CONFIDENTIAL · FOUNDATION SQUAD · APRIL 2026
FOUNDATION
SQUAD UPDATE
Q1 / 2026
For our 1,000 Foundation Squad members only. Q1 is done. Foundations laid. Here's a plain-English read on what we've shipped, what's live, and where we're heading. Thank you for being here from the start.
The path is clear.
March 2026: SEC and CFTC issued joint guidance classifying fan tokens as digital collectibles. Not securities. We were building for this anyway. Now we've got the wind behind us.
Four problems nobody's fixed.
- 01Fans turn up on the weekend. Clubs don't know who they are by Monday.
- 02Women's rugby, Sevens, grassroots. Chronically underfunded, not because fans don't care, but because there's no channel.
- 03Fan data sits fragmented across multiple platforms. Clubs own almost none of it.
- 04Fans have no real say in the game they give everything to.
EVERYTHING WE BUILD ANSWERS ONE OF THESE. IF IT DOESN'T, WE DON'T BUILD IT.
Live. In production.
RUGBYID MVP
The identity layer powering fan lifetime value across rugby. Deployed and live in production.
LOCKEROOM (COMMUNITY APP)
Custom-owned, standalone app capturing zero-party data across all fans. Designed, built, ready for rollout. lockeroom.app
RUGBYDAO WEBSITE
Live with core positioning and Fan Pass narrative. therugbydao.com
FAN PASS MECHANICS + TOKEN STRATEGY
Complete and ready for TGE. Sitting in the pocket until the market makes sense and we've got more runs on the board.
The infrastructure layer.
The core infrastructure powering fan identity, XP, wallets and rewards across RugbyDAO and every future partner. Sprint 2 underway, building for EVM.
ARCHITECTURE
Multi-tenant XP system · soulbound tokens · auto-issued wallets at login and checkout · Auth0 + Ethereum Sign-In.
TIMELINE
5 sprints · ~6 weeks to MVP. Sprint 1 completes ~16 April 2026.
STACK
TypeScript / Node.js · PostgreSQL · AWS · Solidity (OpenZeppelin)
Direct-to-fan rugby. Connected.
The global, connected direct-to-fan rugby app where rightsholders, creators, and brands own and grow their fan relationships.
PLATFORM LAYER
Shared platform with branded channels. Converts events, merch, content and moments into fan touchpoints that unlock access, community, experiences.
POWERED BY RUGBYID
A portable fan identity layer that captures and compounds fan LTV across identity, engagement and commerce into a unified fan profile.
ROLLOUT
Rugby Europe partnership (3–4 key national teams to start). Aim: 49 member nations · 8,300 clubs · 3M registered players · 11M fans. Additional teams and creators launching Q3.
49
NATIONS
8,300
CLUBS
3M
PLAYERS
11M
FANS
What we are. What we aren't.
WE ARE NOT
- A crypto group trying to buy a rugby club.
- A fan token dressed up as a platform.
- An experiment running on rugby.
WE ARE
Infrastructure built for rugby. For its clubs, unions, players, and fans. Sitting underneath the existing game, not replacing any part of it.
Rightsholders keep their brand, their fans, their commercial independence. What they gain: a shared identity layer, a shared rewards economy, and a fan base that compounds across the sport instead of fragmenting across 50 disconnected apps.
WE'RE BUILDING THE RAILS. THE SPORT RUNS ON THEM.
Delayed. Deliberately.
Not because it's not ready, because we'll be launching it inside our Community App when timing is right. A tiered membership token enabling fans to:
- Propose, vote, and shape fan-led initiatives.
- Gain exposure to rugby-related IP and landmark projects.
- Fund projects, clubs and contributors via a transparent, community-led treasury.
- Access members-only experiences, squads and events.
- Earn RugbyXP for engagement and early access to $RUGBY token launch.
FOUNDATION SQUAD: HIGHEST TIER. ON THE HOUSE.
Token Generation Event.
SUPPLY
Total supply: TBD.
OG ALLOCATION
Foundation Squad holders sit within the 20% OG allocation pool, two-year vesting, monthly unlocks.
UTILITY-FIRST
Earn via real fan behaviour (attendance, spend, content, engagement). Spend on upgrades, access, rewards. No pay-to-win.
GOVERNANCE, 3-LAYER
- Fan Voice, XP-weighted (non-transferable). Rewards catalog, quests, activations.
- Token Voice , $token-weighted. Treasury allocations, staking pools, emissions.
- Councils, Fan-elected reps, former players, grassroots leaders. Manage thematic sub-treasuries (Women's Rugby, Sevens, Grassroots).
Applications opening soon.
Councils won't stay abstract. We're opening applications for seats on the first RugbyDAO Treasury Council, the body overseeing how DAO capital flows into Project Squads.
Foundation Squad gets first access. The Council is seated well before TGE so governance isn't something we flick on at launch, it's something we've already practised. Full details and application window landing in a dedicated note shortly.
Rugby isn't football.
It doesn't move at the speed of a trading tab, and neither does its community. We're building for clubs, unions, and fans who think in seasons, tours, and tournament cycles. Launch a token into the wrong window and you don't just underperform, you burn the trust you need for the next ten years.
The market's been loud. Projects that rushed TGE with no utility got punished in public. The ones that built quietly and launched into real product are still standing.
THE WINDOW FOR A RUGBY-NATIVE PLATFORM GETS BETTER THE LONGER WE WAIT, AS LONG AS WE'RE SHIPPING.
Roadmap.
Q2 2026
Identity issuance · RugbyOS beta · First partner XP integrations live.
Q3 2026
Rugby partner expansion · Cross-competition XP · Marketplace redemptions open.
Q1 2027
Expanded partners and rewards layers.
Q2 2027
$RUGBY TGE · Staking-for-status opens · Governance v1 live · DAO treasury active.
When we started this, the pitch was simple. Rugby deserves better infrastructure. The people who love the game should own a piece of what comes next.
Three years in, that hasn't changed. Almost everything around it has sharpened.
This doesn't ship on the back of one person. What's in front of you in Q1, RugbyID live, RugbyOS in build, Community App ready, BIL Pilot, 5+ partnerships in motion, is the work of a small, relentless team.
DAVID ROBERTSON has carried the strategic weight and the partner conversations that don't show up on a product screenshot but make the rest of it possible.
MATT HYMERS has turned rough ideas into product and community architecture that is connected, innovative, and built for revenue.
THE DEV TEAM has shipped, quarter after quarter, against a spec that keeps sharpening as we learn.
AND YOU, THE FOUNDATION SQUAD, backed this before there was a product to back. That's the hardest kind of belief to extend. None of us take it lightly.
MORE SOON. DOOR'S OPEN.
WADE CAWOOD
Founder, RugbyDAO
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