Introduction
The nations of Eura and Valladares are uniting to put to the consideration of the World Cup Committee members a joint-bid to co-host the upcoming sixty edition of the Baptism of Fire.
Information on the Bidders
Eura
The United Federation of Eura is a very large parliamentary democracy located in south eastern Rushmore, home to just over three billion citizens and the Rushmore delegation for the World Assembly. Eura became a unified state of six regions after centuries of civil wars some three centuries ago, developing a strong national identity with a distinct Euran-Anglophone culture originating from the region of Endemia. The country has been democratic for the most part of a century and has developed into Rushmore’s military-industrial powerhouse, due to its strong industrial economy, massive military expenditure and power projection capabilities, large population and involvement in numerous overseas adventures. It also has a series of overseas territories known colloquially as the “Eurasphere”, in Rushmore, Endemia and Atlantian Oceania. It is well known for its rivalry and hostility to its northern neighbour Sameba, the isolated “Seventh Kingdom” of Endemian Rushmore. The stereotype of Euran’s assigned by foreigners is usually that of a homogenous, culturally uninteresting horde, who are zealously patriotic and have a socialistic tendency to accept low pay and high taxation. Despite this mostly untrue characterisation, Euran culture has found success and popularity abroad in many forms, especially in cinema and sport, and the country itself has become a hugely popular destination for foreign business and tourists who come to see its heaving megacities, beautiful mountains, magnificent castles and towering industrial complexes. Euran’s have gained a more positive reputation in recent years as an industrious and hardworking people, and the state a positive reputation for decisive if sometimes forceful regional leadership.
Eura has a prestigious record in international sport since it became a regular competitor in the last thirty years or so, especially at the Summer Olympics and Rushmori Games, but its most outstanding contribution to sport has without a doubt been Euran football. In a footballing context “Euran” is a byword for a play style that is easy on the eyes but is also reliant on exceptional stamina and determination amongst the players, a defining characteristic of Euran teams ever since their 54th World Cup debut. Since then Eura has become a top footballing nation, having now been a top 32 nation for over ten cycles. Eura’s first major tournament final was that of the 51st Cup of Harmony, where Ben Randall’s team suffered an agonising loss to Darmen. During the next cycle, after a number of failed attempts, Eura finally qualified for the World Cup at the 60th tournament, and subsequently gave it a breath of fresh air with their exciting football. The Lee Sharp inspired team went all the way to the final at the first attempt before losing to the Holy Empire. Since then Eura has become an established competitor, reaching the semi-finals at the last World Cup but most famously winning the 66th tournament in Fligsive, in the former Inevitable Syndicate, beating the seemingly invincible Polar Islandstates 4-2. Eura has perhaps underperformed in regional tournaments, finishing as runners up twice in the Copa Rushmori at best, but in domestic football Eura has excelled, with the Euraleague now seen as one of the best leagues in the world, which has now brought home a Champions Cup and two Globe Cup titles. Eura is a busy and quite crowded country, but is home to a fantastic range of sporting and transport infrastructure and also a population who are increasingly familiar with different nations through the medium of sport. Therefore the Euran FA hopes that Eura’s host cities, not just Bastion but others such as Brigham and Directus, will be fantastic venues to visit for the fans and teams of the many nations that will take part in the Baptism of Fire, and that they will have a memorable stay in the blue and gold federation.
Valladares
The Royal Government of Valladares, through the Federal Bureau of Tourism, and the Valladar Football Association would like to invite those nations that will entering their first World Cup to compete in the 60th edition of the Baptism of Fire (or Bautismo de Fuego, as it will be called within Valladares exclusively for purposes of domestic marketing), which we expect to bring to Eastern Rushmore in association with Eura. Valladares is a country located in the region of Rushmore, and renowned for the beauty of its landscapes and natural environments and the kindness and compassion of its citizens. The country's relatively recent opening to its neighbours and to the multiverse (mainly on the sports and diplomacy fields) has helped the nation establish cordial relationships with several other nations and has had a significant impact on its economy and culture, although the latter can be questioned due to the fact that its natural social heterogeneity, which was forged through history, makes it difficult to establish a "unified" Valladar culture.
With a strong footballing tradition, attested by Valladares' continuous presence at the main national and club football competitions in the multiverse, having plenty of stadiums already suited for this competition's standards, and after the successful hosting of Copas Rushmori 10 and 20 and Cup of Harmony 61, both the VFA and the Valladar government are strongly backing this attempt to bring to Valladar land this important tournament, this time joining its Euran counterparts in this bid, and will be looking forward to having this bid accepted by the World Cup Committee and receive your nations with open arms for this upcoming Baptism of Fire.
Scorination and RP Bonuses
The hosts shall be using NSFS in its version 3.0.1 to scorinate all games of the competition. A cumulative RP bonus shall be used. The hosts shall not release the grading scale to be used; however, rest assured that this grading scale shall be generous and rewarding, especially considering that this tournament will serve as an introduction to the World Cup for the nations that will take part in it.
Format
As World Cup and Baptism of Fire signups are still underway, the exact number of nations that are going to take part in the upcoming Baptism of Fire is still unclear as of now and therefore the format to be used (with actual participation numbers) will be revealed at a later date, however, it will consist of a group stage and a knockout stage. Half of those groups will be held within a host nation and scored by that host, with the other host taking over the other half. Regardless of the number of teams ultimately signed up and the size and number of groups to be used, the knockout stage shall feature sixteen (16) teams.
Tiebreakers
The following set of tiebreakers will be used:
- Points
- Goal Differential
- Head-To-Head Points
- Head-To-Head Goal Differential
- Goals For
- Drawing of Lots
Previous Hosting Experience
The user behind the nation of Valladares is a well-established user, having been part of NS Sports since May 2009 (around the same time the forums moved out of Jolt) and taking part in the World Cup and other related competitions ever since, with Baptism of Fire 34, World Cup 47, and Cup of Harmony 39 being his first experiences in WCC competitions. As for hosting experience, this user hosted successfully the sixth (as Whirl Islands), tenth, and twentieth Copa Rushmori editions and is also responsible for organizing it, and scorinates a 197-team domestic football league on a regular basis while also being currently in control of the Cup Winners' Cup (aka Cygnus Cup). As for specific WCC experience, this user already hosted the 61st Cup of Harmony along with Yttribia.
Eura, on the other hand, has not hosted a major tournament yet, but has hosted the Rushmori Under-17 and Under-20 international tournaments, and of course the domestic Euraleague for twenty-six UICA cycles, and is plenty familiar with the NSFS scorinator.
Questions?
The floor is open for questions from you all, and we thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this bid.
