RECONCILIATION
EQUESTRIA & BANIJA
A Host Bid for World Cup 83
EQUESTRIA & BANIJA
A Host Bid for World Cup 83
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World Cup 82 | Cup of Harmony 75 | Baptism of Fire 70
I. Introduction
Just a few short years ago, the idea that the Pony Principality of Equestria and the Kingdom of Banija would agree to work together on anything, much less a joint bid for the multiverse's greatest sporting event, was little more than a fantasy.
The deterioration of relations between the two nations in Atlantian Oceania's "Glorious Southwest" began with the elevation of Matthias Mutebi to the position of Katikkiro of the Banijan Lukiiko. Mutebi, a far-right nationalist candidate, ran a campaign in which railed against Banija's neighbors (regional superpower Equestria, in particular), Banija's emigrant community, and the native population of the Banijan-controlled Busoga Islands. Tapping into widespread discontent in the Banijan heartland, Mutebi's Defiance Coalition swept to a stunning electoral victory, much to the dismay of the liberal-leaning Banijan and Busogan immigrant communities in Equestria, who urged their local representatives in the Equestrian Parliament to oppose concessions to the new Banijan regime.
Relations between Banija and Equestria further deteriorated when the newly-elected Katikkiro challenged Equestria's naval presence in the Taaru Sea, issuing incendiary statements which many Equestrians perceived as threats. With a long history of battling foreign invaders who viewed the equine natives of Equestria as mere animals, hearing such inflammatory rhetoric from the leader of a neighboring state was obviously concerning to many in Equestria, including the leadership of the Equestrian military, which raised its alert level in response. The situation in southwestern Atlantian Oceania took a turn for the worse when a historic drought struck Banija and the Busoga Islands. Despite harboring misgivings about the Banijan government, the ever-compassionate Equestrians were quick to dispatch humanitarian aid to their neighbors, but it wasn't long before corrupt officials were steering relief supplies away from the increasingly-dissatisfied Busoga Islands towards Mutebi's political strongholds.
With Banijan-Equestrian constituents howling in their ears, members of the Equestrian Parliament were not blind to the actions of Katikkiro Mutebi's underlings, and demanded the right to manage Equestrian aid resources in Banija to ensure that they were going to those in the most need, including the increasingly-rebellious inhabitants of the Busoga Islands. Mutebi's government refused the request, prompting Equestria-based NGO Harmony International to dispatch a relief mission of their own to the Islands aboard the Angelic Breeze, an unarmed cargo vessel which was attacked and sunk with nearly all aboard killed when it encountered the Banijan naval blockade off the Busogan coast. The unprovoked sinking of the Angelic Breeze infuriated the Busogan and Equestrian public, leading to demands for the secession of the former and military intervention from the latter. Two weeks later, a second Equestrian relief ship bound for the beleaguered Busoga Islands, the Generosity, was attacked in international waters by warships of the Banijan Navy, but was successfully defended by escort ships of the Equestrian Royal Navy's feared Second Fleet. With casualties now suffered on both sides, the last-minute attempts of Equestrian diplomats to salvage a peaceful resolution to the conflict were futile. Early the following morning, the Banijan Lukiiko voted in favor of a declaration of war at the request of Katikkiro Mutebi, followed hours later by the Equestrian Parliament issuing their own declaration of war, denouncing Mutebi as an intolerable threat to peace and democracy in the region.
For all of Matthias Mutebi and his government's talk of repelling the Equestrian invaders, however, the war was a disaster from the start for Banija. With technologically and numerically-superior naval and air forces, the Equestrian military obliterated their Banijan rivals. Virtually every airfield and naval yard along the Banijan coastline was reduced to rubble within weeks of the arrival of the Equestrian Second Fleet in the Taaru Sea in coordination with the naval forces of nearby Baker Park, stranding the majority of Banijan military forces deployed on the Busoga Islands without any means of escape. When the Equestrian Royal Army finally arrived to liberate the Islands, the Banijans put up a brave fight, but against enraged local militia units and the modernized, magic-wielding, full might of the Equestrian military supplemented by thousands of Busogan-Equestrian immigrant volunteers, there was never any hope for the Banijan defenders. Banijan losses continued to mount, climbing into the tens of thousands as Equestrian airstrikes decimated Banijan military installations, the Equestrian Royal Air Force no longer facing any meaningful resistance for control over the skies above Banija.
Still, Mutebi fought on, refusing to concede defeat in the conflict despite the rapidly-worsening military and political position he and his allies found themselves in. Besieged by a coalition force led by one of the region's foremost military powers, cut off from any dependable potential foreign allies willing to invest themselves in a lost cause, and facing an impending invasion of the Banijan mainland that would undoubtedly cost tens of thousands more Banijan lives, Kabaka Albert III mobilized the Guardian Council to declare martial law and dissolve the Lukiiko, removing Katikkiro Mutebi from power. Well aware of his country's precarious position, the Kabaka took the only option still available to him to save Banija: surrender. The Equestrians, uninterested in ruling over a conquered people, were merciful in their terms: the removal from power and prosecution of Matthias Mutebi and his leadership, financial reparations for Equestrian lives lost in the conflict, and Banijan recognition of the independence and sovereignty of the Busoga Islands. Kabaka Albert III had no choice but to agree to the Equestrian demands, and signed the surrender documents aboard the TMS Righteousness in Busukuma Harbor, officially bringing the war between Equestria and Banija to an end.
Since the cessation of hostilities, relations between the neighboring southwestern Atlantian Oceanian states have remained chilly, but have nevertheless improved significantly from the open conflict witnessed just a few short years ago. Equestria has enjoyed an exceptionally close friendship with the newly-independent Busoga Islands and Equestrian business owners have been quick to take advantage of the new markets and resources that have become available on the Islands as a result. Although not to the same extent as the Busoga Islands, Banija has also seen a noticeable recent uptick in Equestrian investment, particularly from members of the large Banijan-Equestrian immigrant community wishing to improve ties between their former and adopted homelands.
As diplomatic and economic relations between the former warring nations are on the mend, the sporting relationship between the Equestrians and Banijans has also grown closer. Several Ponies players currently ply their trade in the Banijan Soccer League, while the Kadongo Kamu are managed by Equestrian native Marcus Waters. A fierce rivalry exists between the two national teams, the Ponies and Kadongo Kamu having met several times in major international competitions, including in the group stage of the 80th World Cup and the 58th AOCAF Cup Final. Although the Equestrians have clearly had the better of the Banijans thus far, with six wins from six matches, supporters from both nations are more likely than not to name the other as their current fiercest rivals.
With this connection in mind, competitive though it may be, the Hoofball Association and the Royal Banijan Soccer Association have cooperated to submit this joint bid to co-host the upcoming 83rd World Cup in the hope that further developing the sporting partnership between two former enemies might inspire a new friendly relationship between the Equestrian and Banijan peoples.
II. Host Nations
Known throughout the multiverse for its majority population of sapient equines, the Pony Principality of Equestria is a diverse and advanced nation located in southwestern Atlantian Oceania. Under the shared rule of five powerful benevolent alicorn Princesses (Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Twilight Sparkle, and Sunset Shimmer), Equestria has established itself as one of the region's most socially and technologically progressive nations after relocating to Atlantian Oceania via an experimental magical mishap over a decade ago. Depending on whom one asks, Equestria may be a bizarre country where magic and myth are as much a part of the landscape as the forests and fields, an idyllic paradise home to unique natural and artificial wonders, or a land of opportunity where diverse creatures from throughout the multiverse coexist in harmony, or even a mix of all three. With its ideal location in the southwestern corner of Atlantian Oceania and the locals' welcoming embrace of foreign travelers and traders, Equestria is one of the region's leading hubs of international and inter-regional trade and tourism, making it a natural host nation for major sporting events.
The most popular sport in Equestria is easily football, which is more commonly called hoofball by the country's sapient ungulate natives. Equestria is represented in international competitions by the national team, nicknamed the Ponies, which first appeared in a WCC-sanctioned event at the 45th Baptism of Fire prior to the 58th World Cup. The Ponies have competed in every World Cup since, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time at the tournament's 64th edition, and have made 11 finals appearances in the last two decades. Until recently, however, the Equestrians had experienced little success outside the group stage of the World Cup, losing in each of their first three second round matches. At the 80th World Cup, on home soil, that run of failure finally came to an end as the Ponies stunned rivals Chromatika to reach the quarterfinals for the first time before narrowly falling to eventual winners Brenecia. That quarterfinal run established the Equestrians as a legitimate contender and the Ponies are now ranked among the multiverse's top ten teams, boasting an experienced and talented roster capable of beating anyone and everyone.
EQS Experience: The user behind the Equestrian States is one of the NS Sports community's most-experienced veteran hosts. In the WCC alone, the user has co-hosted four World Cups, two Cups of Harmony, and a Baptism of Fire, has previously maintained the official KPB rankings, currently maintains the SRS rankings and the NSWC Nation Hall of Fame, and is also serving as the current President of the World Cup Committee after Starblaydia stepped down from the position during the WC82 cycle. EQS has also hosted to completion: three editions of the World Baseball Classic, two World Cups of Hockey, one World Bowl, one International Basketball Championship (as an emergency host), and two Di Bradini Cups. The user has also previously served as President of the World Bowl Assembly and has maintained the rankings for most of the major tournaments on the forum at various points. Finally, EQS has also hosted a number of minor tournaments over the years, including the Under-18 World Cup, Quidditch World Cup, Water Polo International Championships, Runner Cup, Market Cup, Baptism of Water, and all four editions of the Equestria Cup.
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 Mwanga. The Kabaka 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 92% of Banijans are affiliated with the state church, the Puritan Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose followers are called Puritan Mormons. Shia Islam & Sikhism are the next largest religious communities, each at 3% 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. The head of the church is the Patriarch of Herzegovina.
The sport has a rich history in this country. The Banijans have participated in 9 of the last 10 WCC cycles, only missing out on World Cup 78. The Kingdom of Banija has played in the World Cup Finals for the last three WCC cycles, advancing to the Round of 16 on home soil. They have a history of ‘almosts’ elsewhere, losing in the quarterfinals of each AOCAF tournament they’ve been to, and the semifinals of the Cup of Champions. As the country continues to compete, most countries recognize them as a rising force in the sport. The Banijan Soccer League is a rapidly rising domestic league, as Banijan teams make progress in UICA competition. There are 68 teams that compete in Banija, on two different levels of the pyramid, with four regional leagues on the pyramid’s second level and the BSL at the top.
Banija Experience: The user behind the Kingdom of Banija has hosted a number of tournaments and is rapidly becoming a veteran host in the world of NS Sport. Banija has hosted World Bowl XXXIV, a pair of conferences in NSCAA 7, conferences in multiple seasons of the NSCF, the 28th World Lacrosse Championships, the United Valhaven Regional Football Championships, and is the primary host for the International Domestic Lacrosse Organization. The user has also co-hosted AOCAF Cup 58, Baptism of Fire 67, the 29th World Lacrosse Championships, the 25th International Basketball Championships, and, of course, is one of the newest members of the Executive World Cup Committee after co-hosting World Cup 81 with Free Republics.
III. Format
Should the WCC vote to approve this bid, we'll be be doing things a bit differently from normal this cycle, at least when it comes to the qualifying schedule.
As anyone who's participated in a World Cup in the last five or so years can attest, World Cup qualifying has become something of a rather grueling marathon: nearly three consecutive weeks of daily matches with only one or two days off at the mid-qualifying break. During qualifying, many participants in the World Cup frequently spend most of their time and effort on RPing the tournament at the expense of neglecting their domestic leagues and any other tournaments they may also be participating in at the time. While this may not be a problem for some, there has been no shortage of grumbling lately in the NS Sports community's private and public chat channels over how participating in World Cup qualifying has become more of a burden than an enjoyable experience and that it's size and length smothers participation in other tournaments. This bid aims to provide a potential solution to these complaints.
Ultimately, this bid will remain similar to most previous World Cups when it comes to format: a double-round-robin group stage, followed by playoffs, with 30 total teams advancing to join two co-hosts in the traditional 8 groups of 4 teams World Cup finals tournament. However, if selected, we will be scheduling a number of additional off days throughout qualifying to provide participants with extra breaks. These breaks could be used to write more intricate RPs for the tournament, work on their domestic leagues, temporarily shift focus to concurrent NS Sports tournaments, or simply rest and relax. Additional scheduled off days will necessitate the use of formats with smaller group sizes than have been used in recent tournaments in order to avoid significantly increasing the length of qualifying as well. There aren't many folks who would want a qualifying tournament which lasts well over a month, even with off days.
Assuming participant numbers are roughly the same as most recent tournaments (around 150 or so), with smaller group sizes we will need to use playoffs to narrow the qualifying field down to the typical 30 teams. For these playoffs, we have opted to expand them to include additional wild card teams (those teams finishing outside of their groups' top two with the best overall records) instead of granting runners-up automatic finals berths. This decision has been made for two primary reasons: to provide a greater incentive for teams to win their groups and to encourage greater RP effort and participation among teams unlikely to finish first or second in their group (a similar expansion of the playoffs in WC80 was successful in this).
Finally, several of our proposed formats (those with 22+ total qualifying groups) call for the use of playoff groups to determine the last few qualifying berths. These playoff groups would be played in a single-round-robin format at neutral sites without home-field advantage. Using playoff groups will allow us to avoid forcing group winners into the playoffs or utilizing multi-tier playoff brackets, two systems which have met with controversy in the past.
IV. Technical
This bid will use xkoranate 0.3.3 with the NSFS formula and xkoranate's additive style mods. The multiplicative style mods of NSFS typically unfairly reward teams with higher style mods and punish those with lower style mods by increasing/reducing the margin of victory instead of just the number of goals scored. As usual, roleplay bonus will be graded on quality over quantity and will be cumulative through qualifying, with a partial carryover to the finals to discourage rank-coasting and better reward consistent participation. Rosters will also be graded and any bonus earned will be carried over in full to the finals without degrading.
Two-leg playoff fixtures, if needed, will be scorinated using EQS's xkoranate playoff method originally devised for World Cup 67.
Tiebreakers will be applied as needed in the following order: points, head-to-head points, head-to-head goal difference, overall goal difference, head-to-head goals for, overall goals for, and a neutral-site playoff match (only if necessary to determine advancement).
V. Roleplay Encouragement
As was the case during both World Cup 80 (co-hosted by EQS) and World Cup 81 (co-hosted by Banija), should this bid be approved, the co-hosts will be employing several methods to encourage or inspire additional roleplaying:
Tournament XI
The Team of the Tournament is a tried and tested addition in the World Cup, featuring the tournament's most talented and/or interesting players in an all-star squad selected by the hosts at the conclusion of the competition. Users will be asked to include a note in any RPs submitting players for consideration, and there will be a maximum of one player per nation on the team, though users may submit as many as they wish.
Sponsorships
Official World Cup sponsors will also return, with companies from interested nations being invited to submit bids to sponsor individual matchdays during the World Cup finals (and potentially qualifying, should there be enough interest to merit expansion).
Telegrams
The co-hosts will be sending out mass-telegrams to participants ahead of the tournament to ensure that nobody misses or forgets about the tournament or important dates in the schedule.
World Cup Concert
This bid will also bring back the World Cup Concert. A concert for all users, not just World Cup participants, it will be a celebration concert held between the end of qualifying and the World Cup finals, and an opportunity for plenty of cross-community RP.
I'm behind this bid...
