Contents
Since I was a child, football has been a passion. As a teenager I spent hundreds of hours playing Football Managerto become the greatest coach in the game. As time went on, I became more and more fascinated by the economic aspect of the game. After starting out making bogus transfers to get Roberto Carlos back to OM, I gradually looked for challenges by taking small clubs with no budgets, to lead them to Champions League victory.
In 2021 I discovered a new phenomenon: sorare. Based on the blockchain, this game uses NFT technology in the form of cards to buy, use and trade. As a reminder, NFTs are unique tokens certified by a blockchain. A Sorare card belongs to you and you can do whatever you want with it. Some Sorare cards are now worth tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of euros.
To form an opinion on Sorare, I immersed myself in the ecosystem of the site (which since 2022 also has a mobile application), which is addictive and has, for me, a great future. Presentation and opinion on the game, in this Sorare test.
What is Sorare?
Sorare is a very successful French company that raised $ 680 million in September 2021 to reach a valuation of $ 4,3 billion. Publish a game that combines NFT and sports. Having conquered the world of football, the platform announced a partnership with MLB in 2022. Sorare therefore goes beyond football and offers technology that combines NFT and games.
The Sorare concept is based on the possession and use of cards of players of various rarity from the 126 partner clubs of the brand. In our Sorare review below, we will focus on the football part. Twice a week, the platform offers championships that allow you to win rare cards and amounts in Ether, the currency used on the platform.
I made two mistakes before signing up: read carefully if you want to start playing Sorare. The first was not to use sponsorship. In fact, using a sponsorship links (like this one), allows you to receive a "Limited" card for free after winning 5 auctions. Given the value of the cards at the moment, this can be a real incentive for your progress.
The second is the choice of my three favorite teams when signing up. Remember to consult the list of partner clubs (more than 200 to date) and to choose the best ones, because the first cards offered are those of the players of these three clubs. These are the two essential actions to start working on Sorare.
How to play?
Once registered, you have two ways to play:
The first is to just stay in free mode. You can then access the "Rookie Starter" league and the prizes offered are interesting but almost inaccessible with a rare card for the top 3 of the league and basic cards for the others. For information, the last Rookie League I participated in had over 15.000 players. Important point, this Rookie League can only be played 8 times in total, so only beginners can try their luck.
A "day" in Sorare takes place as follows. 5 players are chosen (a goalkeeper, a defender, a midfielder, an attacker + another winger). Based on their performance in real life, they are given a grade. By adding up the scores you get the ranking and the prize.
The second choice is to play in paid mode, and this is where Sorare's potential is immense from my point of view. Sorare offers four types of cards:
- Common cards (unlimited) / White
- Limited cards (1000 per player, per season) / Yellow
- Rare Cards (100 per player, per season) / Red
- Super Rare Cards (10 per player, per season) / Blue
- Single cards (1 per player, per season) Black
All leagues (except the Rookie Starter) require the use of rarity. In my Sorare test and review, I decided to focus on the Fourth Division All Star Championship, which requires at least four rares. This championship offers a rare card to the top 130 players (more or less strong depending on the ranking), and the top 3 win 0,2 ETH, 0,3 ETH and 0,5 ETH. The game can be interesting in the long run because if you score over 205 points you win 0,01 ETH and 0,02 ETH for a score over 250 points. If you build a strong team, you can aim for these goals almost permanently.
An external wallet, such as MetaMask, is required to deposit ETH funds. In the game, you can choose to view the card amount in euros or in ETH. I chose the latter, because the rate varies a lot.
There are over 20 leagues in total for all levels. The further you progress, the bigger the rewards. The Single Card Championship winner wins 3 ETH each day, which is approximately € 4.500 depending on the value of the Ether at the time of writing this Sorare review.
Player trading accessible to all
While your performance in the various leagues will mostly depend on your knowledge in real life (I lost 0,01 ETH because my Russian midfielder got injured on the last day), you can also see Sorare as a trading platform to grow yours. wallet. At any time, you can recover your earnings by withdrawing funds from the platform.
There are three ways to recruit players on Sorare. The first is to use the auction system. New players are introduced to the platform every day and users place bids for them. In the auctions it is also possible to obtain “packages” of 5 players from the same club. As time goes by, more and more clubs and leagues join Sorare, which allows you to go even further.
Tip: Consider joining the game's Discord to communicate with users to trade or negotiate prices. This is for me the most exciting part of Sorare: you really get into the game by becoming the sporting director of your club and making rational investments.
You need to be very smart when buying players. The competition is tough and during this Sorare test I saw very few pricing errors from managers. Also remember to inform yourself well about the players you want to buy, so as not to have any nasty surprises.
Small personal example, I invested 0,08 ETH in Ghoulam who seemed to be back in shape after months of absence, thinking his value would increase. He just suffered a serious injury and, two minutes after his release, more than 10 rare cards were already on sale, with the price dropping. You can also do the opposite by choosing injured players to buy cheaply and use on their return. A little personal message to Jordan Amavi, it was time for him to come back 🙂
Finally, the third way to acquire new players is to take advantage of the cards offered. You can receive rare players thanks to your performances in the league or thanks to the sponsorship that offers you a rare card as soon as you have won 5 auctions. Once registered, you can also sponsor your relatives. When they win 5 auctions, they get a rare card and you too.
Some tips on Sorare
Like any beginner, I have made some mistakes on Sorare. The first was to not go through a Sorare sponsorship link (like this one) to get a free card. Receiving a free card is always an advantage to progress. If you are lucky enough to find a fixed keeper, it is a jackpot.
Another mistake was that I didn't know the market enough when I made certain purchases. I now have three tools to avoid this problem. The first is the SorareDate which is a mine of information about the game. I know, for example, that my club has increased in value by 50% since its launch. The second concerns the well known provideswhich provides all the information about players in real life. The third is the FotMobwhich allows you to receive notifications about specific players and clubs.
Another aspect to keep in mind if you are just starting out: in some leagues the end of the season is near. The market is now turning to the MLS and some Asian leagues that will take place during the summer. Think about this before looking for new players.
It is also important to anticipate the score of your players. Statistics are from Opta e read the explanatory pages on Sorare to assess the potential of your players. Each card also benefits from a bonus based on its experience, which can make a difference on a championship day. Seasons are also important: a 2021 player card entitles you to an instant 5% match bonus on that year's matches. When we move on to the next one, it will lose them and the value will decrease. That said, investing in cards from the past, often cheaper, is in my opinion a good strategy.
The balance of the team is important, it is necessary to find starting players for each position as a priority, as a player who does not play earns zero points. Rare starting goalkeepers are currently extremely expensive in the game. To attack the Global All Star League in Division 4, it is best to rely on a "common" goalkeeper. The valuation of him will lose about 40% of his value, but it is still possible to aim for 250 points this way.
My opinion on Sorare (2022)
After testing Sorare for more than a year, the platform has all it takes to become a phenomenon in France and around the world. The business model is solid: Sorare earns on commissions and above all on each new auction.
Of course, not everything is perfect. Currently the price of the players is very inflated and it is almost impossible to get a rare goalkeeper at an affordable price. However, the platform is very stable and continues to develop day by day. Now it also offers a version for MLB (American baseball) and other sports may still be arriving. Mbappé and Zidane are two new ambassadors who could change the dimension of the project.
A partnership with Ubisoft recently made it possible to use Sorare cards in another game, OneShot, based on the Belgian league. This is just one of the first experiments, and there is no doubt that Sorare cards can be used in other ways than on the platform itself. This is the real difference with NBA Top Shot (our test), which is much more closed. The cards belong to you and you can sell them outside of the game if you wish.
Unlike games like FUT, Sorare will allow you to make a profit on your investment, as long as you make good sales. To do this, you have to be smart and aim for the right players. You can also find a 17-year-old nugget, quit the game, and come back in a few years to resell it. Also beware of addiction, play only the money you don't need.
What do you think of Sorare? Give us your impressions in the comments.
