It has been eight months that I am on the platform but don't count the first 3 months because I just signed up and did nothing.

Hibee: A lot of people are saying this. Do you think it takes too much time to onboard?

I think that new users are way overwhelmed and wondering what is actually there. When I arrived, I thought: "WoW, I need to spend hundreds to buy a Rare player".

Each time I published a tweet people were saying: "Look out for Sorare". So I decided to step in after another look. When I came back, there were so UI upgrades and other stuff so I've started to see the appeal a little bit more here.

YNWA: I think that it was hard to get that conversion whether it is for someone that is brand new or whether someone experienced with different types of football games or management games. I think that we do not see the changes on the onboarding so we know things are happening and I think that the retention has always been good for Sorare. I also think that this is due to the enthusiasm and the platform iterations. The learning process is playing a major role as well. Maybe the money barrier was also tackled with the introduction of Limited cards. Although, when you look at the price of Limited cards you see Halaand which is going for 0.9, and Mbappe for 1.2 ETH which is more than for Rares, Super Rares, and even Uniques 24 months ago.

Hibee: It looks like you are scouting a lot. Is there an element that you particularly appreciate in the game?

What I wanted to do is to pay for players that I think are going to see their prices multiplied by x2, x3, or x4 for whatever reason. I did not want to share these purchases during videos because I know that people would have followed me and influence the market. Some of the Rookies purchasing can be explained because I had no idea what I was doing and Rookies were always very very cheap, I guess because they do not play. I bought 30 Rookies for each, between 2$ and 15$. I did not know what I wanted to do and I still do not know what is my plan with Sorare. I do like the idea of trading. And I do like the idea of buying players out of form or injured. But the time investment for me is not clear and some of my players will definitely need time to develop.

YNWA: How did you learn to play the game?

I watched John a little bit, and I think he is a really good content creator but I am not consuming too much content. I mean the first podcast I listened to was yours with John and I learned more listening to that podcast than I did by being on the site myself. So I think the ego inside me wants to think "I can just do it myself" and become this insane Sorare trader. But the reality is that you need to learn and expose thoughts to other lights. It is also difficult to create content about the platform and have as much lacking knowledge as I do. I'm still learning about different trends and things on a weekly basis. I don't want to influence anyone, but I hope I am not misleading anyone with what I am doing.

YNWA: We want to bring more knowledge and more content to the podcast. There are many other side games played by people from different backgrounds. Contrary to FIFA, there is not so much content about Sorare that I think people want to consume. The main aspect that is important in my opinion is the DNPs because the game is so heavily tournaments oriented and you want players to score 60 and plus. But the point is how do you deliver this content in a fun way?

I think there are tons of content to be made about Sorare. Building line-ups can be a great type of content. Something I want to do, especially for the low-budget managers, is content like:

• How to beat the game without spending money?
• 100$ to 200$ challenge
• Mbappe vs Halaand (or content that can be linked to other content creators because we own the same cards)
• Long-term stories for players I possess to explain the ups and downs as well as the consequences for the leaderboard

Sorare and FUT

Imagine using your cards in FIFA.

Some people are saying NFTs are scams. Some are saying that FIFA is a scam because you pay, you play, but you don't get anything in return.

Let's think that you can use your Sorare cards in FIFA and win ETH. The owner of the Halaand Unique (265 ETH) would possess a terrific competitive advantage, and FIFA could become much more exciting.

Sorare has multiple facets that FUT has.

Hibee: The card element drives people to spend money. What will help the FUT community to come to Sorare?

I don't have a particular thing, and I cannot say: do that, and it will work.

Finding relevant cards takes too long so I think Sorare can improve this aspect.

YNWA: Do you feel that Sorare is a collectible game?

Nope. The collectible aspect is appearing on Sorare because if you click on a card, you can see this card in a particular wallet. So it emphasizes the property.

But the Sorare NFTs have different utilities. We need to find more utilities.

YNWA: Offering experiences thanks to NFTs will add some utility. For example, if there was a Liverpool Player of the Month. I'm sure that there is a new twist that Sorare can find. The most important thing is to be able to win something that will never be auctioned. You also need to find reasons for people to connect every day.

Hibee: Regularity is key. For most people, it is the Transfer Market. But when you are happy enough with your collection, then what happens?

YNWA: SorareMega is an excellent example because every day you connect, you get 10 points. If thousands of people are connecting daily, that would help the game progress.

SorareBrag has massive potential in terms of content creation.

I would love the ability to put notes on a player.

YNWA: The club shop we have already spoken about. We have the "Best 5" and the Hall of Fame. There are other features like "following" people, but what do we do next? We can expect something different within the next 6 to 12 months.

Hibee: We need to see more developments over the next few months to keep more managers involved. We also need a timeline to get an idea of when the implementations will arrive (dates or Q1, Q2, Q3...).

I agree because when I began my Sorare journey, I wanted to buy some Rare players but some friends that are content creators told me that the thresholds in ETH will change so I shift my strategy.

YNWA: Each week, we want so many new features. As long as we provide feedback, we can be sure that new features will come. FIFA is a polished game. Sorare is a work-in-progress project. It's almost there because the licenses are there, but the gameplay will continue to evolve.

FIFA is not quite as nearly polished as you think. There are deadlines to respect, and people are tracking every mistake. Even with FIFA, there are so many inconsistencies.

My personal experience regarding Sorare is that it is so limited. SorareData has so much data, and if these data were on the Sorare website, it would be so much better.

YNWA: When you came to Sorare for the first time, and you did not see the Premier League?

When Sorare will get the Premier League onboard, it will be a huge win. That would be massive. One of the pieces of feedback I got from my community is that there is a gambling element, and there is a risk. People are just so uneducated on the whole NFT scene that it is super important to explain why it is not a scam.

YNWA: There was an LFC tweet, and under these tweets, we can see "anti-NFTs". I think there are three categories: people on the rollercoaster, people like us that love the utility of NFTs, and people that are experiencing fear. That disruption that NFTs are having, in general, is super exciting and I still maintain that Sorare has a big chance to be a leader in NFTs.

Yes, I totally agree, and I think that is why Sorare has so much potential. With the Sorare NFTs, you have utility. And I ask people: how would you do that if you need to show me your best collectibles? Indeed, you will take a picture of your cards. So you just send me a digital version of a physical item. That is why Sorare can reach a global audience in the video gaming industry as well as in the sports industry.

YNWA: Again, the ownership of NFT can provide other experiences. There is no reason that the ownership of a card cannot bring a remarkable drop of something.

Next steps as a Sorare manager

YNWA: What are your goals for 2022?

I want to start building good returns. I want to win more rewards. I want also to be more into stats.

The time, the money, and the passion I have for football and NFTs, I want these elements to make me a big fish on Sorare.

YNWA: It is fascinating that the Sorare cards are not that liquid. How liquid is this market vs the FUT market? I know there are more users on FUT, but there are also more users.

On FUT, the market is much more liquid.

Hibee: We have seen in one month +1300 users with at least one card that joined Sorare. The growth is impressive.

YNWA: I think that arbitrage opportunities are becoming less important than before.

Hibee: I disagree. We can see that people are looking for any opportunity.

There are a lot of opportunities if you have the knowledge. We have so many transfer rumors on Discord that gamers are looking for. This approach can bring a lot of people to Sorare.

YNWA: There is a new website that is sorareclub.com, and this website includes a news feed. I'm sure that having a great news aggregator is a massive advantage. Some people can also have an excellent reputation by publishing rumors faster than others.

Haaland Unique

YNWA: I think it was one of the most publicized auctions since the very beginning. We had the golden auctions with Kevin De Bruyne as well as Mbappe, but Mbappe did not have the same coverage as the Haaland one.

Many people were criticizing Zima because of the potential non-ability to get returns (yield) on this card.

YNWA: Yeah, it is a lot of money. In the end, Zima Blue is always there, and we can all see the impressive records he has for the last few months. He is consistently selling more than he was buying. Other managers have around 280 ETH in their wallets. The hard work is starting here because he has also a lovely Bastoni Unique card. With this card, he can compete to get 4 ETH every weekend by competing in the All-Star Unique. I think that the point that is being made is that certain managers could more easily yield this card. As I say on the BlackPool Discord channel, this card is not about utility it is also about collectibility. It is the very first Haaland, it may be the only Haaland at Dortmund if he is transferred this summer. I decided not to go for the card because I did not find a reason to justify going beyond the 265ETH that were there. Zima is gonna have a target on his back for any big under-23 cards now. There will be a lot of politics in the Unique market now in the following months as I said on Twitter, there are still 35 to 40 big names that are not listed yet. Will they get listed before the end of the season? I don't know. If they do, I can predict these cards to be sold between 30 and 40 ETH. Prior to Haaland 265 ETH, we had a Mbappe 116ETH, but that was when ETH was a lot lower. Prior to that, we had Neymar 75 ETH, again when ETH was a lot lower. I was able to pick up in a private sale with Zuraw Pedri for 40 ETH, and Donnarumma on the market for 42 ETH. That are big big differences. From my perspective, a lot of politics will occur.

It is exciting, and questions from my viewers are always related to how much will be impacted the value next year when Sorare will release another Haaland Unique.

YNWA: It may impact, or it may not. When Zima is bidding 265ETH, that means that there was someone prepared to pay 240ETH. If there were not, you would not pay 265ETH. Whatever price you compete for with someone in an auction, you press the button when you are ready to pay 10% more than someone else. It was me at the end who was prepared to pay 240, but I know that there were 3 other people ready to pay 240ETH and the winning amount of 265ETH. Maybe next year, he can sell for 220ETH and make a decent amount of profits in fiat. With this card, you can also win super good prizes like other Haaland or cards worth 20 to 30 ETH. If you play with this card for 6 to 8 seasons, you can get a crazy return on investment.

We do not see things from this perspective, and listening to what you say because you know, it is super interesting to understand the thinking process of someone picking up this kind of new fresh card.

YNWA: Division 1 gets more competitive every week, regardless of what people tell you. Because the combinations are much more limited, you can compete against a lineup composed of Neymar, Mbappe & Musiala or Neymar, Mbappe & Kimmich. I try to put myself in someone else shoes to predict, "if I have these cards, what should I do?". Division 1 is an intimate game. I'm playing against El fenomeno, SorareItalia, Rocxy, Zuraw... and competing for Division 1 under 23.

That are great insights. What does that mean for new users? If Sorare wants to catch up with a new public. Because what you said means that if someone wants to compete but is not backed by millions, he has no chance to win.

YNWA: Desirable cards will always be desirable cards. It was confirmed in the physical world and true in the digital one. The value is in the top 1, 2, or 3% of the cards. There is a natural progression from Division 4 to 3, to 2, and 1. I want fewer rewards for tournaments, and I'm advocating for collectible tasks. If people were rewarded as much as for competing in tournaments for collecting, there would have two paths to success. The fundamentals now of Sorare lead to Tier 3 and Tier 2 cards that have absolutely no value. There is an idea that I propose is to provide a reward for people able to align 5 players of a particular club. Imagine the effect on the market. Now imagine this effect on people playing in the Unique market.

A lot of the FUT users are interested to unpack players and getting the same chance to have top players as average players. Gamblers are dreamers and want to hit the jackpot.

YNWA: There are different ways you can reward people. I think that needs to be rewarded for longevity. The people that planned also need to be rewarded. Next season, Haaland could be a price next season, but to unlock this price, you need consistency. Some gameplay can be to have 50 players, and you can only use players once. If there are ways to win Unique and Super Rare, it would be a chance to climb and progress. This may give people the belief to think about the jackpot scenario. If the progression curve is clear, then, you can buy players to compete in the divisions of your choice. For example, for 7 ETH, you can buy Salah and Alison Rares to compete in Divison. But you can also build a Division 3 team with this 7 ETH. To build a competitive team in Division 2 or Division 3 with 7 ETH, in my opinion, is much more clever. Because in Division 4, it will be difficult to get into the top positions because the combination is multiple, and you will compete with thousands of stacks. Indeed, yes, that may not be the best choice based on value. If you have good cards, even if the value of your cards drops by 30%, but the system of Sorare is able to attract a million users, the supply & demand would compensate for the potential drop of 30%.

According to my background, it is hard for me to influence people to sign-up and spend money actively. If the value drops by 30%, I would feel so bad.

YNWA: I would not put myself into difficult positions, but as you said, monetizing the knowledge can be dangerous.