The World Cup Discussion Thread (OOC, Version IV)

[New North Aqmuland]

In case it goes unnoticed, I'm re-writing and updating the (unofficial) history of the World Cup that I used to have on NSwiki before it all went to crap and ended up being essentially wiped. Ideally it'll be better than it was before, but at least it'll be somewhere that people can actually read it and, hopefully, draw some knowledge/inspiration from it.

That's awesome.

[Neu Engollon]

If any of you have sports teams needing sponsors, please sign up HERE.
Could be your national team, or a UICA or MPL domestic club, or any kind of athlete or sports club. Spread the word. Kenega is a puppet of mine.

[Mizuyuki]

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Cup of Harmony Host Announcement

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The live draw for the CoH has been tentatively scheduled to take place circa 22:30 - 00:30 UTC on December 21 - immediately following the conclusion of the group draw for the WC finals - on the #WorldCupDraw channel on EsperNet. The first MD of the CoH is set (again, tentatively at this point in time) to take place on the 29th of December.

And last but not least - a bit of good news for those of you itching to get your RPs posted - the CoH everything thread will go live within the next seventy-two hours.

[Ndaku]

What's that, Frisbee? The WDCT Version III's fallen down a well because it's so large? Well then, let's flick the switch and generate a new one...

And lo, did Lord Max of Barry send forth his violet salsa prophets to proclaim a new land for the jolted sportsmen of the world. A place was made for them, even referencing the old Forum Seven joke. And there was much hilarity and rolling of dice, whilst sacrificing many chickens of rubber for the Margaret that knows all and annoys all, bringing luck to those who deserve it not, and tragedy to those who post not a roster.

And they did come forth in great numbers to come together and play and discuss and whine and roll dice about sport.

And the sport was Football. Or Soccer, as some heathen differently-worshipping brothers called it.

And they did discuss it in an OOC fashion in this very spot, oh yey, with the OP of the thread being most excellent for leaving Ye Olde World Cup Committee's Constitutional Document, n'shit:

Constitution of the World Cup Committee
This constitution replaces all previous World Cup Committee rules.

Overview
The World Cup Committee (WCC) is a body of nations to regulate and run the Nationstates World Cup (NSWC or WC) and its two associated tournaments, the Baptism of Fire (BoF) and Cup of Harmony (CoH), made up of nations involved in those tournaments. It is older than the World Assembly, but younger than the United Nations before it Ceased and Desisted.

1. Organisation
The World Cup Committee consists of: A President, a Vice-President and two types of members. 'Regular' WCC members, and 'Executive' members who form the Executive World Cup Committee (EWCC). It is, contrary to popular belief, run by a set of rules, which are detailed in this constitution.

1.1 The World Cup Committee

1.1.1 Entry
Nations are admitted to the WCC in two ways:
i) Posting a valid, timely roster or squad list in each of the most recent two completed World Cup's official Roster threads grants membership of the WCC. This must then be renewed each Cup to maintain membership.
ii) Hosting a World Cup to its completion, which grants a nation permanent membership of the WCC. However, that user may only exercise their privileges as a WCC member as long as one of their nations has participated in the most recent World Cup.

1.1.2 Rights and Obligations
WCC members are allowed to:
i) Nominate and vote for a WCC President and Vice-President
ii) Vote on World Cup hosting bids.
iii) Vote on Cup of Harmony hosting bids.
iv) Propose and vote on changes to the WCC Constitution

1.2 The Executive World Cup Committee

1.2.1 Entry
Users of nations which have hosted a World Cup to its completion are admitted permanently to the EWCC. However, that user may only exercise their privileges as an EWCC member as long as one of their nations has participated in the most recent World Cup.

1.2.2 Rights and Obligations
EWCC members are allowed to, in addition to the rights of a WCC member:
i) Vote on Baptism of Fire hosting bids.

1.2.3 Other (E)WCC Rules
i) The list of members of the EWCC and WCC must be publicly available.
ii) Should one person control multiple nations on the WCC or EWCC, those nations will have only one combined vote, and be considered as a user.
iiI) Should one person deceive people into believing that their nations participating in WCC-sanctioned events are controlled by separate people, all nations controlled by that person will be removed from the WCC and EWCC, and can only be reinstated by a vote of the EWCC.

1.3 The Presidency
The WCC President acts as a figurehead for the World Cup Committee, and is elected from a list of nominees nominated by the WCC. The President calls for and collects the votes (via telegram, instant message, smoke signal, carrier pigeon, etc) for World Cup Host, Cup of Harmony Host and WCC President votes, as well as begins and maintains the World Cup Signups thread. The President is usually a pillar of the World Cup community.

1.3.1 Appointment
i) Presidential terms shall last for three World Cups (eg 46-48, 49-51, 52-54, etc)
ii) Elections for the WCC President shall be held after every third World Cup, giving adequate preparation time for any hand-over to take place immediately upon completion (i.e. the World Cup and Cup of Harmony Finals) of the last Cup in the Presidential cycle.
ii) Any WCC user may nominate any one other user for the position and any user receiving more than two nominations will be considered a candidate.
iii) Any user can decline to receive nominations.
iv) If there is only one candidate for President, that candidate will become the President. Otherwise, the WCC will vote on which of the candidates should be the President immediately after the nomination process.
v) If the President is unable to fulfill his/her duties, then the interim President shall be the first available person of: the Vice-President, the candidates in the most recent presidential election (sorted by highest vote total), the members of the EWCC (sorted by earliest WC hosted), and the hosts of the Baptism of Fire tournament and Cup of Harmony (sorted by earliest tournament hosted). If two or more eligible successors are equal in any of these criteria, then they shall be sorted in alphabetical order.

1.3.2 Responsibilities
i) The WCC President is responsible for initiating all WCC or EWCC votes, and makes the final decision on what proposals are voted upon, except when that decision would contradict a rule.
ii) The President maintains and provides the lists of WCC and EWCC members, determines the length of time of every vote, and may choose how to proceed if an EWCC or WCC vote results in a tie.
ii) The President will initiate World Cup Signups with the official NSWC Signups forum account, who's password will be made known to all Presidents.
iii) If the President is involved in a WCC-sanctioned hosting vote as a candidate, the Vice-President will be called on to collect the votes.

1.4 The Vice-President
i) The Vice-President is selected in accordance with rule 1.3.1
ii) The Vice-President is the first user responsible for taking over if the sitting WCC President is unable to fulfill his/her duties.
iii) If the President and Vice-President are both involved in a WCC-sanctioned hosting vote as candidates, members of the EWCC will be called on to collect the votes.

1.5 Elections
Members of the WCC shall ballot for President and Vice President after the nominees have been determined. Each voter's ballot is a list of any number of nominees in order of preference for the office of President.
i) Initial count. The designated vote collector counts the first eligible preference on each ballot. If one nominee is named as the first preference on a majority of all ballots cast, they shall become President.
ii) Elimination and reallocation. Otherwise, the remaining nominee(s) with the fewest number of ballots are eliminated from consideration. Their ballots are reallocated to the nominee listed with the highest preference who is still under consideration.
iii) Recounting. After reallocation, the ballots are again counted. If a nominee receives a majority of the ballots after any recount, they shall become President.
iv) Additional recounts as needed. Otherwise, repeat the Step 2 and 3 process of elimination and reallocation until either one candidate receives a majority or there is only one candidate remaining, who then becomes President.
v) Vice-President. To determine the Vice President, start again with all ballots being cast for their first preferences. Treat the newly-elected President as eliminated, reallocate their ballots, and count. Then continue as above until a Vice-President is elected.
vi) Deadlock. If all remaining uneliminated nominees have the same number of votes at any stage, eliminate the nominee(s) with the smallest number of first preferences on all ballots and reallocate as above. Should all such nominees still be tied, use second-, third, and lower preferences in order until a difference is found to eliminate the lowest.
vii) One nominee. If there is only one nominee, no ballot is required. They become President without an election.


2. WCC-Sanctioned events
2.1 Overview
i) The World Cup, Cup of Harmony, and Baptism of Fire tournaments are the only WCC-sanctioned events. The WCC has no rights or responsibilities over the running of any other event.
ii) The host(s) of a WCC-sanctioned event have complete control and responsibility of that event, except where that control has been given to the WCC, EWCC, or WCC President by other rules.
iii) A party bidding to host a WCC-sanctioned event must clearly declare, before voting starts, any significant changes from the normal operation of the event.
iv)The EWCC may vote to replace the host(s) of a WCC-sanctioned event if they are no longer able to proceed as hosts or if there is a serious problem with how the event is run by the host(s). Should this happen, the President must choose the replacement host(s) from available bids.
v) World Cup Hosts must produce a list for the President, at the end of their World Cup, of nations that have posted Rosters for the WCC Membership records.

2.2 The Baptism of Fire
The Baptism of Fire is the first event in the World Cup cycle, being a pre-World Cup tournament for newcomer nations. It is a warm-up event that has continually unearthed the best new nations in world football. And the worst. In fact, all of them, regardless of quality.

2.2.1 Entry
The conditions for entry into the BoF are:
i) A nation must not have previously participated in a WCC-sanctioned Baptism of Fire
ii) A nation must have zero KPB points at the beginning of the World Cup cycle
iii) A nation must have signed up for the World Cup in the appropriate Signup Thread and also indicated a wish to enter the Baptism of Fire.

2.2.2 Hosting
i) Any nation that has previously participated in a World Cup and is signed up for the current edition of the World Cup may bid to host the BoF.
ii) Two-host bids are the preferred format, though any number of hosts are acceptable.
iii) The EWCC will be directed by the President to vote: a) for one of the offered bids, b) to officially abstain, or c) to re-open the process for new bids.

2.3 The World Cup
The World Cup is the second, and most important, event in the World Cup Cycle. It will always consist of 32 teams (including the co-hosts), who have been whittled down by the Qualifying Process to turn scores of hopeful countries into thirty relieved ones and countless disappointed ones. It is the longest running sports competition on Nationstates, dating back to early 2003 when internet piracy barely existed, and Max Barry was still trying to simply promote a book.

2.3.1 Entry
The conditions for entry into the World cup are:
i) A nation must have signed up for the World Cup in the appropriate Signup Thread
ii) A user may only sign up one nation in their first entry, but may from their second entry onwards sign up a second nation known as a puppet. This nation will be treated separately for the purposes of BoF/WC/CoH entry, but will not give the user a second vote on the WCC or EWCC.

2.3.2 Hosting
i) Any nation that has previously participated in a World Cup, and participated in its most recently completed edition, may bid to host the World Cup, except if the user has co-hosted the previous World Cup.
ii) Bids must consist of at least two hosts.
iii) The WCC will be directed by the President to vote: a) for one of the offered bids, b) to officially abstain, or c) to re-open the process for new bids.
iv) Friendlies are not the responsibility of the hosts beyond basic organisation. Co-hosts may not include as part of their proposal any information on the organisation of friendlies, nor may they answer questions on friendly organisation. Co-hosts may choose to start a thread for friendly organisation, may choose to schedule slots in World Cup qualification for friendlies, and may limit the number of friendlies; but there is no presumption that co-hosts will scorinate any friendly matches, and nations holding friendlies should assume that they are responsible for arranging their own friendly scorination unless otherwise specified.

2.4 The Cup of Harmony
The Cup of Harmony is the third and last event in the World Cup cycle. It is designed to be the Cup of Losers Non-Qualifiers, who have failed to get to the World Cup itself but have still demonstrated an insane desire to try and lift some sort of silverware. Originally called the Frosty Cup, the term Cup of Harmony is a much better name for the participating nations who just couldn't make it to the actual World Cup.

2.4.1 Entry
The conditions for entry into the Cup of Harmony are:
i) A nation must have signed up for the corresponding World Cup in the appropriate Signup Thread
ii) That nation must have failed to qualify for that World Cup, given the conditions set by the hosts.
iii) That nation must have posted at least one roleplay in the appropriate RP thread during the corresponding World Cup
iv) That nation must also have indicated a desire to play in the Cup of Harmony in response to a host invitation.

2.4.2 Hosting
i) Any nation that has previously participated in a World Cup and is participating in the current edition of the World Cup may bid to host the Cup of Harmony.
ii) Two-host bids are the preferred format, though any number of hosts are acceptable.
iii) The WCC will be directed by the President to vote: a) for one of the offered bids, b) to officially abstain, or c) to re-open the process for new bids.

3. Official Rankings
Originally created by Kaze Progressa, with some modifications by Bedistan, the KPB rankings are the only place to compare one nation's skill (or lack thereof) with another.

3.1 KPB Rankings
i) Every World Cup shall use the official KPB Rankings system to determine ranks before the Qualifiers begin
ii) The ranking formula must be public
iii) The full list of ranks must be made publicly available in a suitable format
iv) Any changes to the KPB formula must be approved by WCC vote.

3.1.1 KPB Updates
i) The ranks must be updated in a timely manner by responsible and knowledgeable WCC members
ii) The ranks must be updated after the Baptism of Fire, so new nations receive their correct rank going into the World Cup (Qualifiers).
iii) The ranks may be updated after World Cup Qualifiers at the request of the World Cup hosts.
iv) The ranks must be updated after the World Cup and Cup of Harmony Finals have both finished.

4. Rule Changes
4.1 Procedure
i) This constitution takes effect once passed by a two-thirds majority of the WCC.
ii) The WCC may vote to amend or repeal any portion of this proposal.
iii) The WCC may vote to pass any new proposal. If a new proposal contradicts an older proposal, the new proposal supercedes the old one unless otherwise stated. Passage of a new proposal shall be achieved only if the proposal receives a majority of votes from those voting. If multiple contradicting proposals concerning the same subject are considered for vote simultaneously, at least two rounds of voting must be held, with an Instant Runoff/Preferential system also fulfilling this requirement.

4.2 Definitition of: "The (E)WCC may vote..."
i) When a vote to select a Hosting bid is initiated by the President, a majority of those voting shall be required to decide the outcome. Users that have submitted a hosting bid are not permitted to participate in voting for the event they have placed a bid for. Voters are instructed to cast a single ballot listing their hosting preference, along with the order in which the other options, including the option to re-open bids, should be considered. If no option receives a majority of the first preference votes cast, the bid with the fewest number of votes shall be eliminated, and the ballots cast in that direction re-counted using their next preference. The mechanics of the vote shall follow the mechanics laid out by article 1.5 (Elections), with a focus on clauses i,ii,iii,iv, and vi, with the exception that the option to re-open the process for new bids may not be eliminated by any result but another option receiving a full majority.
ii) Any proposal by a WCC member can, if supported by three other WCC members, be put to a WCC-wide vote.

Stuff you should read:
A guide to sports role-playing - a comprehensive guide on what sports role-playing is about, how to do it, and how to enjoy it. It also contains links to a variety of other useful threads.
World Cup FAQs - a semi-complete list of Frequently Asked Questions, as well as some questions that are not so frequently-asked.
General Sports Role-Playing Questions - in case you have questions that aren't answered in the previous two links.
World Cup Winners - a list of those who have won Nationstates's most prestigious footballing tournament.
NS World Cup: Presidential Announcements - the acting president will post announcements regarding hosts, hosting, and votes. This is very important information regarding running specific tournaments.
The current KPB rankings - updated as of the cycle posted in the signature and/or on the document itself.

Past WCDT links
Version I
Version II
Version III

Hello, the nation of Ndaku would like to sign up for this cup.

[San Jose Guayabal]

-Snip-

Hello, the nation of Ndaku would like to sign up for this cup.

Hello and welcome to NS Sports, I'm afraid that you arrived too late, the World Cup it's on the Group Stage phase, but you can wait for the next edition, that can happen in some 2-3 months.

[Free Republics]

Hello, the nation of Ndaku would like to sign up for this cup.

Hello and welcome to NS Sports, I'm afraid that you arrived too late, the World Cup it's on the Group Stage phase, but you can wait for the next edition, that can happen in some 2-3 months.

In fact, the signup thread for the next World Cup should be up sooner than that (sometime in either January or February).

[Ndaku]

Hello, the nation of Ndaku would like to sign up for this cup.

Hello and welcome to NS Sports, I'm afraid that you arrived too late, the World Cup it's on the Group Stage phase, but you can wait for the next edition, that can happen in some 2-3 months.

Aww ok, thanks! Do you have a link of the draws/scores?

[Star United States]

Aww ok, thanks! Do you have a link of the draws/scores?

Hey! Result thread of current World Cup can be located here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=320851

[Ndaku]

Aww ok, thanks! Do you have a link of the draws/scores?

Hey! Result thread of current World Cup can be located here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=320851

Awesome, many thanks!

[San Jose Guayabal]

Host Announcement

This is a friendly reminder that the World Cup Group Draw will be starting around 4:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST (21:00-23:00 UTC) which is roughly 3 hours away from now, on the #WorldCupDraw IRC channel on EsperNet and CoH draw will be after the WC Draw on the same channel.

[Blouman Empire]

Are the numbers next to the teams listed in the groups the mid WC70 ranks? I noticed that the spreadsheet hadn't been updated but the ranks on the RP thread are different to the spreadsheet.

[Jeckland]

Are the numbers next to the teams listed in the groups the mid WC70 ranks? I noticed that the spreadsheet hadn't been updated but the ranks on the RP thread are different to the spreadsheet.

Those numbers are the unofficial mid-ranks, compiled by EQS. They were used for the draw pots.

[Blouman Empire]

Are the numbers next to the teams listed in the groups the mid WC70 ranks? I noticed that the spreadsheet hadn't been updated but the ranks on the RP thread are different to the spreadsheet.

Those numbers are the unofficial mid-ranks, compiled by EQS. They were used for the draw pots.

Yeah, cheers thought that might have been the case

[Mizuyuki]

I'd just like to offer my sincere apologies for the earlier delay in the Cup of Harmony draw - I had to fulfill some pressing RL obligations, which, in turn, led to mine missing the scheduled draw time. The blame for the delay lies squarely on my shoulders; and once again, I offer my apologies to those affected or otherwise inconvenienced.

[Isula ge Ru]

I'd just like to offer my sincere apologies for the earlier delay in the Cup of Harmony draw - I had to fulfill some pressing RL obligations, which, in turn, led to mine missing the scheduled draw time. The blame for the delay lies squarely on my shoulders; and once again, I offer my apologies to those affected or otherwise inconvenienced.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I had thought I would miss the draw, and arrived home right as it begun. Please thank your RL obligations on my behalf

[Audioslavia]

Hey all,

I've not been around much these last few months (I think my total input since the WC69 final has been one RP and a couple of roster posts), and it's highly likely I'll be around even less in the next few weeks. As a few of you know I'm soon moving from warm, sunny Edinburgh to drab, grey Milan to start a new job. Before the move I'll be without internet access (boo) and will be hella-busy with other things. After the move I'll likely be too busy with the whole new-job-new-city thing to give the various sporting exploits of Audioslavia the time it deserves.

I'm not leaving. I'm just not going to be very active at all.

[Jeckland]

Hey all,

I've not been around much these last few months (I think my total input since the WC69 final has been one RP and a couple of roster posts), and it's highly likely I'll be around even less in the next few weeks. As a few of you know I'm soon moving from warm, sunny Edinburgh to drab, grey Milan to start a new job. Before the move I'll be without internet access (boo) and will be hella-busy with other things. After the move I'll likely be too busy with the whole new-job-new-city thing to give the various sporting exploits of Audioslavia the time it deserves.

I'm not leaving. I'm just not going to be very active at all.

But now who's going to come second?

EDIT: In all seriousness Audio, good luck with your new job.

[Ko-oren]

But now who's going to come second?

Quebec. In the group. After me.

[Barunia]

Hey all,

I've not been around much these last few months (I think my total input since the WC69 final has been one RP and a couple of roster posts), and it's highly likely I'll be around even less in the next few weeks. As a few of you know I'm soon moving from warm, sunny Edinburgh to drab, grey Milan to start a new job. Before the move I'll be without internet access (boo) and will be hella-busy with other things. After the move I'll likely be too busy with the whole new-job-new-city thing to give the various sporting exploits of Audioslavia the time it deserves.

I'm not leaving. I'm just not going to be very active at all.

But now who's going to come second?

There's always PIS

Good luck with the new job and the move, Audio.

[Starblaydia]

I'm not leaving. I'm just not going to be very active at all.

NSSport International Traders: Dubai, Milan, Watford.

Good luck, pal

[Super-Llamaland]

Good luck in your new job, Audio!

[San Jose Guayabal]

Hey all,

I've not been around much these last few months (I think my total input since the WC69 final has been one RP and a couple of roster posts), and it's highly likely I'll be around even less in the next few weeks. As a few of you know I'm soon moving from warm, sunny Edinburgh to drab, grey Milan to start a new job. Before the move I'll be without internet access (boo) and will be hella-busy with other things. After the move I'll likely be too busy with the whole new-job-new-city thing to give the various sporting exploits of Audioslavia the time it deserves.

I'm not leaving. I'm just not going to be very active at all.

¡Ostia Tío, Audio! In al seriousness, good luck in your new work in Italy, I hope that this will be the point of start of many success in your life (working-wise), take your time. We will wait you with open arms!

[Farfadillis]

Hey all,

I've not been around much these last few months (I think my total input since the WC69 final has been one RP and a couple of roster posts), and it's highly likely I'll be around even less in the next few weeks. As a few of you know I'm soon moving from warm, sunny Edinburgh to drab, grey Milan to start a new job. Before the move I'll be without internet access (boo) and will be hella-busy with other things. After the move I'll likely be too busy with the whole new-job-new-city thing to give the various sporting exploits of Audioslavia the time it deserves.

I'm not leaving. I'm just not going to be very active at all.

Congrats on the new job! I'm really glad you're not leaving, I was getting worried, after all, so many have been leaving as of late...

[Neu Engollon]

Congrats to you, Audio. Good luck in the new job and endeavors. Somehow, I think you will stay at the top, RP or not.

[The Sarian]

Adieu Audio, hope you have a fabulous time.

Or as they say in New Drakonian; d d, hp y hv fbls tm.

Guess I won't be able to make that joke again for a while. *sniffs*