WC 82 RP Thread

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

National Radio News Headlines
23:55 BPST

MULTIVERSE
Darmen: arrests made in Valladares election fraud [view content]
Hinodejin Empire: Empress turns aside record challengers[view content]
Banija: death penalty on table for late Kabaka's assassin [view content]

NATIONAL
GST revision bill "under consideration"--government [view content]
"Lewis's' Swine" lawsuit unlikely to make docket--legal experts [view content]

SPORT
Richmond: "not good enough to qualify" after Nepharim rout
Commonwealth National Team Manager Trevor Richmond expressed his dissatifaction with the performance of his side tonight in losing to Group 9 leaders Nephara [show more content]
Nephara 4-1 Commonwealth: player ratings and stats [view content]

[Main Nation Ministry]

Hearts of Vice

Chapter 6: Wife of Pyle
(OOC: This RP includes references to several IRL events pictured here.

I think I left the studio at the worst time, because the moment I got to Bright Falls, Gerald called me saying that Charlie arrived for work. I told him to try to get her to do something while I was gone, since I had to attend the princess's rally. I had to wear an uniform that was tight on my chest, where I looked like a damn moron, wearing some military dress with some fancy buttons and bullshit. Anyways, the Leader had me stand next to some other men, where they had their rifles and what not, pointed into the air to look badass. When the rally started, the Leader arrived on the podium to give one of those speeches that his writers would give him to speak towards the thralls of his.

"Thank you! Thank you all for tuning it to today, as this might be a major event for this month, excluding the new population surge that we are currently under sorting it out at the moment." the Leader said, as he had cameras pointed at him, as Jessica was forced to stand there, looking strict as the soldiers next to her. "Now this is a rare opportunity, since I'm doing this to give another face to relate to in Main Nation Ministry. Of course, maybe would react polarized by this decision, but I felt it would benefit us, along with the nation. She has just arrived back from Banija from a political event, where she has decided to make a public appearance. Ladies and gentlemen of the public, I, the Leader of Main Nation Ministry, introduce to you, Princess Keller Harrington." The Leader said as Keller Harrington appeared on stage, looking nervous and still in her usual clothing.

"Thank..Thank you. Thank you all." Keller said, where it was clear she had some stage fright with her. "We had faced what was almost considered a disaster and a threat to national security, but we have managed to resolve this issue, even though it has caused several complications. Yet I believe that there is still some positives that we can use from this experience. I'm here to reassure the public whenever there is any issue that seems visible. I know that it seems unusual for the Leader to assign an actual princess in the nation, but as he explained, it's for the best." Keller said, where Jessica started to daydream.

I didn't really listen to all of her speech at all. I was just wanting for it to end, so I can just head to the recording studio to explain everyone about the song I had cooked up. The Princess seemed kinda chill, though. Even though she was just a pawn for the Leader, she seemed rather innocent than I expected. I didn't know where my friends were. They were probably at the studio, watching me look like a moron on TV, unless the cameras were focused primarily on just Keller. However, I was snapped back to reality, when one of the soldiers yelled something out loud next to me. Soon after, they started twirling their rifles, which I started to do so with my own prop gun. Eventually, we had to point our guns in a forward upwards angle, where I suddenly heard a gunshot from my left. I turned for a brief moment to see that a guy behind another guy accidentally shoot off his hat. Turns out he had his safety off during the time he blew some guy's beret to pieces. Of course, he got escorted away to be lectured harshly.

Then, the most dumbest thing happened where I thought that the Leader just stood there and wanted to laugh at both of us. Or just possibly shoot me.

After the soldiers were gone with showing off their guns, Keller proceeded to stand in front of several soldiers to twirl with their guns, before she just tossed them in the air, so the soldiers can catch them. When Keller stood in front of Jessica, Jessica decided to do a bit of a twirl of her own, until she heard the Leader loudly cough. Jessica immediately gave Keller the rifle, where she twirl it a bit, until she tossed it a bit too high. When Jessica tried to reach for it, it landed directly behind her on the ground. The crowd immediately hushed, where the Leader had the most annoyed looking frown Jessica has ever seen. Jessica looked nervous, along with Keller who walked over to pick up the rifle. Trying to act calm, Keller tried to twirl the rifle-

Which broke into two.

The crowd immediately started to show some worried faces, as well, where the Leader marched over to Keller and examined the rifle pieces. Carrying the pieces, the Leader walked up to Jessica and calmly gave her the broken rifle, as the ceremony has started to end.

[Indusse]

REPLY: Baskar .K.


Football in the blood
Let’s go back to my beginnings. I was raised in a small town where we lived in an apartment block and there were people of all kinds of nationalities. It was a small ghetto, where football was always topic number one. So when kids went out to play, they played – football. It was a way of life.

But the biggest influence for me was my father. He was a great football player, people begged him to sign for professional clubs, but he never decided to. He played on an amateur level and worked in a construction company as head of construction sites. I often followed him to matches where I saw some great skills and moves. He was the one who inspired me to take up football. And I am very grateful to him for that.

I played football all day long with other kids from the neighbourhood. When I was eight I joined the local club and started to train more seriously. My father was my first coach. He was very popular and kids loved him. We learned a lot from him. Every week my father and I worked individually on my technics, shooting, finishing, heading and things like that. Usually every Sunday – the day after my club match. Those hours were very precious for me and I loved that bonding with my dad. He was always very passionate about football.

Passion = Obsession
Talking about passion … There was nobody more passionate about the game than me. People knew me as “the boy with the ball”. The ball and I were inseparable, I even slept with the ball. There were days that I spent more than 10 hours alone with the ball practising new tricks and shots.

One day my school friend challenged me by saying I couldn’t juggle the ball with my feet for 100 hundred metres. But that was not a challenge for me. I had already kept the ball up 10.000 times, and I told him I would juggle the ball from my home to school without dropping the ball even once. And I did it. Only there was approx. 2000m from my home to my school and I did it on a sidewalk with cars driving by one metre or two away. The ball never dropped although I was just 12 years old.

I will tell you another funny story. One day my mother complained to my dad that her expensive night cream has been mysteriously vanishing on a daily basis, although she wasn’t using it that much. First they asked my sister whether she was using it, but she said no. They never even suspected me. Until one night my mum found me lubricating my leather football boots and my new ball with this fancy cream. They were all laughing like crazy

[Lisander]

People seem to love numbers.

People want information in detail. They want to know how, when, why, and under what conditions such a thing happens. People want clear data. So today we brought numbers.

77 is the amount of official games that Lisander's team already made in the multiverse. 73 of them in official NSWC tournaments. 3 in Independents Cup and 1 friendly against Velestria.
51 was the edition of Baptism of Fire that Lisander attended.
78 was the season in which Lisander finally participated for the first time in the World Cup qualifiers, which we did for three consecutive seasons.
4 was the number of goals that the team led by Andreas Fox suffered in the WC80 Qualifying Playoff against South Covello. This negative result caused the FLF to desist from participating in the 81st edition.
75 places in the KPB Ranking was how much Lisander dropped by not participating in the last World Cup. From 59th to 134th position.
134 is still the worst position Lisander has ever held in the KPB Ranking.
6 was the pot we were seeded, based on that shitty position. It meant that at least 75 nations were theoretically better than Lisander in that moment.
23 is the number of goals Lisander has scored so far in this competition.
17 is the number of goals Lisander has suffered so far in this competition.
32 is the number of games Lisander has won since joining the World Cup.
13 draws.
32 is also the number of games Lisander has lost since joining the World Cup. A win today, against Kandorith, will remove from Lisander the misfortune of being a "team that loses more than it wins".
4-3-3 (formations are also numbers) is the formation of the base team that coach Andreas Fox has been using during the paternity leave of Tássio Camden: Garmin (Michaelichen), Lasses, Varden, Rosell (Wagner), Kaplanoski; Heretier, Neville (Egremont), Nantel (Morton), Dawson, Somerville, Amati.
19h is the time of today's match, against Kandorith.
7pm will work too.
1 is the TV channel you have to tune into.

RTL. Official Broadcaster of The National since 1939.

[Brusseldorf]

CRACKS START TO SHOW AS QUALIFIERS MARCH ON

In the wake of an important draw to The Holy Empire on Wednesday night, Brusseldorf couldn’t hold it together and lost 3-1 against a stronger Maximusian outfit. A decisive strike from Teddy Wolfenden in the 20th minute had the home side at an advantage, but three goals from the away side in the second half denied Brusseldorf a chance at victory.
Manager Craig Foster was forced to play his hand in a frustrating match, with star defender Andrea Zidane out for a suspension, following yellow cards against Eastfield Lodge and The Holy Empire.
Nineteen-year-old Boronia was thrust into the fray, given a place on the left wing as part of a reshuffled backline. Several unfortunate defensive errors by the Sahara Compétitif youngster allowed the Maximusian attack to take control, and dominate in the second half. Without Andrea Zidane’s skill and leadership, the Brusseldorfen backline fell apart.
At this stage in the qualifiers, fatigue also seems to be taking its toll. Brusseldorfen players looked exhausted throughout the night, suspected to still be recovering from Wednesday’s heroics. The Locale spoke with Manager Craig Foster following the match.

The packed match schedule finally took its toll on an exhausted Brusseldorfen outfit

“Look it’s a disappointing result, I know the lads will be disappointed. I was so pleased with our match against The Holy Empire, we’ll be talking about that one for a long time. Andrea picked up a second yellow which is unfortunate for her, I know she wanted to be out on the park tonight. She makes a difference and that’s why she’s so well respected. Boronia just got unlucky, all credit to the lad. It was his first international start, it’s probably one he’d rather forget but we all have to start somewhere. We looked good in the first half, Teddy’s goal was very much with the run of play and it looked like we might cushion our lead. They came out swinging in the second half. Their two strikers shared the goals and put three past us. That’s football I guess. That’s the beauty of the game.

Boronia’s first international start was a night he’d rather forget

At this point I have to admit that reality is setting in. We now know that we can hold our own against larger teams, but the amount of draws are worrying. We’ve had three three-all draws. *laughs* I think three might be an unlucky number. I’ll be the first to admit that we’ll need a miracle to crack the top two but we’ve had a taste of third spot and they’ve taken it away from me. I want more. I can see us putting up a fight but we need more wins. I felt like we could have easily got the win tonight, which makes it all the more frustrating, but hopefully our luck improves.”

Craig Foster has mentioned his intention to rest the main lineup, fielding an alternate team for tonight’s match against Dritten Asopie. “They can’t keeping going forever.” Craig said in a press release this morning. “It should be a good chance to give the others a run on the park. Boronia is back in defence. I have complete faith in him and it was important to let him know that we’ve got his back. A few media outlets were calling for a witch hunt, which is just way, way out of line. As a nation we have to let him know that we’re there for him. He’s one of our own and that’s why he’s on the team. I personally am more determined that ever. Let them come at us. They have never seen anything like us. We’re going to win, and we’re going to do it in style.”

The lineup sees almost a clean swap, with only Teddy Wolfenden staying on the pitch.

Forwards
9 Teddy Wolfenden
17 Santa Dominguez

Midfielders
14 Phil Lataste
16 Felix Kateb
20 Actha Achiveal
21 Harry Koehl

Defenders
13 Dom Harrak
15 George Stambouli
19 Giroud Sidi
22 Boronia

Goalkeeper
12 Gimenza Azoulay

Los Alrededores diehard fan and Brusseldorfen legend Mario Sanchéz was also at the match for comment:

“What de jhell man, dat game was utterrr bullssit. De opposition, dey play dirrrty ant de rrref does nothing! My team, we goot, no? You see us fighting De JHoly Empirrre ant Eastfielt Lodge, I know we can beat anyone! My boy Borrronia, was berrry unlucky, no? I just want to see my team win. We neet morrre wins man! Enough of de thrrree-all drrraw bullssit. I want to starrrt winning games! Ten-nil, eleben-nil. Los Alrrrededorrres knows no bounds. We coult play de angels in jheaben ant win! You watch us come back. My countrrry Brrrusseldorrrf, you see wherrre it is? *points to heart* Is jherrre, no? You can’t win against my team. If you do, you will jhabe to fight me too!”

Brusseldorfen fans celebrate Teddy Wolfenden’s first half goal

It seems Los Alrededores and their fans will be more determined than ever to make an impressive comeback. Craig had one final remark. “If you’ve missed a few games thus far, watch us tonight. Dritten Asopie won’t know what hit them.”

More to follow.

[Jeruselem]

In Vakolicci Haven and Celeria, after Jeruselem drew with the local hosts 4-4.
Princess Cassie and Lady Dada, one of Jeruselem forwards

Cassie: Well, you lot scored some goals! And conceded the same of goals ...
Dada: Err, yes. We're consistent that way.
Cassie: Maybe we needed these goals last game as well
Dada: I know, you don't have to repeat that
Cassie: I guess we had our best scoring day today and at the same time, our worst defensive efforts
Dada: We did have 4-3 win somewhere else. Where are well again? Valkryie Heaven and Celery?

Cassie: Vakolicci Haven and Celeria
Dada: Err, I was kinda close.
Cassie: Funny thing, we still haven't managed to lose away from home.
Dada: Yeah, but we have trouble winning at home.
Cassie: Like once
Dada: It's weird, we play better away from home.

Cassie: Say, didn't you win Stripper of Year twice?
Dada: Yes, I needed the money. I wasn't earning much money from football at the time
Cassie: Strippers in Jeruselem get good money, compared to other countries
Dada: Well, I don't need to that anymore these days.
Cassie: Yeah but you still seem like working poles
Dada: Oh that, well ... I do that just to keep fit, poledancing keeps one fit. I don't actually need it for actually football

Cassie: Still useful, because you're more flexible than most of the other players
Dada: I do go more speculative goals, but most of the time I still don't score those.
Cassie: Eh, your conversion rate is better than that other guy.
Dada: Oh him, he's wasteful. The only good thing about him is he attracts a lot of defenders because he's so reckless.
Cassie: Yeah you go sneak past them while he keeps them occupied
Dada: Say, speaking of highly paid strippers ... you're apparently the highest paid stripper in Jeruselem

Cassie: I guess I am, well I am a stripper I guess.
Dada: Technically, you're a TV presenter though.
Cassie: For census purposes, I'm just a Princess. With a job that is.
Dada: You don't actually need to work. I'm surprised you Princesses work.
Cassie: We get bored, we have to do something.
Dada: I might need get other skills once I retire from football. Stripping is not for older women as a job

Cassie: If you're good looking, there's always a TV show you could be on.
Dada: I'm not as good looking as you. You're a natural on TV, I'm awkward and well not that confortable on TV
Cassie: Nah, you just learn to get used to it.
Dada: I don't know, I get stage fright when I realise everyone is looking at me.
Cassie: Nah, you're a former stripper. You should be used to get naked for everyone, you don't need to worry.
Dada: Yeah, I guess you're right.

[Sajnur]

Match Reports: Delayed International Release

Sajnur 1-0 Velestria

Siyaka Island witnessed a subdued 1-0 victory for Sajnur over the visitors Velestria .While the match may not have been as exciting as the 66,000 spectators may have hoped, the home fans will at least be happy that Sajnur continued their great run of form, securing their fourth win in a row. Not only have Sajnur won more matches in the last four matchdays than we had won in all the matches prior to the start of this winning streak, i.e. three wins in fourteen, but victory against Velestria has propelled Sajnur to the dizzying heights of third place. To think that Sajnur could conceivably qualify for the World Cup. Nevertheless, this match was primarily a display of good defence from both teams, especially given that Velestria had conceded just four goals in seven matches prior to their visit to Tawqush, and with the first team back after being held back from the Vartugia trip, Sajnur were able to continue their good run of form.

The first half is where most of the action took place, including the only goal of the match, scored by Andre Naulo in the 40th minute. Naulo had a few shots at goal, including forcing a hard save from Chris Banker, but the Velestrian back line mostly had the measure of Sajnur's front line. Naulo's goal, like many of his goals this season, came largely due to his pace and due to Jessica Siafik's vision, the captain sending a long ball behind the back line for Naulo to chase and then run with and he chipped it over Banker for his fifth goal in qualifying. The second half saw neither team able to break through the other's defence, with attacks snuffed out regularly and only two shots at goal recorded, both by the hosts, and both saved by Banker. One of those shots was a long range rocket launched in the 71st minute by Zain Hasan, but it was saved easily. stoppage time saw arguably the best scoring opportunity of the second half, as Dario Tule received the ball in wide open space, but having left Furusawa Utamura in his dust on his way to the wing, Na'ore Sa'kiera went straight through Tule's legs and came out the other side with the ball, saving Velestria from further despair and leaving the final score at 1-0.

Mattijana 0 - 1 Sajnur

It was another grind for Sajnur, but there was good coffee at the end as the visitors beat Mattijana 1-0 on their own turf to stretch their winning streak to an astonishing five matches. To think Sajnur are the ninth seeds and they now sit third, just two points off the top! The grind at Stadijo Katarina Zafarova wasn't one of trying to launch attacks, though, as Jessica Siafik and Marko Hojbjerg made plenty of plays, but getting through the defences was another matter entirely. The attacking players had constant trouble actually getting into the penalty box, with the defenders constantly getting tackles and interceptions and preventing that final ball from being delivered.Even when the delivery was succesful, there was then the matter of getting the ball past the keepers, and those keepers were on fire. Save, after save, after spectacular save. The match was as back and forth an affair as a basketball game, but with almost none of the scoring. Result? One goal scored, and three points plundered from Revinka. And MFO Sport said Group 11 would be kind.

The frenetic pace started almost immediately, with Mathilde Lekarisa kicking off and starting a long and fast passing sequence that was only stopped in the second minute when Kahala Murje, now a locked in starter, swiped the ball from Mattias Hoffman and cleared it downfield. Mattijana would soon hit back when Marko Hojbjerg shot from 30 yards, forcing Piotr Laghiev in the air to keep it out of his goal. Sajnur's first advance came in the 13th minute when Jessica Siafik sent Dario Tule a through pass down the wing, but Tule would have his cross blocked by Helena Neumann. Both teams would have plenty of chances throughout the first half, and arguably the best chance for either team before the break was when Sophia Velezia dribbled past three Sajnurans and played a 1-2 with Hoffman to get into the box before her shot was blocked by a wonderful leaping save by Laghiev in the 40th minute. The half was ended when Lekarisa attempted a Cruyff turn at the edge of the box, only to have Siafik remove the ball from her trick and clear it for half time.

The second half was more of the same action, with the 53rd minute seeing Andre Naulo's shot saved by an acrobatic Lucija Handanovic, who would then leap to deflect Tule's rebound shot away for a corner. The 61st minute saw yet another glorious Laghiev save against a Lekarisa curler, the 69th had Zain Hasan shoot one at Handanovic with substitute Basuli Maktar taking one touch of the rebound before his shot was blocked by an aggressively sliding Katija Burnisevic, and the 78th saw Lekarisa curl another one for Laghiev to jump for with that rebound headed into the crossbar by Hoffman, to the groans of more than 25,000 Mattijanan fans. Regulation time passed with the score still 0-0, but stoppage time would not. Captain Siafik would take things into her own feet. Having dropped deep to collect the ball from David Kiral after a few minutes of sedate passing around the defence and midfield, Siafik would launch into a run that was reminiscent of her teenage years as a free spirited attacking midfielder, when not a match would pass without leaving at least one defenders panting as she blitzed by. She ran downfield, passing by Lekarisa and the Mattijana midfield like they were statues, quickly chopping leftward to dribble along the sideline to avoid Katarina Jakupovic. She then set off to leave a chasing Velezia long behind, and when she reached the edge of the penalty box, she Cruyff turned her way inside and bamboozled Kevin Krychowiak. She then finished her exquisite run by chipping Handanovic, sending the Sajnuran fans behing the goal wild and silencing the rest of the stadium.

Sajnur continue their campaign at the Mastas Poldanza to verse Qusmo, while Mattijana host Kavagrad at the Garijo Ales Struna. When asked how she pulled off her goal, and Siafik simply said "I am the fastest Jessica here."

[Bongo Johnson]

BongoBeat.net - Home for World Cup 82 and more

Bouncing back
4-1 victory marks ISBJ squad return to form

The Incorporated quest for the Cup added another three points after a decisive 4-1 win against the Euran Oceania Territories yesterday, putting Bongo Johnson back on top of Group 5 following a Damukuni draw later that evening. Eager to exorcise the previous matchday's demons, all four Incorporated goals were scored in the first 50 minutes of the match, with the team shifting to a conservative play style to secure the victory that allowed only a single Euran Oceania goal in the closing minutes of play.

Horatio Caine opened the game up early, potting a beautiful shot top corner in the 4th minute to a raucous response from the Incorporated fans in attendance. Only six minutes later, striker and squad goal leader Bongald added to the lead on a breakaway chance that just slid under the keeper's arms into the net. Later that half, Jonathan Hamblett redeemed his disastrous mistake against Damukuni by taking a corner kick that sailed deep and was headed into the net by Alfred Schidtcox for a commanding 3-0 Incorporated lead at the half. The team continued that momentum into the next half, scoring another quick goal in the 48th on a ball that bounced around in the box before dribbling into the net on a kick that was eventually credited to Horatio Caine.

Bongo Johnson takes a single point advantage over Damukuni and a two point lead over Ko-oren after Matchday 11 of the World Cup. Ko-oren had a big victory against Ethane to keep them firmly in the running for a qualifying spot, while Damukuni could not achieve a win against Freeport that would have maintained the team's previous lead in the group. Bongo Johnson's lead is anything but safe and the squad will need a crucial three points in tonight's contest against Freeport, who have proven to be a competitive opponent following their 1-1 draw yesterday. Group 5 will certainly be a must-watch in the closing stages of the qualifying round.

New official kit announced
Unconventional announcement reveals new ISBJ kit on Wikipedia page, of all places

The Incorporated Football Association has updated their Wikipedia page to reflect an updated kit for the national team, which was given no press conference or official announcement of its own. The team now uses its throwback kit as their alternate, while maintaining the signature purple socks through all three designs.

[Mercedini]

KANDORITH   1-1   MERCEDINI(best team in world]

Mercedini didn't win but also did not lose against Kandorith, we will never be defeated. best manager in world Eli Lyndainium, who come from ceni, said after the match "it was really good when we scored, but then really bad when kandorith scored "

Dini dini play next match against equestrian states, Mercy Deeny Football Association have bought lots of hay to try and get the ponies away from the goal so best striker in the world Chillotov can score big goal to win the group.

We can do it Mercedini, we will try and try and try till out legs drop off to win World Cup. Forza Mercedini!

BIGLY HEADLINES

Drawkland lost cuz they bad, Rebecca Talla best player on the pitch cuz they play in MPL yippee

Few WC players play in Mercedini, MFA think dat shit rayceest tbh

#WC82 Meme Awards planned for after da World Cup

Nephara win again cuz dey tryhards

"Wheh da ganja?"... MSD Pidgin to be launched next month

[/spoiler]

I am contractually obliged to put the group table in every rp, also it make my rp seem longer than it is plz giv max rank 
 1 Lisander                        11    8   1   2    23   17   +6    25
 2 Equestrian States               11    7   0   4    28   16  +12    21
 3 Mercedini                       11    6   3   2    27   16  +11    21 WOOOOOO
 4 Garifunya                       11    6   1   4    30   27   +3    19
 5 Krytenia                        11    4   4   3    25   25    0    16
 6 Kandorith                       11    4   2   5    23   23    0    14
 7 Indusse                         11    3   2   6    14   19   −5    11
 8 Pratapgadh                      11    2   3   6    20   29   −9     9
 9 Ancherion                       11    2   3   6    23   34  −11     9
10 Zeniyadh                        11    1   5   5    15   22   −7     8

[Kandorith]

Shinonome Kyoai - International
_________________________________

Kandorith Fails to Overcome

   Group 15                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Lisander                        11    8   1   2    23   17   +6    25
 2 Equestrian States               11    7   0   4    28   16  +12    21
 3 Mercedini                       11    6   3   2    27   16  +11    21
 4 Garifunya                       11    6   1   4    30   27   +3    19
 5 Krytenia                        11    4   4   3    25   25    0    16
 6 Kandorith                       11    4   2   5    23   23    0    14
 7 Indusse                         11    3   2   6    14   19   −5    11
 8 Pratapgadh                      11    2   3   6    20   29   −9     9
 9 Ancherion                       11    2   3   6    23   34  −11     9
10 Zeniyadh                        11    1   5   5    15   22   −7     8

[b]Tenkyo,Frustration and anger reign as the Kandorese team failed to win at home from Mercedini. A team currently struggling to find it's grounds and style had their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup slip through their hands throughout the tournament. The recent draw has left fans even more disappointed. While technically Kandorith is still able to qualify, the road to the World Cup is further away than ever. Disappointment is generally the word associated now with Moriyase's team and the team's performance.

The recent performance of Kandorith has drawn a lot of flak on social media, with angry fans lashing out at Moriyase's ability to manage the team. Even though Kandorith is currently at their lowest ranking in their history, the fans are not accepting the current form of the team. Some people go as far as saying they feel "betrayed" or even being a "disgrace to the Kandorese nation". While morale seems to be high with the players in the team, the team play seems to be unable to find the spark it had in previous eras. Every time the Kandorese team seems to make a good and sometimes even unexpected run, the next day it seems to come crashing down. Some experts are saying it is the overconfidence the Kandorese players seem to be getting from winning a single match, which results in complacency .

One thing is for sure, the Kandorese team needs to pull everything together and start winning again to even make, even though a very unlikely, chance of even reaching the play-offs. Moriyase seems to be once again shuffling his players around in the hope to find the Kandorese fire back.

[The Sherpa Empire]

The police released Danu into Jamling Ihawa's custody even though Ihawa didn't have the authority to demand it. They believed Danu's story now, and they trusted Ihawa to keep him out of trouble.

The pitcher Ihawa didn't own a car and barely even knew how to drive because he had lived most of his adult life in a part of Namche where the steep and narrow streets were essentially inaccessible by car. The stores in that neighborhood got their merchandise delivered by yaks or mules rather than trucks.

The Minister of Public Works Ihawa drove a beautiful TMW Qilin. Danu had never seen one exactly like it, but he wasn't sure if that was because the design was different from his home timeline or if it was simply a different model year or a different combination of optional features. They sped away from the jail and out onto a picturesque mountain highway. Ihawa was smoking again, having completely ignored Danu telling him that it actually would cause cancer and that wasn't just Nazi pseudo-science. "That's better," he said. "Now we can have a proper conversation. That jail made me feel like I was being suffocated."

"Yeah, much better," said Danu. "Thanks for getting me out of there."

"It's the least I could do," said Ihawa. "So do you want me to send you home or do you want me to get you an ID and you can start a new life in this world?"

"I... I don't know," said Danu. "Can I have some time to think about it?" His experience so far had been unpleasant, but he wasn't sure how much of that was just because he had landed himself in jail. Jail wasn't meant to be pleasant.

The Sherpa national football team drew 0-0 with Cassadaigua. They couldn't decide whether to be proud that they'd managed to hold such a highly-ranked team scoreless, or whether to be embarrassed that they had not been able to beat a team of women -- maybe a little of both.

Sherpa and Cassadagan officials were arguing over whether the WCC rules barring women's teams from the World Cup were unfair.

[Balqia]

The office was messy. Some books were open in the floor, sheets of paper were scattered everywhere and some stains of coffee decorated the carpet. The door was open as Primlid left it. He entered the room, kicked some sheets of paper out of his way and sat down in the sofa, he drank a little from his mug and analyzed the results of the last game in his cellphone. A smile appeared in his face as the victory was announced.
-So, here you are.
Primlid turned around and looked to the door, the tall bald man, he was smiling as always and was wearing his favorite tank top that imitated a tiger.
-Hello Leo, please make yourself at home.-
Leopold Pard giggled with that, he walked in the coach’s direction and sat in a chair after lifting a pile of paper and putting it on the ground.
-I believe, make yourself at office would be a more adequate term. And I prefer don’t do it, just imagining this mess in my office make me shiver of despair.
Both of them laughed of the joke. But Pard quickly changed the tone of voice to something more serious.
-You surely lose weight. Clau, you can’t force yourself so much, it’s practically slave work.
-i’m being paid, and finally we are getting some results, the time in the army was far more harsh than this and…-
-And it was twenty years ago, I know we are finally winning something but this is just dishumane.
-Nah, I'm fine. But tell me, how is Matiq’s leg?
The physiotherapist sighed with that, the frustration in the friends reluctance to help himself was obvious.
-As you’ve seen today it’s pretty better. He even scored our first goal, I am sure he will do better in this half of the cup.
-Good…-Primlid yawned-I am happy, we are finally recovering from the defeats in the first half. The Macabees surely were expecting us to lose. Rigo couldn’t play today too, at least we’ve won. In the beginning I was really preoccupied as our team was having some problems with their defense. However we have won. It remembers me of the Spring offensive in the Great War when…
-At least the boys are recovering their morale.
Primlid took a while to respond, he kept there thinking for a while before responding.
-Oh yes. The morale is recovering for sure… Andrec said he caught some players betting against the team, I confirmed that. Now we are getting back in place. We surely are recovering our morale, the midfielders are blocking advances more quickly too, our back was able to stole the ball from their forwards three more times than in other games. Their goal in the twentieth minute surely was scaring, but our score fifteen minutes after that demonstrated that we are able to respond quickly to changes in enemy strategy and to neutralize threats to our defeat.
Primlid eyes closed for a while, his mug was dry, and it was obvious he didn’t slept in the last night. Pard stared at him for a while, he surely was thinking about some joke or comment about health, Primlid didn’t care, he was too busy to care at all.
-How’s Valeria?
-W-who?-Primlid wasn’t expecting that, he took a while to process the question, when he remembered his eyes opened -Oh sh… I forget to call her, oh God, she will kill me when I arrive home.
-She said she love you and that Vladimir’s college is going fine and you shouldn’t get stressed with that. Well, I think this ins’t a problem after all.
-Easy now- Claudius got serious -I’m just occupied with work, I will call her right n…
His phone started to ring, the Balqese National Anthem - 8 bits edition. Primlid used this ringtone since the ninetys and wasn’t going to stop. The contact name that appeared was “Boss”, he answered the phone with his usual phrase.
-Hello, Claudius Primlid here. How can I help you?
For some time the room was quiet, only Primlid’s answers to his phone broke the silence. When the call ended Claudius sat on the sofa.
-Great, Andrec isn’t happy. “We could’ve made another goal”, for god’s sake I told him that an advance in the thirtieth minute of the the second half wasn’t going to happen, and Kuld really had a hard time defending the enemy advances. Now I have to talk with Kuld and Tiriq about effective defense, Egliti must talk with Gaius and Qalti have a session with Alq, his dad’s condition is really affecting his performance.
-I will talk with Mariko, you stay here and sleep.- Pard got up before the coach could reply. -You are destroyed, and don’t forget about your wife.
-It’s my job to…
-You have worked enough, an assistant exists to help you, now go to sleep.
With that the physiotherapist left the room, Primlid considered going after him, but the coffee ended and he could rest for a minute or two after all.

[Sargossa]

Coaching Seminar, National Football Centre, Camiri...


A hush settled over the conference hall as the event organiser returned to the podium. ‘I’d like to thank Señor Rodriguez for his fascinating insight into how marking systems have evolved, the pros and cons of zonal and man-marking systems and his analysis of whether System Kerala has a future in the modern game. Certainly, our current national side haven’t embraced it’

He paused for laughter. There was a single, short guffaw.

‘Now we have a bit of a treat for you. A guest speaker, all the way from a distant region. These are exciting times in his country. They have a fledgling national side that is still growing into an identity and style. And I’m delighted to say our guest will talk us through the challenges that have gone in to creating a national side from scratch and the tactical innovations that have stemmed from them. Representatives from that nation have recently been giving insights into their work to the international audience and we shall now be recipient of just such an insight. Sir, the floor is yours.’

He stepped away from the podium to allow the foreign visitor to take his place behind it, he had the distinctive look of a native of the region of India. The visitor carefully removed a stack of papers from a folder and placed it on the lectern built into the podium. He searched nonchalantly through the pile, drawing out a page seemingly at random and placed it in front of him. He reached into his pocket for a pair of glasses, balanced them on his nose and took a breath.

*‘It was the dawn of the third age of mankind, ten years after the Earth-Minbari war. The Babylon project was dream given form. Its goal: To prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could work out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call; home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanders. Humans and aliens wrapped in two million five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal, all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last best hope for peace. This is the story of last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2258. The name of the place is Babylon 5.’

With that he stepped back, placed the piece of paper back on the pile before returning the whole pile to his folder. He popped his glasses back into his pocket, took his folder and, declining to show more content, exited stage left. A silence settled over the assembled and somewhat confused gathering. Eventually the event organiser approached the podium again.

‘Err . . . so . . . lunch?’




*OOC: I'm sure you guessed but just for transparency's sake, this paragraph is clearly a copy and paste job

[Zwangzug]

Merano Regency
Point/Counterpoint

Point: Commercial sponsorship of stadiums is a travesty, by Renee Almanzo

The news that Zwangzug-based breakfast-food provider Peak'n'Break has reached an agreement to purchase naming rights for the Grande Mountain Stadium in Cassadaigua should be greeted with dismay by any pure-harded sports fan. Not simply because the city has been marred by violent masculine protests in the past, but also because corporate sponsorship of sports fields is ridiculous. What's next; will Cassadaigua become one of those places that has brand logos instead of team mascots on their club uniforms? Hamfisted interruptions of their broadcasts every five minutes to work in a corporate partner's name? I shudder to think.

Some have said that this is a good opportunity for Zwangzug to open up its industry to the world. To which I say; we are living in a globalized (if not multiversalized, whatever that is) economy already. What kind of provincialist takes pride that some profitable corporation hails from the same area they do?

On the other hand, if Peak'n'Break were really convinced this was a good idea, they'd presumably have tried sponsoring a stadium in Zwangzug first. Except they didn't, because our teams have more sense.

I would say I would boycott games in Grande Mountain in protest, but let's be real, we don't have the budget to send me to cover domestic sports in Cassadaigua anyway. But fans can and should use the original name of this historic edifice in their discussions. Unless they're forbidden to disseminate accounts and descriptions of the game without express permission from the commissioner's office. You never know with these matriarchies.

Counterpoint: I could really go for some tasty muffins right now, by Brenda Pont-Lacque

Mmmmm, muffins.

There are worse things than naming your stadium after a corporation. Naming it after untimely-deceased people, for instance.

Yeah, some corporations probably do bad things on the whole. But this is Zwangzug, we're too tightly regulated for that nonsense. Plus, what's the worst case scenario? They engage in unethical muffin fraud and everyone's ashamed of the connection? Then they just rename it and it becomes a joke among Dagan fans of future generations.

Anyway, I need some brunch.

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

The Alpine Union wins over Saint Emelie

Port D'Émelie, Saint Émelie - (NAP) On matchday 11, the Alpine Union visited a small french speaking island nation and defeated them 3-2. Once arriving in Saint Émelie, I fell in love with the destination, it's a small and picturesque island with no big hotels and the Alpine delegation had to be split between 5 or 6 guesthouses! Saint Émelie attacked at the 7th minute when Florian Bastereud passed to Florence Caseille who dribbled with the ball and made a cross to Sara Katjanović who kicks the ball and scores. 1-0 Saint Émélie. The Alpine Union answered back at the 26th minute when Elisabeth Nordhaus made a small pass to Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz who dribbled and passed to Amelia Zalwowska who shoots on the post. Zbigniew Zajaczkowski takes the rebound and shoots. Hubért Joubert deflects the ball behind the net and it's a corner kick for the Bisons. Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz takes the corner kick. He kicks the ball in the penalty area, Slawomir Skrzeszewski jumps and heads the ball into the net and the game is tied at 1-1. Dominic Trion has the ball at the face off circle and he passes behind to Simon Pelletier who tried to pass to Sara Katjanović but Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa intercepts the ball and shoots from 45 meters and it's a goal. The Alpine Union is leading 2-1. The Reprezentacja Alpejski increased their lead at the 43rd minute when Zdzislaw Brzezanczyk passed to Sarah Schroffenegger who passed to Amelia Zalwowska who passed back to Schroffenegger. Schroffenegger made a short pass to the right to Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa who made a cross to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski. He shoots and he scores and the Alpine Union is leading 3-1 at the halftime.

Saint Émélie scored at the 68th minute when Mathilde Laurent made a short pass to Simon Pelletier who dribbled and made a header pass to Dominic Trion who heads the ball into the net and it's a goal. The Alpine Union was leading 3-2 and this is the final score. In other games, South Covello beat Juvencus 3-1 and New Lusitania lost 2-1 against Baranil. The Alpine union is now 3rd in the standings, 2 points behind Juvencus and one single point behind South Covello. Next sunday, the Alpine Union will recieve Juvencus at newly renovated Stadion Narodowy w Ozorkowie in ozorkow. On the same matchday, South Covello will recieve New Lusitania.

Wlodzimierz Wilimowski,
National Alpine Press

BOXSCORE

7th minute: Sara Katjanović asissted by Florence Caseille
26th minute: Slawomir Skrzeszewski (unassisted)
27th minute: Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa (unassisted)
43rd minute: Zbigniew Zajaczkowski assisted by Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa
68th minute: Dominic Trion assisted by Simon Pelletier

Yellow Cards
Saint Émélie: Mignon Laureille
Alpine Union: Przemyslaw Zawistowski and Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz

Red Cards
Saint Émélie: None
Alpine Union: None

[Squornshelan Remnant States]

A Grand Tour of the Confederacy

Algolia: Green and Gold South
Part 1: Sivolvia
Part 2: Han Dold
Part 3: Molvania
Part 4: Megabrantis
For the tenth match of qualifying the Black-and-Reds are set to host the United States of Devonta at the home of the reigning SCFA League 1 Champions, Algolia AC: Albrechtsson Park in the city of Damogran. Accordingly, our tour now takes us to the state of Algolia, which stretches across the south of the Confederacy.

Geography
With Sivolvia to the East, Megabrantis and Molvania to the North, and the sea to the south, Algolia is home to the Confederacy's Riviera, and is the state most dependent upon tourism. It enjoys a Mediterranean climate throughout, with mild winters and hot, dry summers. The terrain rises steeply inland in the west, climbing up to the heights of the Molvanian Alps along the northern border. In the east, the rise is much less dramatic, and only a series of low, weathered ridges divides the coastal plains around Jaglan from the far south of the Brantid plains near Viltvodle. The far eastern border with Sivolvia is formed by the lower reaches of the small River Grioran, which flows out of the northern Sivolvian Highlands before turning south toward the sea. The terrain is moderately rugged throughout Algolia, with abrupt escarpments where bedrock of differing resilience has been eroded unevenly. Vegetation consists of a mixture of grassland and scrubby open forests. Most crops require significant irrigation to thrive reliably, but crops such as olives, grapes, and wheat are plentiful.

History
The relative lack of natural barriers at the eastern end of Algolia led to much more interaction between Jaglan and its neighbors than cities at the other end of the state had, being closed in between the mountains and the sea. This usually consisted of Algolia marching out to conquer (or reconquer) Viltvodle to the north and Syneca to the east. The Kings of Jaglan, who also held dominion over the nearby port city of Vassilian nearly uninterrupted since the dawn of the iron age, have been the dominant power in the region for millennia, and it was under the fourth dynasty in the sixteenth century that a state resembling modern Algolia first existed, as Jaglan's armies finally conquered their great rival, Damogran, chief city of western Algolia. This was also the first time Algolia referred to something more than an ethnicity, as then King of Jaglan, Haldi II proclaimed himself "Emperor of all the Algolias" after the conquest. Damogran, deprived of easy overland routes to reach its neighbors but by the same token more sheltered from invasion than Jaglan, had never invested as much in its military, though it was second to none in terms of its merchant fleet. Indeed, the conquest of Damogran served to inform the borders of modern day Algolia in more ways than one. Jaglan had so overextended its military to finally capture its rival city that they were unable to suppress simultaneous revolts in Syneca and Viltvodle just a few years later. The Damograni would also attempt to regain their independence multiple times, but having finally grasped the prize they had eyed for so long, the Kings of Jaglan were willing to commit whatever resources necessary to keeping it. During the era of the Imperial conquest, Algolia maintained its independence by collaborating, or at least pledging not to support the Imperium's enemies. Unfortunately, their underestimation of the Imperium's ambitions meant that when their time came, there was no one left to turn to for help. Imperial forces pressed toward Jaglan from the north, while simultaneously landing troops on beaches outside Vassilian. Caught between the hammer and anvil, there looked to be little hope for Algolian forces to hold out. Regardless, they summoned reinforcements from the east, only to receive word that Damogran had opportunistically declared independence, and no troops could be spared. The conquest ended in some extremely disorganized fighting, as royalist and rebel forces in western Algolia fell back before the Imperials, occasionally skirmishing with each other as they went. The years under Imperial rule served to iron out some of the differences between east and west, as the cultures of Damogran and Jaglan grew closer in shared resentment. During the Civil War, Algolian guerrillas and saboteurs caused serious problems for Imperial forces and managed to mine and sink the escort carrier SNS Z. P. Rozhestvensky in Vassilian harbor. The ship was eventually refloated, but had to return to Squornshelous for repairs. After the withdrawal, a general referendum was held to determine whether there would be one Algolia going forward, or two. To the surprise of many, the result came back overwhelmingly in favor of unity, with 68% of voters choosing not to divide the state.

Culture
Algolian culture is more embracing of urbanism that probably any other state in the Confederacy (with the possible exception of Megabrantis). For centuries, the largest cities on the continent were Jaglan and Damogran, and while it took until well into the modern era for half of the population to be living in cities, the proportion of Algolians living in urban areas has always been high relative to the rest of the Confederacy. The cities themselves are filled with a mishmash of architectural styles and eras, with stately 18th century apartments brushing shoulders with medieval towers and twentieth century concrete. The government heavily incentivizes preserving historical buildings, and it is not unusual to see a modern annex built onto a restored, repurposed building from centuries earlier. In Damogran, where this week's match is to be held, the highlight from a cityscape perspective is undoubtedly the Public Palace, an imposing late-medieval edifice which until recently still served as the seat of the city's governing council. More information can doubtless be obtained from chatting with locals, who are immensely proud of their state's artistic and architectural heritage. Visitors will have ample opportunity for such chats, as seating at Algolian restaurants is traditionally communal, with multiple parties seated together at long tables. Seafood and rice are the staples of much of Algolian cuisine, though there are also plenty of land-based dishes available for those whose tastes range further inland.

Getting There and Getting Around
Algolia's support infrastructure, though perhaps not as robust or modern as that of Megabrantis, is quite adequate for its needs, and visitors should have little trouble getting around, whether by rail or by road. Jaglan and Damogran are the main points of entry, depending on whether one intends to visit the east or the west of the state. Having a car can be very useful in the countryside, but it can be a downright liability in the larger cities, whose premodern street plans make driving tedious at the best of times.

[Velestria]

---

KALDUKOSIC, COSUMAR — Avina Karzen, former manager of the U18 Velestria national team which went on to win the 5th Sporting World Cup isn’t one to mince words, so when she says something the nation listens up, after all, she bred the next generation of Velish football players such as Furusawa Utamara and Augusta Clark amongst others. So, when she commented on the status of the Velish national team eleven games through World Cup qualification it was clear something was up, speaking to the media after her training session with Rivernest Academy, “I have not been impressed with the national team since we came back from the international break, it’s clear we’re struggling with simple things like dictating space and figuring out how to finish games and its truly damning given our start earlier in the qualification process. I had expected the national team to come out leaving the break firing on all cylinders and finding a way to get things done, but it looks right now as if Velestria is listless and lifeless, this isn’t something that I had expected.” Karzen whose daughter, 17 is a candidate for the U18 team looking towards the next SWC spoke to the media on VLZ Sports Radio yesterday morning, and her frustration with the state of the national team was clearly felt, and it looked as if it had more to do with management than the players, Christopher Tajo Mendez as the world knows infamously fired her after Velestria won the Sporting World Cup due to a difference in philosophies, there’s clearly issues with the direction of the national team over one single person which has of coursed drawn feedback and critics from the nation.

One of the hottest teams to start World Cup qualification with a stout defense and a insane team defensive effort headlined by domestic netminder, Chris Banker, the team has seemingly come crashing back down to earth and the hit is clearly ferocious for the recovering team, since the break they’ve lost both of their games and have extended their winless streak to four games, the entirety of these matches have displayed some deep faults with the team and have shown the rigidness of Tajo Mendez truly effecting the game. Karzen, a major voice in Velish football had loads to talk about concerning the national team in the morning, letting morning listeners air out their feelings and speaking her mind to the media, “when discussing disappointments in 418 you can’t go through it without dogging the Velish national team, you can’t go fa without finding a team that is disastrous and id no longer riding on its beginners luck that was excused for during the first few games. The games since the break have been ridiculous, it truly looks as if passion rom the national team is lacking, especially on defense where any form of it seems to be now gone entirely now, there’s no effort from the players to consolidate or change anything and continuously, Chris for whatever reason continues to field this same lineup that simply does not work! This team is suddenly being thrust into new offensive schemes which are constantly being changed by personnel, the grip on the lockeroom is spilling as we see players coming out on the field and running whatever they want, simply taking shots and being greedy. What’s become of Diamond Gregory? She’s displayed that she doesn’t have what it takes to lead and organize this defense, that’s why she didn’t have the start between the posts for the national team when qualification started, what; did Mendez think that thrusting a cold, not-in-form keeper into the spotlight would work? Clearly, he’s been wrong…I mean look what’s happened between the pipes for the team, suddenly the goals against are stacking up and its clear that ant excuse for defense is suddenly and completely gone. The offense is starting to pick up, but the defense is the culprit and beginning to stagnate, Haroni Beaver is on an island out there leading the defense, what is going on with this team? What is Tajo Mendez doing? Is he the culprit for this madness, this complete and utter reversal of fortunes in the past few weeks?” Her ramblings would continue on as she launched into a plethora of strategies to ratify and fix the national team down the stretch. A major comment, “it seems like the players and manager can’t gel, his word doesn’t affix them and their playing style doesn’t work with him, suddenly it looks as if the fragile partnership is threatened.”


So there’s the bigger issue…Tajo Mendez. He’s been around since mid-WC81 and when he arrived on scene it was clear there was something off about him…to put it simply, he has not at all clicked with this national team, players don’t buy into his system, all you need to see that is just by looking at the constant revolving door of defensive players since the Tajo Mendez regime began, and although the team had steadily improved, heavy regression is now suddenly saw from the team with the second half of qualification, that leaves us with the big question that the Velish Football Association has been forced to consider since the beginning of World Cup qualification, is it perhaps times to fire the manager, are the Mendez days looking over for the team? There’s been a debate since he was hired between hiring him and firing him with the majority of people decisively saying that his firing would be better for the national team than keeping him along. Former national team players including the opinionated O.J. Peaflower let the world know that Mendez was no longer the best man for the job. But, if he were to be fired who could possibly be brought in to replace him? There were rumors going around that the Velish Football Association was rumored to be in talks with Schottia’s Jane Gullie, former manager of the Schottia NT and seven time SPL winner, current Handon United manager; although this hasn’t materialized thus far, its been a considerable factor that she does in fact have a chance as being the future manager of the team. Other rumors were that assistant manager, Keith Borner; the quiet former goalkeeper would be the interim manager until a successor was found. But who would succeed him? Some point to Pierre Denton, the manager at Blue Strike Calix as the natural successor for the job, pointing out his two successful seasons since brining back BS Calix from the depths of near-relegation, others are supportive of Adam Jeffreys, the former headman at Azurea now in Banija as the manager.


But what if the problem is actually is the team and not the manager? That could really be a big change, it would require some changes if it were the fault of the team for the collapse, if I were in the position to change things? I put Banker back in the net where he clearly and obviously belongs right now, his form before he was removed from the starter spot truly showed that he belong with the greats and have every reason and right to be there. Secondly, the defense cannot do anything without the leadership Haroni Beaver provides to it, I’m putting him back in his spot so he can come forth and disperse and properly accommodate the defense, if anything it looks like Beaver is going to be a future captain of this squad, he has the power to be what Frank Peaflower was to the WC79Q-81Q teams, a commanding presence who properly lines up and plans his defense. This offense? It’s starting to slowly come alive, minor adjustments here and there render it different, I see Augusta Clark and Goddard starting to click, I think this is the last few competitive games for Goddard however as Clark really transfers into her role as the primary striker. The biggest thing I see is that the offense is starting to click and there seems to be a surge in production at the front, at the same time these are going to have to be changed as soon as possible. Furusawa Utamara continues to shine as the best individual player for the national team, he’s going to be big down the stretch for the future of this team and development.

At this point, the VFA ha some important things to look as qualification continues, perhaps its time to hire a new manager, perhaps it’s time to find someone to lead the team into the future, the end may be near for Christoper Tajo Mendez, meanwhile though, we can’t say the team didn’t put forth a huge effort against Cosumar, with goals coming in from Utamara in the 68th minute and another from Augusta Clark in the 83rd, unfortunately, sloppy defensive play in the final extra time minutes allowed for an unfortunate end of the game for the national team. Now, it needs to focus on qualification for the Cup of Harmony which could be a big chance for Velestrian players to change where their team is headed, the rest of qualification should answer a lot of question marks for the national team and let us know where things stand.

(15) Cosumar 3–2 Velestria (169)
_{------------------}
Scorers: Utamara 68', Clark 83'

(3-2-3-2) — 1 - Banker; 2 - Borell, 3 - Avery, 4 - Beaver; 5 - Singleson, 6 - Sa'kiera; 7 - Ingles, 8 - Thirdgray (19 - Kelly 54'), 9 - Utamara; 10 - Goddard [c], 11 - Clark

VELESTRIAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - PRE-MD7
Goalkeepers: 23 - Diamond Gregory (KF Poldanz, QUS), 1 - Chris Banker (Peachtree City F.C.), 12 - Carson Mashely (Inter Arce, SRA)
Defenders: 2 - Matt Borell (Azurea), 3 - Viva Avery (Azurea), 15 - Jason Woodhill (Olympic Reading), 13 - Davis Larson (Doverhampton Wanderers), 14 - Kerry Fedbourne (Rovers F.C.), 4 - Haroni Beaver (Athletic Letson Town, ETN)
Midfielders: 5 - Carson SIngleson (Peachtree City F.C.), 6 - Na'ore Sa'kiera (Blue Strike Calix), 7 - Vronin Ingles (Rovers F.C.), 8 - Evans Thirdgray (Rovers F.C.) - 9 Furusawa Utamara (Johno United, DAR), 16 - Frank Kaiser (Peachtree City F.C.), 17 - Morgan Iyyrivia (Sporting Illyrius), 18 - Kelly Joes (Blue Strike Calix), 19 - Henderson Kelly (Rovers F.C.), 20 - Gilbert Jennifers (Vegai F.C.)

Forwards: 10 - Chris Goddard (Unattached), 11 - Augusta Clark (Olympic Reading), 21 - Brent Davis (Rovers F.C.), 22 - Hoyt Acovina (Cortana City Academy)

[Darkmania]

ÖRKENDREM PAPERS

Can we even qualify to the World Cup?

Opinion written by: Unamed Darkmanian (28)
At the time of writing this, we just lost 1-2 to Lochario and we are now in 5th place in the group. Not the dream scenario the darkmanian football federation have dreamed of. We still have some matches to play, so everything can happen. We still got like 7 matches to go, so everything can happen. The future is unpredictable, and while it's kinda fun to make predictions on what will happen in the future, the future of Darkmania playing at the World Cup seems unlikely...

I'm a 28-year-old male from the suburbs around Cäer. I have played football since I was 6. And still, do today. And what I can see is our national team underperforming, yet again. What a shocker. It's now kinda clear that we might not qualify. The football fed has a reputation to make predictions that end up getting way underperformed by the national team. We are the 75th best in the current ranking, and we might qualify in the future, but I can't see it. Like i said, the future are unpredictable and we cannot control it. If we are ever gonna qualify, we need a miracle.

[Eura]

Four years ago

Young Rasmus Gron had not felt pain like it for a very long time. His arm had been crushed causing him excruciating agony immediately. As the shock began to recede a bit and he started to think about where he was, the sun was blotted out by a hulking beast hovering over him. Dust whipped up around his eyes, clouding his vision. Gron closed his eyes and stayed as still as he could. The pain would have to wait - for now he would play dead. He could hear gunfire a few times, then just the sound of helicopters all around him, and then the muffled sound of yelling. It sounded like distinctively Anglophone Euran voices were penetrating the mass of noise. The hole he had fallen into when injuring his arm had provided natural cover against crossfire but it did not make him invisible to his new enemy. Four men approached with their rifles raised, aimed down at him with menacing intent. They were dressed head to toe in black which was unusual for Euran soldiers he'd seen. Normally they would be clad in standard temperate green and brown camouflage. These men, his captors, were not standard infantry.

One of the soldiers got close and lowered his rifle slightly. He was shouting something but Gron couldn't quite catch it until a helicopter passing over head had pulled away. 'Got one wounded over here! Hey, over here I said!' Soon after he was dragged to his feet. His arm felt like fire but Gron was too close to losing consciousness to muster a scream. As he was being bungled into a helicopter with a medic in tow, his compatriots were not so lucky. Five others had surrendered, with Mikkelsen and Valdman leading the group. They had been forced to the ground and stripped of their equipment. All five lay face down in the mud when a slightly different figure approached them. He was not masked nor wearing black. He looked like more of a standard officer type, with a cap and more conventional camouflage. This mystery man kneeled in front of Mikkelsen and inspected him with curiosity. 'These are the ones we picked up from Kura?'
'Yes sir!'
'Well then. They came peacefully?'
'With some persuasion sir!' He lowered himself down to Mikkelsen's level and smirked. 'Alright then. Pack them up. Time for a trip.'

----------

The back of the helicopter felt different to earlier. The ride was smoother. Valdman was stirred from his slumber but he couldn't see anything, being under a black hood. Men were sat in rows next to him. His own guys were there, but split up, most of the others seemed to be Euran's and were chatting to each other intermittently. It struck Valdman when their ride bumped along something that felt like the ground, and decelerated rapidly, that he must have been unconscious for quite some time. This was confirmed by one of the men nearby slapping him to get his intention. 'This one's up. Looks like you didn't give them enough juice Captain.'
'Yeah alright mate, give it a rest. We're here now anyway.' This wasn't a helicopter. It was a plane of some kind. Within minutes they'd pulled up and Valdman was being marched off by an unseen hand, the cold nighttime air whipping around the bottom of his hood and exposing a view of the ground below him. Where had they been taken? Truthfully he couldn't even begin to try and answer that question. Whatever hope they had of rescue by Halvorsen from here was extinguished by that fact. Unless they had got very lucky, they were already deep inside Eura.

A few hours of transportation by some kind of van passed before they were finally trusted with their sight again. No doubt anymore; this was a prison, a big one. The telltale rattling of bars, strained yelling between cells, guards shouting down troublesome inmates. Everyone was wearing blue jumpsuits. Valdman was escorted to a cell and left there for another hour, with an older man he didn't remotely recognise. To pass the time he tried to make some conversation in Euran. His new cellmate muttered a few things back before finally rising up to speak properly. 'My name is Matteo Lorenzi. Colonel. Sameban Army, or used to be. You?' Valdman had no idea if this man was who he said he was so he kept his cards relatively close to his chest. 'Not one of yours. Not one of them either.'
'You're not a soldier?'
'I am. Maybe not the kind you are used to.'
'Ah, well, maybe you will adapt to this shithole better than I have.' Matteo lifted up his shirt to reveal a couple of scars. Unmistakably, they came from stab wounds. Their conversation was interrupted by a thud and a clank as the door creaked open. 'Against the wall, away from the door. Now.' Both men complied. It was the Euran officer again. He ignored the Sameban and walked right up to Valdman. 'I hope you are enjoying your new abode. Unfortunately, you're going to need to come with me.' Valdman saw little option other than to follow him without saying a word.

[Oberour Ar Moro]

⁂

From: Brianne Talbourdet
Sent: June 30, 1762 at 4:01 PM
To: Sieg d'Ableges
Subject: Questions about specific sections

Sieg,

There are two sections of your essay that you're going to have to explain to me. They're both pretty outlandish, you have no record of these in your notes, and the Ministry of Culture has stated that both are completely factually wrong.

There is a record of press releases early in Oberour Ar Moro football history that refer to the stadium as the Verissimus L'Espérance Parade Grounds. Since those releases, the stadium has only been referred to as the Parade Grounds.

This, of course, raises the question: Who was Verissimus L’Espérance? Was he a Chancellor? A Magister Militum or some other former minister? With the military origins of the Parade Ground was Verissimus L’Espérance a soldier? A decorated war hero? A victorious general or admiral?

Strangely, there is no record that a Verissimus L’Espérance ever existed, or that the stadium ever had a name beyond the Parade Grounds at all.

Arzhaelig Ysore is the head grounds-manager at the Parade Grounds. He of anyone knows the ideal, registered measurements of the Parade Ground pitch: 105 meters by 71 meters. The Parade Grounds is a small stadium, and the fans feel right on the pitch, and they almost are. The distance from the front row to the touchline is 15 meters all around the stadium. Except.

“Frankly,” he told me as we walked on the pitch the morning before Oberour Ar Moro faced off against Drawkland “I have no idea the exact measurements of the pitch or the ground.”

“At first, I thought the walls were crooked. Like one side’s wall was at an angle to the other or something. But we would draw out the touchlines and goal lines and the measurements would be off.”

We stood at a corner of the field like Morvan Saurine about to make a corner kick. “If you took measuring tape to the field right now, this touchline would be about half a meter off,” he pointed down the touchline, and then turned to the goal line “and this goal-line would be about a quarter of a meter off.”

He dropped his arm and shook his head. “We have done everything to try and correct the matter. Measure out from the walls. Measure from one spot. Measure from another spot. Look to see if the basement is caving in and causing the wonky measurements that way. We’ve used laser sights, almost everything you can think of, and if I haven’t thought of it please tell me.”

It was bizarre to think that for years Patrons and the national team and every one of their guests was playing matches in trapezoids. How has no one complained yet?

“Because you can’t tell. It’s just bizarre. Every outside line is exactly 15 meters from the wall. Line to line inside the pitch measures 105 meters or 71 meters. It’s just the outside lines, and they’re only barely not right. It’s like the field has been eating meters. The whole thing just gives me a headache.

Care to comment?

Brianne Talbourdet
Fact-Checker at Intitre Magazine
8 Rue de Immarcescible, Suite 702, Regium 773007
Office Number: 43 28 97 246, ext. 6774
E-mail: btalbourdet@intitremagazine.oam

---

From: Sieg d'Ablesges
Sent: July 2, 1762 at 11:01 AM
To: Brianne Talbourdet
Subject: Re: Rolet le Loutterel response

Brianne,

Old press releases say the stadium name is the Verissimus L’Espérance Parade Grounds, though it never was and L'Espérance doesn't seem to have existed. Arzhaelig Ysore told me about how strange the measurements of the pitch are. This is accurate.

-

Sieg

---

From: Brianne Talbourdet
Sent: June 30, 1762 at 11:35 AM
To: Sieg d'Ableges
Subject: Re: Re: Questions about specific sections

This is accurate? This all sounds nuts.

Brianne Talbourdet
Fact-Checker at Intitre Magazine
8 Rue de Immarcescible, Suite 702, Regium 773007
Office Number: 43 28 97 246, ext. 6774
E-mail: btalbourdet@intitremagazine.oam

---

From: Sieg d'Ablesges
Sent: July 2, 1762 at 12:17 PM
To: Brianne Talbourdet
Subject: Re: Re: Questions about specific sections

Brianne,

Perhaps so, but that is what is.

-

Sieg

---

From: Brianne Talbourdet
Sent: July 6, 1762 at 3:19 PM
To: Sieg d'Ableges
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Questions about specific sections

Arzhaelig Ysore retired from the Parade Grounds, so I'm trying to track him down to check your quotes.

Also, I just got back from the Regium Department of Records to look at a copy of the Parade Grounds' blueprints that were submitted from when they replaced the roof. There is no record of a basement to the Parade Grounds.

Brianne Talbourdet
Fact-Checker at Intitre Magazine
8 Rue de Immarcescible, Suite 702, Regium 773007
Office Number: 43 28 97 246, ext. 6774
E-mail: btalbourdet@intitremagazine.oam

⁂

---

Oberour Ar Moro 3-3 Drawkland
@ Parade Grounds, Regium

Goals
21‘: Eneour Pique-Pain, Oberour Ar Moro
33‘: Katie Madison, Drawkland
51‘: Taran Bele, Oberour Ar Moro
56‘: Taran Bele, Oberour Ar Moro
70‘: Katie Madison, Drawkland
82‘: Ellizidan, Drawkland

Oberour Starting XI
GK Laurens Desainctvictori
LB Gwion du Bourc-la-Reyne
RB Lunen Margas
SW Josselyn Pessiere
SW Benedig de Croiseus
LM Morvan Saurine
RM Loizig de Charni
CM Jerian Pellier
LW Eneour Pique-Pain
RW Ruran l'Ermite
ST Nycollas Mauranghas

Oberour Substitutes
45' Out: Nycollas Mauranghas; In: Taran Bele
64' Out: Gwion du Bourc-la-Reyne; In: Felix de Vouges l'Aisné
79' Out: Josselyn Pessiere; In: Deklan Charpentier

Eighty-Second World Cup Qualification Schedule
WIN DRAW LOSS

MD1: Overour Ar Moro 2-2 Eura
MD2: Drawkland 5-4 Oberour Ar Moro
MD3: Oberour Ar Moro 1-1 Lochario
MD4: Rakivland 4-4 Oberour Ar Moro
MD5: Oberour Ar Moro 3-0 TigerSharkistan
MD6: Audioslavia 2-2 Oberour Ar Moro
MD7: Oberour Ar Moro 5-2 San Rocca
MD8: Darkmania 3-4 Oberour Ar Moro
MD9: Oberour Ar Moro 4-2 Kevagaria
MD10: Eura 2-1 Oberour Ar Moro
MD11: Oberour Ar Moro 3-3 Drawkland
MD12: Lochario (4-4-3) v. Oberour Ar Moro (4-5-2)
MD13: Oberour Ar Moro (4-5-2) v. Rakivland (1-5-5)
MD14: TigerSharkistan (2-2-7) v. Oberour Ar Moro (4-5-2)
MD15: Oberour Ar Moro (4-5-2) v. Audioslavia (9-1-1)
MD16: San Rocca (0-4-7) v. Oberour Ar Moro (4-5-2)
MD17: Oberour Ar Moro (4-5-2) v. Darkmania (5-1-5)
MD18: Kevagaria (1-4-6) v. Oberour Ar Moro (4-5-2)

[Eshan]

It is a curious thing when emotions are inverted and the new is at odds with the old. Whne red becomes blue, when it rains while the sun is out, when happiness turns to despair. That feeling, the dissonance of emotion and event, was on display on a cold lifeless Saturday.

Stadii Echani. So much more than a football field. A source of pride, of fun and happiness, a place where that unquenchable fire that burns deep in the breast of the Echani people burned brighter than anywhere else. A palace where dreams come true, a palace where modern gladiators were adored by 125,000 screaming fans. A place of eternal happiness.

On that Saturday, the soul was pierced. The gladiators looked down, the fans quiet. There was no music, no chanting, no cheering as there always was. The feeling of fun, happiness, and excitement had been replaced by quiet despair.

Silence. Almost total silence save for the cold wind ripping through the crowd like a blade. A noiseless cacophony extended across the stadium as the Echani and Banijan players looked up at the Gods as they took the field for the memorial match.

There was silence as the 22 players and referees took the field, with five people leading them out. The most distinguishable was Revan of course. He was recognizable anywhere, tall, striking looks, standing straight and oozing power and dominance. The others were harder to discern. There were two children, one a young boy not yet ten in a suit, the other a small girl in a black dress with a red bow in her hair. The children were accompanied by a figure with a black veil, and they were joined by another figure in the same black outfit that sank despair into the very ground they stepped on.

The players, referees, and five others stood around the center circle, aware of the all encompassing silence that surrounded them. Marco van Ciavatinni coughed, the sound an explosion in the quiet cathedral of football. Villar Dakari fidgeted with the black armband as the five people in black stood in the center of the group and the two in veils lifted them.

Underneath one, looking pale and with an expression of incomprehensible pain and solitude was Jeanette DiMartin, widow of the recently assassinated Echani Foreign Minister, Anthony DiMartin. She clutched her children's hands, fearing that a second apart would land them the same fate as their late-father. They were so young, but they understood the crushing reality of their situation.

A tear cut down Jeanette's face slowly, burning her skin as she remembered Anthony smiling at her for the first time and the indescribable river of emotion and warmth that flooded her system from that day over twenty years ago. She would never be the same, and eventually retreated from life into an eternal solitude, trapped perhaps willingly by still seeing Anthony in her past, on the other side of the glass of her memory's museum.

Revan hugged her, saying nothing. What words, what 26 letters could you arraign at a time like this? What could you say that wouldn't hurt? He gently squeezed, noting how cold to the touch she was.

Revan knelt down, fixed young Jack DiMartin's tie before wrapping up the young lad in his arms. A kiss on his sister Delilah's forehead and a tight embrace before he returned to Jeanette. The 22 players stood silent, the crowd noiseless as Revan said something to her.

She didn't react, and as Revan looked in her eyes he saw she was already gone, a body without a soul. Married the day they had turned 18, 23 years ago, what made Jeanette Di Martin alive had died the moment the bullet pierced her husband's heart.

Revan approached the other figure, who raised their veil as he came near. It was Omubaga Immaculate, Princess of Banija. He held his hand out to her as a sign of respect to her as a dignitary from one of Eshan's closest friends, but she pushed it away and embraced him tightly instead. Neither could be sure what the future held, but it was clear that no matter what come next, Eshan and Banija were standing together.

He didn't spend as long with Omugaba Immaculate; the two had plenty of meetings and communication in the days since the assassin had claimed her father, King of Banija, in the same attack that killed Anthony DiMartin. Revan embraced the DiMartin family once more, and the five of them left the field with Omugaba holding Jack's hand and little Delilah in her mom's arms.

The game kicked off and nobody cared. Death had come, and families were in pain. Nothing else mattered.

The game kicked off and nobody cared.

For the purpose of this memorial game, fans of both teams had been placed next to each other all throughout Stadii Echani. Banijans and Echani sitting with each other talking, sharing hopes, pains, recipes, culture; sharing love. Even in this time of great national tragedy where everyone is forced to take stock of those most important things in the life, the love of friends and family, the bonds between people of two nations were growing stronger than ever. Of course, that was all by design. The mixed seating was Revan's idea, a way to bring Eshan and Banija even closer together.

The present was dark but over those 90 minutes where nobody cared about about events on the field, the future became bright.

[Ko-oren]

Universal Standard Time

The Association has finally released its magnum opus: a soccer calendar that tells you which matches are on, per week. This not only gives you the league and cup dates, but also UICA matches going all the way from the first Globe Cup preliminaries all the way to the Champions' Cup final.

"The entire calendar is pretty full, so keep that in mind when you look at it," the KFA spokesperson mentioned. "It's not a nice viewing experience. Also, there is no club that plays ever single one of these dates - that would be inhumane. All this calendar does, for now, is highlight just how much official games there are out there," he continued, "For us, week one refers to the first CC and GC preliminaries - the league doesn't start until week 8".

A glance at the calendar confirms what we've already been warned about. The league and cup dates are clear enough: the double round robin starts in week 8 and finishes in week 34, comprising 22 match rounds and five bye weeks. After that, the second stage of the top flight starts in week 38 and then there are 10 straight match weeks until we have our champion no later than week 47. The cup is contested in weeks 17, 25, 29, 33, 37, 44 and then the final in week 48, the very last thing on the domestic side of the calendar.

The international side of proceedings is a little muddier. The AOCL starts halfway through the season, with the quarterfinals around the cup final. Then, by the time the AOCL wraps up, and we've had our winter break, the UICA competitions have kicked off. For now, Ko-orenite clubs are represented more in the early rounds than the latter rounds, so for the forseeable future, these two competitions won't coincide. UICA in the first half of the season, and when the knockouts start, we'll have the AOCL to watch. Ko-orenite clubs haven't made a knockout round in decades now, though it's likely to happen at some point in the near future. Our best clubs are building a name for themselves, and our players are moving to respected leagues within Atlantian Oceania and even beyond that.

The AOCL final is planned for week 6, the Cygnus Cup final is in week 27 and the UICA finals are back to back in weeks 48, 49 and 50. The Super Cup is contested during week 52 of the calendar - designed especially so those matches are the end of the soccer year.

What is even better is that other sports are following suit: gridiron, rugby league, rugby union, baseball and cricket have already used the template to plot their typical season. The finals of every sport are placed with near-exact two months in between them, so after every final fans can move on to the next big event. We're lucky to have such a mild climate in most of Ko-oren, or else the schedule would have looked a lot different. We can afford to play outdoor sports year-round in most regions. While everything but the northeast plays through the winter, all but the southern coast takes care of summer play.

The next target for the KFA is to add national team fixtures. "That will be quite difficult. The World Cup and AOCAF are very regular, but the World Cup qualification cycle varies in length, and we never know if we are in the World Cup or the Cup of Harmony. That really ruins any regular schedule we are trying to make for the Top League. No matter what, congestion is something that must be avoided and we will make sure no player will play more than two matches per seven days, or at least, we strive for that. Honestly, with UICA and the national team - and better players are more likely to play more national team and UICA games - alongside the cup and league, that's a challenge."

Hypothetically, if one player wins the league and makes the Champions' Cup group stage, that player might play up to 56 games for their club in a year (32 league games, 6 cup games, 6 AOCL group stage matches, 6 CC group stage matches, 4-8 qualification games for those competitions) - and you can add about 15 national team matches per season (fewer in a AOCAF year, more in a World Cup year). That's 71, and that's impossible. It's a good thing our club sides are still pretty bad, and that we don't have a Supercup...

[Audioslavia]

Two early goals saw Audioslavia comfortably navigate the TigerSharkistan threat to jump to the summit of Group 2.

Desya Kuznetsov’s third-minute opener and seventh-minute penalty were enough to separate the two sides on a blustery night in Cathair.

In truth, there wasn’t much to see for most of the game. If you wanted drama, you had to go elsewhere in the group.

Eura’s inability to put Kevagaria away has worked in Audioslavia’s favour for the second time this campaign. Whereas previously the Bulls had drawn clear of Eura through their four-all draw on matchday three, Kevagaria’s refusal to concede has now caused the Bulls to leapfrog their Rushmori rivals and into top spot.

More importantly, Drawkland’s away draw against Oberour Ar Moro increases the gap to ten points between the Bulls and the Cup of Harmony. Just three wins from their final seven games should secure a forty-third appearance in the World Cup finals for Wilf Lidgley’s men.

With qualification well within Audioslavia’s grasp, fan attention has turned to the coming three-game streak wherein the Bulls take on Oberour Ar Moro, Eura and Drawkland in succession. Although we could feasibly get humped three to nil in each game and still be playing in the World Cup next year, these are the three games with an edge.

Firstly, Oberour Ar Moro, the team who broke Audislavia’s record of five wins on the bounce. The Bulls will be looking for a win to assert our supposed superiority over the team that had their heydey back in a time when the realm of international football still contained teams like Silexhera, Dancougar and Starblaydia.

After that will come the Eurans, a team against whom the Bulls don’t have the best record. Although it’d be difficult to see more than a couple of Audioslavians getting picked in a combined Euran/Auran eleven, Audioslavia will be desperate to put Eura back in their place and assert themselves as a footballing superpower once more.

Finally, the match against Drawkland may have big repercussions for Drawkian football. Whether they’re mathematically eliminated by then or now, Drawkland will be looking for a measure of revenge against the team that all but confined them to the Cup of Harmony with a three-two win in Cathair in autumn.

Before al that, Audioslavia have to traverse the threats of Kevagaria, who Eura have found impossible to beat, San Rocca, who have been showing potential this cycle, and a Darkmania side that sit in fourth place and may well be challenging for an outside shot at the World Cup finals in a few months time.

IBJJ,G’NB

[Kita-Hinode]

TOURISM
Hinodejin Empire to join Joint Citizenship program with Eshan, Ethane
THE CELESTIAL CAPITAL OF TENTAI CITY - Looking for a fresh new place to visit? Hinodejin of all colours and shapes may now have an easier time if they're interested in visiting either the nations of Eshan and Ethane as Empress Satomi the Second finally reached a proper agreement between all three sides involved. The Joint Citizenship program allows opportunities for peoples of the three nations to travel and work freely at any of the other nations that take part in it, as long as they're over 18, with limited opportunities on the academical field for those that happen to be in the ages between 13 and 18 years of age. The Empire's reasoning behind participation in the program is fairly simple, a desire to populate the less integrated parts of their realm, while also improving their image to the rest of the multiverse.

Specialists do admit that this deal might be a bit troublesome in a couple of aspects. Hinodejin culture is way more different than the ones of both nations, the technology gap between the Hinodejin Empire and other nations remain massive at most and the question of interplanetary travel was also brought up. "Honestly, we're absolutely fine with their people coming to visit us, even if it means ending up wandering across the planets at our realm," Empress Satomi the Second declared while she lifted weights, part of her training for more challenges that same day, "maybe that'll improve their world to be just as good as this one, I guess?"

The Imperial Hinodejin Football Association welcomed the news with joy, noting that teams should now be able to freely sign players from Ethane and Eshan without restrictions, noting that the foreigner cap will no longer consider players from those places as foreigners, much like those from the nations of Emirates of Futurnia.

[Valladares]

The Mountbatten State Assembly had its headquarters in a three-story building located in the heart of Carloburgo and built in the second half of the 18th century as a residence for the local ruler, when the city was a mere village of a couple thousand inhabitants still known as Tallinberg. Not only had it survived several seismic events, the siege and subsequent conquest and burning of Tallinberg by the Royal Valladar Army in the dawn of the 20th century, and in short, the inexorable passage of time, but it had also witnessed countless discussions and crucial events in the political life of the city and the Mountbatten state. With the takeover of the main political posts of the state by the Partido Hispánico de Mountbatten, this historic building mutated into a battleground where the new ruling party would attempt to launch their ultimate goal, while the displaced traditional parties, the Liberals and Labourists, attempted to stop them on their tracks (by not-very-diplomatic ways if needed). Starting from Inauguration Day, the State Assembly building became filled with tension, and the first session of the Mountbatten State Assembly after the referendum where the people of Mountbatten expressed its support to an eventual split, was expected to be a more tense affair. The Speaker of the Assembly, Álvaro Montillo honoured his promise from the previous day by formally presenting the Bill of Secession to the Assembly, for its much awaited discussion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as we promised last night after the outcome of the referendum became known, here we are presenting to your consideration the Bill of Secession of the Mountbatten State..."

Montillo started reading the draft with the other deputies listening carefully to it. As soon as he finished doing so, he opened the floor to questions and discussion, and the Labourist and Liberal deputies asked for the floor. The Speaker granted them the right to express their opposition to the bill by opening the microphone to Labour deputy Clarence Matthews, but not before allowing his fellow Hispanic deputies to congratulate him and express words of support. Matthews then proceeded to address the audience.

"Look. Your proposal of splitting this state into two, while well-intentioned and even consistent with the principle of language separation applied by the Royal Constitution of 1910, has some serious flaws which will affect everyone's post-secession standing, not only ours. First, on the topic of budget, the Federal Treasury will only allocate to both states only half of the usual budget allocation for the original Mountbatten state, which means that both successor states will have trouble when trying to execute projects. And if the Federal State is unable to provide us with the money we need, we have no choice but to look for it somewhere else. And where else, you might ask...well, the answer is outside this building: the people!"

Another Liberal deputy asked for the floor to complement the idea started by his colleague. Montillo's face already showed a rictus of irritation.

"To add up to the concern expressed by the Honourable Deputy Matthews, on the topic of nationwide political representation, none of us will be entitled to the 32 MPs the Mountbatten state is currently allocated in the National Assembly, but only half of that number for each, which means the states' representation into the federal legislative body will be dwindled. We obviously don't want that, and I really doubt you would want to rule a weakened state that will have nearly zero weight to decide on stuff in Metropolis."

"Also, since we believe you might want to come up with a brand new legal system different from the Mountbatten state's one, you will have to draft several things such as a Constitution, laws regarding school system, state police, state judiciary, intrastate roads, public transport, and of course, local government. And four years are not enough to try and change so many things. In addition to that small issue, we would have to ask Metropolis and the Electoral Committee for funds to organize another election, because we are sure that once you have your new state to do wonders with, you won't waste your time in jumping ship to your new toy and this state will be left headless..."

The Speaker, angered at the suggestion that the Governor, the Hispanic deputies, and of course himself would find no trouble in withdrawing from their posts, interrupted the deputy's intervention:

"Silence! Enough verbiage! If there's anyone in this room thinking that we'll leave everything adrift once our project is approved and sanctioned by everyone, well, we've got bad news for you! We will be staying, honouring the duty we accepted with our election as public servants for this state, until the four years are over! For several years, lustrums, decades, you have governed this state by ignoring the people's will! And now that we were given the chance to push for a change, there's no way for us to act with your usual baseness! Yesterday, the people of this state asked for a change and our mission is enforcing that will. And we aren't willing to let you interfere like you've always done! Bunch of corrupts!"

Once Montillo uttered these words, the pressure cooker exploded. The Liberal and Labour deputies rose from their seats and walked to the lectern in order to give the Speaker a thrashing. The Hispanic deputies, being majority, came to defend their leader and a brawl ensued. The first debate of the Bill of Secession ended with a poor outcome, with zero improvement or advancement and, to make matters more complicated, the Assembly still had to hold another couple of debates prior to the voting session. A dark cloud of doubt has settled on the future of the second most populated state of Valladares...