Banija Baptism of Fire LXVI Host Bid
National Information
The Kingdom of Banija is a country that classifies itself as a semi-constitutional monarchy. A nation that is freshly a member of Atlantian Oceania, it is led by the Kabaka(which translates to King), and the current monarch is Kabaka Albert III. The Kabaka, alongside with the Waziri(translates to Foreign Minister), whom he picks and dismisses solely at his pleasure, is the Head of State and responsible for the country's foreign affairs.
The Lukiiko(translates to Parliament) is a democratically-elected, constituency-based, first past the post, legislature that has the power of the purse and controls all legislative affairs for the country. The Lukiiko, every term, elects the Katikkiro(Prime Minister), who picks a cabinet and leads the government. Racially, the nation is 99.2% black. This is a very religious based Christian nation, as 87% of Banijans are affiliated with the state church, the Puritan Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose followers are called Puritan Mormons. Sufi Islam is the next largest religious community at 9% of the national population. The Guardian Council, a council of 6 members, with 3 picked by the Kabaka from the House of Katende(the royal house), and 3 picked by the Church, has the ability to oppose laws based on religious grounds. It takes a 5-1 majority on the Guardian Council to reject any bill passed by the Lukiiko.
Due to the massive influence of Puritan Mormonism in this nation, they are relatively socially conservative. Abortion in this country is outlawed unless the mother's life is in danger, and the church's Universal Call to Motherhood, which teaches that the destiny of each and every woman is to give birth to children and raise faithful Puritan Mormons, has heavily shaped the nation's view on the role of women in society. Therefore, it is against the law for any professional sports teams based in Banija to have men and women on the team. However, this law only applies to teams based in Banija, which is why it is perfectly legal when foreign-based teams, either for away games or when Banija hosts tournaments, to have people of any gender. Consumption of alcohol in Banija is legal.
Of course, Banija is a 3rd world country by modern economic standards. A general lack of development in Banija, we are a country with excellent sporting infrastructure, but little else. Most roads are dirt, and while public transit within cities is excellent, between cities it is not. The climate of Banijan has a lot of natural rainforest and jungle, which means that there is no winter, only wet season and dry season. Temperatures generally range at their coldest around 60 degrees farenheit, and at their hottest around 110 degrees farenheit.
Stadium Information
The Banijan Soccer League is one of two dominant professional sports leagues in Banija, alongside the Banijan Gridiron Football League. The use of stadiums of teams from the BSL will be employed for every single game of the Baptism of Fire.
RP Help
Since this is many nations introduction to the NS Sports scene, I will give each nation who RPs at least once RP advice at the end of the tournament, to help them move forward and improve in their time on NS Sports and in the World Cup Qualifying cycle. Additionally, I will be giving out completely optional RP prompts for nations to run with(if they want to) on every matchday.
Group Draw
I will do the group draw and post it on the boards approximately 24 hours after I post the IC thread.
Format
All formats are single round robin for group play, and single elimination in the knockout stages. All games, of course, will be played in Banija.
20 teams: 4 groups of 5. Top two from each group will advance to the knockout stages, where a seeded draw will occur to determine the quarterfinal matchups. Group winners will be drawn against group runner-ups. A bracket will be drawn from that point forward(Winner of QF1 vs. Winner of QF1 is SF1, Winner of QF3 vs. Winner of QF4 is SF2).
24 teams: 6 groups of 4. Top two from each group plus the best 4 3rd place sides will advance to the knockout stages. A seeded draw will occur, where the 6 group winners and top two runner-ups will be randomly drawn against the 8 unseeded sides. That is where the knockout stage bracket will be drawn.
28 teams: 7 groups of 4. Top two from each group plus the top two 3rd place sides will advance to the knockout stages. A seeded draw will occur, where the 7 group winners and top group runner-up will be randomly drawn against the 8 unseeded sides. That is where the knockout stage bracket will be drawn.
32 teams: 8 groups of 4. Top two from each group will advance to the knockout stages, where a seeded draw will occur to determine the Round of 16 matchups. Group winners will be drawn against group runner-ups. That is where the knockout stage bracket will be drawn.
Scorinating Experience
Banijan Soccer League
NSCAA 7 Great Sky & Mugisha III Memorial Conferences(plus games in the 1st round of the NSCAA tournament)
United Valhaven Regional Football Champions
Ultimaverse Champions League(as Amazonesta)
Scorinating Method
I will be using version 0.3.3.of xkoranate, with the NSFS formula xkoronate style additive style modifiers. A roster shall be eligible for one full day's RP bonus. RP bonus shall be cumulative across the duration of the tournament.
Tiebreakers
1) H-2-H Goal Difference
2) Goal Difference
3) Goals For
4) Wins
Other OOC Information
My cutoffs will be between 7 and 9 AM EST. It's a weird cutoff time, I know... I'll be online everyday, but that's the only time I can guarantee availability at the same time on a daily basis.
I'm ready for any and all questions.
