Subject: Official Staff announcements.

Dev Diary #71 - Finance reform - the first step


Today I wanted to return to an issue that was already announced at DD#69, i.e. the reform of club finances.
At that time we were already seeing a noticeable process of steady wealth increase for clubs at every league level.
To a large extent, this is the result of a lack of cost balancing for significantly increased ticket revenues. We announced at the time that we were considering various scenarios but we want to make a final decision after a thorough analysis of the financial data - to ensure that no group of users is either harmed or privileged.

What did the analysis of club finances reveal?
- After the competition reform, at each league level average revenues significantly exceeded average costs.
- Before the competition reform, the average weekly "financial result" was better in the higher leagues - but this was a minor difference.
- After the competition reform, the gap increased significantly, which meant that clubs in the high leagues made very high profits, while those in the lower leagues also gained, but not as spectacularly.

That's why our efforts are focused on rebuilding the correct balance on two levels:
- On a club scale - to balance costs and revenues.
- On a global scale - to eliminate significant differences in profits between teams playing at different league levels.

It is easy to conclude from this that the reform will affect strong teams to a greater degree.

As you are probably used to prosperity and have forgotten that you need to keep an eye on costs, making all the changes suddenly could be painful for some of you, so we decided to divide it into two parts.

Part one, introduced with the upcoming season will be about COSTS.

Increase in salaries of all field players:.
- We have made a simple assumption that fits in with the results of our analysis, which pointed to the need to increase the running costs of all teams, but to the greatest extent of the top ones.
- Therefore, all field players, with the age update, will have their salaries increased, but the better the player, the higher the increase will be.

Decrease in goalkeeper salaries:.
- The salaries of these players have always been ruled by slightly different rules and this will remain the case. Goalkeepers' salaries will still be relatively high, but will be slightly reduced.
- After the changes, the best field players will be able to earn more than the top goalkeepers.

Below, to better illustrate the effect of the above changes, is the result of a simulation of the changes in player salaries for Poland after this season:



You may notice that the increase in players' salaries, depending on the league level, is in the range of 15% to 33% which should translate into an increase in overall running costs of a few to a dozen percent.

Change in player sales tax:.
- The existing player sales tax will increase from a marginal 5% to a more reasonable 10%.
- The tax on listing a player remains unchanged.

Part two, scheduled for further season will refer to REVENUE.

Over the coming season, we will evaluate the effects of the implemented cost changes and only after a thorough analysis will we introduce a second adjustment - relating to revenue.
At this point, we anticipate that the increase in costs related to players' salaries will still not offset the increase in revenue after the competition reform.
Therefore, the most likely scenario will be a reduction in match revenues.
We plan to change the behaviour of fans, who will, as a result, become more responsive to ticket prices.
Therefore, in order to maintain the current attendance, price reductions will be necessary.
How much? This we will know after the upcoming season.
(edited)

CLARIFICATION

A player's salary is his personal characteristic, solely dependent on his skills.
In the same way, a player's salary increase is purely related to his skills - the higher, the higher the increase.
Since there are more players with high skills in the higher leagues, the average increase is highest there.
Every player will have the same salary regardless of which league he plays in.

The fact that the average height in the top division in Poland is calculated at 33% does not mean that this will also be the case in other countries.
In every country, at every level, in every team, the increase will be due strictly to the player's personal salary increases related only to his personal skills.

Dev Diary 72: New Pressroom and dev update.


Welcome to the verge of another season.
This is a good time to present some news, update on previously announced changes and highlight further development plans.

1. PRESSROOM

I am excited to announce that, in the coming days, the existing Pressroom/News tab will be replaced by a completely new view to keep us informed about events at the club.



Initially, automatic notifications will include:
- information on call-ups to national teams
- national team match reports
- information about an alumni player on the transfer list
- information about new members of the youth team

The list is not closed and we already have some ideas for further notifications, for example::
- club records (individual and team achievements, record transfers)
- information on fan expectations
- reports on the most interesting training effects

At the other hand, we are realising that nobody knows better than you what other information should be there, so there will be a special forum topic where we will be waiting for YOUR IDEAS, and we will implement the best and most popular ones!

Some of you have asked about further plans for the CLUB NEWSPAPER. We want to revise this element as well, but for the moment, from a club website perspective it remains the same. The only change is the view of the newspapers in the Word tab of the Pressroom view. Ultimately, we plan to integrate these functionalities more tightly.

If you want to see right now how the new view looks like, check it out at the link: https://sokker.org/en/app/pressroom/inbox/

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2. FINANCIAL REFORM

As we announced prior to last season, the financial reform is not yet complete. We are not backing down from these declarations and we see the need to fine-tune club income and costs, however, we have decided that one season of observation after the introduced salary changes is not enough and we are postponing further steps until at least the following season. Thus, with the new season, the announced new algorithm counting the number of fans in the stadiums and thus adjusting ticket revenues will not be introduced.

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3. FURTHER PLANS

Below, for the moment without details, are the topics we are currently working on. More detailed information will follow as the implementation deadline approaches.
- we will introduce fan expectations set at the beginning of the season and a new fan mood system based on them.
- we will replace sponsorship bonuses with rewards for relevant league places - this will allow the bonuses to be better aligned with attitude throughout the season and not just at the end of it.
- we will extend the substitutes' bench to 7 places.


I hope you are satisfied with the information provided.
In the coming season, I wish you good luck and satisfaction in the pursuit of your goals.

Dev Diary 73: Bonuses, Expectations, Payments etc.


Dear Users,
Traditionally, during the inter-season break I would like to summarise the previously announced changes and introduce some new ones.
Details below.



BONUSES, EXPECTATIONS, FINANCES

Seasonal bonuses

- This season, bonuses will be awarded under the old rules.
- From next season forward, the amount of the bonuses will be directly dependent on your place in the league at the end of the season.
- Approximate bonus amounts can be found in the league statistics under "bonuses".
- For example, for the Italian C.01 series https://sokker.org/league_stats/leagueID/1153/stat_type/bonus.
- Bonuses will be paid after the last round of the season.

Fans' expectations

- As announced, we are introducing seasonal fan expectations.
- Each user, via the press office, will receive information about what expectations their fans have for the upcoming season.
- You can also check the expectations for each team within a league, again using the list of statistics, this time under "expectations".
IMPORTANT: The expectations level for the first season will be for information purposes only.
- From the following season onwards, the level of fulfilment of expectations will be the most important factor influencing fan mood.
- We are currently considering how high an impact, success in cup matches will have on fulfilling expectations.

Financial reform

- Given these changes, we have not yet decided on a final adjustment of the finances by modifying the ticket income.
- We will continue to keep an eye on how the already implemented changes will affect the finances of the game and possible adjustments will not take place until after the next season.


ASSISTANT, PAYMENTS, BENEFITS

We are developing the new payment page with new features:
Here are the main ideas:

- A subscription option linked to the credit card connection will be introduced.
- The prices of the Assistant will be adjusted (they have remained the same for 15 years).
- The type of subscription purchased will affect the benefits received.
- Subscription via credit card will be the most beneficial payment method.
- The core features will remain the same, but you will receive additional benefits if you subscribe or purchase a annual membership.
• saving of training data even during a break in the use of the Assistant (during the break it will not be visible, but the full history will appear after renewal)
• saving the colour of the jerseys and emblems when the subscription expires (with other payment options, the emblems will not be visible when the subscription expires and the jerseys will revert to the default ones)
• the list of additional benefits can be further extended.


NATIONAL TEAMS

In one of the previous change packages, we introduced the possibility for the coaches of the national teams to preview the skills of the players of a given nationality (unless the owner objected). The feature has been on trial activated for all national team coaches, but from next season it will only be available to Assistant owners.


PRESSROOM

During the season, you have had the opportunity to discover how the new Pressroom works. I think this is enough time to evaluate its functionality, so I am launching an official thread where you will be able to submit your ideas on the news that appears in it. Feel free to do so in the international forum HERE.

New qualifying groups were drawn in the correct 16x6 structure.

DevDiary80: “Price is what you pay, value is what you get.”

We have been announcing this for some time and that time has now arrived.
As you know, for many years, disregarding rising costs, inflation, the need to reinvest in the service, we have kept PLUS prices constant.
However, in order to develop the game, provide new features and improve existing ones, we need to adapt to the market and introduce a new price list.
The changes will come into effect at the beginning of October.



But don't worry, we have included some promotions in PLUS's new service delivery model that will allow you to keep your current price up for even another year.



PLUS purchasing models and price lists:

NEW - MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION:

As in many services with which you are familiar, this model will require a credit card and the subscription amount will be charged automatically in advance for the following month.
The standard monthly subscription price is PLN 14.90 or € 3.80/month.

PROMOTION: If you decide to join as a subscriber before the end of November this year (the date of your first card transaction counts) you will receive the special price and a guarantee to keep it for up to another 12 months.
The special price is PLN 8.20 or € 2.10 / month.

How the promotional subscription will work:
- if you have an active PLUS - when you add your credit card, the first payment will be charged and the previously purchased plus will be ‘moved forward one month’. Further payments will not be charged until "old PLUS" expires, and then the promotional price will be maintained until 12 months have passed since the first payment
- if you do not have an active PLUS - the matter is very simple, the first promotional payment will be charged when the card is added, and the promotion will continue for the next 12 months.

Cancellation of subscription::
- You can unsubscribe at any time.
- in this case, you will keep PLUS until the end of the prepaid period, after which it will be switched off.
- if you take advantage of the promotion, subsequently cancel and return to the subscription, the promotional price will no longer applies.


SINGLE PAYMENT:

For those of you who will prefer to stay with your current payment method, packages from 2 months to a year, requiring full payment in advance for the selected period, will still be active.
The new prices are shown in the table above.

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It was already about PRICES - so now about VALUES.

TUTORIAL
We realise that the game can be quite difficult for new users.
That's why we will soon be introducing an easily accessible and clear tutorial to help them understand the rules, mechanics and settle into the game.
And while it may not apply directly to those reading this message, I think we can all agree that the increase in the number of users will reflect positively on the game as a whole.

NEW VIEWS
Several sites will be expanded or refreshed very soon. There will be, for example, a ‘flag collector’ display.

TRAINING OF YOUNG PLAYERS
We will soon introduce changes in the way young players are trained, with the aim of improving the balance between playing for results and investing in squad development through training.

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The next two are new projects, still in the concept stage, which we will be working on in the coming months but will have to wait a little longer for their full introduction.
However, we want you to know that this work is ongoing and as the projects develop, information about them will be brought to you in further news.

YOUTH SQUAD
You often report that the existing junior school system needs to be changed. In fact, despite changes in various areas, this one has remained untouched. We are aware of the need to adapt youth training to the shorter season. We would also like to develop a number of additions and extensions that will make the junior schools more attractive. The changes are intended to be positive for both club teams and the u21 national teams.

CLUB INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS
At the moment we have the Champions League. Prestigious, but also very closed, accessible only to the strongest teams. What if everyone could take part in an international competition, without exception, regardless of country or league level?
That is what we would like to give you. The opportunity to compete against rivals similar to you from other countries. We believe that, especially for small communities, this will be an excellent occasion to strengthen rivalry and develop the team.


We also make minor changes, adjustments and corrections - that's the maintenance work that allows us to boast high availability and service continuity despite occasional slip-ups - and although you can't see this work we do, it doesn't happen by itself.

That's all for today, I hope to be able to bring you more news and details of further plans soon.