Hi, Playrs Community!
David Blum is our Team Leader, and has joined us on a Q&A session to answer some pressing questions that you might have!
Please tell us a little about your role at Playrs and what you will be bringing to the table.
I’ve joined Playrs as a Team Leader, and I am very excited to help bring Playrs to the mass market. I have extensive experience as a project manager and as a management consultant, bringing on organisational change and process analysis, as well as executing technical implementations. My strong communication and client service skills enhance Playrs process-driven management philosophy.
What was your profession prior to Playrs, and how did you get into crypto space?
Before Playrs, I was a Managing Director & Business developer in the retail sector. I heard about crypto a few years ago and had an in-depth look into it. I discovered a new world full of transparency that the blockchain brings and I found that there was a significant potential for the market.
What does Playrs mean to you?
Playrs is introducing an innovative analysis mechanism to the market which will provide a unique approach and a new way of looking at a football game, and later other sports — rigorous analysis tools for players will be available in every segment of the sports industry. Fans will no longer be just viewers but contribute to the valuation process of athletes by giving their input.
What problem is Playrs attempting to solve?
Athlete transfers and valuations can be somewhat disorganised. Playrs technology enables real valuation and transparency in the transfer market, eliminating the black market and value fixing. Playrs also helps to identify the real impact of a player on the market (marketing for the clubs, transfer price, etc.). Additionally, Playrs can be used by sports agents or club portfolios, meanwhile having a real-time valuation of players. The Playrs platform can help them know the value of the player, know if the club is making money with this player, and also help them fundraise.
A lot of money is being thrown around in the football world. What is your opinion on this matter?
Currently the money available to clubs far outweighs the available talent in the marketplace. Over the last few years, investments from club owners such as Roman Abramovich have led to dramatic increases in players’ transfer fees as well as players’ salaries. So far, all attempts to regulate the European market have failed (Financial Fair Play only partially restricts teams). Neymar costs PSG 222 million euros in transfer fees, and while this sum seems to be high right now, it will certainly not be the last transfer in this price category. In a few years time, if nothing is done to change the current course, we could see the first ever billion euro transfer!
What was your profession prior to Playrs, and how did you get into crypto space?
Before Playrs, I was a Managing Director & Business Developer in the retail sector. I heard about cryptos a few years ago and had an in-depth look into the space. I discovered a new world full of transparency that the blockchain brings and I found that there was a significant potential for the market.
How do you envision Playrs impacting the Football sector post ICO?
Playrs should be able to achieve two things. Firstly, it aims to involve the fans in the process of determining the value of a player. No one is better positioned to define a player’s worth than the actual supporter who watches the games of his team week in and week out. Secondly, Playrs will help clubs, agents and players to create a fair reference point for negotiation of contracts and transfers.
How does Hello Football relate to Playrs?
Playrs project started three years ago with Hello Football. The initial project was dealing with raw data to evaluate football players. The Hello Football Index uses big data to create a real-time price valuation feed based on every tidbit of information about a player, including football (e.g. player performance), finance (e.g. transfers and contract conditions), and fame (e.g. latest news and social media ranking). The idea behind Playrs was to take this a step further and to improve the already existing system by developing a real-time and a more accurate valuation system, which is done by adding another parameter to the index: “the sentiment.”
Why does Playrs need to be on the blockchain?
Blockchain is used to store information and keep track of data and transactions. Distributed ledgers also enable further legitimacy and security of the data. In this sense, blockchain technology will be used by Playrs to add an extra layer of transparency to its Index, with the use of decentralised data distribution by the community.
As a Team Leader and Project Manager what is a typical day like for you?
Being a Project Manager means dealing with new challenges and deadlines daily. My laptop and my phone are my essential allies and responding to emails and making phone call is my daily routine. My day consists of dealing with partners, preparing events, working hand-in-hand with IT, legal and marketing teams, as well as listening, communicating and providing advice about Playrs to our community and supporters.
Aside from work, what keeps you busy and what do you enjoy doing?
In my spare time, I enjoy playing tennis and going hiking with my family. I also like reading, travelling, photography and playing cards with my friends to relax at the end of a long day.
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If you share our, and David’s passion for changing the football industry, remember you can still join the official Playrs whitelist and get a 20% token bonus!
Our Pre-ICO is right around the corner and starts on the 1st of July 2018. Make sure to also join our Telegram channel to stay up to date on our project.
After all, we’re doing this for the fans!
