World Cup 96 - Roleplay Thread

[Mertagne]

SIGNUPS | HOST BID | ROSTERS | ROLEPLAYS | RESULTS
BoF 83 | CoH 88 | WORLD CUP DISCUSSION THREAD

Welcome to World Cup 96, brought to you by Mertagne and Huayramarca!

This is the roleplay thread for this edition of the tournament. Please post your roleplays in this thread to be graded by the hosts, and more importantly, enjoyed by your fellow competitors. Posts here should be strictly in-character [IC], with out-of-character [OOC] notes specified explicitly in your post. Please don't reserve posts in this thread if you are not one of the hosts of the tournament - this is poor etiquette. OOC discussion surrounding the tournament should be placed in the World Cup Discussion Thread, linked above.

Please remember if you are involving another nation in your roleplays to follow their roleplay permissions, which should be outlined in their roster.

During the finals, the cutoff will be 1 hour earlier than it was during the qualifiers, at 23:00 UTC.

The pots for the World Cup 96 Finals are as follows:
Pot 1: Mertagne (21), Huayramarca (23), Valanora (1), Delte (2), Farfadillis (3), Tumbra (4), Kelssek (6), Ko-oren (8)
Pot 2: Flavovespia (9), Zwangzug (10), Chromatika (11), Yuezhou (12), United Mandaran States (13), Brookstation (14), Sylestone (15), The Holy Empire (16)
Pot 3: HUElavia (17), Tikariot (22), Saint Eleanor (24), Independent Athletes from Quebec (25), West Barack and East Obama (26), Audioslavia (28), Xanneria (31), Tanirinthia (35)
Pot 4: Eshialand (39), Vdara (40), Juvencus (42), Josifovo (44), Indusse (55), Zenic (71), Crpostran (73), Reçueçn (80)

Huayrmarca Half
(scorinated by Mertagne)
Group A

1. Chromatika (11)
2. Huayramarca (23)
3. Juvencus (42)
4. Independent Athletes from Quebec (25)

Group B

1. Kelssek (6)
2. Audioslavia (28)
3. Sylestone (15)
4. Josifovo (44)

Group C

1. Crpostran (73)
2. Xanneria (31)
3. Delte (2)
4. Flavovespia (9)

Group D

1. Saint Eleanor (24)
2. Valanora (1)
3. Vdara (40)
4. United Mandaran States (13)

Mertagne Half
(scorinated by Huayramarca)
Group E

1. Mertagne (21)
2. Zwangzug (10)
3. HUElavia (17)
4. Zenic (71)

Group F

1. Brookstation (14)
2. Ko-oren (8)
3. West Barack and East Obama (26)
4. Eshialand (39)

Group G

1. Tumbra (4)
2. The Holy Empire (16)
3. Indusse (55)
4. Tanirinthia (35)

Group H

1. Reçueçn (80)
2. Farfadillis (3)
3. Tikariot (22)
4. Yuezhou (12)

The qualifying stage for this tournament will see 140 teams compete in 20 groups of 7, in a double round robin format that will see the top team from each group qualify, and the second placed teams will enter a single legged playoff for the final 10 spots. These successful 30 teams will join the two hosts in the finals.
During the qualifiers, two matchdays will be scorinated every 48 hours. The daily cutoff will be between 00:00 and 01:00 UTC, with miniscule room for extensions. Get your roleplays in early.
Groups 1-10 will be scorinated by Huayramarca, and Groups 11-20 will be scorinated by Mertagne.

Pot 1: Valanora (1), Delte (3), Farfadillis (4), Tumbra (5), Banija (6), Kelssek (7), Ko-oren (8), Yuezhou (9), Zwangzug (10), Flavovespia (11), United Mandaran States (12), Brookstation (13), Chromatika (14), The Holy Empire (15), Sylestone (17), Pasarga (18), HUElavia (19), Cabo Azure (20), Tikariot (22), Mytanija (23)
Pot 2: Drawkland (24), Elmyia (27), Independent Athletes from Quebec (28), Milchama (29), Kandorith (30), Saint Eleanor (31), Squornshelan Remnant States (32), West Barack and East Obama (33), Audioslavia (34), Baggieland (36), Xanneria (37), Sajnur (38), Juvencus (39), Eura (40), Commonwealth of Baker Park (41), Gnejs (42), Cassadaigua (43), Ochre Islands (44), Eshialand (45), Tanirinthia (46)
Pot 3: Qasden (48), Cardenao (49), Archalit (52), Krytenia (53), TJUN-ia (54), Sargossa (55), Stevencousin (56), Jeruselem (57), Vdara (60), Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove (61), Poafmersia (62), Valentine Z (63), Saterun (64), Delaclava (65), StrayaRoos (67), Kimi-Suomi (68), Darmen (70), Aleirave (71), Indusse (72), Josifovo (73)
Pot 4: Eraman (74), Oberour Ar Moro (75), Sudilia (77), Brannfjord (79)*, Pyazhnaya (82), Adab (83), Ile de Richelieu (84), Bears Armed (86), Carpathia and Ruthenia (87), The Kytler Peninsulae (88), Myrtle Beach (90), Ceni (92), Sea Dome (94), Polar Islandstates (96), Al-Tamazgha (98), Equestria (100), Natanians and Nosts (101), Amenria (102), Eastfield Lodge (104), Sannyamathland (107)
Pot 5: Kamijiro (109), Reçueçn (108), Bostopia (111), Sarzonia (112), Euran Oceania Territories (115), Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom (116), Abanhfleft (125), Aphrilia (127), Zenic (127), Vilwandia (129), Astograth (134), Britonisea (140), Darkmania (141), United Hawkland (142), United States of Devonta (145), Damukuni (146), Boring Paradise (158), Hakushiya (172), The 14 Stars (176), Doubeia (185)
Pot 6: Captina Island (187), Tero al Disco (193), Semarland (198), Ardsk (198), Kirungabi (206), Vyktoria (217), Lisander (219), Srednjaci (221), East Leaf Islands (229), Delitai (229), Esporonia (229), Arjunnagar (232), Conania (236), Daharia (236), Crpostran (240), The Union of Ventura (248), New Fernia (248), Legalese (258), Rea San Vegas (259), Gorutimania (266)†
Pot 7: Gunnison and Telluride (266)†, Ishadonia (269), Raspotochje (276), Aiporhtse (279), Sawenia (279), Ekhistan (287), The Erishlands (291), Celestial Emapier (UR), Auprussia (UR), Wight (UR), Txakhaxi (UR), Saltidia (UR), Socialist republic of lower Tranmere (UR), Siovanija and Teusland (UR), Kinqueven (UR), Labalia (UR), Qusmo (UR), La Pizza de la mama (UR), Flipverse (UR), Francazar (UR)

*puppet of host Huayramarca - whichever group they are randomised into will be called 'Group 20' and scorinated by Mertagne
†Tie broken by coinflip

Group 1

1. Elmyia (27)
2. Francazar (UR)
3. Darkmania (141)
4. East Leaf Islands (229)
5. Vdara (60)
6. The Holy Empire (15)
7. Pyazhnaya (82)

Group 2

1. Boring Paradise (158)
2. Eura (40)
3. Gunnison and Telluride (266)
4. Valentine Z (63)
5. Gorutimania (266)
6. Valanora (1)
7. Ceni (92)

Group 3

1. Indusse (72)
2. Vilwandia (129)
3. Daharia (236)
4. Oberour Ar Moro (75)
5. Txakhaxi (UR)
6. Kelssek (7)
7. Sajnur (38)

Group 4

1. Semarland (198)
2. Bears Armed (86)
3. Josifovo (73)
4. United States of Devonta (145)
5. Zwangzug (10)
6. Squornshelan Remnant States (32)
7. Celestial Emapier (UR)

Group 5

1. Lisander (219)
2. Aleirave (71)
3. Chromatika (14)
4. West Barack and East Obama (33)
5. Abanhfleft (125)
6. Equestria (100)
7. Sawenia (279)

Group 6

1. Damukuni (146)
2. Drawkland (24)
3. Ardsk (198)
4. Stevencousin (56)
5. Natanians and Nosts (101)
6. Flipverse (UR)
7. Tikariot (22)

Group 7

1. Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom (116)
2. Delitai (229)
3. StrayaRoos (67)
4. Kandorith (30)
5. Ekhistan (287)
6. Adab (83)
7. Flavovespia (11)

Group 8

1. Sea Dome (94)
2. The 14 Stars (176)
3. Wight (UR)
4. Brookstation (13)
5. Srednjaci (221)
6. Juvencus (39)
7. Qasden (48)

Group 9

1. Doubeia (185)
2. Vyktoria (217)
3. Amenria (102)
4. Siovanija and Teusland (UR)
5. Pasarga (18)
6. Independent Athletes from Quebec (28)
7. Cardenao (49)

Group 10

1. Poafmersia (62)
2. Kirungabi (206)
3. Aiporhtse (279)
4. Xanneria (37)
5. Astograth (134)
6. Myrtle Beach (90)
7. Banija (6)

Group 11

1. Delaclava (65)
2. Crpostran (240)
3. Yuezhou (9)
4. Eastfield Lodge (104)
5. Kinqueven (UR)
6. Milchama (29)
7. Britonisea (140)

Group 12

1. Sylestone (17)
2. Zenic (127)
3. Jeruselem (57)
4. Raspotochje (276)
5. Al-Tamazgha (98)
6. Commonwealth of Baker Park (41)
7. The Union of Ventura (248)

Group 13

1. Baggieland (36)
2. New Fernia (248)
3. Kamijiro (109)
4. Socialist republic of lower Tranmere (UR)
5. HUElavia (19)
6. The Kytler Peninsulae (88)
7. Krytenia (53)

Group 14

1. United Hawkland (142)
2. Delte (3)
3. Sudilia (77)
4. Ishadonia (269)
5. Gnejs (42)
6. Conania (236)
7. TJUN-ia (54)

Group 15

1. Euran Oceania Territories (115)
2. Saint Eleanor (31)
3. Eraman (74)
4. Darmen (70)
5. Tumbra (5)
6. Auprussia (UR)
7. Arjunnagar (232)

Group 16

1. Esporonia (229)
2. Tanirinthia (46)
3. Farfadillis (4)
4. Hakushiya (172)
5. Polar Islandstates (96)
6. Qusmo (UR)
7. Archalit (52)

Group 17

1. Ile de Richelieu (84)
2. Eshialand (45)
3. Captina Island (187)
4. Bostopia (111)
5. Sargossa (55)
6. United Mandaran States (12)
7. La Pizza de la mama (UR)

Group 18

1. Rea San Vegas (259)
2. Sarzonia (112)
3. Ko-oren (8)
4. Carpathia and Ruthenia (87)
5. Ochre Islands (44)
6. Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove (61)
7. Labalia (295)

Group 19

1. Sannyamathland (107)
2. Aphrilia (127)
3. Tero al Disco (193)
4. Audioslavia (34)
5. Cabo Azure (20)
6. Saltidia (UR)
7. Saterun (64)

Group 20

1. Legalese (258)
2. Kimi-Suomi (68)
3. Reçueçn (108)
4. Brannfjord (79)
5. Cassadaigua (43)
6. The Erishlands (291)
7. Mytanija (23)

SCHEDULE
QUALIFIERS
00:01 UTC 27th March: MD1/2 (2v7, 3v6, 4v5, 1 bye) // (6v4, 7v3, 1v2, 5 bye)
00:01 UTC 29th March: MD3/4 (3v1, 4v7, 5v6, 2 bye) // (7v5, 1v4, 2v3, 6 bye)
00:01 UTC 31st March*: MD5/6 (4v2, 5v1, 6v7, 3 bye) // (1v6, 2v5, 3v4, 7 bye)
00:01 UTC 2nd April: MD7/8 (5v3, 6v2, 7v1, 4 bye) // (7v2, 6v3, 5v4, 1 bye)
00:01 UTC 4th April: MD9/10 (4v6, 3v7, 2v1, 5 bye) // (1v3, 7v4, 6v5, 2 bye)
00:01 UTC 6th April: MD11/12 (5v7, 4v1, 3v2, 6 bye) // (2v4, 1v5, 7v6, 3 bye)
00:01 UTC 8th April: MD13/14 (6v1, 5v2, 4v3, 7 bye) // (3v5, 2v6, 1v7, 4 bye)
00:01 UTC 10th April - Playoffs
*DST comes into effect in several RL nations around this cutoff - cutoff time not changed as UTC used throughout tournament.

23:00 UTC 12th April - Group Draw
23:01 UTC** 20th April - MD1 (1v4, 2v3)
23:01 UTC 22nd April - MD2 (4v3, 1v2)
23:01 UTC 24th April - MD3 (3v1, 2v4)
23:01 UTC 26th April - Round of 16
23:01 UTC 28th April - Quarter Finals
23:01 UTC 30th April - Semi Finals
23:01 UTC 1st May - Final/3PPO
**Please bear in mind for those on BST and earlier timezones this will be the following day.

If you have any questions, please contact Mertagne or Huayramarca by telegram or other applicable methods. Smoke signals are unlikely to work.

[Huayramarca]

About Huayramarca: The Plurinational State of Huayramarca, also known as “Huayramarca Mamallaqta” in Quechua and ”Huayramarca Suyu” in Aymara (both literally meaning Land of the Wind), is an extraordinarily biodiverse, geographically massive and a demographical melting pot that’s located in Anaia. Spanning three time zones, from the islands, reaching the coast, hiking the mountains, and then sliding into the jungle, passing massive cordilleras, covering 3.75 million square kilometers (2.33 million square miles) with 36 million inhabitants of, at least, 12 different ethnicities.

Huayramarca as is a relatively new nation for the traditional standards of it, it was constituted on 1822 (currently, we sit on 1991), the main focus of building this nation was to help different ethnic groups to gather force into the region, in order to be recognized multiversally as a nation, hence, may gather some international protection in case their rights would be abused suddenly by an external force.

Being completely ignorant on what was happening on the neighbourhood, the Aymara, Quechua, Shuar, Guarani, Montubio, Tsáchila, Huaorani, Andoa and Candoshi ethnicities decided to build the Republic with the support of neighbouring nations such as the Royal Kingdom of Québec.

Until the middle XX century, Huayramarca managed to survive economically from llama, alpaca and vicuña herding, since its skins are highly valuable in neighbouring Québec due to their strong winters; also, coffee production helped Huayramarca to build some solid institutions that promoted national expansion near the neighbouring Cocoabo Forest, that place is “La Selva”, a lush but quite dangerous forest with hundreds of rivers that come from the Andes. After some years of exploration, the authorities met the first indigenous peoples of the zone, which were exploited in order to produce rubber for tires and some mysterious chickens that were produced to do even more mysterious sacrifices to a deity, which the local people and even the rest of Huayramarca wasn’t able to understand how she works, granted, it’s not even a part of the Incan Mythology which includes Inti (the god of the Sun) and others.

Said abuses committed against the jungle inhabitants caused a heavy political turmoil around 1950, which formed a divide in the nation that remains until today: Serranos (highlanders), Costeños (coastals) against selváticos (jungle inhabitants); Those divides weren’t noticeable in economic terms but politically, with constant attempts of coup d’état against the government.

Aymara and Quechua peoples took the power during the remaining part of the 50’s until 1969. On that period, Huayramarca suffered the effects of a severe number of “huaycos” (mudslides) caused by heavy rainstorms across the entire Huayramarcan Sierra, those events killed at least 300,000 people and urged for an attempt to reincorporate Huayramarca back into normality, but, how? The main bet of the government was to aim for the tourism industry, spamming the developed nations of Anaia in order to make some tourists visit sacred places such as Illimani (a mountain that’s devoted as god for the Aymara folk), Huayna Picchu (the royal Incan palace for Quechua) and the sun-drenched coast ranging from Guayaquil to Lima (specially Montañita, the best beach par excellence in northern Anaia).

The formula was working decently, since the economy was reporting high growth numbers, but seemed to cause some lack of satisfaction on certain zones of the country, especially on the Jungle. Their inhabitants decided to support the Costeño elite to beat the Serrano government. 1969 election would be marked for the Huayramarcan history by the magnitude of the sabotage made against the current government, to the point of bribery or killings for their supporters.

Eleven years of government by Hugo Mina were enough to cause another civil war in the nation, as the Serranos considered they were being subjected to oppression, and they had enough reasons to think about it. Expropriation of holy shrines, disregard to their infrastructural and social needs, and a pretty well ingrained discrimination scheme were keeping them away from any real possibility to live with dignity. The feeling was shared by Selváticos and some Costeños, that’s why the civil war broke in 1980, a short yet bloody episode of the history of Huayramarca that ended with the suicide of Hugo Mina and the Costeño elite ceding their part of the cake to Serranos.

Currently, Huayramarca has a huge wealth gap between zones, the coast boasts the fact of being the economic engine of the nation even though the capital city is in the Sierra, while the Jungle is slowly developing with some cities such as Sechura, Florencia, Virú and several others boosted by oil findings and rubber production. Sierra may be in disadvantage, but recent developments in neighbouring nations may make them turn relevant once again in the nation, since lithium batteries demand is growing up and Huayramarca’s Sierra possesses one of the biggest reserves of said mineral of the entire multiverse.

Basically, Huayramarca is a nation of contrasts and never—ending conflicts that’s well into the deep borehole named “the natural resource course” a hard situation to overcome due to the lack of proper education, critical thinking, and result-focused mindset on the population, that constantly seeks for shelter in entertainment industries such as soap operas, music, and now football. Ñucanchi Ñan, a political movement that stemmed up during the civil war against Hugo Mina, flourished and ruled for a decade, establishing what we know about Huayramarca today: a strong social security net, a thriving industry (especially in oil and technologies; although with work to do to eradicate poverty in the nation (which still hovers around the 30% mark of the Huayramarcan population).

The focus of the mainstream agenda is over sustainable economic growth, taking care of the environment and inclusion of minorities, something that is accepted by the people in the nation. This environment has led to an increase in nationalism, since the national unity is being fostered as a State Policy; sports, especially football is being the main vehicle to promote that sense. As for now, the Huayramarcan Football Federation budget has been increased twenty times to aim for success in short-term.

Despite those efforts, Ñucanchi Ñan wasn’t what everybody expected to see, as corruption popped up, for the n-th time, in the records of Huayramarcan history. Shady usage of government funds, false academic credentials, and an attempt for an illegal re-election of Marta Mamani caused the party to lose support and favour the current leader, Melissa Ocampo from the Communist Party of Huayramarca.

As the Communist Party won the elections, some sort of apocalypse happened in the Cocoabo Forest, which was the perfect opportunity for Huayramarca to expand one final time, grabbing some of the finest plantations of Cocoa in the multiverse (City of General Vélez), salt flats (City of Potosí) and some beautiful fjords (City of Llanquihue) in the process that enhance, even more, what the nation has to offer to the Multiverse.

One of the initial goals from Ocampo was to “put Huayramarca in the eyes of the multiverse”, something that didn’t went badly as history would dictate, instead, it turned out to be a plan from the Huayramarcan Football Federation jointly with the Federation of Mertagnian Football to host the 96th World Cup, which was successful. Now, with everybody watching, the nation in its entirety is awaiting everybody with open arms, expecting to leave a grateful impression for the nation, and also to establish Huayramarca as a great place to visit.

Useful Information and Stadia:

You might want to check some maps, as Huayramarca is quite a massive country in terms of surface and distances. Click here for a Biome Official Map and here for a Cities Official Map. Those are still valid, although they don’t feature yet the Southern Expansion Zone, which can be found in the following map

Before introducing the stadia, there’s some handy information for away fans who might visit Huayramarca. As said before, this nation has a quite complex geography and some long distances to travel for away fans, since there are five international airports: Huayramarca International Airport, located near Chuquiago at the highlands; the Jorge Guerra International Airport in Lima, on the coast; the International Airport of the Archipelago on Puerto San Carlos (isles), the Libertador Suárez International Airport of Sechura (jungle) and the Cacique Calfucurá International Airport in Llanquihue (Southern Expansion Zone). Those airports might provide you with connections for other destinations such as Guayaquil, San Ignacio de la Frontera and Nauta if you want to travel safely. If you are a risk taker and lover of adventure, rent an AWD vehicle and go up mountains or driving through them which is a complete odyssey due to the risks caused by the Andean geography itself, or the safe-to drive-coasts or through the jungle, which can be desolated to drive in case of mechanic failure.

People in Huayramarca might be passional about football pretty much everywhere, but more hostile when you go down the mountains, driving to the coast. Down there, if people don’t attack you, weather might do due to the offensive humidity, mosquitoes and heat that may occur there. In Lima, despite being in the coast, the weather is mild and great to play football, but there might be some sandstorms due to the deserts located south of said city. Coastal teams usually play at afternoon, when humidity may suffocate those not used to deal with it.

Same happens at the jungle, but the mosquito issue multiplies thousand-fold, also as humidity caused by constant rains that pass there in their transit to the highlands. Water absorption made by trees cause severe issues with an extremely humid weather, hence jungle teams decide to play often at noon, to torture rival teams.

On the Sierra things get worse since the main problem up there is respiration. For a physical activity like football, people might need some weeks to acclimatize altitude and get an efficient breathing pattern that might supply their physical effort needs. Several cities are above the 2500 masl, even the capital city, which is located at 4000 masl, it doesn’t matter at which time they decide to play, if a team isn’t acclimatized, they will even faint during the game if they don’t have with them oxygen tanks to breathe before the game or if they don’t get some treatment into a hyperbaric chamber.

Stadia are distributed to have a fair as possible distribution that represents every region and ensures accessibility to every single football fan. Considering that there will be thirty-two local games at Huayramarca. Let aside the efforts made by the government that, in order to properly host the event, made sure to increase the capacity of the stadia and build three more to alleviate pressure on infrastructures and regions. The venues assigned to each team, depending the match, are in the following table.

Nota Bene: the table features regions, so you can click on the spoiler of the region you want to check and find the stadium beneath it. All times in Sierra Time Zone (add one hour for Selva and substract one for Isla and Costa).

Sierra:

Estadio Nacional de Huayramarca - Capacity: 50,000 - Huayramarca Metropolitan District.

Tenants: Ministry of Culture and Sports of Huayramarca.
Built in: 1968.
Altitude: 4,012 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Illimani FC, Real Ebriedad, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: Built in 1968, the Estadio Nacional is the jewel in the not so well-shaped crown of the Huayramarcan sport venues, an Olympic stadium that might be a nightmare for visiting teams due to the altitude and weather of the city, which tends to be somewhat hostile every day, even more if it's played at noon due to the sun's radiation at that altitude. Despite being an Olympic stadium, people tend to set significant pressure in it, especially from the neighbouring apartment blocks which tends to be crowded for the matches being held there (they might aim lasers from there, take care!).

Also, the walls near the dressing room have curious messages as such: "Welcome to Chuquiago At 4,000 meters above sea level "is one of the first things the visiting teams will read upon entering the dressing room, perhaps to make clear the conditions to which they will be subjected throughout the game. It is still intimidating the following warning that is issued when they leave the visiting dressing room "Caution, if you have the following symptoms: Headache, vertigo, fatigue, tachycardia, nausea or vomiting, wheezing, dyspnoea or inappetence, go to the medical staff, we are at your disposal."

Estadio de la Revolución - Capacity: 40,000 - San Ignacio de la Frontera, Cajamarca.

Tenants: Ministry of Culture and Sports of Huayramarca.
Built in: 1985.
Altitude: 2,325 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Audax Cajamarca, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: The Ministry of Culture and Sports has decided to revamp the sporting infrastructure across Huayramarca to promote football among young people and form, in a near future, a strong Huayramarcan National Team. To fulfil said promise stadia were built in significant places in Huayramarca, San Ignacio de la Frontera is one of those sometimes-forgotten outposts of the nation yet relevant for trading with its neighbouring Mertagne in the eastern side of the Highlands. Home of Audax Cajamarca, this stadium promises to offer one of the most interesting fan scenes in the nation, as people are more enthusiastic than other places in Huayramarca, considering the heavy influence that Mertagnian football has caused in this place.

Not as high as another venues in terms of altitude, the 2,325 meters above sea level isn't a cipher that should be underestimated, to the contrary, it's still a problematic altitude for teams that aren't used to it, especially on ball shooting and breathing conditions. This stadium is the only one in Huayramarca that uses turf as ground to play, something that could cause issues with visiting teams and Huayramarcans that might not be used to play here.

Estadio de la Universidad Nacional del Altiplano - Capacity: 28,000 – El Alto.

Tenants: Universidad Nacional del Altiplano.
Built in: 1986.
Altitude: 4,525 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Club Universitario del Altiplano, Club Atlético Always Ready, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: Behold to what is one of the highest (if not the highest) stadium in the Multiverse. Huayramarcans are known for their impressive resilience to high altitudes, and this is a significant example, El Alto is a satellite city of Chuquiago and home of half a million people that’s located at a highly elevated portion of the Altiplano (4500 m.a.s.l. average). A working-class city, characterised for being the entry point for people settling from the rural areas and the gateway for students into the metropolitan life, El Alto can also prove to be a hostile field as it’s hard to adapt and settle in such conditions.

Home of Club Universitario del Altiplano and Club Atlético Always Ready, this stadium has not been created for the sake of torturing rivals, instead, for the popularity of the sport among the inhabitants of El Alto. People are usually thirsty for sports after a tough day, as people usually work under extenuating labour conditions, hence this is an authentic kettle set to explode in support for the local team.

Cementerio de Trenes - Capacity: 35,000 - Potosí.

Tenants: Ministry of Culture and Sports of Huayramarca.
Built in: 1990.
Altitude: 3,885 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: Built in 1990, the Estadio Nacional is one of the newest stadiums of Huayramarca, funded by the Government and the Huayramarcan Football Federation with two goals in mind. First, to build infrastructure for leisure and entertainment in the Southern Expansion Zone (that also has a Sierra, mountains and altitude), and for hosting purposes of the World Cup 96. This stadium isn't intended to be a white elephant long forgotten after the World Cup, as is expected to host some matches of the Huayramarcan National Team for future qualifiers, and some new teams that might settle in the zone. Featuring a "special" type of "ecologic" seating that doesn't requires plastics doesn't have any seats due to budget constraints and also featuring some high-quality bars and restaurants near the 100 suites created as hospitality for VIP guests, makes this stadium one of the most modern in the region, and also a comfortable one for fans from abroad.

Selva:

Estadio Olímpico del Oriente - Capacity: 30,000 - Sechura.

Tenants: MuniSechura.
Built in: 1945.
Altitude: 560 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Sociedad Petrolera, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: One of the biggest stadia in Huayramarca, the main hub of sports in the Jungle region is located at Sechura, a city of about 300,000 inhabitants which serves as logistical hub for operations of rubber production and for explorations into the dense jungle nearby. Sociedad Petrolera is a modest Liga 1 side, but one that tends to attract ticket sell outs every game, since people in that region tends to be quite enthusiastic of football in order to forget they’re not so good daily life. At that city, one should take care of humidity, which tends to be quite strong at times, hence teams usually play there on afternoon or night, since heat might be something difficult to stand even for locals.

Estadio Provincial de Nauta - Capacity: 20,000 - Nauta.

Tenants: Autoridad Deportiva de Nauta.
Built in: 1985.
Altitude: 1,725 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Sporting Nauta, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: Located in the high-elevation jungle, a biome located between 1,500 and 2,000 meters above sea level, Nauta is considered by many as the gateway to the Huayramarcan jungle, as it is the most populated town (255,000) in a desolated strip of 1,200 km of road that connects to Sechura (the fourth largest city of Huayramarca). Anyways, part of a wave of stimuli from the Government towards Football, Nauta got awarded a new venue for their local second division team and, potentially, a home for future matches of The Condors, which will be a reality in this World Cup Qualifier. Inspired in shells found at the shores of the river Nanay (which divides the city in two), this stadium reflects the local identity of the Nautans, people dedicated mostly to fishing activities.

This might be the calmest venue of the seven that Huayramarca will provide for this World Cup Qualifier, but don’t take it for granted that will be easy; mosquitos and weather will also play its match in Huayramarca, and this is not an exception.

Estadio Municipal de Pando - Capacity: 20,000 - Pando.

Tenants: Autoridad Deportiva de Pando.
Built in: 1986.
Altitude: 150 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Asociación Deportiva Vaca Díez, Club ABH, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: Pando is located just in the outskirts of the burgeoning city of Brigadier Echeandía, part of the well-known “Cocoa Axis” serving as a gateway to some of the best plantations of cocoa in Anaia. As part of the massive development that the Huayramarcan Selva is having due to oil and cocoa, the Autoridad Deportiva de Pando decided to invest in building a significant stadium for two of the strongest and most popular clubs of the Department such as Vaca Díez and ABH, hence it was built with savings coming from taxation of those two lucrative activities.

The environment could be relaxed compared to other venues in Huayramarca, fans there tend to be supportive but more as a hobby rather than a passion… But there’s no certainty on how this could change with the Huayramarcan National Team visiting their lands.

Estadio de Purmamarca - Capacity: 40,000 - General Vélez.

Tenants: Ministry of Culture and Sports of Huayramarca.
Built in: 1990.
Altitude: 1,550 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: The authentic crown jewel in Huayramarcan infrastructure, the Estadio de Purmamarca is one of the biggest and most modern venues in Anaia and the Multiverse, with a high-quality pitch, 40,000 fully seated fans with a ring-like roof across all the stand zones. As the Government focused on turning Purmamarca into one of the most important cities in Huayramarca, due to the cocoa production, they decided to be serious while building the stadium, ensuring that it will feature state-of-the-art amenities such as bars, lounges and decks for the matches, aside from audio equipment and electric boards for display purposes. Featuring an interesting exterior promenade, intended to be a social meeting place for the city, with malls and hotels, the Estadio de Purmamarca sets apart from almost every single venue in this World Cup, aside from being one of the low alitude venues for the tournament.

Costa:

Estadio Metropolitano del Guayas - Capacity: 65,000 - Guayaquil.

Tenants: Autoridad Guayaquileña de Deportes.
Built in: 1980.
Altitude: 15 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Guayaquil Wanderers, Barcelona Sporting Club, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: A kettle pot, that's the definition for the biggest stadium in all of Huayramarca. "El Metropolitano" is the most recently built stadium in the nation and will make the debut for international football in Huayramarca. Hosts two teams and the fan atmosphere in Guayaquil is one of the most intimidatory ones in the multiverse, fans throwing you stones while receiving, throwing flares, extremely noisy people all around and the incredibly hot and humid weather that dominates the city may be lethal for some teams when trying to visit. Rescuing a tie from here may be considered something great, since you survived the "Guayaco" hell. Hence that, teams often love to play at the afternoon, specially at 3:00 P.M. to squeeze out the rivals in exhaust.

Estadio Olímpico Universitario - Capacity: 60,000 - Lima.

Tenants: Universidad Nacional Mayor de Santa Cecilia.
Built in: 1955.
Altitude: 430 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Club Universitario.
Data: Imagine a venue packed of people that has just finished their daily classes, people thirsty to watch football and leave aside, for a moment, their daily academic stress. That’s the most accurate depiction of the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, a 55,000-seater venue that will host, for the first time, the Huayramarcan National Team. This is the second largest stadium of Huayramarca, and it’s known for being built in a way that optimizes acoustics, so fans could be noisier than they really are during their fireworks receiving of the local team. To include more communities into the sport, the HFF has considered to include this venue (and the city of Lima) for this WCQ to see more local identity during the matches.

Estadio Departamental de Tarapacá - Capacity: 20,000 - Alto Hospicio.

Tenants: Municipalidad de Alto Hospicio.
Built in: 1974.
Altitude: 12 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Deportes Tarapacá.
Data: Located in the southern portion of the Huayramarcan coast, Alto Hospicio is one of the most significant ports of Huayramarca, also an important part in football culture for the local fans by being the cradle of the Copa Huayramarca, the most prestigious tournament of the country. Fans in the stadium tend to be noisy and rowdy, except hostility and even insulting chants from them, as “Hospiceños” tend to be known in Huayramarca as the most foul-mouthed folks in Huayramarca.

Parque del Fiordo - Capacity: 25,000 - Llanquihue.

Tenants: Ministry of Culture and Sports of Huayramarca.
Built in: 1990.
Altitude: 0 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: Fittingly named for a stadium built between two fjords, the Parque del Fiordo was meant to create something extravagant for the city of Llanquihue, one of the most important ports in the nation. As a growing city, Llanquihue is being priorised by the Government when it comes to build infrastructure and settling more people in exchange of privileges, this stadium wants to symbolise the creative power of Huayramarquinos to build in places no-other would even dare or imagine to do. Located near the Lautaro and Tehuelche fjords, one of the most visited in the southern coast, the stadium manages to blend nicely with the forest and sea surrounding it, being pretty accessible as there are easy ways to reach to the bottom of the fjords, mostly across the Puente del Sur, a 4-kilometer long bridge that connects with the downtown of Llanquihue and the area around the stadium.

Isles:

Estadio Marítimo - Capacity: 25,000 – Puerto San Carlos.

Tenants: Provincial Authority of the San Carlos Archipelago.
Built in: 1985.
Altitude: 225 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Club Marítimo, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: Located three and a half hours away from Continental Huayramarca (via airplane), Puerto San Carlos is the furthest outpost of Huayramarca, located midway between Ko-oren and Nova Calania (continent). A city known for its ecologic mindset, good coral reefs to do snorkelling and pristine beaches that turns it into the ideal vacation spot for the average Huayramarcan family. The Estadio Marítimo has been built by the National Government and the Huayramarcan FA in their “Together Forever” campaign of integrating the four main regions of the nation into the sports scene, this stadium boasts the privilege of being the first carbon-neutral venue in the Anaian region by virtue of respecting the environment and being powered by natural means of energy such as wind and sun.

Fans here might be the noisiest in Huayramarca, this because the enthusiasm it means to receive the National Team in rare occasions for them, aside from being this World Cup Qualifier the formal inaugural act of the venue. Expect a wild crowd of people, even in the nearby hills or climbing trees to see the match.

[Mertagne]

Welcome to Mertagne!
For when you can't afford to travel in Krytenia!

Mertagne is one of the two host nations for World Cup 96. The more easterly of the two nations you will be visiting if you’ve made it to the finals, Mertagne is a nation of approximately 37.4 million people (despite what you might have heard in the past, don’t worry, nothing bad happened in that regard) in the northern heartland of the continent of Calania, in the region of Anaia. Mertagne borders several nations that have performed well historically in the NationStates World Cup, including five-time World Cup winners Starblaydia, and many time World Cup semi-finalists Krytenia. Mertagne is well on the way to charting its own success in the NSWC, but as of yet the nation is yet to claim any NSWC silverware.

Mertagne as a nation contains, as of the time of writing, nine provinces, and was formed very nearly 100 years ago by a band of plucky refugees that fled the perils of fascism during a conflict known as the Corvidae War. In more recent history, the nation has emerged from a period of international isolation, and become deeply entrenched in regional affairs - to the point where Mertagne was heavily involved in a conflict with the nation to their south, Bostopia, which ended de facto approximately 2 years ago, but de jure just one year ago due to a long and drawn out peace process that culminated in a summit held in Audioslavia.

Since then, the biggest news in Mertagne is its recent introduction to the Anaian Community of Representative Nations (ACORN), a multi-national free trade and freedom of movement area that gives Mertagnians the right to live and work in 11 other nations across Anaia. The effects of this legislation have been sweeping and far reaching, with many in the nation hoping that the reduction in government red-tape will allow for an increased quality of life. Not all are for the tenets of ACORN, however, with many worried that this could be bad for Mertagnian business, which will be fighting fiercely to be competitive in comparison to the other, larger economies in the block such as Krytenia directly to the south, and Audioslavia just across the ocean. The World Cup will certainly be a shot in the arm to the financial futures of the nation, which is still looking to recover in the wake of the Bostopian Conflict. As a result, the nation will be welcoming athletes and fans alike with open arms.

Geography
Mertagne enjoys a mild humid continental climate according to common climate classifications. It snows in the winter, especially in the higher altitude provinces to the west, and it rains a lot in the spring and autumn, especially around the Great Calanian Marsh in the centre of the nation and the northern provinces. You will be visiting Mertagne during an uncommonly good summer, so expect sunny weather and temperatures up to, at a maximum, about 33°C. There should be a decent amount of light well into the evening at this time of year, which is perfect for a late night summer stroll. Watch you don’t sink into Mertagne’s many wetland environments, however!

Mertagne’s largest city is New Fligsive, found in Plitterland province, and its capital is Dannin, the nation’s third largest city, found in Dannmarsh. Its sporting hub culturally can be found in the same place where the nation’s population first embarked across the nation - the city of Neorudo, in Touchpoint province, but its administrative centre for sport has moved inland to a purpose built facility on the shores of Lake Shoda near the city of Brandistock. Nearly a century on from its founding, the nation is as developed as most places across the multiverse, but this development is concentrated in the nation’s cities, with inequalities existing across the rural-urban divide.

Tourism & Transportation
Tourism in Mertagne is a burgeoning industry, but has matured significantly as the nation’s profile has increased with the hosting of several international sporting tournaments. It’s taken a hit with the Bostopian Conflict putting the industry on lockdown for a few years, but tourism in Mertagne is bouncing back. The nation’s landmarks, which include the Vessel of Victory, a large, copper statue of a ship that can be found in the bay to the north of the city of Keers, and the Road of Remembrance, a winding path adorned with grave markers that runs across the hill crest of the Veritas Valley, the largest valley in the Forkelands province, continue to draw in thousands of tourists per year.

Transportation around Mertagne is primarily done by car, as the nation's high-speed rail infrastructure is present yet fractured. The Trans-Calanian railway runs through the centre of the nation, and is the backbone of the nation's rail infrastructure, but its international status means that domestic trains are often unprioritised and as a result, are slow. Coaches are your best bet for provincial scale travel, as road routes between major cities are commonplace. Mertagne, much like many of its neighbours in Calania, drives on the left side of the road.

Culture
Mertagne’s culture is cosmopolitan - the natIon was founded by migrants and built through successive waves of migration. Each of these waves brought something different to the table, which is celebrated in the traditions and the culture of the populace. Many Mertagnians will have an ancestry that is entwined with other nations, and the nation’s cities will typically have enclaves of a variety of cultures dotted around them. You will likely be able to catch a whiff of your home somewhere here in Mertagne, such as a specialist food shop, a funky monument, or catching your nation’s language spoken between friends on public transport.

Mertagne's currency is the Mertagnian Ducat, which has an exchange rate of approximately 1 NSD to 4 MDU. The currency is pegged to a silver standard by which to regulate the currency. Sales tax varies by province, but is always included on the price of the item on the shelf, so you can leave your calculator at home.

More information surrounding Mertagne is available in its factbook, and a map can be found here. Furthermore, you may also be interested in browsing The Mertagnian Directory - it contains a list of various Mertagnian brands that exist in the nation.


Stadium Information
The first match in a given group will take place at the first listed stadium. The second match in a given group will take place in the second listed stadium.

Northern Mertagne: Group E
The Ring Tank Stadium, Ostosaide, Harridan (Capacity, 54,000)
Located in Ostosaide, this stadium is home to Octosaide, and as the name suggests, boasts the region's largest enclosed aquarium on the outside of the stadium. Large enough for sea creatures of all types to enjoy their lives, the aquarium is carefully maintained by a complex climate control system, which has been upgraded in recent years in an effort to avoid promoting the growth of a thick green algae that would previously cover the stadium on a regular basis. Visitors to the stadium can view the aquatic flora and fauna from two angles - outside the stadium, with binoculars at regular viewing points around it, or from the inside at the Ring Tank Aquatic Viewing Centre. The pitch, located inside and away from the view of the aquarium, is well kept and its 54,000 seats are coloured in the blue and yellow of the local side.

The animals in the Ring Tank stadium were relocated during the Bostopian Conflict as the stadium presented an easy target for the opposing force. Unfortunately, some of the animals didn’t acclimatise to the transfer, and a new generation of animals have moved in instead. The stadium is currently trying to negotiate a deal by which they can import a pygmy kraken from Graintfjall, after the previous pygmy kraken they had was revealed during CAFA V to be a juvenile standard kraken.

Spectrum Stadium, Dannin, Dannmarsh (Capacity: 37,000)
The Spectum Stadium is a cavalcade of lights and sound, and this modern stadium decked in red and blue is home to bombastic side Signal Dannin. The stadium is littered with LED panels and large screens, ensuring that the stadium's very own fleet of camera drones is able to capture every moment of the game, from the beads of sweat on your goalkeeper as the opposition lines up for a penalty to the cheeky elbow that players of home side Signal Dannin are prone to whipping out against cocky opponents.

During the Bostopian Conflict, the Spectrum Stadium’s lights were taken out of the stadium and used to aid in identifying enemy aircraft at night. They have been reinstalled, but the military-grade engineering that was performed on them remains. As a result, these lights are ironclad, unlikely to break, and are somehow even brighter than before. It’s advised to avoid this stadium if you’re prone to migraines.

Eastern Mertagne: Group F
Box 2 Box Ballstadion, Keers, Plitterland (Capacity, 44,500)
A new stadium built on the site of the Former Keers Dock Pitch, the Box 2 Box Ballstadion is unique in that it incorporates an eco-friendly design that harkens back to the land's heritage as an active port. The stadium is constructed from nearly one thousand shipping containers of various painted designs, surrounded by a recycled metal frame in a modular design to allow for expansion and contraction as necessary. Currently, while the stadium is designed to be dismantlable, the stadium is intended to be a permanent feature to the Keers cityscape for the foreseeable future, with the possibility that the stadium in its entirety can be 'rented' and physically shipped to other nations that lack national infrastructure to host their own tournaments. The stadium's proximity to Mertagne's largest shipping port at Keers facilitates this easily, with marketing material claiming the entire stadium can be dismantled and placed on a single supercontainer ship within a fortnight.

During the Bostopian Conflict, the stadium was dismantled in its entirety to avoid it being destroyed. The shipping containers were used to transport food across the nation before Keers was blockaded, where they remained for the duration of the conflict. Civilians were encouraged to redecorate these containers, and as a result many of the containers in the current iteration of the Box 2 Box Ballstadion display messages of support to troops that were engaged in the Bostopian Conflict.

New Brazier Stadium, Scharfwick, Shaith (Capacity: 26,430)
The stadium in the city of Scharfwick is owned and operated by Scharfwick Flames, and in an attempt to pull in the punters, the stadium boasts several flumes, out of which fire is shot into the sky whenever a team scores a goal. The flames are often coloured, to the expense of the holding company that owns the stadium, which has previously been in hot water over an emissions scandal that caused them to pay out to families living downwind of the stadium. As a result, the choice of colours is a bit more limited than it used to be.

During the Bostopian Conflict, the New Brazier Stadium was inland enough that it was actually used as a football stadium during the (condensed) SLAM seasons that occurred. In the off season, it served as a shelter and common area for civilians.

Southern Mertagne: Group G
Nine Star Arch, Webster, The Forkelands (Capacity: 66,500)
The Nine Star Arch is an imposing sports stadium found in the city of Webster, and is home to a source of national pride - the fierce domestic football club FMFC Ninestar. The nine large spotlights that adorn the Nine Star Arch’s titular arch have many uses; two of them during games played at this stadium are to spin and provide a light show whenever a team scores, and to provide those living in and around the city of Webster with a live score graphic, with a number of lights on opposing ends of the arch lit with the corresponding team’s home colour depending on how many goals they have scored. Many teams that play here have the dream to 'capture the arch', which is achieved by scoring more than five goals in a game, so that a majority of the nine lights on the arch are in your team's colours. The national team of Bollonich was the first international team to ‘capture the arch’, with an 8-2 victory over Gortolekua in the 83rd Cup of Harmony. Could your team be the second team to accomplish this feat?

The Nine Star Arch was a target of the Bostopian Bombing campaign in the Forkelands, and was directly hit during a nighttime bombing run. The Arch is currently broken into two distinct halves - offset from the centre. The lights are still functional, however. Plans have been made to reconstruct the missing section of the arch, but the priority in the aftermath of the conflict was to make the existing sections safe to be beneath, which was accomplished.

Origas Arena, Kurtz, Touchpoint (Capacity: 52,000)
The corporately sponsored Origas Arena is home to successful Mertagnian side Kurtz Herritik, the second favourite of Kurtz-born Orion Garstern Jr., who owns the stadium, but not the team (his favourite team is Flames of the West, in Chromatika, of which he owns a stake). This divergence in interest has often been a hot button issue for the fans of the Heretics, but tensions remain at a simmer, especially after Garstern Jr announced funding for a stadium upgrade, which saw three of the four wooden stands replaced with a construction of metal and tinted glass in the forest green and burnt reds of Kurtz Herritik. The atmosphere at this stadium is a rare find, as the public of the bustling city of Kurtz are die-hard football fans, and will certainly fill the stands in the event that your team's fans cannot.

The stadium was upgraded after the ceasefire was announced between Bostopia and Mertagne, as a goodwill gesture from Orion Garstern Jr, who was, as much as a billionaire can be, empathetic to the plight that the city had suffered.

Western Mertagne: Group H
The Scabbard, Bretsaar, Freskovia (Capacity: 48,700)
Oh, because it’s where the Blades live… is the comment most often touted by people that come to this white-painted metal monstrosity of a stadium that sits in the centre of the long, thin valley city of Bretsaar. Made from steel forged from iron mined from the mountains surrounding the city back in the province’s mining heyday, The Scabbard is home to local team Blades de Bretsaar. Adorned in a white and sky-blue colour scheme, the ultra-corporate attitude is rife here, with the stadium sporting a large upper section for the elite of nations multiverse-wide to watch the match below in peace. Everything at The Scabbard is meticulously kept, often to the detriment of the fans, as the price at the bar here is likely more expensive than at any other stadium in the country.

The Scabbard was used as a logistics base during the Bostopian Conflict, and plucky engineers integrated several cranes into the stadium’s architecture that the suits that own the stadium haven’t yet had a desire to get rid of. Leaked plans for a halftime show at the Scabbard involve dropping in a stage encased in a glass box containing prolific Mertagnian rapper White Motif and several backing dancers by crane directly onto the centre of the pitch, and then removing it again before the second half gets underway.

Crater Field, Claviers, Harridan (Capacity: 25,890)
Crater Field was designed and constructed by a textile factory during Mertagne’s isolationary period, for local club CfFi Claviers. The factory, still operational, can be seen at the the top of the circular ridge that Crater Field sits beneath, in a naturally low area of the rugged province of Harridan in which Claviers sits. The large town is undergoing a bit of a gentrification project at the moment, and cute new places keep on popping up, adding vital services to a burgeoning city that many of the inhabitants would have described as 'barren' a generation ago. Claviers punches above its weight, however, in the minds of Mertagne's elite, as it is well known that an exclusive nightclub can be found within the town, but every member is sworn to secrecy regarding the location of its entrance.

Crater Field was used to hold livestock for food during the Bostopian Conflict, as the pitch is not made of synthetic turf. This has changed the consistency a little bit, and players report that the previously firm pitch is now a bit more springy than it used to be.

Other Stadiums
These stadiums will be used after the group stage.
Flynn Ar3na, New Fligsive, Plitterland (Capacity: 88,750)
A project that could be considered the crucible of New Fligsive, Mertagne, the Flynn Ar3na (named as it is the third stadium to bear the name) was built as a multi-year construction project between regional construction giant Flynn’s, and the Mertagnian government. The Flynn Ar3na boasts a unique design that iterates on the design of its predecessor, the Flynn Arena in Fligsive, Euran Oceania Territories. This incarnation of the stadium has sacrificed some of its seats in order to incorporate a unique art section - where the old Flynn Arena’s upper ring would have been, here instead sit thousands of individually cast faceless metal statues, each inscribed with the names of Fligsivi civilians and combatants during the Corvidae War and associated Fligsive Incident. The unique acoustics that these metal statues cause in the upper ring creates a scintillating echoing effect when sound is broadcast from the top, which provides unique opportunities in this multi-purpose stadium, home to club side New Fligsive’s Memory. It is said that sometimes, the statues create the echo of a crowd lost to time.

Vigils that occur in the Flynn Ar3na now also honour the lives lost in the Bostopian Conflict in addition to the Corvidae War. Ideas were floated to expand the statue section on the top floor, but the plans put forward would have dampened the echoing effect, and as such a separate memorial was commissioned outside the stadium.

Cop Limy Stadium, Neorudo, Touchpoint (Capacity: 96,300)
The Cop Limy is an iconic stadium, formerly belonging to the city-state of Leorudo in which Mertagne was first settled long after the exodus of its former owners. Home to the original Mertagnian club side that is Lehen Neorudo, and situated in the Docklands district adjacent to the mountain that comprises the sprawling city's 'Old Quarter', The Cop Limy is the premier venue for sports matches and concerts alike in the city. Upgraded several times over the years, the Stadium stands as a stereotype of the city itself - old architecture (present in the fancy gothic stonework adorning the stadium's left long side) fused with the latest building styles (a white carbon fiber donut covering the other three sides, that can be lit in a variety of colours). The stadium boasts the best in electronic scoreboard technology, and has a single long strip of interactive screens surrounding the top rafters of the interior, which have been used for purposes such as advertising, light shows, and close-up camera feeds.
Located in the stadium complex is a museum dedicated to Mertagnian football, which includes the preserved former offices of the FMF, including the very boardroom where the historic COCANEFA LigAnaia was born.

The gothic wall was preserved during the Bostopian Conflict by being encased in heavy scaffolding, which has since been taken down. Anti-air defence systems were installed on top of the stadium, as it was an obvious target in a zone that saw some of the worst bombing of the conflict. A Bostopian bomber crashed on the plaza outside of the stadium during the conflict, and an outline of the wreckage has been incorporated into the tilework as a monument. One anti-air gun still remains on top of the stadium as a defensive measure, but will likely be covered for the duration of the tournament.

Dannin City Stadium, Dannin (Capacity: 85,750)
Dannin City Stadium sits in the heart of Mertagne's capital, and its unique look ensures that it's both an art piece, a functional stadium, and an eco-friendly statement all at once due to its assortment of solar panels, which wax and wane with the passing of the sun - an event that happens on occasion here in the wetlands. Home to top-tier domestic team Century Mertagne, the patriotic lime and dark green seating is sure to excite any nation that comes to play here. The stadium, shaped like a question mark or a tadpole(?), with its tail end facing south, also boasts an entertainment complex and is a hub venue for the local community.

This stadium hosted artillery during the Bostopian Conflict, in the event that Bostopian ships sailed into Dannin’s port. Thankfully, they never did. The solar energy generated by the stadium was redistributed into the power grid, and this allowed Dannin homes in the surrounding districts to keep the lights on and homes warm during the conflict. The agreement has persisted since the end of the conflict, which keeps electricity prices low on clear days.

Brandistock Football Campus*, Brandistock, Bardiche (Capacity: 81,600)
*Called the INDOMITABLE ARENA for sponsorship purposes.
The centre of Mertagne's new 'football campus' located just outside the city of Brandistock, on the shores of Mertagne's Lake Shoda, this purpose built stadium sits adjacent to a complex containing the offices of the CAFA, the FMF, and a new purpose built training facility for the sport's current and future talent. Located in a beautiful green park on the shores of the lake, the stadium's striking architecture means its bowl-shaped profile dominates the landscape.

This stadium was largely unaffected by the Bostopian Conflict, but the conflict did delay some of the finishing touches that were scheduled to be completed after its construction. They have now been completed, however, leaving the Brandistock Football Campus/INDOMITABLE ARENA one of Mertagne’s most pristine stadiums.

[HUElavia]

Rebuild? No, Reload.

HUElavia enters WC 96 Qualifiers with optimism and excitement, coming off their unprecedented run and successful IAC hosting.

Two years have passed since HUElavia's historic run at World Cup 95. In what was "an answered prayer" with a historic qualification along with an unprecedented run to the Quarter-Finals, upsetting Nephara and Kelssek, two Top 10 teams in the Multiverse, before being throttled out by eventual champions Delte. Despite falling short in a Cinderella run, it was a fantastic run nonetheless, the best ever for the HUElavian National Football Team. Two years later, HUElavia organized the 20th Independents Association Championship, the 3rd time that HUElavia was the main organizer, but the second to be hosted solely on HUElavian soil. Despite much expectation for a deep run, Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos were upset by Reçueçn in the Round-of-16, which added on to the idea that HUElavia is "cursed" in the IAC with yet another Round-of-16 exit, the 4th straight elimination in such an equivalent round, since their back-to-back IAC title victories. Despite the elimination, the tournament was a massive success, with praise given by participating nations and their supporters on the organization and openness HUElavians gave throughout the tournament. Such success is starting to inspire the country to go for other sports with possible host bids, and even mulling co-hosting a World Cup in the coming 10 to 20 years.

Although, such ambitions must wait for the time being. Today, in the year of 2120, HUElavia enters yet another World Cup Qualifiers. This is the 21st cycle that HUElavia appears in the Qualifiers, and they come in with momentum. Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos sit 19th in the rankings, their all-time highest position, surpassing their ranking of 24th all the way back when they had participated at World Cup 84, their first nearly 50 years ago. Much like what was predicted back after the elimination at the hand of Delte, it has been assured: HUElavia will be a Pot 1 team for the Qualifiers for the first time ever. With 20 groups of 7 teams being the official set for the Qualifiers, meaning there will only be 12 matches to be played for each team in hopes to get a direct spot to the World Cup, or a possible playoff spot. There is little room for error for the teams involved, especially the big teams.

With the match amount finally agreed upon, the HUElavian Football Association and the local governments are now working on selecting the 6 venues that will host Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos, who are also coming out with "The Jaguars" as another official nickname, coming off the nation's national animal. Per the current venue rotation agreement held between the cities and stadiums, Curumba will still get their one match, with Estadio Nacional (100,000) getting the biggest match for the group, while the switch between the cultural capitals will now go to Sao Salvador, as Estadio Salvador (85,000) will get one match, likely to the Pot 3 team of the group. Thus, 4 venues are yet to be selected, where cities are putting in bids to get the remaining matches. Although, there is a rumor that the HFA will be seeking to host the matches within the 4 other regions: Northwest, North Central, Northeast, and Southeast HUElavia. This is the case, given that Curumba and Sao Salvador represent South Central and Southwest HUElavia respectively.

Despite not being able to overcome the Round-of-16 in the IAC, Ringo Honda continues to be the manager for the Qualifiers, with the HFA still giving their confidence to her, and giving a higher priority to make the World Cup. While not having the same intensity as the previous coach, the late Lester O'Reagan, the team seems to get along with her management and seek to give it their best. Most of the players selected are either talented players at their current "peak" (based on what can be observed) or are young and very promising to the team in the coming years. Most of the young players are around the age of the famous "Clappening" that occurred in the days and months after HUElavia won IAC 15, meaning there is promise to see if such procreative events will bring much fruit to the team and nation. In fact, out of the 48 players selected to be picked throughout these qualifiers, only 9 players will be 30 years or older once the qualifiers end. Meaning, HUElavia is banking once more on its youth to take charge and make a strong push to the World Cup.

While we are some time away from the Qualifiers Draw, there is much hope and optimism that the team can make it to the World Cup for a 3rd consecutive time. But, every game has to be taken one match at a time, and the team must take each opponent seriously if they want the assurance they will be at Huayramarca and Mertagne. Either way, it's an exciting time in the football world once more, and there is much desire to see HUElavia yet again among the 32 best teams of the Multiverse.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Hakushiya]

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Hakushiyan news. And then some discretion.

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SHOWBIZ ▽ | SPORTS ▽ | SOCIAL SPHERE ▽ | BY STATE ▽ | ABOUT US ▽ | CiCiCALENDAR

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Top topics at this hour: BoF83 | JWHF10 | Kiana Knight | Selkie Spring Festival | WorldVision 113 | Archonid Causeway

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#TLDfyRe: Hakushiya in flying colors with a double all-kill against Doubeia at the grand final match (+ some official announcements regarding the HFSL’s replacements before the start of the WC96 qualifiers)
last updated Mar 19, 2024 at 20:00 (UTC-9) | by Angie Reagan

And now, for the final update to this series with the grand final match…

• The atmosphere at the Dhaencunor Arena during the BoF83 grand final was - to put it in commentator Mari Chung’s words - a more peaceful mile away from the chaos that plagued the Hakushiya v Tero al Disco semifinal match, aka the “Massacre at Paladon Park”, all thanks to there being nary a single red card given to both the Hakushiyan and Doubeian sides that truly made it a heart shaker for those fearing more, more, more animosity involving the HFSL’s delegation. The match’s end was pretty calm yet exciting too, to say the least, given Hakushiya managed to win the final with a double all-kill against Doubeia (2-0) at the end with Varka (HKA) scoring the first goal and Maraj (HKA) scoring the second.
• The BoF83 after-party celebrating both finalists’ time in the soccer tournament - under the theme of “#Twicetagram” as decided after negotiations and voting between the two soccer teams’ players - also made waves on Hakushiyan and Doubeian social media platforms alike (as well as in host nation Tikariot, third-placer Tero al Disco, and multiple countries in Novapax to some extent) as the videos and pics made out of it helped further cement the notion that Hakushiya’s soccer team has a softer side to all the strength shown at the BoF matches to the entire multiverse. (Here’s the CiCiCLAN’s own collection of selected pics themed mainly around that after-party, with my personal favorites out of these being of Neuwirth singing the Hakushiyan WV112 entry + of the goalkeeping sections of the Hakushiyan squad being honest about their mental health through some humor - especially Murata)
• And speaking of Murata (HKA) and his post-BoF83 hiatus… here’s a list of Hakushiyan BoF83 players who won’t be playing any WC96 matches until further notice, with his Plumtree Union fellow in Lexi Gasimov wearing the #2 kit instead among other names (Masanagar’s Susu Belafonte, Soranouchi’s Mito Alaina, Lubkilov’s Winter Minogue, Wanyen’s Kelly Nielsen, Milona’s Cher Schweitzer, Kuusaari’s Taylor Belli, Chanya’s Courtney Phua, Kulkarna’s Keena Shum, and Banda Hati’s Dannii Paparizou). Pretty neat, huh? Not to mention some already-domestically-established players are adding a few positions to the WC96 roster that didn't exist in BoF83 as well...

Anyhow, it’s been a real pleasure for me to be able to write this series of explainers over the course of this BoF, and now I’ll be moving onto coverage of the Selkie Spring Festival while fellow part-time CiCiCLAN member Monique Dalhousie will be doing a similar explainer series for the WC96 matches instead. Annyeong!

Angie Reagan
PART-TIME CONTRIBUTOR
17+ | enby | they/she | currently out of Hakushiya for the Selkie Spring Festival | sports/social sphere-focused
(Globbr handle: @undereaganstruction)

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BoF83 gallery: some reflective photos found and taken of the Hakushiyan players by the CiCiCLAN on the occasion of the tournament’s grand final and after-party, ordered in a reverse-chronological way
last updated Mar 20, 2024 at 11:00 (UTC+4) | by Aline Derby

Luca Talhaoui visiting Trang Kobayakawa in the Tikariotian city of Oriannor the afternoon after the final BoF83 match between Hakushiya and Doubeia to wish him well in his musical future after Kobayakawa’s retirement from pro soccer as a result of his heart condition (credit: Luca Talhaoui on Globbr)


Loren Barzilai calmly singing along to the Miechii and Just Candi song “Midnight Sunrise” in a karaoke session at the Hakushiyan-organized BoF83 after-party that celebrated the soccer tournament’s finalists - Barzilai’s since been on hiatus from pro soccer until further notice for his own mental health, with same-region player Cher Schweitzer from SC Milona taking his place for the 96th NS World Cup (credit: Tyla Fong/CiCiBL*ggS)


(from left to right) Momo Arataki, Sana Murata, Mina Izumi, and Asa Yuzuki sharing a glass trophy with each other at the Hakushiyan BoF83 after-party that celebrated the soccer tournament’s finalists - when this photo was taken Murata announced he’d be taking a hiatus from pro soccer until further notice for his own mental health, with fellow SC Plumtree Union player Lexi Gasimov taking his place for the 96th NS World Cup (credit: Kris Barrett/CiCiBL*ggS with some shows of skin censored for public-friendliness)


Torfun Chiewchengol playing a mini-water-gun game with his teammates at the Hakushiyan-organized BoF83 after-party that celebrated the soccer tournament’s finalists - Chiewchengol will be continuing onto the 96th NS World Cup without taking a hiatus for the moment (credit: Kris Barrett/CiCiBL*ggS)


Aden Neuwirth singing their lungs out to the Ravine Nichols song “My Rare Psyche” and holding a glass trophy in a karaoke session at the Hakushiyan-organized BoF83 after-party that celebrated the soccer tournament’s finalists - Neuwirth will be continuing onto the 96th NS World Cup without taking a hiatus for the moment (credit: Tyla Fong/CiCiBL*ggS)


Lily Ikuta sharing a metal trophy with Doubeian player Trevor Jin (not pictured) at the Hakushiyan-organized BoF83 after-party that celebrated the soccer tournament’s finalists - Ikuta and Jin have both confirmed their continuations onto the 96th NS World Cup without taking a hiatus for the moment (in spite of Ikuta’s WorldVision 113 booking to accompany the Amoreiyan songwriting trio VODA) (credit: Kris Barrett/CiCiBL*ggS)


Elijah Maraj facing a camera while holding a glass trophy in his hands together with his violin at the Hakushiyan-organized BoF83 after-party that celebrated the soccer tournament’s finalists - Maraj will also be continuing onto the 96th NS World Cup without taking a hiatus for the moment but also has a WorldVision 113 appearance booked to accompany the Amoreiyan songwriting trio VODA there (credit: Tyla Fong/CiCiBL*ggs)


Mans Tuan holding a glass trophy while being interviewed just outside the Dhaencunor Arena 23 minutes after the final BoF83 match between Hakushiya and Doubeia on his team’s progression to the NS World Cup stage (credit: Tyla Fong/CiCiBL*ggS)

Aline Derby
FULL-TIME CONTRIBUTOR
26+ | cis woman | she/her | writing from Avoy, Avadong, Hakushiya | sports/showbiz-focused
(Globbr handle: @notakaeyamain)

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WC96: introducing the HFSL’s replacements for players on hiatus + the suspended post-BoF83 through some messages sent to the CiCiCLAN
last updated Mar 22, 2024 at 18:00 (UTC-3) | by Kris Barrett

Pictured (from left to right): Kelly Nielsen, Winter Minogue, Cher Schweitzer, and Mito Alaina in Nordenbourg for the 2023 HFSL Championships' quarterfinals (credit: Tyla Fong/CiCiBL*ggS)

With BoF83 season having come to a close pretty recently and the added factor of some players leaving the international soccer limelight after the tournament's final match, there've been some faces who may be familiar to soccer observers in Hakushiya (but not to the multiverse... yet) and are now taking the departed's places for this NS World Cup (with a few even creating new positions for the occasion). We decided to invite those replacements to send us DMs via TalkLah, and these are the messages we got...

Pictured: Gasimov’s self-portrait that was taken at his hobby photo studio (credit: Lexi Gasimov on Globbr)

Lexi Gasimov (26yo, he/him, INFP)
“Hey there! When I overheard that Sana-kun was stepping out of the pro leagues for his own personal wellbeing, I turned out to be not only his favorite substitute for this NS World Cup, but also one of those where the rest of my local soccer team knew it could rely on to keep the goals on check. Let’s go-go-play our way to qualification, I guess…”

Pictured: Belafonte playing dress-up with a white outfit in his spare time (credit: Susu Belafonte on Globbr)

Susu Belafonte (26yo, he/they, INFJ)
“Namaste! Maisoonkha! So apparently I learned about Pratt’s temporary suspension from SC Masanagar through a DM sent by Kobayakawa while he was still in a Tikariotian hospital and thought… wait, will I ever be as good a defender as he’d been in the past? Let’s hope it’s a likey-likey-likey road to the round of 32 for us with all our dedication.”

Pictured: Alaina's self-portrait that was taken at their house's door at nighttime (credit: Mito Alaina on Globbr)

Mito Alaina (26yo, they/them, ISFP)
“Konnichiwa! I'm coming out of the Soranouchi soccer ranks this time to ensure the Hakushiyan squad for the 96th NS World Cup will be able to stay as strong as it'd been during its Baptism of Fire participation, even without Kobayakawa-san to help guide us through soccer - at least he's gonna move onto music once he's 80% recovered, right?”

Pictured: Minogue's professionally-shot self-portrait in glamorous non-soccer attire (credit: Winter Minogue on Globbr)

Winter Minogue (29yo, he/him, ISTP)
“Wahhh... What was that ping sound again? 'Kaplinsky on a personal hiatus from pro soccer to allow himself to regain his headspace'... Oh yeah. Y'know how that led to me talking with the other defenders in my local soccer club on whether or not I should replace him for the 96th NS World Cup? I got accepted for that... Whoops, did I forget to say something? Salut and dia duit!”

Pictured: Nielsen's professionally-shot self-portrait in casual attire (credit: Kelly Nielsen on Globbr)

Kelly Nielsen (23yo, they/them, INTJ)
“Good afternoon~ I'm hoping y'all have a nice day, 'cuz I'm hoping to help the Hakushiyan NS World Cup delegation for this edition navigate through all the sticks and stones of the world of multiversal soccer tournaments the way it did with Alessio Heron from Federal Union during the Baptism of Fire - and guess what? It all happened with teamwork and cohesion! Y'know, y'know? Oh, and by the way, I'm hoping Alessio's recovering from his concussions..."

Pictured: Schweitzer in casual attire at a café in Milona, Tadia, Hakushiya (credit: Cher Schweitzer on Globbr)

Cher Schweitzer (26yo, he/him, ESFJ)
“Bzzzzz~ It's a spring day out there... but it's not my typical spring day, 'cause I just volunteered to put myself in GP Barzilai's midfielding feet after he decided to stay outta the pro soccer limelight as a consequence of the whole 'Massacre at Paladon Park' from the most recent Baptism of Fire, which I can sympathize with due to how chaotic it was. Now, what new worlds shall I be visiting with this...?”

Pictured: Belli’s self-portrait that was taken at his hobby photo studio (credit: Taylor Belli on Globbr)

Taylor Belli (24yo, he/him, ENTJ)
“Hei mikä on nimesi? It’s been quite a while since I was last outside of my local soccer club circle in Kuusaari, but here I am now with the chance to work with the players who helped Hakushiya emerge victorious in BoF83 after Gretchen decided to take a break from the pro leagues. Let’s goooooooo~”

Pictured: Phua’s self-portrait in glam attire (credit: Courtney Phua on Globbr)

Courtney Phua (26yo, he/him, ENTJ)
“Liho? I know I might be less familiar than Karin to the multiversal soccer stage, but I’ll try my best to strike for Hakushiya while there’s the opportunity, okay? Knowing how he’s been through all the chaos that took place pretty late in BoF83, I can’t deny him the right to be sympathized, so I’m volunteering with some of my clubmates for an organization that works to give soccer players spaces to breathe mentally… and my team’s been appreciated for that. Oh, and one last thing: have you been to a Kiana Knight concert yet? I was at the one in Jambala City the other day, and now it seems like a coincidence that her nation’s WC96 delegation ended up in the same pot as ours, right?”

Pictured: Shum dressed up in a sailor’s costume (credit: Keena Shum on Globbr)

Keena Shum (23yo, he/they, ESFP)
“Wazzup dawg~ I’m so excited to have taken advantage of this opportunity to work with the BoF83 guys from my world this NS World Cup! Let’s ride our way through the qualifiers so we can hopefully get into the finals, y’all… Welp, almost forgot to say that I’m hoping Otomonai-san’s feeling less pain now.”

Pictured: Paparizou’s self-portrait that was taken at the BNO Playa in Kyungwon (credit: Dannii Paparizou on Globbr)

Dannii Paparizou (21yo, he/him, ISTJ)
“Selamat World Cup! Yassou! Mingalarbar! We may not have met each other before, so lemme introduce you to myself - Dannii Z. Paparizou, where the Z stands for my middle name Zawthet. When we rave, you rave with us, and when we kick, you kick with us, no? But anyway, let’s get to why I got here - so Rosmalina from Taimana got suspended after getting into a fight he didn’t even start back on the soccer fields of Tikariot, leading to my decision to volunteer to take his place, yeah?”

Which of these replacements for WC96 do you think will be as good as (if not better than) their BoF83 counterparts? Let us know in the comments!

Kris Barrett
FULL-TIME CONTRIBUTOR
23+ | demiboi | he/they | writing from Chanya, Tsaoforn, Hakushiya | sports/social sphere-focused
(Globbr handle: @cantgetbluemondayouttamyhead)

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(this box will be used for the starting lineups in all matches Hakushiya participates in)

[Audioslavia]

Carrying the Torch
The Aesthetic revisits and improves an Idiot Project chart

In Episode 2, Chapter 5 of The Idiot Project, Jaffacake, Daffodil et al introduced us to The Torch, a graph that plots every football team ever to have played World Cup football according to their Goal Difference (X axis) and their total games played (Y axis).

The Torch as of World Cup 84. Click to expand

The Aesthetic have updated the chart for World Cup 96, but we've made a couple of changes.

First, gone is the Log scale that gave the torch its shape. It now more closely resembles just the flame atop of the torch than both the stick and the fire.

Secondly, the World Cup 84 Torch showed just a snapshot in time. What we have tried to do is show the progression of the torch over every World Cup played so far.

Finally, when a team does not enter a World Cup, their 'spark' disappears like a cooling ember against the night sky. If they re-enter the World Cup after an absence, their spark reappears.

Here, unlabelled, is the progression of teams from World Cups 3 to 95. The final frame shows only the teams that have signed up for World Cup 96.

The Torch 96

Some sparks fly out to the top right (high positive goal difference, high games played), while most are snuffed out after around a hundred games, some flying leftwards (negative goal difference), some rightward (positive).

At the extreme right you can see the teams who have played the most games in the World Cup. Those are Jerusalem (leftmost), Starblaydia (veering left at the end before disappearing. The side have not signed up for World Cup 96), The Holy Empire and, furthest right, Valanora.

We've created a single image of the graph which shows the path each World Cup 96 team has traced over the course of their history.

The Torch 96 - The Path of Every team in World Cup 96
(Click to expand)

Visible here are the post-heyday slumps of Astograth, Equestria and Abanhfleft in the centre, and the long, meandering path of Quakmybush ambles into the centre, with Eastfield Lodge their closest neighbour.

Starblaydia's recent descent into mediocrity as all too visible in purple, while Audioslavia are undoubtedly following the Jerusalem path into high-participation, low success. The less said about Krytenia the better. I mean, just in general, really.

Vanoran blue is a little hard to spot on the black background, but the side don't appear likely to receive any visitors soon. Appearing to the right of the Vanorian line at any point is a commendable achievement. The Babbage Islands, whose line you can see in grey, is the only team who stayed ahead of them for any period of time, with Cafundeu, Candelaria and Marquez and The Han Empire also appearing in grey at points.

A knot in the pink line shows a team who hosted a World Cup (but didn't do particularly well).
A line ending abruptly shows a team who has not signed up for World Cup 96 (seven crying emojis)

The Aesthetic will bring you more pretty pictures over the course of the cycle to distract you from the disappointing form of the Audioslavia national team.

EDIT: Interactive versions of the above charts are here. Hover over a star or hover over the spark to find the name of the team.

[Juvencus]

"I CAME HERE TO PUT THIS COUNTRY ON THE MAP ONCE AND FOR ALL" GAETAN PROCLAIMS AS HE IS ANNOUNCED AS SQUADRA MANAGER

Last cycle was a dramatic experience for any Juven person following the gli attaccanti. From losing to a weakened Banija side in the playoffs of the world cup and a devastating round of 16 exit in the Cup of Harmony, to Madeiros suddenly quitting and the team falling in a state of shock, only to be represented by unknown hooded beings under the guidance of Trajan Angelov and finishing in 4th place at the 20th Independents Cup, a better run than the quarter-final crashing out on the 19th. It was a shocking cycle to say the least, however behind the scenes, a lot of events have been taking place.

Gael Gaetan had previously taken a gap year following a triumphant Copa Juve victory and having built one of the strongest U.S Scudelli teams in recent memory. He had built them up to be the most terrifying attack in the nation. Gaetan's impact on the team has made a team so prolific that it has outdone the goalscoring output of traditional giant AC Pomena a few times in recent memory. The goal of the Juven Football Association following the departure of Dudu Madeiros was to find someone who would maintain the values of Juven football within the national team and Gael Gaetan was considered the best of many options. However, names like Pietro Ancelotti, Cesare Ajello and even Oriol Vives(who led Rivoluzione 1876 FC to a historic promotion as Serie B champions) were speculated as well.

With the spotlight now on him, Gael Gaetan has made several strong statements in regards to the national team's future.

When asked about his main goal Gaetan stated: "With my predecessor being Dudu Madeiros, I know the stakes are big. He talked the talk and walked the walk and my goal is exactly this. I am going to finish what he started and provide the nation with great football. I took my break to clean me from the toxicity of my post. I came here to put this country on the map once and for all."

When asked for additional goals Gaetan also mentioned: "Long gone are the days when people could disrespect our team. La squadra is a team with excellent values which I am going to maintain and improve upon for the improvement of our nation. Many of our internationals play in some of the best leagues in the world, stand out and then are being pushed back in favor of weaker players from countries traditionally considered stronger. This is not how it works and Cycle 96 will serve as the first of many cycles when this reality check will be indicated to everyone."

For any changes in the team Gaetan was quoted as saying: "Most of the players from the previous cycle will be included, with some additions in the works as well. The last couple seasons, I have seen Juven teams with talented standouts for sure. With that said, I will be looking to rewarding more and more talented players from within the Campionato and be incorporating them into gli attaccanti."

With such statements, Gaetan has sparked wild debates across the nation. More optimistic fans have been hit with a light of hope and have been backing him and his statements, defending him using arguments such as the deep Associations' Trophy Semi-Final run as well as his immense domestic successes(Including a Copa Juve and a Campionato) and building one of the best U.S Scudelli teams of all time. The pessimistic camp is leaning towards more recent results of the la squadra and Gaetan's lack to maintain a championship-winning streak. In conclusion, Gaetan's skills will be put to the test as soon as World Cup 96's qualifiers start with a monumental task at hand, that being to keep his word.

[Txakhaxi]

History of Txakhaxi
Translated with help of AI, find the original text in the spoiler below - picture made with AI
Find the previous chapters here.

The Axis War succeeded in wresting control of the peninsula from the Kaikaunate, but failed in attempting to impose the regimes of the invading kingdoms over the territory. The unrest among the population of the conquered territories was largely due to the intensive use of their men and their production for resistance against the Axis, and it caused serious difficulties for the member kingdoms to contain the uprisings across a poorly administered territory populated by fierce and armed peoples. Despite the dire conditions of the regional economy, which didn't allow the poor population to obtain armor and weapons of war, the vast majority of families possessed old swords and shields as relics of fallen warrior ancestors. The invading armies were unable to control the entirety of a city without having to devastate it completely. Soon, the clans that had formed the Kaikaunate were once again clamoring for a Kaikau to restore peace. The ideology of the Kaikaunate never ceased to exalt combat prowess and strong leadership, and would not easily accept the arrival of new masters. The tension was particularly intense over the Adaxakha kingdoms that had rights over the lands of the southern coast according to the Axis pacts. The population of Cape Khaisenimei quickly overcame their yoke and even captured much of one of the largest fleets in the region with the support of the kingdoms of Nakhage Saugai to the east, who, seeing the weakness of the Adaxakhas and without the threat of the Kaikaunate, broke the alliance with the Axis and joined the rebel Tuaimans.

The Nakhageñi fleet arrives in Ni'ije Saekhah

By the beginning of the 4th century a.K., the region began to stabilize. The western clans recovered their armies and managed to normalize the situation in the new territories, the Adaxakha aristocracies recovered from the trade boycott, not without a deteriorated relationship with their rulers, who had pressured them to cease their activity to force the fall of the Kaikaunate. On the other hand, the rebellious clans rearmed themselves from the ashes with the support of the eastern kingdoms. Despite the military victory, the war represented a significant weakening for many kingdoms. The blow was particularly hard for the Kingdom of Ni'ije Saekhah, which dominated the archipelago south of the Gulf of Eniadike, in what is now the state of Adaxa Txumu. The serious difficulties faced by its merchant class in reintegrating into regional markets led them to raise the arms of their mercenaries against the already weakened Royal Army.

What began as a merchant uprising ended up triggering a civil war in the archipelago. Many of the smaller islands were taken by local fishermen and craftmen, who depended on merchants to survive and considered themselves mistreated by the monarch. Faced with the impending crisis and due to the inability to contain the mercenaries scattered across the islands, the monarchy of Ni'ije Saekhah requested assistance from its former allies in the Axis. Military assistance came from the eastern kingdoms, who had the favor of the rebel clans and their recently captured naval fleet. This event marked the first advance of a Txakha army on Adaxakha lands since their expulsion from the peninsula.

The joint army of the eastern kingdoms and the rebel clans quickly subdued the mercenaries. The result, however, was not strictly positive for Ni'ije Saekhah. It had a high political cost, as the monarchy had to negotiate numerous positions of power that were handed over to Txakha nobles. Over the course of the years, the political balance of the kingdom was eroded from its foundations and it all ended with the capture and removal of the monarch. This allowed the rise to power of a Txakha noble, Taikare Maiñihijauken, who had led the army in the liberation of the archipelago.

La Guerra del Eje logró arrebatar el control de la península al Kaikaunato, pero fracasó al intentar imponer los regímenes de los reinos invasores sobre el territorio. El malestar entre la población de los territorios conquistados se debía en buena medida a la utilización intensiva de sus hombres y su producción para la resistencia contra el Eje, y causó a los reinos integrantes serias dificultades para contener las sublevaciones a lo largo de un territorio mal administrado y poblado por pueblos feroces y armados. A pesar de las pésimas condiciones en las que se encontraba la economía regional, que no permitía a la población pobre hacerse de una armadura y armas de guerra, la gran mayoría de las familias poseía viejas espadas y escudos como reliquias de antepasados guerreros caídos. Los ejércitos invasores eran incapaces de controlar la totalidad de una ciudad sin devastarla por completo. Pronto, los clanes que habían formado el Kaikaunato reclamaban nuevamente un Kaikau que restableciera la paz. La ideología del Kaikaunato nunca dejó de enaltecer la destreza en combate y el liderazgo fuerte, y no aceptaría con facilidad la llegada de nuevos amos. La tensión fue particularmente más intensa sobre los reinos Adaxakhas que tenían derecho sobre las tierras de la costa sur de acuerdo a los pactos del Eje. La población del Cabo de Khaisenimei logró sobreponerse rápidamente a su yugo e incluso capturar buena parte de una de las flotas más grandes de la región con el apoyo de los reinos de Nakhage Saugai al este, que al ver la debilidad de los adaxakhas y sin la amenaza del Kaikaunato rompieron la alianza con el Eje y se unieron a los tuaimanos rebeldes.

Para principios del siglo IV a.K. la región comenzaba a estabilizarse. Los clanes del oeste recuperaban sus ejércitos y lograban normalizar la situación en los nuevos territorios, las aristocracias Adaxakhas se recomponían del boicot comercial, no sin una deteriorada relación con sus gobernantes, quienes los habían presionado a cesar su actividad para forzar la caída del Kaikaunato. Por otra parte, los clanes sublevados se rearmaban desde las cenizas con el apoyo de los reinos del este. A pesar de la victoria militar, la guerra supuso un debilitamiento importante para muchos reinos. El golpe fue particularmente duro para el Reino de Ni’ije Saekhah, que dominaba el archipiélago al sur del Golfo de Eniadike, en el actual estado de Adaxa Txumu. Las serias dificultades que enfrentó su clase mercante para reintroducirse en los mercados regionales la llevaron a alzar las armas de sus mercenarios contra el ya debilitado Ejército Real.

Lo que comenzó como una sublevación de mercaderes acabó por desencadenar una guerra civil en el archipiélago. Muchas de las islas más pequeñas fueron tomadas por los pescadores y artesanos locales, que dependían de los comerciantes para subsistir y se consideraban destratados por el monarca. Ante la crisis inminente y debido a la incapacidad de contener a los mercenarios dispersos a lo ancho de las islas, la monarquía de Ni’ije Saekhah pidió auxilio a sus antiguos aliados del Eje. La asistencia militar llegó de parte de los reinos del este, que contaban con el favor de los clanes rebeldes y su recientemente capturada flota naval. Este evento significó la primera avanzada de un ejército Txakha sobre tierras Adaxakhas desde su expulsión de la península.

[Francazar]

FRANCAZAR ENTERS WORLD CUP QUALIFYING UNDEFEATED
The nation of Francazar is sending its first international delegation to the World Cup qualifiers. Coach Ingrid Johansen is viewing the opportunity with much optimism, as shown by his remarks to the press recently. Regarding Francazar’s rank, Johansen has claimed that “The World Cup Committee holds us in such high regard that our rank is undefined!” Among this claim, Johansen has also been stated saying, “We are the only nation in Group 1 entering the tournament with an undefeated international record, we surely have a chance at this cup.”

While Johansen surely galvanized a crowd of aloof reporters, betting odds do not favor the Cazarian’s chances to qualify. At the moment, The Holy Empire (2-1) holds the best odds, followed by Elmiya (5-1), closely followed by Vdara (6-1), while Pyahznaya (11-1) and Darkmania (13-1) tend to have their odds drop towards the end. Francazar has the worst odds at the moment, as they are tied with the East Leaf Islands, with both at 17-1.

Perhaps these are justified, as when you observe Francazar’s roster, they lack in obvious weak points behind the world forces in association football. An inexperienced, a volatile group of backs may prove to be a death knell for the Cazarians. Excluding Henrik Larsen, the entire group is below the age of 25. Along with this, a gamble by Johansen to place Andreas Katsaros at center-back is a high-risk move, as Katsaros barely has any experience starting at the domestic level, and the international pace of play may just prove to be too fast for a player like him.

As we move to the midfield, there starts to be a brighter option for Francazar. The Akrolimni FC duo Christadoulou and Mavros will wreak havoc with masterful passing and long balls up to the strikers. Johansen’s formation of choice- the 4-4-2- is a classical, and relatively safe option, surprising many of his critics who view his normally unconventional tactics as unfavorable.

Despite the criticism of Johansen’s approach and immaturity, he seems to have his team in a relatively good position going into the qualifiers. While reds and yellows may flood the tournament, the Cazarian defense could use this chance to prove their maturity, which could be a key to a Cazarian qualification in the near future.


Pundits Dumbfounded as Johansen Launches Campaign
In other news, Coach Johansen has inserted himself into the political image of Francazar, as he recently announced a run for Prime Minister of Francazar. Political pundits have viewed this run with humor, and it is presumed that no major party in their right mind would insert Johansen on their ticket, but a minor party unity ticket is certainly possible. For now however, Johansen’s policy proposals are unknown, and perhaps the largest problem for voters, is his remarks as a coach, which tend to aggravate the always-present right-wing voters, who make up around 40% of the Cazarian population.

Johansen’s opening campaign speech was nothing out of the ordinary, yet lacked policy and a feeling of advocacy, solely railing against the Centrist-controlled current government. For now, it is not clear what his campaign will bring, whether he will bomb out early, or very possibly, if a successful qualifiers run could bring him fortune this September at the polls. We will keep you updated, and as always, thank you for tuning into Francazar Sports Network.

[Delte]

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We Are The Champions (Surprisingly)
Your Comprehensive Guide To World Cup 96

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Sports Correspondent Kim Samrodd For The Oswark Parish Advertiser

No need to get all nostalgic just yet or crack out the scrap book of all your favourite old Deltic articles - despite persistent speculation in the gossip threads of Discordia, The Reps are not planning to withdraw from the World Cup any time soon: we're back! A bunch of amateurs - and now a few professionals too - are here to defend their title.

It has been all change at the All-Week Super Ultra Premier Football Association - the FA - and The Representatives will be feeling that as they open their campaign at a brand spanking new and shiny Ildemorton Road, which has finally been completed and is ready to welcome a quarter of the valley population - 12,000 people - for the opening match against TJUN-ia. The tie everyone will be looking forward to and has been hoping for over the last two cycles is the return of Enda Clentin, on matchday 5, when he brings his Dandelions team from Gnejs for their first ever match againts the Delts. This sees the return of the man who invented the stoicpress and set The Representatives on the way to world domination. Of course it is only a slight return - as one of the world's first work-from-home remote video coaches, he only lives just down the road in Oswark-upon-Delte, so he's never far away.

That aside, it is going to be a tough campaign for the reigning champions as they learned in a poor showing at the International Confederations Cup warm-up event, missing their totem Climo Coss - gone off to lead his homeland Wight in their second return to world football - and with big changes at the top of the football system. Former FA chief Issenda Tenning resigned in disgrace and has been replaced by unknown quantity Tyrona Arringburton, also known as The Widow and an outspoken character from the famously outspoken Rake Teinton Women's Institute. She has controversially demoted World Cup winning coach Mo Unden to number two and promoted in his place Ida Spankhurst... no, I don't know who she is either. But rest assured I aim to find out - and RPO^[1] are paying for the rights to the story.

The team will also miss cup winning defenders Eremo Olde and Skelimino Bane, who decided to call it a day and retire at the top, while uncertainty shrouds the future place in the team of refugees from the Cooper River humanitarian crisis - Steed Tombes, Deni Vagabonde and Hennequin Perdu are all banished to the away team along with coach Romain Rivière, allegedly due to the Women's Institute's famous dislike of 'grockels' - incomers. The Cooperites are joined by hot prospect Pokey Fayle - who broke through in the Reps' run to the IAC final but is a member of what the WI might think of as 'the undesirables' from the next valley along.

While banishing some essential personnel to the away team mission, Ida has at least called up one player everyone in the valley has been keen to see pull on the Green of The Valley - left back Asa Awestorm from North Pacific FC was given a run out in the disastrous ICC and was one of few who emerged with credit in the team that finished 5th of 8 against a random collection of regional champions and runners-up and friends of the Tumbrans.

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Announcement: Polka Lunn
Death Of A Newspaperwoman

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We interrupt this sporting broadcast to announce the tragic death of Oswark Parish Advertiser staff writer Polka Lunn, who passed away sometime in the night after failing to emerge from the adversely cambered banked curve of the A5572 Valley Road, at Moralden Corner. [Please be advised traffic control will be in place for three to seven days, causing delays at rush hour - alternative routes via Garbalsleight or the River Delte in a kayak are advised]. Polka had apparently recently taken up motorcycling, and it may have been ill-advised to begin her biking career on a brand new Oldyear 600RR race-tuned superbike. But that was Polka for you - brave, impetuous, and usually ill-advised. At least one quality of which is needed to become a stand-out journalist. Beginning as a sports correspondent, Polka found her true calling as a political reporter, frequently covering the shenanigans of the Rake Teinton Women’s Institute Gala Queen elections, and proving a natural at making the irrelevant seem relevant, even when - especially when - it wasn’t. During this World Cup the Parish Advertiser and it’s sister papers the Deltemouth Tide Times, the Sullenden Morning Bugle, the Askirk Harpoon & Daily Whale, Burye News, the Toddwardine Beastmarket Journal & News of the World, Rothwarrodton Recipe & Puzzler Weekend Edition and the Shingarter Herald will pay tribute to our dear colleague in a series of retrospectives on her writing.

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[1] Roleplay Production Office

[Wight]

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The Gentlemen Interregnum
1/6 - The Office of Slight Returns

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Or, why Wight, why now?

What goes around, goes around. As they say in Wight. Time is relative in the Wide Enness Ocean - as we all know - but by most estimates it has been sixteen to thirty-two years since World Cup ’88 and the ‘Anaialation Incident’, the beginning of civil war in Ao when the northerners rebelled and eventually seceded while in the south, a great volcanic explosion choked the world with pyroclastic clouds of righteousness and caused, among other things, the lights to go out in Tequilo. Including the Office of Slight Returns in Tapalupé City, where a small group of Wightlings had started to mastermind the revival of their lost nation. When the power eventually came back on (by which time the southerners were also seceding from Ao - awkward), the Tequiloans had lost all interest in being part of the new world order, retreated back into their isolationist shells, and allowed a small previously unheard-of valley just sidewise of the North Pacific to take their place on the Executive World Cup Committee. The Delts didn’t hang about, and now they are World Champions, but what happened to the Office of Slight Returns?

It’s still there, actually.

A scruffy rented office above a launderette on Calle Tamarindes, in the shabby business district of San Mustardo.

They never did fix the fax machine, which fried a gasket when the power first came back on. A surge of electricity through the run-down office distributor box blew the fax off the old dusty desk in the corner and woke up the intern, Georgie Gynn. She’d not had anything to do for years, and was just drifting off into a dreamy sleep when BANG! - lights, power, action. The Apple Lisa-2 in Georgie’s cube made a smiley face on the screen as it found its hard drive against all the odds and the slightly green-tinged flourescents on the ceiling flickered, buzzed, and pinged on above her. Smoke rose listlessly from the fax machine on the floor as it tried to print out a message. But despite its best efforts, it could not engage the paper. It popped a few sparks like a damp squib and gave up the ghost. Then the telephone started to ring.

Georgie was a little flustered - this was the most action she’d had in more than a decade - and she’d forgotten where the phone was. It took what seemed like an eternity to track it down, but the dogged phone kept on ringing and ringing and ringing and ringing.

And ringing.

‘Hello?’ said Georgie uncertainly, finally locating it under a pile of yellowing newspapers on one of the director’s desks.

‘Georgie, that’s not the proper corporate greeting, is it?’ said the caller.

‘Err, sorry, sorry. I forgot. Who is this?’ she said, rubbing her eyes in an effort to wake herself.

‘Who’s calling, please?’ corrected the person at the other end of the phone.

‘Yes, sorry, who’s calling please?’ asked Georgie.

‘It’s us, the Gentlemen Interregnum,’ said either Mister Couth, or Mister Ruly - they were hard to tell apart, ‘we’re back in business, apparently. Can you put the coffee on, we’re on our way in now.’

‘Oh,’ said Georgie, ‘I mean yes. I’ll see you in a minute.’ She was looking around for the coffee machine. She couldn’t recall having one, before. Before the power outage. Before the volcano and the Anaialation. Before all that.

[Auprussia]

MILITARY HISTORY OF AUPRUSSIA PART 1

The Aupalici and The Kingdom of Piendoux (15 ASE)
Accounts by deu Lithos written in 195 ASE

It started in 15 ASE (After Settlement Era) when deu Perin united all of the tribes of Aupalici under his banner in the Northwest of modern-day Auprussia. During this time the King of Piendoux Rodin De Tergenac had plans to expand his kingdom after finally uniting the Piendoux duchies in 10 ASE and had noted that having the Aupalici on his border was a definite issue. Rodin's advisors wanted him to take a different approach noting how the Aupalici have never supported his enemies and had generally left the kingdom alone during deu Perin's unification. Rodin while uneasy with the suggestion traveled to the tribe's capital which was a place called Aupas (modern day Aupalice) to start a negotiation.

Rodin wanted the Aupalici to swear fealty to him and become true vassals of the Kingdom of Piendoux. At first deu Perin and his council were vehemently opposed to such terms as they had just finished a long campaign of diplomacy and fighting to unite the tribe in the first place. To serve under a foreign king when deu Perin has just achieved the title of High Chief would be a slap in the face to his men and council. Rodin understanding what deu Perin went through then thought of a different proposal: The Aupalici still had to swear fealty to Rodin and the Kingdom of Piendoux but instead of becoming true vassals and pay taxes they should pay in men instead. Rodin called this the "Etat de Gardienne" or guardian state.

When deu Perin asks why make such a proposal Rodin de Tergenac answered "Good men are hard to come by, they are more valuable that the ground you or me stand on, and they are more valuable than even this" Rodin then shows deu Perin his short sword, masterfully crafted by his own father. "This is my father's gift to me. One of the most beautiful weapons ever created...a man like you could use such an item"

deu Perin was taken aback by what Rodin offered. The protection of the Kingdom of Piendoux a kingdom deu Perin that he was heavily anxious about all for what amounted to sending his warriors to fight another kingdom's battles and to swear fealty to that kingdom. It sounded like a horrible idea to just give up your sovereign and warriors just like that. The High Chief stood firm: "You should know better than to offer that to me" but Rodin calmly corrected himself: "I am not just saying give me your men and you allegiance...I am willing to build up your villages, give you weapons, give you more than what you would have on your own"

The council turned to deu Perin and unexpectedly told him to accept the proposal. One councilman by the name of deu Regon had laid it out to deu Perin: "Do we not accept his proposal and have to fight more battles against another foe or do we accept and become more prosperous?" deu Perin recognized that his people's appetite for war in the homeland had waned significantly so he reluctantly walked away from the council and told Rodin "We accept".

Rodin had the noble Gerot de Cautraire write the treaty on one of the many empty scrolls Rodin carried and the Treaty of Aupas Gardienne was written. The Aupalici had to guarantee Rodin 800-1000 men for any upcoming wars that the Kingdom of Piendoux may fight and swear fealty to the kingdom of Piendoux, in exchange the Aupalici were to benefit from their own taxes and be subsidized by the Kingdom of Piendoux. Rodin looked to his entourage and said "not a word about this to any of the Dukes, if word gets out that the Aupalici of all tribes had these favorable of terms it will tear us apart again".

If you were thinking "this still means they are a vassal right?" the answer would be yes and even deu Perin himself was unsure on the reactions of his men.

The Reaction (15 ASE)
After Rodin left many men in Aupas went to the council for an explanation. deu Perin the High Chief of the Aupalici had just swore fealty to a foreign king who they have barely had any relations with. One of the men named deu Aron had fury in his voice: "You send our sons to fight for another king? What is the meaning this?". deu Perin spoke sternly: "I only did this to ensure that our sons can live in a land ruled by their fathers, if I did not accept I fear we would have to fight a force we could not beat". deu Aron was now furious: "So we bow to them instead? and we run to our wooden thrones and act like they mean anything?!". Before deu Perin could speak again a council member by the name of deu Sirgeont had raised his voice: "Is it ok to bow your head but still have your land or to not bow your head and leave your sons without a father?"

deu Aron left without another word. That night deu Aron and many other men who lived in Aupas left south to in their minds be free from a doomed king. deu Perin and his council did not tell the rest of the Aupalici outside of Aupas that the army they would be fighting for would not be his.

The Call to Arms (17 ASE)
Two years after the Aupalici swore fealty to the Kingdom of Piendoux King Rodin rides with his noblemen to Aupas. High Chief deu Perin had been expecting Rodin and had 1000 Aupalici with javelins and spears lined up outside of the capital ready to go to war. deu Perin explained to these young men that the enemy they would be fighting had been raiding their ally for two years at this point and they must fight for not only their honor but the honor of the Aupalici. Rodin arrived in Aupas and had a look of relief on his face when he arrived. "I see you have found 1000 good men after all!" he quipped. deu Perin told the 1000 men under the command of deu Firot to go with Rodin.

The enemy Rodin had to face was a tribe that deu Perin had been familiar with if not for the stories of their exploits into the Kingdom of Piendoux and the Kingdom of Basony. Their name was the Ostroges and they had eluded Rodin before. In 12 ASE there was a raid in the southern part of Piendoux and Rodin had sent a noble by the name of Herrer Perault to stop the raids. In the Battle of Argouvin Perault had been slain and 1250 Piendoux soldiers (100 of which were young nobles) were killed while only 200 Ostroges lay dead. Perault had been baited into fighting the raiders while crossing the Lithou river and had his force wade through the waters while the Ostroges pelted him with javelins and slings. The same commander who slayed Perault had once again infiltrated the south of the kingdom but this time is threatening to take the city of Sabegne. The Ostroges were led by the grizzled commander named Torud Oram a man who is looking to make a name for himself by defeating Piendoux again and maybe be granted the newly conquered land by his High Chief Mietod.

The Battle of Chautrierre (17 ASE)
Rodin marched straight from Aupas down to relieve the city of Sabegne. Once Torud was told the news he pulled his army back towards the river where he defeated commander Perault. Piendoux scouts who lurked around Sabegne sent word of the retreat and Rodin knowing full well he can't let the Ostroges cross the river marched quickly. The Piendoux army had caught up to Torud before he could cross the river near the village of Chautrierre. Rodin lined up for battle knowing full well Torud cannot cross the river now.

The Piendoux army had 5500 men. 1000 Aupalici Spearmen, 2000 Piendoux Spearmen, 2000 Light Lancer Cavalry, and 500 Nobles on Horseback. Rodin had lined up the Aupalici Spearmen in the center and then Piendoux Spearmen to the left and right of them. The Lancer Cavalry laid at both left and right wings ready to butcher anyone who either crossed the river and the Nobles were purposely lined up on left, where Torud Oram would be commanding his forces.

The Ostrogian army had 4000 men. 1000 Skirmishers, 2000 Ostrogian Axemen, and 1000 "Rouacham" or Raider Cavalry equipped with a mix and match of missiles and spears. Torud lined up to his right with his Raider Cavalry. The Skirmishers on Torud's left were lined up infront of the Axemen to bait a charge from that flank and when the Skirmishers disperse the Axemen will hold the line on both the center and the right.

Rodin marched his Spearmen slowly and started to threaten cavalry charges early. Torud acted accordingly, and had the skirmishers retreat behind the Axemen. When Rodin saw this he had the Aupalici Spearmen charge to the center. Before their charge the Aupalici launched their javelins at the center line which caught the Ostroges off guard. When Rodin saw that there was some confusion he had the Piendoux Spearmen charge with the Aupalici. Torud seeing this had decided to act quickly and attempt to flank the spearmen from the right and had one of his commanders Leit Nashal try to flank with the Axemen on the left. Rodin saw this and went all in charging with his Lancer Cavalry in a full on attack. Torud did expect this but did not expect the contingent of nobles on their heavy horses to also be a part of the charge. It is alleged that when the Aupalici charged in he sent the Nobles to a very wide position which Torud did not catch on to.

The Piendoux army smashed into both flanks and slowly but surely grinded the Ostroges to nothing. The Aupalici notably had been much more disciplined than Rodin expected and had pushed the Ostrogian Axemen to the river along with the Piendoux spearmen. Torud Oram surrounded and outmatched spent his final moments at the spears tip of an enemy army alone. Rodin had avenged Perault's loss.

The Ostroges had lost nearly their whole army save for 500 men while Piendoux only suffered 400 casualties and only 50 of them were Aupalici. After the battle Rodin even gave deu Firot the commander of the Aupalici a Piendoux name: Firot de Sabegne for his performance against the Ostroges. In Rodin's mind however this is not the last of it. Rodin intends to conquer the people who dared to invade his land and thus he had decided to go to Aupas again.

[Ko-oren]

NS World Cup Fantasy Qualification

Sign up and play now!

It's back! Picks open until right before matchday 1 kicks off. Go to the "Start Here!" tab if this is your first time playing. We're looking forward to your pundits and experts facing off on the only stage that matters, finding out whether football is actually played on paper. As always, participation is free, so get those picks in!

The group with the highest combined KPB is group 2, where Valanora (51.94) accounts for more than 50% of the group total (96.61). On the flip side is group 20 with a total of 73.09, where Mytanija accounts for barely more than a third of that (25.75). As always - the highest seed in the group basically decides where the group places on the 'group total KPB' list, as the top end of the ranking has such a wide range of teams. Bring down the 40-plus-point-quadrupoly. Valanora, Delte, Farfadillis, and Tumbra, and let's throw Banija and Kelssek in there for good measure, as they're so close to the 40-point mark. Those six teams will also be a little too expensive to pick - or will you base your entire strategy on those teams being good and coosing 16 cheap revelations alongside them?

On account of having a pretty good pot 2 and 3 team, Group 18 has a surprisingly low standard deviation for their average KPB (that's nerd for 'there's good teams in here from each pot') making them - hopefully - a difficult group to decide on. Group 17 has the reverse problem: there are good teams but there's a distinct top three somewhat removed from the bottom four. Let's hope the likes of Ile de Richelieu and Bostopia can bridge the gap. Or actually, we'd rather have Bostopia crash and burn.

There are the necessary returns by teams with big histories - Wight and Siovanija and Teusland spring to mind - as well as some recent BoF graduates breaking through into pots 2, and 3. As a last note, remember that Pemecutan has a different name now!

[Cabo Azure]

When O Interregno ended and the Azurean monarchy was restored, another political transition was also underway, so subtle it almost escaped notice. Where Reinaldo II, the last king before the coup that began O Interregno, was an absolute monarch in all but name, presiding over a rubber-stamp Assembly and maintaining total control of the judiciary, his grand-nephew and successor, Manuel, would be a semi-constitutional monarch in the Rushmori vein of Graintfjall, Cassadaigua, and others. The restored Assembly had the power to pass laws that the king could only veto under the narrowest circumstances, and it was understood that the king’s power of pardoning would only be his for as long as he didn’t abuse it.

King Manuel was crowned on New Year’s Day of what has become known as the year M-0, and elections were held that fall. Caretaker premier Mario Borges, football star and former minister of culture under the junta, was elected in a landslide at the head of the Movimiento Nacional, a wide umbrella for the coalition of groups led by Queen Abigail that had seen the overthrow of the junta government. After the heady times of the coronation and election, however, the MN almost immediately fractured into two factions; the Coalizão Nacional, headquartered in Portelo and led by traditional powerbrokers from the former praetorian class, and the Aliança Nacional, headquartered in Sao Simone and backed by the deep coffers of the Silva family.

Borges’s term as premier would last only as long as the post-revolutionary honeymoon, and the second post-interregnum election quickly turned into a two-horse race between Joaquin Sequeira, the charismatic tycoon, and Federico “Rico” Bravo, the tough-talking Sao Simone mayor and union leader who enjoyed the backing of the Silva political machine. Sequeira would eventually drop out of the election, clearing the way for Bravo to win in a landslide.

The next challenger would fare no better. Seeking to unite the out-islands against the Aho-centric AN and Portelo-centric CN, the Partido Syndicalisto ran Sofia Vargas, a plainspoken merchant’s daughter from the bucolic out-island of Sao Cristobal. Vargas was charismatic and ran on a common-sense platform that resonated with many pro-Rushmori Azureans, but her campaign counted on the AN not taking her seriously as opposition. In fact, the Silva-backed party did the opposite, ruthlessly and methodically breaking down her qualifications as a PS backbencher. After Bravo won a second term, the government took the unusual step of bringing Vargas into the fold, offering her the position of football commissioner, where she had the Herculean task of righting the ship after Paulinho’s untimely death.

The third general election since the restoration of the monarchy is set to represent a sea change. Rico Bravo is term limited and Mario Borges’s poor health has seen him resign from public life, meaning the next premier will likely be someone who has not held national office before. Moreover, the demographics have changed; improved communications and increased globalization have resulted in a more engaged Azurean diaspora, and the success of the Partido Syndicalisto-brokered trade deal with Eura, which passed thanks to a back bench rebellion in the AN which had at least the tacet support of Marisol Silva, the party’s biggest bankroller.

Projected starting XI vs. Audioslavia: Gomez | Soares, M'bah-Pinho, Furtado, Branco | Gontijo, Bastos, Florencio | Santos, Mendonca, Gouveia

[Baggieland]

From Athlete to Astronaut

Imagine a world where dreams are shattered… only to be rebuilt among the stars

Brought to you by the same author who gave the multiverse half (a shout-out to my awesome writing buddy, Gnejs) of the extraordinary chronicles of Øystein Øye…

In this contemporary tale we will follow the adventures of Len Livermore – defensive midfielder and stalwart of the national football team of Baggieland – vilified by the press and the public after a disastrous performance on the pitch, discovers a new path for himself obliterating alien scum in the vast expanse of space.

Part One: The Final Straw

World Cup 95 Finals, Ko-oren 3 – 0 Baggieland

Sentient Oval, Kirkham, Sylestone. Second group match.

It was a must-win game for Baggieland, who were in the finals for the first time, as they faced off against the more experienced Ko-oren. If The Throstles were to have any hope of making it into the knock-out stage, they had to beat The Dragonflies. The rambunctious hordes of Baggies who had travelled all the way to Sylestone to witness history in the making roared on their beloved team.

Len Livermore was playing just in front of the defensive backline, a position he had made his own with countless man-of-the-match performances in the past. But that was the past… in this match the Ko-orenite attack ran rings around him, even leaving him on his butt one time, as they scored goal after goal after goal.

As the final whistle blew, the Baggielandian faithful relentlessly booed and yelled at Len. In the changing room, Fred Buckingham gave a disappointed speech, but no one needed to say it out loud – they all knew that Len's mistakes had cost them the game and any chance they had of progressing to the knock-outs. Even in the press, Lei Siulung of The Daily Boing brutally lambasted him.

"You too, Lei Siulung?" thought Len to himself, as he recalled all the flattering interviews he used to have with Baggieland's best (and only!) sports reporter.

Len was dreading the prospect of returning to Baggieland.

[Vyktoria]

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NOW IN LARGE PRINT!

FOOTBALL: KEVIN ARLAND I DIES, AGED 89
Kevin Arland I, former Drakonian and AC Tellia (YTT) striker, Vyktorian Football Federation President and legend of Itavran Sector football has died this morning of natural causes. VFF Vice President Lio Golt, a Drakonian who played winger alongside Arland I, has taken the role of Interim President until the next election. A state funeral is expected to be held in both NexxusDrako and Vyktoria for the late Arland I.

WORLD CUP 96: VYKTORIA IN QUALIFYING GROUP 9
Vyktory has been drawn into World Cup Qualifying Group 9 against the following nations in ascending order of rank: Siovanija and Teusland, Doubeia, Amenria, Cardenao, Independent Athletes from Quebec, and Pasarga. Vyktory is considered to be the 6th seed of the seven nations, but will hope to improve on their quarter-final performance in the Baptism of Fire 83 in Tikariot. Kevin Arland III, captain and wonderkid striker was quoted by the media as "relishing the challenge" of the group.

DBC57/U18WC21: VYKTORIA CRASH OUT OF YOUTH WORLD CUPS IN GROUPS
Vyktoria has crashed out of both Youth World Cups after Kevin Arland was rested for "load management" and rarely played in either. The two squads didn't seem at all to gel, which makes some sense given how quickly the teams were rushed out the door. It appears many of the players may never line up for the national team either, after such a disaster in the tournaments.

---

Project Kalliope: Stitching Time
Chapter 1 - A Surprise Visit

OOC: This slice of life segment features old NexxusDrakonian characters, and is part of reintegration and retconning efforts in the Itavran Sector. It can and will feature dead characters, old nations, ancient references, and zero continuity. You have been warned.

---

A red-scaled draconid sat at her desk, cracking open a can of Dracola, kicking her chair back to take a sip. Life had taken a pretty odd turn for her since the death of her nation. She now laid low in an apartment in Wyckham as she let a body double take her place as leader of the nation named after her, all so she could live a new life as the woman she was meant to be.

A knock on the door of her room startled the draconid. "Come in." she said, nervously putting her can down. The door swivelled open, revealing a brunette woman, stubble betraying her transness. "I can't find the razors, where'd you sit them, sis?" asked the human. "Try the cupboard under the sink." said the draconid, frowning slightly. "That's where the toilet cleaner and paper goes, why would it be there?" retorted the human. "I dunno, the ADHD probably did it, Luna." replied the draconid. Luna frowned, then went to the bathroom to check.

Luna was the wife of the draconid. Both were trans women, and both were actually versions of each other from different species. The former names of the two weren't well known, but both had gotten into hot water back in the old nation they founded in 0 IC. Both had run away from that life though, but Vyktoria's world cup ambitions had them worried. The draconid walked out to the kitchen, where Luna sat watching TV, stubble now shaved and smooth. "Kevin Arland died. They say it was natural causes. 89 though... crazy to think he's that old." said Luna.

"We're both immortal, does it matter?" said the draconid, cracking a wry smile. Luna glared straight at her. "Skyalina, that may be true, but it's football. And football trumps all in this house." warned Luna. Skyalina only chuckled, and began to make breakfast. Grabbing eggs, bacon, cheese and chili sauce out the fridge, she then began making breakfast muffins. "Wanna start on cutting the muffins for me thanks, Lu?" asked Skyalina. Luna sighed, then grabbed the muffins out the pantry, along with a large bread knife. After cooking the eggs and bacon, they put the muffins together and sat at the table.

They had only just began to eat, when a knock on the front door startled them. "It's me, Alexis. Open up girls, please." said a voice. "What in the world are they doing here?" said Skyalina. Luna shook her head and said "It's not often you have the President of Vyktoria on your doorstep, is it? Let them in."

Skyalina walked to the door and opened it. Standing there was a tall, lanky, androgynous enby, with jet black hair, square glasses, and black goth-style jacket and jeans. "Is this a private visit then?" asked Skyalina. "Yeah, I wanted to see Luna, and forgot you lived here now. Was going to discuss football and politics." said Alexis. "You know I don't talk politics, last time I did that, we nuked an Esportivan island, and sunk the Yveltali seastead." replied Luna. "Don't remind me." retorted Skyalina.

Alexis walked in and took off their boots, revealing pink striped 'programmer socks', before retorting "And nothing of value was lost, but we have bigger fish to fry. You know Jarokn is about to declare war on NexxusDrako, saying their leader is a Vyktoryan puppet, right? They're technically correct. We need the two of you to... appear on state TV."

Luna sighed. "This was bound to happen, but I want you to keep our current identities safe. We'll go with the deadnames and old identities for the appearance, but we want our rights respected. I really don't feel like going by James ever again, and neither does Sky want to even think about her deadname." said Luna, matter-of-factly.

Skyalina exhaled loudly, almost roaring. "Not like I'm reminded every day about being Nexxus fucking Drako, is it?" she snorted angrily. Luna hugged her almost immediately, calming the draconid down.

Alexis looked at the two wives pleadingly, almost sad to force this upon the two. "It's for the good of millions of innocent people. It's the right thing to do, you know. I can make those guarantees too, Luna. You have three hours I'll spend with you two preparing, then I've got an aide picking us up to go to Broadcasting House." they said, with a hint of sorrow.

"Fine by us." said Luna, beckoning Alexis to sit on the couch, Di Bradini Cup highlights playing on the morning news. Alexis obliged, and the three sat down to watch SportsMorning on VBC Sports. Then an interdimensional rift opened up in the lounge room. The interdimensional rift lay open, as Luna, Skyalina, and Alexis stared, eyes wide and jaws agape. Then an elven woman walked through the rift. She was beautiful, with red hair and flowing curves, wearing green camo leather armor.

"So, Jarokn won't be giving NexxusDrako any more problems. I've sorted them. Jarokn for the elves, NexxusDrako for the Dracons and Vyktoria for the humans. How's that?" said the elf. Luna smiled, and said "I like the sound of that, Sythini. We don't need to use our deadnames after all."

Sythini smiled and said "Yeah, though I still have a soft spot for Sevestra as a name though, might name my kid that. Rythornian elves are intersex after all." before beckoning the others to get in the portal. "Let's go back to Origin Hall to meet with the true goddess." Sythini said, cautiously.

"Sure, why not." said Alexis, as the four of them went into the rift.

To be continued.

[Milchama]

Group 11
Delaclava (65)
Crpostran (240)
Yuezhou (9)
Eastfield Lodge (104)
Kinqueven (UR)
Milchama (29)
Britonisea (140)

"You know what we should do?"

"What?"

"Organize a friendly baseball tournament between Llama and Drawk and..."

"I'm going to stop you right there"

"What do you mean?"

"That's not Super-Llamaland, that's Yuezhou"

"I thought it was the same guy? Or they were similar somehow?"

"No, different countries, like you can look at the factbook https://www.nationstates.net/nation=yue_zhou and https://www.nationstates.net/nation=super-llamaland. Different things"

"Ok but we can still do Drawkland"

"You've mixed up Drawkland and Delaclava again"

"Oh goddamn it, you're right I did, they are definitely different nations"

"Meanwhile, Eastfield Lodge definitely doesn't have a baseball team, Britonisea has never participated in a WBC, I think, and our soccer players notoriously terrible at baseball so what's the point?"

"I figured we would bring the baseball team along but yeah no real point if nobody is going to play baseball"

"That's true"

"Is there anything else you want to say in our preview post?"

"We should probably roster before we post in the RP thread"

"Oh yeah that would be a good idea"

"What do you think the roster will be? Will it be a real roster or a meme roster?"

"What would you call last time?"

"The last gasps of a sad old man"

"Ok, then meme roster?"

"Why?"

"Exactly, a great midfielder"

"What?"

"A fine forward"

"How?"

"Defender, might be the keeper if I remember correctly"

"I don't know"

"Third base, sorry left forward"

"Well I don't give a darn"

"That's our shortstop and also a midfielder"

"Fair enough, that's where they would put the short stop"

"What's with the space?"

"In short stop?"

"Yeah"

"Felt right"

"Oh ok"

"I mean shortstop just sounds too modern"

"I don't see that"

"You wouldn't"

"Well now I'm annoyed at you"

"I think this has gone off the rails"

"Oh definitely"

"We should stop now"

"Yep"

"Solidarity forever!"

"Solidarity forever!"

[Zenic]

“The Empire’s World Cup Qualifying campaign kicks off against The Union of Ventura before facing Sylestone in a rematch of the International Confederations Cup semifinal.”

Emperor Cuauhtémoc looked over the paperwork on his desk. Exports were on the rise now thanks to two major factors: more of the fertile land under ZSF command was liberated and returned to the faithful citizens and a large contingent of conscripted soldiers were honorably discharged to return to their civilian lives, many who provided services or crafted goods. In turn, the taxes on the money coming in had been assisting in the repair / reconstruction of public transportation (roads, train tracks, airports, etc.) and public housing. Once those are back up to required standards, they should be able to mostly fund themselves and that tax money can be partially redirected to anything else that needs additional funding. Based on data projections, the next things up would most likely be education and healthcare facilities. However, they both had received constant, but limited, maintenance during the conflict so the need isn’t as urgent as the other pillars of society.

Despite the positive news, the Emperor was still cautiously optimistic about everything. He didn’t major in economics but the courses he took in university plus the discussions he had with his Minister of Commerce, Shukri, hopefully prepared him to make the best use of the influx of funding. Getting everything that will assist in industrial, commercial and touristic enterprises up and running was a gamble: if the profits didn’t continue to rise to the needed levels, the Empire would continue to burn through their financial reserves, potentially at an accelerated rate leading to financial ruin for the Empire. So, his worries weren’t completely unfounded thanks to the data.

That’s why his plan to ensure success relied heavily on three people: Ascanio Nicodemo (International Affairs), Fina Aysultan (Finance), and Alaia Dimi (Sports). Ascanio was instrumental in making sure current trade deals stayed fair for both sides while also working on re-initiating older trade deals that stopped due to the conflict (whether the conflict made it impossible to fulfill the requirements of the deal or the partner nation stopped the deal for any reason). Ascanio would not be able to get every single deal back on the table but as long as he could get most of them up and running again, it would help shore up the current export profits in the long term as well as create additional lines of export profits.

Alaia was responsible for the most abstract part of the trinity: marketing via sports. Proliferate the Zenic name by getting the national teams and domestic clubs onto the television screens of people across the multiverse. The complete plan was expected to take about two decades or so but it seems to be ahead of schedule. Both Geraldo Zys and Grover Per have led their squads to impressive international success in only their second cycles with Zys getting Zenic’s first ever Copa Rushmori title while Per helped the Empire to a solid 4th place at the golden anniversary for the World Cup of Hockey. Now, it was up to the Ministry of Sport to keep up the pressure on the national team level while also working on getting the domestic leagues restarted. The latter seemed to be the stumbling block for this portion of the plan and the Emperor hoped to get something going sooner rather than later.

Fina’s part was to make sure all the incoming money is going where it needs to go and being used for what it is needed for. In order to do so, she has been placed as the head of an inter-magistracy task force involving the Ministries of Finance, Justice, and Domestic Affairs. In summary, Domestic Affairs will collect reports from government agencies and corporations to send to Finance. Fina will then make sure her ministry reviews everything and should they notice any improprieties, they will investigate to confirm before sending the information over to Justice for them to prosecute.

Basically, Emperor Cuauhtémoc hoped to build as much redundancy into the methods the Empire uses to build up their reserves while also making sure no money was wasted. The last thing the Emperor needed was to cause the fall of the Empire via mismanagement after having managed to literally save it from a violent crisis.

[Josifovo]

Спортски Журнал
All the sports, by the people, for the people

WORLD CUP 96 QUALIFIERS GROUPS DECIDED - SUPPORT IS UNWAVERED AND HOPE IS HIGH

Entering into the World Cup 96 qualifiers, Josifovo sees itself past its best ever Campionato Esportiva campaign. A campaign that saw Zlatni Lavovi get as far as the quarter-finals through the team's determination and exact focus on the strategies that have been imposed on it.Thanks to these good campaigns in both world cup qualifiers as well as regionally, Josifovo has seen unprecedented unity in its support. In addition to that, it sees itself as a pot 3 team in a difficult group, with a big gap from the 2 teams right above it.

Despite this gap, hope is as high as it has ever been, as Josifovo will be battling for a top 2 finish, with the 1st place giving direct qualification while the 2nd place giving a spot to the playoffs and a chance to qualify to the World Cup proper itself. Some short scale analysis will be given for each nation in the group, if available.

Josifovo (73): We start off with our very own Zlatni Lavovi. Due to some complications in scheduling, the Campionato Esportiva took place earlier in this season instead of last year. This means the team has come back fresh off a strong campaign in the Campionato Esportiva, where it managed to reach the quarter-finals. Last qualifiers campaign, the Josifski team was really close to getting a playoffs spot but narrowly missed out on the opportunity. It exhibited glimpses of strength and managed to get a number of surprise upsets, such as defeating Zwangzug at home and remaining undefeated against both them and against Eraman across both matches. If the focus is here, Josifovo could be aiming to surprise any higher-ranked competition while keeping lower teams at bay. However, it is difficult to ascertain if this team has exactly what it takes to even clinch a playoffs spot as things stand.

Zwangzug (10): A traditionally strong team, Zwangzug topped its group last time around. However as mentioned, the Josifski team managed to remain undefeated against the Zebras. In the world cup proper they crashed out of the group stages undefeated managing 3 draws in an equal amount of games. Considering they had entered the competition as favorites, this was a disappointingly early exit for them and will be looking to avenge that swiftly. Keeping this in mind, Josifovo's tactical focus will be to pry off some points from them once again, although they will not be as merciful this time around.

Squornshelan Remnant States (32): Last cycle this team experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. A strong showing in the qualifiers saw them miss out on the playoff spots by just 3 points with a disappointing Cup of Harmony run that resulted in a managerial change to Juven manager Dudu Madeiros. Since then, the team has gone on a fairytale run in the initial ARC as well as beating the other regional champions in the International Confederations Cup right after. With this steam and an impressive attack for an otherwise more defensive team means that Zlatni Lavovi will have a difficult time to get any points from them. However, seeing some of their inconsistences, it is not highly unlikely.

Bears Armed(86): A team that displayed some hopeful performances in the last qualifiers, however also a team that is highly inconsistent and pretty weak against higher ranked opposition. The Ursines are by no means an easy opponent, but an opponent that Josifovo possesses enough quality and prowess to overpower at any given moment. While rank-wise the Zlatni Lavovi's closest opponent, it is also one that may not be a necessary headache should the team stick to its plan.

United States of Devonta (145): A team that constantly enters, produces mediocre results and then eventually fades away until the next cycle. There are words that this team used to be in the middle of the pack in the past, able to upset higher sides. However, records are old and tampered with. Josifovo should have no trouble with this team, especially if it follows its schedule.

Semarland (198): Second to last pot is not doing this team justice. A past giant, Semarland is speculated to be undergoing several big internal changes to solidify itself as a big team once more. Despite its lowly rank, it is not a team to be underestimated, however the Zlatni Lavovi have got this in the bag, especially considering the recent showings of the Josifski team.

Celestial Emapier (UR): Unknown minnows that have no records to be tracked by. Considering this, they could be unpredictable, but knowing the history of such squads, victories are almost assured with teams of that caliber. It is one of the few cases where Josifovo can definitely be attributed the role of an undisputed favorite.

With a low amount of teams, the tides are easy to turn no matter how big and strong a team is. With focus on what is sought after, that is being the qualification to the world cup, anything is possible. The team's performance at the most recent Campionato Esportiva has steered the team towards the right direction, however these tools need sharpening which will only be possibly attained through experience and through getting good results.

[Jeruselem]

Princess Stella with Iris Randolf at Naked News HQ reviewing the World Cup 96 destinations with her replacement Iris Randolf ...

Stella: OK girl, let's see where you're headed

Group 12
Sylestone (17)
Zenic (127)
Jeruselem (57)
Raspotochje (276)
Al-Tamazgha (98)
Commonwealth of Baker Park (41)
The Union of Ventura (248)

Iris: None of places are familiar to me at all.
Stella: Well get used to that, that's the nature of the World Cup. You got to weird places, mind you some places are weirder than others but you'll find out when you're there
Iris: That's OK, I go to weird places for fun anyway
Stella: Some people find Jeruselem weird anyways
Iris: Nothing wrong with that, makes people remember us better ... nothing worse than going to a place so boring they forget they were there
Stella: True, we aren't perfect but we sure aren't boring.

Iris: So, Sylestone.
Stella: I've been there, you'll be fine there. Mind you they are our biggest threat in the cup, so they are one to beat but that's not your problem. Their flag is a literally rock which is weird.
Iris: I assume we've been to Commonwealth of Baker Park a lot?
Stella: Yes, don't worry about Baker Park. They know us well, well we keep on playing them ... a lot. Yes they just happen to be 2nd top seed but hey you're not managing the team.
Iris: I have no idea about the others
Stella: Zenic sounds like a slavic place ... because they love putting ic as the last two characters of the name.

Iris: That's fine, I'm part slav. Sort of ...
Stella: No shame being mixed blood, I mean that's just how my family works.
Iris: More like Mum being a nympho, but it's not like there's a lack of those around Jeruselem
Stella: You need people like us keep the population going, we don't want to run out of children.
Iris: Raspotochje ... that one is a bit of mouthful, I'll need to practice that one.
Stella: I hear it's another slavic country, just from the roster.

Iris: I can't even spell that
Stella: Ya don't need to spell it, that's why we have phones. Some country names are just too hard to spell.
Iris: Al-Tamazgha ... sounds kinda Islamic.
Stella: Yeah, might be one of the places we have to be more careful. Yes their flag has islamic on it so you're right.
Iris: The Union of Ventura, yeah. No idea.
Stella: Yes one of countries we have no idea about but then it might not matter given their ranking anyway. They are Baptism of Fire team so they are new to everyone.

Iris: I guess I won't be spending a lot of time at home now
Stella: Don't worry, you don't have kids to worry about.
Iris: So that's why I got this job
Stella: Yes well, kids do require maintenance. You have to invest time in your own self made clones. Ask your Mum.
Iris: She's a professional mother, I haven't gotten there yet
Stella: Our family is all about that. We can't be Gods so we have kids instead.

[Daharia]

A New Hope for Daharia?
Jaromir Lis, Daharian Hearald

After a less-than-ideal start to the international soccer team in the 83rd Baptism of Fire, being eliminated in the round of 16, Coach Alfréd has put together an exceptional Coaching Staff and is looking to win it all this year.

Recent Hires

---

Assistant Coach: Hennadiy Beutel
Goalkeeping Coach: Tyberiy Schirmer
Chief Analyst: Hans Ziegler
Fitness Coach: Friedrich Stenger
Conditioning Coach: Jonáš Jeleń
Chef/Nutritionist: Arne Alscher
Team Physician: Quirin Pasternack
Physiotherapist: Adelbert Sorg
Masseur: Lubomír Schreiber
Kit Manager: Theodor Kamiński
Tactical Scouts: Czesław Stanek,
Kunibert Gabler, and Waldemar Schlender

Daharia was officially ranked as the 236th best National Soccer Team in the World, not a great sounding ranking, but impressive for a new and upcoming team on the international scale. They have been placed into the 3rd group with the following teams:

Indusse, ranked 72nd in the world,
Vilwandia, with a ranking of 129,
Oberour Ar Moro, ranked 75th,
Txakhax, who have not received a ranking yet,
Kelssek, who is one of the best teams in the world, with the 7th overall ranking,
and lastly Sajnur, who is ranked 38th.

This will be a very difficult group for Daharia to win, but Coach Alfréd has an amazing amount of confidence in his team.

Additionally, we have been told that new branches of the Daharian National Team are being set up. New Scouts, a 21-under Team, a new Youth Team coach for those 16-under. Many of the soccer fans in Daharia are excited about this upcoming World Cup. Miron Lehmann, a local to Berlin, Germania. is ecstatic about the upcoming tournament, he stated "The soccer-loving community of Daharia very excited to support our National Team. We just barely showed them what we were made of in the Baptism of Fire. Trust me, we are going to go all the way this year. I just can feel it."

This World Cup will also be very good for tourism and business booms in the city of Varsovia. The local government released a press statement. Saying "We expect double maybe even triple the tourism just for this event. We also expect to make multiple times the usual revenue we make.
We also will be building a statue of local resident Wojtek Wechsler, the captain of the team outside of the stadium. We believe in our National Team. Let's go Daharia!"

All eyes are on the youngster Wilhelm Reich, a current bench player on the National Team, but the youngest to ever make it on, at just 17 years old. A resident of Munich, Germania, he goes to high school at Nymphenburger Schulen München, one of the most prestigious schools in the Country. We know both his family, and his friends will be watching to see if he is lucky enough to make it to the field.

Ludere pro Victoria Daharia, Ludere pro Victoria!

Group 3 Schedule

MD1: @ Kelssek(7) [Exhibition Place, Kirkenes]
MD2: vs Sajnur(38) [PGE Narodowy] |45°F (7°C), 3 mph (4 kph) Wind Speed at Kickoff|
MD3: @ Indusse(72) [Aditya Varma Kulashekara International Stadium]
MD4: v Vilwandia(129) [PGE Narodowy] |59°F (15°C), 3 mph (4 kph) Wind Speed at Kickoff|
MD5: Bye
MD6: @ Oberour Ar Moro(75) [Parade Grounds]
MD7: v Txakhaxi(UR) [PGE Narodowy] |58°F (14°C), 12 mph (19 kph) Wind Speed at Kickoff|
MD8: v Kelssek(7) [PGE Narodowy] |45°F (7°C), 7 mph (11 kph) Wind Speed at Kickoff|
MD9: @ Sajnur(38)
MD10: v Indusse(72) [PGE Narodowy] |52°F (11°C), 10 mph (16 kph) Wind Speed at Kickoff, expect rain to begin around the 10-minute mark.|
MD11: @ Vilwandia(129) [Stadium of the Nations]
MD12: Bye
MD13: v Oberour Ar Moro(75) [PGE Narodowy] |44°F (6°C),15 mph (24 kph) Wind Speed at Kickoff.|
MD14: @ Txakhaxi(UR) [Adaxa Park]

[HUElavia]

Road to the Hat-Trick of Appearances

HUElavia is drawn in Group 13 with a solid group of opponents where Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos are expected to fight for a direct spot.

It's the 21st appearance for HUElavia in the World Cup Qualifiers, with it becoming the first time the team enters their group as the Pot 1, a dream come true for the HUElavian faithful. Despite being on the lower end of the Pot, the team had plenty to enjoy in the draw. HUElavia (19) was drawn into Group 13 with the likes of: Baggieland (36), New Fernia (248), Kamijiro (109), Socialist Republic of Lower Tranmere (UR), The Kytler Peninsulae (88), and Krytenia (53). The draw was viewed as very positive from the HUElavian press and fans alike, where there is good faith that this team will be contending for at least the Playoff spot.

It had been previously noted that Estadio Nacional (100,000) and Estadio Salvador (85,000) would be granted a match each to host during these qualifiers. and after much deliberation from the HFA and local governments the other four venues were announced to host the 6 home matches for HUElavia. These four stadiums are as follows: Takoroyama Kyougijou (62,000) in Takoroyama, Estadio Nativo (59,500) in Kuelap, San Ignatius (52,000) in Itio, and Bolovets Olympic Stadium (48,000) in Bolovets. Thus, the venues are distributed within the 6 regions of HUElavia, encompassing a variety of cultures.

With the schedule release having been made official, the HUElavian National Football Team's schedule will be as follows:

Matchday 1:
Socialist Republic of Lower Tranmere vs HUElavia

Matchday 2:
Bye

Matchday 3:
HUElavia vs The Kytler Peninsulae
Estadio Nativo, Kuelap

Matchday 4:
Krytenia vs HUElavia

Matchday 5:
HUElavia vs Baggieland
Estadio Nacional, Curumba

Matchday 6:
New Fernia vs HUElavia

Matchday 7:
HUElavia vs Kamijiro
Takoroyama Kyougijou, Takoroyama

Matchday 8:
HUElavia vs Socialist Republic of Lower Tranmere
Bolovets Olympic Stadium, Bolovets

Matchday 9:
Bye

Matchday 10:
The Kytler Peninsulae vs HUElavia

Matchday 11:
HUElavia vs Krytenia
Estadio Salvador, Sao Salvador

Matchday 12:
Baggieland vs HUElavia

Matchday 13:
HUElavia vs New Fernia
San Ignatius, Itio

Matchday 14:
Kamijiro vs HUElavia

With the schedule and venues released, fans began to flock online and to the stadium to purchase tickets, where the HFA allocates 85% of the tickets to the HUElavian public, while the remaining 15% goes to the visiting supporters, per the allocation for a few decades now. Regardless, the team will be looking forward traveling to these cities, three of which had just recently seen HUElavia play there in IAC 20.

There is belief that the A-Team is expected to play in the matches against Baggieland, Krytenia and The Kytler Peninsulae, while a rotation of players will be given some playing time against Kamijiro, New Fernia and Socialist Republic of Lower Tranmere. Either way, the National Football Team have less games than the previous cycle to have margin for error and each game is expected to be played with caution but still displaying the strength of HUElavian football.

The road to what can be the team's 3rd consecutive World Cup appearance is a complicated one, but not a fully daunting one. One can only hope and pray that this team performs well and makes millions of HUElavians domestically and abroad proud and happy.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Zwangzug]

The Arlington Moon-Tribune

Commentary on the passage of time! Self-deprecating remark about how our system is too haphazard to regularly note the passage of time! Vague allusion to the long history of Squornshelous, remnants or otherwise! Gratitude for Kate DiMarini's indefatigable tenure! Allusion to recently-posted seasons! Allusion to season that has yet to be posted but had some interesting amounts of turnover!

So what does all this mean for the national team roster? The biggest surprise is DiMarini's breaking faith with Julia MacEacharna, her of the saxophones and lying down to block the free kicks. Relatively young when she was selected as captain, MacEacharna was seen as a pick that might provide more continuity over cycles rather than honoring a veteran who was about to step down. But her occasional slacking off, combined with Bassabook's collapse, were enough to cause DiMarini to move on. Inheriting the armband is Ashley Fillmore-Gaul, whose surly but persistent attitude was evident even during the glorious WC92 cycle. (She can sit next to Jacob Barons on the "religious trivia" subsection of the wiki page someday, and no, that's not a real suggestion.)

Another eye-catching choice is that, instead of promoting benchwarmers, DiMarini has tapped three rookies for the nominal starting XI after their clubs' impressive season 46. On central defense, Eileen Gainsborough, of Rovers United, would rather set you up with a long pass than traipse about the field all day; Sullivan Brecht, of FTC United, doesn't have much to say but seems happy to learn from his new teammates. Meanwhile, in the midfield, Jubilee McGraw (Sporting Esper) has enough silly rituals to outshine even Fillmore-Gaul, but as long as it works for her, no one's complaining.

Several farewells are, while not unexpected, still poignant. After luminous performances in Chromatika, Cixin Nguyen is winding down his domestic career in Aasiaat Harbour of the resurgent Valhallan league, but has elected not to pursue WCC competition. Meanwhile, Keppal Cosmos are by no means as disappointing as (say) MacEacharna's Bassabook, but season 46 made clear they are also not the only team capable of challenging Ephesian, which means that Ketevan Igreli, who's been with the team for seven cycles, is finally allowed to hang up her gloves. While Igreli was never as imposing a starter as she was as a reserve showing up to dazzle in shootouts (or lose at chess to South Newlandians, also important), she and Nguyen were both honored as "all-timers" in the unofficial World Cup of Dreams tournament. We'll wait a while to see how history regards their legacies, but regardless of baubles and honors, both have a guaranteed place in the hearts of fans.

When it comes to things that don't involve goalkeeping, Ephesian are of course unchallenged; a couple of my colleagues thought that DiMarini would haul Lukas Helsen-Roan back to make him the captain like she should have done last time. But even with his retirement, Brian Spand-Maunk is still a force in midfield, and Stephen Marcus will rack up plenty of goals up front.

Okay, that's plenty. Reminder to self to edit in stadium list! Warning not to underestimate Josifovo after what they did last cycle? Pithy joke about bears! Pithy...joke...about...bears?????

[A m e n r i a]

Origins: Malvina

Part 5

This is a continuation of Origins: Malvina. To read the story from the beginning, click here.

It was a sunny afternoon in Mutiara when Jieun stood in front of a minimarket as a group of three male high schoolers. The one in the middle had a buzz cut and his shirt open, revealing a Dragon's Team football jersey underneath. He was so engrossed in his conversation he didn't notice the striking blue-haired lady in his path and bumped into her. "Oh, sorry about that." Jieun simply turned to him, and with her monotonous voice and blank expression, responded, "I do not mind the minor transgression." When he took a better look at her, he smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly trying to hide his nervousness. "You know, that's a pretty cool wig and contacts. Totally fits your good looks...By the way, I'm Shen Zixin, what's your name? I don't think I've seen you around." "I see no reason to disclose that information," said Jieun, still maintaining her expression. The other two students could barely hold their giggles. "Damn, bro, you got shot down just like that." said the taller one, putting his shoulder on his jersey-wearing friend. Zixin grinned while Jieun glanced to the minimarket door to her right, just before tackling the three men to the ground. "Hey, lady, what the-" Zixin couldn't finish his sentence even after sitting up, as the brown mass in front of him was even more shocking that her tackling him just now.

"What the hell is that!?" He screamed, pointing at it.

Green: spoken in Chinese

[Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove]

World Cup schedule and weather forecast released

Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer - Groups are set, schedule is made. Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove is in an interesting goup with two other Anaian nations and Sarzonia, a nation who did well in the recent WCoH and World Bowls. Please note that, during the qualifications, as a big cheese lover, I will try to taste and rate cheese from every nation in group 18. Let's take a look at our group.

Ko-oren (8): Our regional mate doesn't need to be introduced. The Dragonflies are Currently ranked 8th and CAFA Cup 8 runner ups. They have invented a weird defensive strategy that frustrates their oppoenent. They call it "post football". We'll play them in Ko-oren on matchday 1 and they comes in Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer on matchday 8.

Ochre Island (44): The small islands in the Ocean of Ayes that everyone in Anaia dreams to invade (I'm kidding)! They had a good run at the CAFA Cup 8 too, finishing in 3rd place. We'll visit the islands on matchday 3 and they travel to Ostrow Krolewski on week 10.

Carpathia and Ruthenia (87): An Arrosian nation, they're not very known but they're in the top 100 so they're a threat.They will visit Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer on matchday 2 and we'll go to their place on matchday 9.

Sarzonia (112): Sarzonia is an old nation located in Arrosia. Their rank is really low but we shouldn't underestimate them. Recently, they started the WCoH 50 at rank 26th, lost in the final and when Québec released the new ranks, they were in 6th place. A 20 place jump! For the World Bowl, they were 11th at the start and they won it. New rankings have yet to be released. Sarzonia will play in the Great Calanian Desert on week 7 and we'll visit them on matchday 14.

Rea San Vegas (259): An intriguing nation despite their low rank. They will represent Rushmore in group 18. We'll go to their place on matchday 6 and they comes to Burnham-on-Stove on week 13.

Labalia (295): This newcomer comes from a region named FREEDOM DOGS N DINOS. They were in Baptism of Fire 83 but didn't post their roster and lost all 5 games. They will visit Shanzhou on week 5 and we'll visit them on matchday 12.

Schedule

Week 1: @ Ko-oren (8)
Week 2: vs Carpathia and Ruthenia (87) - Will be played on wednesday march 5th 2025 in SJJ calendar at Terrain de soccer 1 au Complexe sportif national, Sacré-Coeur district, Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer. Expected weather: 29 °C (84 °F) with light rain.
Week 3: @ Ochre Islands
Week 4: bye
Week 5: vs Labalia (295) - Played on tuesday march 25th 2025 at Zhāng Jiānglǐng Guójiā Tǐyùchǎng (General Zhang National Stadium), Yuzhong district, Shanzhou. Expected weather: 33 °C (91,5 °F) and sunny.
Week 6: @ Rea San Vegas (259)
Week 7: vs Sarzonia (112) - Played on wednesday april 9th 2025 at Xicohtzinco Community College Ballpark, Xicohtzinco, Nova Calanian Aztec Confederacy. Expected weather: 41 °C (106 °F) and sunny. Note: This is a baseball stadium that can also be used as a soccer stadium.

Break

Week 8: vs Ko-oren (8) - Played on wednesday april 30th 2025 at Terrain de soccer 1 au Complexe sportif national, Sacré-Coeur district, Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer. Expected weather: 26 °C (79 °F) with light rain.
Week 9: @ Carpathia and Ruthenia (87)
Week 10: vs Ochre Islands - Played on thursday may 15th 2025 (Anaia Day according to Mertagne's Factbook) at Stadion Azteca, Ostrow Krolewski, Odlegla Ziemia. Expected weather: 31 °C (88 °F) and cloudy. Note: Big festivities in town and live bands to celebrate Anaia Day.
Week 11: bye
Week 12: @ Labalia (295)
Week 13: vs Rea San Vegas (259) - Played on tuesday june 4th 2025 at Burnham Ground, Downtown District, Burnham-on-Stove. Expected weather: 28 °C (82,5 °F) with light rain in 1st half. Rain could stop during the 2nd half.
Week 14: @ Sarzonia (112)

July & August 2025: World Cup 96 and Cup of Harmony 88

Paul-André Veilleux