(OOC: Sorry no fancy logo as I'm not the type to decorate stuff.)
Eastfield Lodge finally finds the luxury of hosting a relatively well known tournament, and is looking to make this tournament an experience visitors will not forget in a hurry. Or maybe they'll forget all about it, should they meet the Silence on their travels here.
About the nation:
Eastfield Lodge is a very large nation with a population of nearly 7 billion. Around 70% of the population are urbanised, but due to the national religion of the country being Islam, almost 99% of the country's humans are Muslims, and so there are plenty of farmers making sure the meat is halal (prepared in a certain way so Muslims are allowed to eat it). The cities themselves are modern and the major ones (especially the capital Lodgertia) have efficient intra-city rail systems alongside other public transport services. The national train network has also recently been upgraded along the major routes, and so travelling between cities will be very easy. The country also boasts a tremendously large empire, the most prominent of which is Westmeadow Tavern (capital city Tavernia) which has the honour of being the only EL colony to have actually participated in the World Cup at any point (and indeed achieved a higher position during WC53 qualifying, before falling into obscurity). Tavernia's well-named Tavernia Stadium will be the only venue outside of Eastfield Lodge, but thankfully is situated near the border and border checks won't take more than an hour. The climate where the stadiums are located will be relatively sunny and hot at this time of year, which means that the night are humid, but cooler, and so matches will be played at night. Dillvill Stadium and Tavernia Stadium will be on average cooler than the other three stadiums.
Due to a reality jump between two dimensions which occurred around five years ago (during World Cup 55 qualifying), most of the empire as well as Eastfield Lodge have been transported to another dimension, leaving the only entrance from the main world being a portal on a sizeable island (called Gate Island) in the middle of an ocean in The New Empire of Gallifrey region. Due to the dimension jump, expect to see a large number of non-humans on this side of the portal, as they're the inhabitants of that dimension and have welcomed us with open arms (for those that had any). This brings us onto our next point: rules. This being an Islamic country, there are specific laws and regulations on coming in and staying, listed as following:
1) Alcohol possession and consumption is illegal for all people in this country, and you won't be able to buy any here. Those who are found with these will be punished according to the laws of EL. The same goes for all other recreational drugs except caffeine (and those its ilk) and except for those medicinal drugs, for which proof of prescription will be needed.
2) Homosexuality is illegal and heavily punishable if caught, so keep it discrete and private. (Any public displays of heterosexual affection will earn you a fine, with the magnitude depending on the severity of the affection.)
3) You are not allowed to bring in any meat products or any products which are derived from pigs, as they are illegal here.
4) You will need to apply for a Team or Supporters Visa from the immigration office outlet on Gate Island. This will give you permission to stay for the duration of the tournament and up to a week after.
5) Due to the laws on modesty, both men and women are required to show a decent level of decency in terms of revealing clothing in public (i.e. hijab for women otherwise you're in trouble). The immigration office and the EL police will supply you with the required clothing upon entry to the country should you not already have one.
Apart from that, it should be fine. (OOC: if there's anything else you need to know, please ask via TG and I will try to get back to you as quick as I can.)
Scorination:
NSFS 3.0.1. I have had plenty of experience in using it, and there really shouldn't be any problems. For base rank, the most up-to-date KPB rankings at the start of the competition will be used. However, this will be tweaked according to the level of the team sent, as the KPB ranks only show the quality of the "A" team; not, for example, a team at U-21 level or a "B" team, whose KPB rank value would be determined proportionately to the the nation's actual KPB points. As for time of scorination, it should be from 1800 to 1900 BST, although this may vary.
Style modifiers in a range of -3 to +3 will be used, but should teams not post rosters specifying style modifiers before the first matchday of each stage, then it will be set at 0. Note: Style modifiers can not change during each stage (or in between stages if specified early).
RP Bonus:
The RP bonus will be 2 KPB and this will not degrade. To get the top end of the bonus, RPs will need to be creative, readable (although if the context requires less readable RP, such as text messages etc, then fine) and they need to respect their opponent's RP permissions. As for rosters, a maximum of 2 KPB (non-degrading) will be given out to teams when they post rosters (this bonus will be included with any other RP bonuses if the roster is posted after the first matchday of the first stage), depending on quality and information given.
Structure:
Well as we have 20 participants, the first stage (Group A-D), will contain 4 groups of 5 teams playing each other once, and then each team will be assigned to a group (Groups 1-5) in the second stage depending on their position in the group stage. This will lead to 5 groups of 4 teams, playing each other once. Overall, this will rank all twenty teams relative to each other.
Tie-breakers:
The tie-breakers to be used are, in order: Points, Goal Difference, Head-to-Head matches, Goals For and a playoff match (details will be given should it be necessary).
Stadia:
Group A and Group 3: Parliament Stadium (cap: 80,000)
Location: Central Lodgertia, the capital of Eastfield Lodge, and right next to the EL Parliament.
Group B and Group 5: Olympic Park (cap: 50,000)
Location: Olypmic City, a 30 minute ride by train from Lodgertia Central, built specifically for the only TNEOG Olympics.
Group C and Group 2: Dillvill Park (cap: 100,000)
Location: 5 minute by train from Dillvill City in the north of the country (second most northern province, the most northern being too separatist to play there). The former national stadium of the EL team, this stadium houses the traditional domestic powerhouses RGS Athletic and VLC FC. It has its own airport, and is about a two hour plane ride from Lodgertia.
Group D and Group 4: Tavernia Stadium (cap: 65,921)
Location: Not far from the commercial heart of the Tavernia, but still very much inside the city boundaries.
Group 1: Lodgertia City Memorial Stadium (cap: 150,000)
Location: New Lodger Town (formerly known as Lodger City, which was the capital of Eastfield Lodge before it got flattened by a double disaster, hence the memorial), about 90 minutes by train from Lodgertia Central. This place is reserved exclusively for the EL national team (and here the group battling it out for the top four).