Campionato Esportiva XVI Everything Thread

[Apox]

Apoxian Football Stands on the Brink amid Corruption Scandal

by Clement Ashley

Today marked one of the saddest days in Apoxian football, as news broke of widespread, and longstanding, corruption and match fixing all throughout Apoxian football - both internationally and domestically.

A number of senior figures at a number of top clubs have already been implicated, as have high up officials within the AFB, with more data yet to be published. Depending on the validity of all of the claims, the future of the entire AFB could be in jeopardy, which would see Apoxian football come crashing down for the foreseeable future, perhaps even indefinitely.

In a brief press conference this morning, Jooles the Sophisticated, the AFB President made the following statement the the assembled media, both from locally and abroad:

“This is a grave time for our storied organisation, with the full effects of this scandal and those implicated not fully understood at this point in time. We are suspending the ANL league system and the national team following on from the Campionato pending a full investigation and inquiry into illegal practises in Apox. We will cooperate willingly and wholeheartedly with the police on this matter until a resolution has been reached.”

Other prominent sources have been outspoken, with national team legend Dravid Scott wading into the debate, posting on twitter: “A truly terrible day for a country with a fine international record and influence”, while Olim Benzari was scathing in a post on twitter, saying: “Absolutely scandalous how something of this magnitude can be allowed to occur for so long. This could destroy the game in our country”.

Newly elected Leader of Apox, the ANP’s Jasmine Cooke is thought to be issuing a statement regarding this scandal later on today, and it is likely she will take quite a hardline stance on this, in order to keep up her appearance as a decisive and strong leader she has cultivated since rising to power in the ranks of the ANP.

Apox 4-1 The Royal Barangay Gandhi 11', Arceo OG 23', Linsangan 54', McKenna 60', Treloquithack 77'
APX: Anaximander -- Treloquithack, Shahzad, Etezadi (c), Redmond -- St Cleer -- Abbraciabene, Palmisano, Aurora (Vladimirescu 69') -- Gandhi, McKenna
TRB: Balido -- Saulan, Arceo, Ferolina, Agpoon -- Linsangan (c), Belga, Amio -- Mallonga (Marchadesch 65'), Connan (Caccam 78'), Yparraguirre

[Racao]

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Racao defeats hosts Falatulu, moves on to Round of 16
Will face World Cup runners-up San Jose Guayabal in CE

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Racao had never expected to beat the Free Republics back in its debut in the 14th Campionato Esportiva - in fact, it had never even expected to reach the quarterfinals in the first place, after their loss to #1 Esportivan side, at the time, Nephara in the group stage and two higher ranked nations. Yet the Sifakas held firm to get into a lucky Round of 16 match against the Southern Sunrise Islands - which they handily defeated before defeating the former World Cup runners-up by a scored of three to one, quite a shocking scoreline. They lost to Nephara again, this time by a larger margin, in the semifinals, yet still defeated Buyan by a single goal in the third place playoffs to win that honor as an unranked nation - the first piece of silverware for the nation. Although they lost in the quarterfinals the next year, to Apox, by a large margin, they still managed to upset Northern Sunrise Islands, again a side much higher ranked than they were. Now Racao is in the Campionato Esportiva semifinals for the third time in three years, having defeated a familiar foe: Falatulu, which is now hosting the former national team of the Free Republics.

In fact, it was a rematch of the exact two sides which had faced off three years ago in The Sarian, with neither side making a change in their roster - not even in the substitutes or bench players. That meant that the Free Republics' star players had all played that fateful day - and lost that fateful day. They were up for a rematch, and wanted to avenge their defeat to 'the Underdog team' this time around, while the Racaoan team wanted just to make the quarterfinals against a highly partisan home crowd. It started off auspiciously for the home team when they won the coin toss and elected for first possession, and their star striker Connie Chase started running towards the goal, passing to Kyle Bolton, who thought he had the perfect opportunity to start off scoring with a seemingly open spot for a shot right through the defensive line. As he was fixating on that one position, though, Chris Rakotomaharo came in for a clean tackle, the Falatulan star ignoring the threat from the behind. After that escapade, Racao started to turn the match around in their favor.

Masibo Andrianajaka, who was in the defensive box covering for the defense, led the charge to bring the ball back to the Falatulan goal. It was hard, and not hard, at the same time, as Falatulu possessed a good defense, yet most of their players had come up to the Racaoan end of the field to support the offense that hadn't worked in this instance. The tactic of the quick counterattack was one Soja had used to great effect in their victory over the Free Republics in the Sarian, and Andrianajaka quickly passed to Mosa, who continued to lead the ball up the field. At this point, Soja's new tactics to the team had come in, as Mosa, Arivelo, Ravalomanana, and Ipirina started moving the ball up the field between them in a series of short passes, in a variation of the tiki-taka style. It caught Falatulu a bit off guard, and, with their lack of defensive strength and people marking in the defensive zone, it provided Ryan Arivelo with a great opportunity to score into the net of Levai Imre, which he did with ease.

Falatulu, in a bit of a daze after that last maneuver by Racao, wanted to counterattack quickly, as per their fast and attacking style, but a strong challenge to Kyle Bolton from Mosa in the midfield led to a bit of a tussle, which led to a yellow card for midfielder Bernard Lukic for an illegal dive on Mena Rabalasoa, who had the ball at the time. The referee awarded Rabalasoa an indirect free kick as a result, and he passed forward to Ryan Arivelo, the same player who had scored Racao's first goal earlier. Because most of the action had gone on in the midfield, Falatulu's main defensive anchors had not left the defensive end of the pitch. Arivelo passed to Ravalomanana, the main striker of Polaaskan's Red Star Slazhnov, who he thought could have a better angle, but Imre caught the ball easily and kicked the ball out to the midfield to resume the counterattack. Connie Chase, at this point, showed her speed and dexterity, easily dribbling around Rakotomaharo, dubbed one of the best defenders in Cenileague, to score against Sakoto of Burnton 1963 in the Terranean League.

At this point, the referee blew his whistle for half-time, and Racao had possession. Mosa thought he'd try a new tactic: letting Falatulu get the possession of the ball, draw all the main players out to Racao's end of the pitch, and then blast towards Levai Imre with the ball to score a goal. Although the plan was risky, and Falatulu had a good shot on target, saved only by a Sakoto punch-away, Racao was able to recover quickly, and Mosa was just in position to receive a pass from Justin Rabelomasina; he was able to run straight through the Falatulan defense to score against Imre. The audacious plan had worked, and Racao was now faced with the daunting task of maintaining a tight lead against a top ten Esportiva side. It was made a bit worse by the fact that Racao was ranked in the wee end of the top twenty - and had no WCC rank. People thought Racao was a joke, but again, with a victory this late in the stage, Racao would prove those critics wrong...

Falatulu aimed to have a quick counterattack, but either Rule Theriault hadn't learned anything from two quick counterattacks that turned wrong for his team or he was convinced in the brilliance of his team's attack. In any case, the first goal by Connie Chase looked like it might be repeated from the young Free Republican's boots, but Rabelomasina, Rakotomaharo, and Manendry quickly put an end to that business with a quick few tackles to deny Free Republics the chance. Racao ended up going for the goal again - they could use the insurance, and Free Republics was not blessed with one of the world's best goalkeepers or defensive lines. On the other hand, Mosa saw the opportunity and was blessed with a gift to use it, as he sent a screaming pass flying to Ryan Arivelo, who then passed around Arnou Labrecque to Aristotle Ipirina, the offensive mainstay for the Terranean League's Royal Queenstown. Ipirina got the chance, and sent the ball in beautifully to secure the goal.

Free Republics had likely, by now, seen the folly of their hyper-aggressive side, as they kept the the ball rolling around in the midfield. They picked the wrong place to do that, though, as Albert Manasoa won the challenge fairly against Falatulu's Sandstrom. The Racaoan team then decided it was time to make yet another counterattack on Falatulu's goal - not that they needed to, as Racao had a big lead and a good enough defense to block any more of Falatulu's shots. Anyhow, Falatulu put up a bit more defensive resistance this time, but Patrick Werfel earned a red card for fouling Arivelo in the penalty box, and Racao's best striker took the penalty - shooting it right past the outstretched arms of Levai Imre. At this point, time was running out, yet Falatulu launched an ultimately futile counterattack that Racao stopped short in the midfield when the final whistle blew. Overall, Racao had an excellent performance against the Cup of Harmony champions - yet they would need to bring their game, and 150% of it, to beat Esportivan #1 San Jose Guayabal.

[Falatulu]

Campionato Esportiva XVI

Quarterfinal Results

Super-Llamaland 0–2 Gregoryisgodistan
Apox 1–0 Nova Anglicana
Brenecia 1–0 Nephara
San Jose Guayabal 2–3 Racao

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Semifinals

Gregoryisgodistan vs Apox @ IslandDome, Toakameau
Brenecia vs Racao @ Dolphin Stadium, Toakameau

[Gregoryisgodistan]

OOC: Lord Almighty Gregory's speech is accurate, at least as far as it pertains to the nuclear attacks, and this was done with Vjaalsburg/Quebec's permission.

Lord Almighty Gregory's Speech to the People

"Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, and slaves. I speak to you today with great news. We have successfully used our nuclear weapons yet again, in another show of the Awesome Power of the Lord. Yes, that's right, we have shown the Multiverse the awesome power of me, Lord Almighty Gregory. Earlier tonight, our brave soldiers launched 666 nuclear weapons at the wicked, evil nation of Vjaalsburg, longtime heathen nation and blasphemers of the Word of the Lord. These heathens also committed the grave sin of befriending an Enemy List nation, specifically, Super-Llamaland. The citizens of Vjaalsburg are best friends with the Grand Llamufti of Super-Llamaland, or whatever he calls himself nowadays. And there are a million other reasons to nuke them as well, including their failure to eat prune juice and gruel, their failure to worship me as Lord and Master, their use of poor grammar and spelling, and many, many more.

"But back on topic, our nuclear weapons were launched from bases around Gregoryisgodistan, where we have tens of thousands of nuclear weapons, and now, they have made impact. All 666 nuclear weapons detonated almost simultaneously, rendering the country uninhabitable for years and centuries to come. All the heathens are dead. All the blasphemers are dead. 666 mushroom clouds rose from the sky simultaneously as the people were vaporized like smoke in the wind. They are all dead. There is simply a giant, gaping hole where Vjaalsburg used to be. So now they are Byebyeburg or whatever you want to call them.

"To all the other wicked heathens who dare blaspheme my Holy Name, who dare befriend Enemy List nations, who dare question whether I am in fact Lord and Master, who dare eat foods besides prune juice and gruel without being granted VIP status by me, who use bad grammar, who use bad spelling, who are friends with Super-Llamaland, who like Dumpy O'Rumpy, or who are otherwise heathens, fools, or blasphemers, I say this - you are next. The Free Republics may find themselves facing nuclear destruction in due time thanks to the Ultimate Heathen, Dumpy O'Rumpy. We will do to them what we did to Vjaalsburg, Hicana, and Asuraia, three wicked, heathen nations who deserved destruction. Destruction is what they deserved, and destruction is what they got. We have tens of thousands more nuclear weapons where these came from, and we are making more every day. We will continue doing what we are doing, and there is no stopping us. Nuclear destruction of other nations is a glorious moment in our nation's history that comes only one or two times a year, sometimes three or four, and we must savor it. We must remember the days when we nuked other nations into oblivion. First Hicana, then Asuraia, and now Vjaalsburg. And who could forget the nuclear attacks on the Land of the Devil, San Jose Guayabal, during the Great War of Esportiva? Although we did not completely obliterate that heathen nation, we did inflict many casualties and avenge the wrong they have done to us. Nobody messes with us. Nobody.

"Perhaps now the world will know I am Lord and God, and will convert to worship of me as their Lord and Master. Perhaps now they will bow down before me and accept their prune juice and gruel rations which I so lovingly provide. Sadly, I doubt that will happen. But one day, one day, we will destroy all the heathen foes, and those who remain will witness the Awesome Power of the Lord. They will recognize me as their Lord, and we will punish anyone who tries to stop them, just as we did to Dumbokuni when they arrested my loyal followers. Had Dumbokuni not freed them, they would have faced utter nuclear destruction, just as we did to Vjaalsburg tonight, and just as we did to Asuraia and Hicana in days gone by. The world will long remember tonight, when another nation met their demise. The world will long remember the heroics our soldiers showed in launching the nuclear weapons and our scientists showed in creating them. And you, my loyal followers, will give thanks to me, as you always do. And for that, dear friends, I thank you. Good night, and Me Bless Gregoryisgodistan."

[Brenecia]

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Brenecia 1-0 Nephara: Patriots play rope-a-dope with Cormorants before late sucker-punch seals it
Jack Barraclough
BRENECIA M Woodgate; S Given, A Scrivener, B Duguid, O Lovelock (J Collingwood 53'); C Blackslate (c), C Gryphon (L Paterson 45'), C Purrington; S Trevelyan, U Rankin (K Foran 78'), R Carroll
Goal: Foran 87'
NEPHARA I Caravella; S Christener, C Katskalidis, M Scharner, S Vyntra; A Szalai, T Rainsford (A Tarrant 88'), E Ashdown (c), A Cawdor (L Vesper 57'); C Scafidis, P Amokachi (I Cantor 75')

Another heroic performance from Mathis Woodgate was the Patriots' saviour on this day as Nephara simply didn't have what it took to break him or the resilient back line down. With two clean sheets in their past two games, Sasha Bale's squad seems to have finally sorted it out at the back and look a genuinely tasty proposition both in the home stretch of this tournament and with the prospect looming of the new World Cup cycle.

That's not to say that it was a pretty match - it wasn't, as the Cormorants fairly quickly adopted a straightforward policy of hacking down every Brenecian within reach. It wasn't especially dignified, but it worked - mostly along the wings. An interesting midfield battle sprouted up, Ashdown and Rainsford technically peerless but simply outnumbered by their counterparts. And it was Purrington's dangerous dipping shot as she lumbered forward from the midfield (fed in by Blackslate) that was the first and closest real Brenecian chance of a very closed-off first half.

But the Nepharim were threatening, and Woodgate had already chalked up three good saves within the first 30 minutes - but Scafidis was dealing with Scrivener's powerful marking and Duguid surprisingly managed to keep Amokachi quiet aside from occasional flashes of brilliance. Szalai, however, was punishing the naive Lovelock over and over again, while Gryphon looked overwhelmed by the task in midfield. By the time the half-time whistle blew, the Patriots were relieved to have kept the scoreline intact.

It demanded a managerial intervention. Bale gave it one - straight swaps, but good ones. The violent and aggressive Paterson initially came on for Gryphon, and the Maximum Rovers midfielder - Nepharim by birth - turned the tide of the midfield battle, while soon afterwards the more experienced and fresher Collingwood was thrown on to deal a little better with the rampaging Szalai.

Szalai still had his chances, though, and he was unlucky that nobody found his cross that lashed across goal in the 68th minute - not long after, Scylla Vyntra curled a shot towards the top corner that Woodgate stretched mightily to paw onto the bar. But by now the Cormorants' threat was sporadic rather than sustained, and their legs began to tire.

Carroll should have scored in the 80th minute from this, played through by Purrington, but she made a hash of an unnecessary pass to Rankin that a covering challenge from Scharner hooked away from danger, only as far as the rightback Given but with an open goal from thirty yards the Firewood defender missed the target and failed to get her first international goal.

But the Patriots did better next time. Less than ten minutes after her arrival, Northern Union forward Karena Foran made her impact when Purrington's curling free kick (after a relatively innocuous foul on Carroll just outside the box) went low around the wall. Caravella got down quickly to palm it into the ground, but Foran was there to tap it in. 1-0, with three minutes of regulation time left.

It seemed more like thirty - the Nepharim poured forward, and Crisisbless midfielder Auburn Tarrant hit a post with her only touch of the game. But the Patriots held strong, held firm and, as Katskalidis' glancing header goes well over the bar from a desperate Ashdown corner, held out for a sweet, sweet victory over their close rivals. Given that they've held a clean sheet against the world champions and the remaining field starts with Racao and follows up with controversy-wracked Apox and typical South Covello, the Patriots are considered narrow favourites to win their second regional title.

[Racao]

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Triumph at Foaktu: Racao scores upset
Defeated Esportivan #1s, to face Brenecia in semifinals

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Previously, Racao thought that its initial Campionato Esportiva was its best campaign in history - reaching the semifinals, with good victories over Buyan and Falatulu, winning third place by beating some of the world's best sides. Now, though, the Campionato Esportiva 16 might smash the performance recorded in Racao's debut in the tournament, because Racao has now committed what was previously thought to be impossible: defeat San Jose Guayabal, the Esportivan world #1s and World Cup runners-up. While the Guayabalenses had been in excellent form, using System Takil to rack up the goals in the group stage, Racao provided a much higher bar to surpass, and the good play of the Racaoan national team was rewarded with a totally unanticipated victory. The victory was made even sweeter by the team's awesome comeback from a two-goal deficit.

The Guayabalense team, which decided to go with a roster based on only players in the Liga Premier, started out with a pressing style, confident in their strategy that had assured them a large margin of victory in the group stages. Racao tried valiantly to put up some pressure back on the Guayabalense team, but the World Cup runners-up simply outclassed the Racaoan team, who were without a World Cup ranking. Perhaps the Guayabalenses had a bit of a right to be confident, facing an almost nobody team in the quarterfinals, and that confidence showed as they totally crushed the Racaoan defense of Rakotomaharo and Rabelomasina. Humberto Santa Cruz took what he thought was an easy shot into the open goal after this easy run through the defense, but Sakoto managed to get his fingers right on it and blocked it; Rakotomaharo cleared the ball right back into the midfield.

It was now Mosa's turn to get the spotlight and he attempted to go through the stifling Guayabalense midfield, which had plenty of experience blocking lesser attackers and controlling the entire midfield, thus controlling access to the goals. A battle in the midfield ensued as Motta and Mosa engaged in a game of cat and mouse, with the cat (Motta) eventually gaining control of the mouse (Mosa with the ball), and passed to Bregoo, who again tried to start off a Guayabelense scoring run. Kevin Santos attempted to head Bregoo's pass into the net, but Sakoto was too good, and successfully blocked the shot. It appeared like it was going to be one of those games where one was obviously superior, yet the pesky underdogs were doing everything they could to stop the rightful team from advancing, at least to the Guayabalenses.

Again, though, the Guayabalenses had the advantage, as they pressed the Racaoan defense way too much in the first half. Manendry looked harried late in the twentieth minute, with both Santa Cruz and Omar El-Sayed pressing him and his control of the ball; he tried a pass to Rakotomaharo, who might be able to clear the ball and pass it up to the midfield. However, Santos gained control of the ball and came up to the penalty box to shoot, with no defenders between him and goalkeeper Sakoto; he shot, textbook style, into the right corner, and Sakoto was not able to get a good grip on the ball, allowing the Guayabalenses to have a one goal lead. Racao attempted to get a ball into the net in revenge, but the defense, led by Salazar, was too quick, and expeditiously denied Racao the opportunity for a goal.

Oliveira quickly sniffed an opportunity for his team and directed them to advance down the pitch as fast as they could. Omar El-Sayed quickly dribbled down the left side of the field, passing to Santos when Masibo Andrianajaka, who has moved down to defensive midfielder, challenges him for the ball; Santos passed to Santa Cruz, who ran with a great angle towards the goal, drawing Sakoto out of the goal and towards him to block the shot. He did shoot, aiming to have a very angled shot that would just cross the line. While Sakoto blocked the shot, Rakotomaharo was unable to clear it, and El-Sayed came into position to shoot into the open goal. At this point, it seemed like Racao was totally doomed, and San Jose Guayabal would continue to dominate throughout the game, just like they had dominated in the group stages.

At this point, manager Soja decided to sub in Tahiry Mahazaka for Masibo Andrianajaka in the hopes that Mahazaka would inject a bit more energy into the proceedings and direct the defense with a little bit more competency; while Mahazaka dropped back to a defensive mid, Mosa went up a little to advance to attacking midfield, hopefully to boost the team's chances in that area of the pitch. Racao, at this point, had possession, and were determined to keep that possession until the end of the half, or at least keep it long enough to keep San Jose Guayabal from taking the shot. Thus, the defense started to pass between each other and Sakoto so that San Jose Guayabal would not have the chance to take possession. Bregoo attempted to steal the ball from Rakotomaharo, but he just passed to Ravalomanana, and the cycle continued until the half-time whistle blew.

Racao now had possession and Soja decided it was best to try for some more goals; the worst they could do was lose, and they were already doing that. Therefore, they had nothing to lose, and they were taking a bit more risks that they normally wouldn't have. Mosa passed the ball to Ryan Arivelo, the team's creative striker, who passed it to Aristotle Ipirina; Ipirina passed back to Mosa, and Mosa again passed to Arivelo. This litany of passes moved the ball steadily forward past the defense, and finally, Arivelo had the chance to shoot on the Guayabalense goal. Goransson, the team captain, moved to the right to save the ball, but it was unneccesary as the ball bounced off the post. However, Aristotle Ipirina was ready to take the ball back, and he hit a wonderful angled ball into the opposite corner of the net to fool Goransson.

Racao now had a goal, which San Jose Guayabal was desperate to get back. They launched a furious counterattack, and thought that they could get the ball in, no matter what the resistance, they were the superior team. However, the substitution of Mahazaka was working wonders for the Racaoan team, as he led the defense ably to restrict the Guayabalense team's advances, seeming to stymy them at every single turn. It was beginning to get frustrating for the Guayabalense team, and Bregoo shot from forty meters, although, understandably, the effort landed far above the goal, and Sakoto kicked the ball forward to Mosa, who was ready to take advantage of the Guayabelense team's players' being out of place. Mosa ran with vigor towards Goransson's goal, but Mikhalev stopped the ball and attempted to clear the ball.

Rabalasoa, however, got a hold of the ball and centered it on the goal, and he passed it forward to Aristotle Ipirina. He ran towards Goransson's goal until he noticed that Ryan Arivelo was in a good position behind him, and he passed back to Arivelo. Arivelo thought he had an open goal to shoot from, but Goransson was too good, and he pushed the ball out with his hands. Mosa then took the corner kick, sending it to Silvëre Ravalomanana. A bit of a scuffle erupted as Pineda attempted to steal the ball away from Ravalomanana, and the Guayabalense player ended up kicking Ravalomanana in the shin and pulling on his shirt to get the ball. The referee awarded Pineda a yellow card and Racao a penalty; obviously Oliveira was livid as he watched Arivelo convert on the penalty shot with ease.

The game was now down to its dying moments, and Racao otherwise would be happy about its performance if it had forced the Esportivan number ones to extra time or maybe even penalties. San Jose Guayabal, meanwhile, was pretty upset that an upstart team, ranked only 19th in Esportiva without even a WCC rank, would hold the Esportivan number ones to such an ignominious draw in extra time or penalties. They thought they could do better, thus mounting a ferocious attack on the Racaoan position. Sakoto and the defense, however, held firm, and Manendry ending up clearing the ball. Mosa did notice that there was a bit of a gap in the lines of the Guayabalense defense, now bolstered with Navas, but it was not enough to stop Mosa's ambition and ability to exploit the opportunity for his team. He quickly passed to Arivelo, who passed to Ravalomanana, who set up the game winning goal by Mosa by passing back to him. Overall, it was a triumph for Racao, and likely would go into their history as one of their best - and most unprecedented - games. Now Racao would have to play at this level for another ninety minutes as they tackle Brenecia, another high-quality side, who defeated World Champions Nephara in the quarterfinals.

[Apox]

Jasmine Cooke strode down the long, majestic halls of Government House, aides flying around her. She’d chaired an emergency meeting of the Cabinet as her government and the country of Apox had managed to plunge itself into its first major crisis of her tenure as Leader.

The large oak doors at the end of the particular corridor she was in were opened and she strode into the Cabinet office - the first time it had actually been used for business since she’d been sworn in two weeks prior. The ministers lingered round the edge of the room or were seated at the table, talking in small knots.

She reached the head of the table and called the meeting to order.

“Welcome everyone, to this emergency cabinet meeting to ascertain what our next moves and priorities should be to cope with this corruption in football scandal we appear to have been flung into. I hope you’ve all read the dossiers which were sent out last night, giving the main details and what we still don’t know. I know turn you all to Gavin, who will be able to brief you all on the situation.” As she sat down, attention on the table turned to Gavin Clark, the Minister for Sport and Culture, who was looking particularly weather worn today - it was unlikely he’d slept that night.

“Hello everyone,” he began, “as I’m sure you’re all aware, things are looking particularly grave. If you turn to page 2 of the dossier, you’ll see listed all 88 clubs in the ANL and Conference league system. Out of these 88, we have 7 confirmed cases of matchfixing and accepting other payments, those clubs are coloured red and brown on the sheet depending on the severity and extent of these occurrences. Additionally there are another 21 clubs which are currently suspected of match fixing without having concrete evidence - we suspect many of these clubs will have strong evidence held against them in the coming days and weeks. These clubs are coloured amber and yellow for the likelihood of match fixing occurring. 53 clubs are green on their - they either haven’t been fully investigated yet or they are clean and the remaining 7 are in grey as we don’t have full data on them yet.”

There was a brief pause around the room, as the various members present flicked through the dossier again, reminding their memories of the information they’d soaked up. Jack Greybold, former Leader of Apox and current Leader of the Green Party, the smaller party in the coalition, was the first to speak, being a venerable old member of the cabinet now as he was.

“Well, I don’t think we should rush into any decisions. This is a pretty delicate situation and perhaps caution and waiting for all the information to be clear is in our best interests here.” There was a murmuring of approval around the room, before Kaston Ashmir, Greybold’s arch nemesis in the Green Party, spoke up:

“We need to portray a strong, united front. We can’t be delaying. We need strong reform, replacements. Can the AFB even continue to exist?” There was a bit more of a stunned silence to this comment before Jasmine Cooke intervened,

“Well, I’m not sure going in with that attitude is perhaps the best idea. We need a more measured response, which I’m sure will also make us look more authoritative as well...”

Apox 1-0 Nova Anglicana
APX: Anaximander -- Treloquithack (Storbrittania 69'), Raynerson, Etezadi (c), Fowey -- Kinlasson -- Abbraciabene, Ibrox, Vladimirescu -- Zozula (Juquinho 65'), McKenna
NOV: Barnett -- Wells, Bowman, Bowen, Barrett -- Parker, Cook, Chapin (Dawson 76'), Rhodes -- Moga (Hodges 76') -- Kelly

And so it is Apox who scrape through to another semi-final in the Campionato Esportiva - the only competition we've ever had sustained success in, this time beating out Nova Anglicana to advance. It was something of a tense game, with Nova Anglicana repelling the early attacking, pressing intent of Apox, before being particularly threatening the middle part of the game. In fact, Nova Anglicana nearly went into the break with a 1-0 lead, were it not for the spectacular goalkeeping of Halyos Anaximander. With a period of a little more uncertainty ensuing in the start of the second half, Olim Benzari brought off Adnan Zozula for the potent Juquinho, as well as taking off Eneko Treloquithack, who'd struggled against Jake Rhodes all game. With a couple of more aggressive Anglican substitutions in the 76th minute, Apox struck on the counter, Kinlasson firing the ball forward to Corrina McKenna who couldn't quite direct it into the net. However, Thomas Barnett wasn't quite able to keep hold of the ball, and it spilled out to the inrushing Zana Ibrox, to hand Apox the winner. Next we face Gregoryisgodistan in the semi-finals, as we remain in the hunt for our 3rd title.

[Falatulu]

OOC: As everybody has already RPed, I'm going to cutoff early tonight...

Campionato Esportiva XVI

Semifinal Results

Gregoryisgodistan 0–1 Apox
Brenecia 4–1 Racao

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Third Place Match

Gregoryisgodistan vs Racao @ Dolphin Stadium, Toakameau

Campionato Esportiva XVI Final

Apox vs Brenecia @ IslandDome, Toakameau

[Apox]

AFB Deemed Unfit to Continue, Immediately Abolished

by Clement Ashley

In a landmark decision, taken by the Government of Apox today following the results of a 6 week inquiry into corruption in Apoxian football, the AFB has been shut down and abolished, with immediate effect - ending the nearly 30 year period of organised football this country has enjoyed.

This was taken as a result of a series of high profile resignations within the AFB and other football clubs following the Marshall Report being published, throwing most of Apoxian football organisation into complete disarray.

Jooles the Sophisticated, former AFB President was replaced by Jon Quillisi for 48 hours before the ruling was made - Quillisi, one of Apoxian football’s most celebrated establishments, now has the difficult and painful task of destroying the footballing pillars he was instrumental in creating.

Since the report was published, 572 people have been arrested pending trial for illegal activities - these ranges from footballers, to club members, to board members of clubs, club staff, AFB workers all the way up to executive level and people with influence not particularly related to football. In addition, just over 1000 people have been banned from football related activity for life.

Thankfully, many of the most cherished players of Apoxian football, past and present haven’t been implicated, with all the 23 players currently taking part in the Campionato Esportiva being clean, as well as other famous players such as Dravid Scott, Olim Benzari, Matthias Sindelar and Tolgus Tregajorran.

The most famous former Apoxian player to be arrested was Will Fich, who was also a high ranking member of the AFB.

This scandal has left a nation reeling and shocked. In the dark days ahead, where there is no football to let us travel away from the everyday, the mundane, the boring. Football has let us forget our troubles and live the crazy experience through others.

Maybe this is it for Apoxian football. Maybe one day it will return. Nothing is sure anymore, but, for the last time, thank you for taking part in the ride.

OOC: I'll try and edit this to add something regarding the game just gone and game just occurred. No promises though.

[Falatulu]

OOC: As Apox has RPed and everybody else has given me permission to do so over IRC, its time for another early cutoff...

Campionato Esportiva XVI

3PPO/Final Results

Third Place Playoff
Gregoryisgodistan 1–2 Racao

Congratulations to Racao on another 3rd place finish. Commiserations to Gregoryisgodistan.

Final
Apox 3–3 Brenecia (4–3 AET)

Congratulations to Apox on going out on top. Commiserations to Brenecia for a great run and thanks to everybody who participated!

[Apox]

A nation, crushed, broken in many ways, turned it's collective eye towards Falatulu and specifically the IslandDome in Toakameau. There, standing in the tunnel, were the 11 players, 7 substitutes and manager who would lead the national side out for it's last game - due to the recent decision to permanently suspend the AFB as an entity.

At the front, Solomon Etezadi - one of the greatest centre backs to grace the game in Apox, and perhaps the multiverse, standing tall and proud - now Apox's record cap holder by quite a margin.

Behind him, Halyos Anaximander, the former Dwile Warriors and now Brigham keeper, who'd really grown into his position in recent years. Behind him, Eneko Treloquithack, Olim Shahzad and James Fowey - the starting defence, the rock which the team were built on.

Or perhaps the real rock was behind them in Luxulya St. Cleer - the vice captain and a totemic figure within the side. Originally of Wrexton F.C, before her transfer to the Nepharim Premiership (back when that league wasn't the powerhouse it is today of course) and one of the first major transfers there from Apox. Indeed, she has since risen to become captain of Crisisbless, one of the most consistent teams in the country and lead them to their first (and only) Nepharim triumph so far.

Behind her, Eric Abbraciabene, Zana Ibrox and Kaj Aurora - Kaj nearing 100 caps now, sadly cut short of that record even if the current Apoxian record were being exposed as messy and incomplete (a separate revelation coming from the corruption scandal). And behind them, Adnan Zozula and Corinna McKenna, the two strikers of the national team and both incredible players (and incredible journeyplayers, Corinna flitting around the ANL with Urbanista Trojans, FC Brimstone & Barbury Town while Adnan had travelled far and wide since his departure from Wye United, heading to East Franz Athletic, Ousevale Borough & AFC Treason).

The stadium announcer waved them on, and, quickly glancing to his Brenecian counterpart, Cathy Blackslate, Solomon Etezadi walked out into the brightness, the screaming crowds, the final appearance of Apoxians, united, on the world football stage.

---

Cut forward to the 106th minute of the game. Two sets of players, exhausted, run into the ground, but both still very much determined to avoid the lottery of penalties. The Brenecians had played their part, admirably and bravely - they'd very much gone out to win the game, as Apoxian honour deserved. However, the neutrals were certainly on the side of the Apoxians in their final ever match.

Adnan Zozula, reduced to a trot after refusing to go off in the 95th minute, headed up once again up the pitch. An exhausted Luxulya St. Cleer looked up, and looped a long ball in. A fresher Adnan Zozula would have managed to intercept it perfectly, however, his legs were shot and the ball rolled into the path of an equally tired Anaximander Scrivener, who cleared it easily.

Zozula sighed, and turned back to head slowly towards the half way line. However, James Palmisano had stolen the ball back off Catherine Purrington, who was slow at the best of times, and was bursting up the field (Palmisano being a sub and therefore being full of beans). Zozula forced his tired legs back into action, and sprinted towards the box. Palmisano feinted past a scrambling Catherine Gryphon, sidestepped Brandon Duguid and lined up Geneva Urquhart in his sights. Urquhart crouched, ready to dive, but then, well, Palmisano somehow contrived to miss the ball.

Zozula had caught up to him at this point, and the ball rolled forwards, right into his path. Urquhart lay sprawled on the floor, anticipating a shot that never came. Despite the pain in his legs, the lead weight in his boots, Adnan fucking Zozula fucking fired the ball into the back of the net, sinking to his knees, arms raised high in celebration as he was mobbed by his teammates.

---

They'd done it. They'd FUCKING done it. 10 cycles after their last triumph, with the region totally transformed from Campionato Esportiva 5, where they beat Cyborg Holland in the final. Now, here they stood, on the podium, as a team. As the last Apoxian football team victorious against Brenecia, arguably their biggest bogey team (lies, it's probably actually NSI. Soz Neph).

With the trophy firmly in his grip, Solomon Etezadi was a total mess, screaming with joy yet also balling his eyes out. He'd given everything to this team, and he was firmly established as one of the greats at this point. He grabbed their coach - the first coach to win anything since Fendergesón Numba - and pulled him to the front of the podium with him, the team celebrating all around, champagne flying everywhere.

---

Olim Benzari was also crying, tears streaming down his face. His now weathered face - the toll of this being Apox's final ever tournament, and him leading the team through it had really taken his toll on him. He turned to Kaj Aurora, who was screaming wildly, swinging her medal round her head like a bloody maniac, when a blinding pain hit him, right in the stomach, causing him to buckle forwards and collapse onto the front barrier with the words "CHAMPIONS" emblazoned on it.

"Coach? Coach! Quickly someone help, he's down!" Were the last words Olim heard before he blacked out.

---

Olim drifted in and out of conciousness, the world swirling around in his head. He was aware of people drifting around him, occasionally getting snippets of conversation in the haze;

"...I'm sorry Perubia (Olim's wife), he's not in a good state at the moment..."

"...He's had a heart attack, he's struggling to hold on right now..."

"...Coach? Coach? Come on you got this boss..."

He managed to open his eyes and see a very familiar face staring at him, the face of Dravid Scott, fellow Apoxian football legend.

"Mate. I'm not going anywhere."

---

Pinsent Benzari was training in Farfadillis, having managed to watch the end of the game his father had managed - seeing his country take the trophy, but heading out to training immediately afterwards, not having time to watch the trophy celebrations. He'd phone his father later after training.

However, he was greeted by one of junior coaches, Jí Thôögááas, trotting up to him, a grim expression on his face. Pinsent stopped doing the exercise he was currently doing;

"What? What's happened?"

"Pinsent, I'm so so sorry. Your father is dead."

---

Olim's funeral was a sombre affair, with most of an entire nation in mourning. Perubia had cried throughout the whole service, with Pinsent and his other sons looking equally shell shocked. An assortment of former Apoxian footballers and other members of the footballing world stood around the grave, some crying, some grave and ashen faced.

Dravid Scott had been particularly hard, he was very strong friends with Olim, his former teammate, internationally and domestically. He stood at the back as the coffin was lowered into place, before turning on his heels and walking, quietly, away from the gathering in the cemetery.

He was never seen again.

Some say he went mad, and lived out the rest of his life in the Communadi jungle with the apes. Others said he changed his name to Burtho Trevorwick and became a barber in Pasarga.. Still others say found a portal to the Holy Empire and spent the rest of eternity playing 7 dimensional foot-tennis with a travelling group of sentient bananas. The truth is, we'll never really know.

---

Matthias Sindelar strode into Government House three weeks later, having become one of the newest GM's in the House having been elected in one of the 10 Dwile districts for the Green Party.

He had his eyes set on one place and one place only. The very top. And he'd be damned if he didn't get there.

In the meantime though, lunch with party leader, Jack Greybold was on the cards. He'd heard the canteen lasagne was legendary.

---

At the same time, Tolgus Tregajorran found himself in the battered remains of Fligsive, of all places. He'd had an overwhelming desire to go and get as far away from Apox as possible following the end of the AFB as an entity. The rapid, and sad, demise of Apoxian football had tainted things for him, and he needed a new start.

Completely new as it appeared, as he was stood in the charred remains of a former Corvidae headquarters in Fligsive, bullet holes in the walls and plaster peeling off the ceilings and walls, signing his name at the bottom of a piece of paper contractually obliging him to manage the Euran Overseas Territories in the AOCAF next season, or wherever else they eventually end up.

He hadn't had the honour of being present as Apox took it's baby steps out into the world (due to being aged eight at the time), so he was damn well going to make sure the EOT's baby steps were glorious. And hopefully at least a little bit stronk.

---

And with that, the "famous four" Apoxian footballers had dissipated into the world, small testaments to what their country once was. And indeed, there were still the many hundreds of other Apoxians who had been in involved in all aspects of the footballing culture left to tell the tales of what had occurred.

And even after the ages had passed and the years had rolled by, there would still be the video and audio recordings of some of the ANL's and Apox's greatest successes and darkest failures. And there would always be Kaj Aurora's triumphant scream of "FUCK YOU, YOU BIG FURRY BASTARDS" at the end of a particularly grueling qualifier against Xzyxrouw in WC71 which would live long in the memory of all Apoxians, or Rohan Cammers, celebrating a goal in the ANL by headbutting another player.

It's been fun NSSports, thanks for the ride.