UK authorities have frozen £10,024,041.33 in a Barclays account held in the name of The Football Association Premier League Limited, in a move reported to involve Sorare’s first payment under its four-year licence with the Premier League.
The National Crime Agency obtained the freezing order at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in January 2025 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, according to the reporting. The money was reportedly frozen so it could not be moved while investigators examine possible links to alleged third-party criminality.
The measure is a civil recovery tool, not a criminal conviction. The NCA says account-freezing powers are used where courts agree there are reasonable grounds to suspect the money is the proceeds of crime or may be used in crime, and such orders can later be varied or discharged.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the Premier League. Sorare said it was not the subject of an NCA investigation and was not a party to the proceedings, while a Sorare spokesperson said the account in question does not belong to Sorare. The Premier League declined to comment.
The frozen sum was said to be the first payment from the 2023 Sorare-Premier League agreement, which gave Sorare the right to release digital cards featuring players from all 20 Premier League clubs for its free-to-play fantasy football game. When the league announced the deal, it said Sorare had more than three million users worldwide.
Sorare is also separately facing a Gambling Commission prosecution over allegations that it provided gambling facilities without an operating licence, with the trial now postponed until 7 June 2027.
