level of exchange support. But partnerships don’t fix a bad game.

What’s Happening Now?

As of October 2024, Footballcraft remains in Early Access. The European Cup Airdrop is over. The mystery boxes are distributed. The hype has cooled.

TOPGOAL’s roadmap says they’re working on “full game launch with expanded AI features” and “official team partnerships.” But as of December 2025, no team has been announced. No major update has been released. The app still has the same glitches. The Discord server is quiet.

The $GOAL token is still listed on major exchanges. But trading volume is low. Most of the 191,499 participants never touched the token. They got their NFTs, played for a week, and moved on.

Is TOPGOAL dead? No. But it’s stuck. It got the attention. Now it has to deliver the experience.

Was It Worth It?

For the 10,000 winners? Maybe. They got free NFTs. Some used them. Most didn’t.

For TOPGOAL? They spent over $3 million on the airdrop. That’s a massive investment. If even 5% of participants become long-term users, it might pay off. But right now, the numbers don’t show it.

The real lesson? Airdrops don’t build communities. Games do. If Footballcraft doesn’t become fun, immersive, and smooth by 2026, all those 191,499 sign-ups will be forgotten. And TOPGOAL’s dream of bringing “the next 4 billion sports fans” into Web3 will stay just that - a dream.

The European Cup is over. The NFTs are in wallets. Now the real test begins: Can a game built on AI and blockchain actually make football fans care?