AOCAF Cup LXI - Everything Thread

[Banija]

Robel Ezera, Banija v. Tropicorp, Matchday 1 of AOCAF LXI

Robel Ezera was the RBSA's Executive Chairman. He wouldn't be in Equestria for most of the AOCAFs- maybe if the Kadongo Kamu made a deep run to, say, maybe the tournament's semifinals he would, but otherwise this would be the only opportunity he'd have to see the team live at the regional championships. It made sense- it was all hands on deck for the upcoming Olympics. Even though the RBSA was distinctly a legal seperate entity from the Olympic Committee of Banija, the RBSA's vast experience in hosting major tournaments, including co-hosting four seperate WCC tournaments, as well as the AOCAFs, meant the RBSA were lending their considerable expertise to the Istria Host committee.

So he was sitting here, in a suite, taking a break from Olympic duties. Of course, he had a lot of connections- he had been making all sorts of calls, finalizing contracts with stadiums all over Banija to host various team sports- men's U23+3 soccer, women's soccer, and men's and women's gridiron. Because of the size of those team sports, they, of course, could not be held just in Istria, although they were going to try to hold as many games within a reasonable distance of Istria as possible.

Anyways, the game in front of him was a decent one. He knew how Banija struggled with the Matchday 1- they had lost four consecutive Matchday 1s in major tournaments. A strange streak for a team that was now ranked #1 in the multiverse. But it was true. World Cup 84, lost to Farfadillis. AOCAF LX, lost 3-0 to Torisakia. Eagle's Cup VIII, lost to Chromatika. And World Cup 85, lost the opening match to Sarzonia. While they got out of the group stage in each of those, it had put them behind the 8 ball in all of those tournaments. In his own discussions with the manager, they were hyper focused on getting off to a fast start this time around.

But in this game, that wasn't the case. In fact, Tropicorp would get off to a strong and stunning start on this matchday. Scoring within 25 seconds to open up a 1-0 lead on the Kadongo Kamu. The game's very first attack, led by Namakula Kawesa, the just announced captain of the women's national team, saw her pass the ball forward and have it intercepted by a Tropicorp midfielder. A perfect through ball saw Ashlyn Kojici get behind the defense, and she chipped the ball over the goalkeeper's head into the back of the net. Stunningly, within seconds, it was 1-0 to the underdogs.

Banijans, still getting into their seats, were quite shell shocked. Down 1-0, so early? Would this be the fifth major tournament in a row where Matchday 1 didn't go so well? As the Banijans started to launch attack after attack, and try to get forward to equalize, they simply couldn't. 23 year old goalkeeper Hanauma Ranbomah made save after save after save, while the Banijans tried to break through. A pair of long range shots caught by Ranbomah from Kawesa. Okparra couldn't break through. Kahara couldn't. Nzo couldn't. NObody could seem to get the job done, and as the tension built, many felt the underdogs may be able to pull off the upset.

But the Banijans had the ace up their sleeve that Tropicorp did not- and his name was Ilman Jawara. The team's star #9, who plays his club football at Soldarian FC in Valanora, and he was prepared to answer the call. It came late for the Banijans, but boy, did it come. A handball in the box led to a penalty for the Banijans, and Ilman Jawara, their designated penalty taker, was always going to take it. He put his foot through the ball, and placed it perfectly- powerfully, towards the upper corner. 80 minutes in, 10 minutes plus stoppage remaining. 1-1.

Ilman Jawara was not finished, however. The referee added on 3 minutes of stoppage time, and the Banijans were always going to try and go for the win. With about 15 seconds left until the scheduled end of stoppage time, a leading cross saw Ilman Jawara break away from his marker, and sprint towards the ball. The goalkeeper, a bit indecisive, decided to stay on his line. Jawara punished him for the indecisiveness, as Jawara put his head on the ball and headed it past the outstretched arm of the goalkeeper into the back of the net. Jawara rushed to celebrate with Banijan fans sitting in that end.

"Yes!" Robel Ezera exclaimed. It was a good win, a strong win. All three points. He knew that he had to get back to Istria, to help with the final Olympic preparations. However, this was certainly a fun way for the sporting executive to take his mind off of things. But for now, he'd go down to the locker room, shake hands with the coach, and then get on the first flight back to Istria. Big things were coming...

[Xannerian Sunbelt Islands]

Commandant Davidson to increase military prescience in case of issues in AO
Excert from http://www.territorialnews.xan/Sunbeltislands

XANNERIA - It was announced today that Commandant Sage Davidson has made plans to put extra military forces in the bases located in Xanneria's Sunbelt Island territory located between Mriin and the EOT in additional to the Atlantian Oceania Territory thats located east of the former Sorthen Northland. This is part of a upgraded defense in the colonies in case of regional war. This coming of the news broke out from Raynor City in Valanora that leader of that nation had passed away without an heir to the throne. When asked about this event the Commandant said the following

We are sorry to hear the news coming out of Valanora, We hope that the Empire can find great leadership, but at the same time the Emperor built up such a great and wondrous nation in the Southwest AO area, that we worry a power vacuum may erupt in Valanora. Because of this we feel a need to establish a few additional defense squadrons to be stationed both in the AO Territory and the Sunbelt Islands We are specifically making this public in an attempt to be transparent in our motives given that the command is from Esportiva and not from anywhere int he Atlantian Oceanic region. We do not anticipate using these weapons but are only plotting them here and a preventative defense measure

The units involved are thought to both be from bases of similar cilmate meaning likely that the Sunbelt will get primarily the SCU-1711 armed units and that the AOT will get a mix of SpCU-255's along standard SCU-1711s

For those unaware the SCU's a Standard Combat Unit, a form bipedal mechanized human controlled "Mechanicals" or Mechs, and the SpCU's are a more specialized version below are the SCU-1711s designed to participate in high altitude mountainous combat. There are rumors other models could be used along with test units.

SpCU-255 Mountainous combat unit

SpCU-1711 traditional combat unit

We hope the situation in Valanora is nothing and an heir is chosen without tension or fault and we hope that the empire can leave in a peaceable state continually. We are only defending our own interests here.

Sugar Daddies give up hat Trick
Excert from http://www.territorialnews.xan/sports/Sunbeltislands

EQUESTRIA - THe Sunbelt got off to a rough start, with a 4-2 loss to the EOT neighbors to out west behind a surprised hat trick from Garrett Ramsey. Although the EOT presser had stated that Pierre-Louis Le Tonnelier was the man in the EOT, Garret Ramsey scored a hat trick as Le Tonelier was substituted following a sketchy hard fall from the tackling non-abilities of Alfie Burnes. Luigi Vittantonio Perendiatani tried his best but the EOT attack was strong and couldn't do any wrong versus the Sugard Daddies/Mommas, so Desmond Hull-Sinclaire Jr and Jurickson St Paul at their best may have got two goals but a Hat trick by noted "Strange goalscorer Garret Ramsey lead EOT to a 4-2 win over the Sugar Daddies/Mommas

EOT - 4
Le Tonelier 11'
Ramsey 39' 55' 70'

Sunbelt Islands - 2
Hull-Sinclare Jr 30'
Jurickson St Paul 84'

[Flavovespia]

It wasn’t the easiest of games for Flavovespia, but they managed to come away with the 3 points to make a winning start to their AOCAF 61 Cup campaign. Flavovepsia avoided slipping up on the potential bananaskin of Pot 4 Northwest Kalactin and will now look to build on their first victory.

Flavovespia lined up in the 1-11, as expected by many before the game. Richard Crawford would begin with an experienced squad of over 50 caps on average, and an average age a bit over 28 on the pitch. The yellow and black home kit adorned the Flavovespian players, as they lined up against the light blue of Northwest Kalactin.

Flavovespia began their last AOCAF Cup against Xannerian AO Territory, and this game had a similar feel from the offset. Northwest Kalactin, lining up in an attacking 3-3-4, were looking to get forward in numbers right from the start, giving the defence and deep lying midfield duo of James King and Valentine Richmond a workout. Flavovespia were resolute in the early stages at the back, although there was concern that Flavovespia weren’t quite able to counter-attack in the way many wanted to see against such tactics.

Midway through the first half, and the pressure of Northwest Kalactin paid off. Lamar Hall’s quick ball forward found Will Sanders in the edge of the box. He was played out wide by Tony Gardner, but still turned to fire a ball back towards the danger zone. Jimmy McCarthy got ahead of Alexander May, and flicked the ball towards the corner of the net, beating David Meehan and opening the scoring. Northwest Kalactin had the lead, and on the balance of the first 22 minutes, probably deserved it.

Flavovespia needed to improve to find their way back into the game, and they did seem to attack with more purpose. However their equaliser was still something of a surprise. Steven Hall’s cross into the box found Ramon Martin, but he was unable to turn and put the ball towards goal. Instead he played it back into the path of James King. King somewhat uncharacteristically hit it first time. The shot was a knuckleball from 23 metres out, and the erratic flight of the ball left Mark Romero unawares. The ball flew in just under the crossbar, hitting the underside of the roof of the net. The equaliser had come, and the lead for Northwest Kalactin lasted just 7 minutes.

The equaliser seemed to unsettle Northwest Kalactin a little. The number of players going forward in attack wasn’t necessarily reduced, but there seemed to be a nervousness about their game, and passes began to go astray. Flavovespia were still not up to their best yet, with a few uncharacteristically bad performances from individuals, but they had begun to grow into the game and looked fired up after the equaliser. In the 42nd minute, Hall’s great whipped ball in was met by Ramon Martin, but volley straight at Mark Romero. Martin had time to take a touch, and could probably have placed it instead of going for the snapshot. 1-1 it would be at half-time then, in a fairly decent encounter.

For the second half, Crawford made a change straightaway. Feld was taken off, with Steven Hall switching sides and Christopher Ace coming on to start. Crawford’s aim was to try to stifle some of the Northwest Kalactin attack, by introducing a pacey counter attacking threat of their own. To some extent, it worked, less opposition players were committed to the attack, with an eye kept on the breakaway threat of Hall and Ace. Nevertheless, Luke Dillan’s effort was well saved in the 56th minute by David Meehan, the most threatening effort Northwest Kalactin had since their opening goal.

The decisive moment though came not long later. Down the left flank, Steven Hall sent in a low drilled cross. Scott Coleman got there just ahead of the outstretched boot of Joseph Anderson. Anderson’s boot connected with the Flavovespian striker, sending Coleman to the ground. A pregnant pause fell until the referee put his whistle to his lips, and blew for a penalty, pointing at the spot. The Northwest Kalactin protests, lead mainly by Frank Owens, were for naught as the video referee showed the decision was most likely the correct one.

Scott Coleman dusted himself off, ready to take the penalty kick. With the athletic Mark Romero facing him, Coleman knew it had to be a good penalty. And a good penalty it was, hit hard but accurately just inside the post, a little over waist height. Romero guessed correctly, but couldn’t get there in time to keep the ball out. Flavovespia now had a 2-1 lead, with 25 minutes to go. The question would be, could they hold on?

Flavovespia nearly scored a few minutes after their penalty. A bit of a mix-up at the back allowed Scott Coleman a clear shot at goal, and his shot just curled towards Romero enough for the Northwest Kalactin goalkeeper to tip it away. That could’ve put the game almost in the bag for Flavovespia, but instead they still had to hold out for another 20 or so minutes. Defence would become the order of the day soon for Flavovespia, switching to a 5-2-1-2, with Martin off for James, and Ace being moved out of position up to attack alongside Coleman, with Hall as the CAM but dropping back to the midfield duo.

Northwest Kalactin did have more of the ball in the final minutes, but were ultimately not quite able to create a clear cut chance. A few half chances fell their way, but nothing that seriously threatened David Meehan. Both sides put in a good level of effort, but ultimately Flavovespia were 2-1 winners in this opening group game. Flavovespia will now face off against Overseas Territories of Sylestone, who got a surprise 3-3 draw against Valanora. Delaclava got a 2-3 upset over Qasden in the other game, leaving the group quite open after one game.

The big news involving a team from Group H however came far from the football field. The death of the emperor of the Eternal Empire was announced just as their game against Overseas Territories of Sylestone commenced. Whether or not that had an effect in causing the surprise result, is hard to determine. The situation could be further complicated in the upcoming future by the lack of an immediate heir to the throne. Dorothy Florence, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Flavovespia Government, offered condolences to the family of the Emperor and to the people of the Eternal Empire from the Flavovespian government.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Stelburger Zeitung

National Report

Newsday Review

In the Stelburger Zeitung’s Newsday Review section, you will find the top stories that made headlines across the country today, in various spheres. Without further ado, let’s get into the top stories.

President Hoskova Offers Condolences to the Eternal Empire

President Magdalena Hoskova offered condolences to the people of the Eternal Empire today upon hearing the news of the death of the Emperor, Hector Manuel Zevala. The statement was also delivered to the Ambassador of Siovanija & Teusland in the Eternal Empire, Simon Zvarc, and to the Empire’s embassy in this country.

“On behalf of Chancellor Dominik Meier, the entire government, the people of Siovanija & Teusland, and myself, I would like to offer condolences to the people of the Eternal Empire on hearing about the death of the Emperor.

The Eternal Empire are our closest neighbours in Southwestern Atlantian Oceania, and as such, we look to share a strong relationship with them. Our thoughts are with you in this difficult time.

I have ordered the flag of the Republic that flies at the Green House to be lowered to half-mast for the next few days. Chancellor Meier has done the same at the National Chancellery building.”

The Emperor was the elected head of the Eternal Empire, a confederation including Valanora, Vyinta, and Sabine and Caddonia. Sabine and Caddonia, located just to the north of the Island of Rotmunde in northeastern Teusland, is the closest foreign territory to the United Republics, and the maritime boundary between the two is Siovanija & Teusland’s longest border. The Emperor himself was from Sabine and Caddonia. At this time, the status of succession is not known.

Heavy Winds Shut Down Ferry Service along East Coast

Heavy wind storms in the area along the Ostsee coast, stretching from the Island of Rotmunde to St. Jakob, shut down the service of Teussische Fahren in the region.

TF operates several ferries around Teusland, most notably the car ferry service between the city of Felsenkirchen and the city of Rotmunde, a direct route that allows commuters to bypass the traffic on the Rotmunde Viaduct and National Highway 4.

However, that service was shuttered today as strong winds battered the city of Rotmunde and the coastal areas surrounding. Other ferries shutdown included the service between the city of Rotmunde and the town of Romsee, at the northern tip of the island. On the coast of the mainland, too, service between the city of St. Jakob and the island of Kaprun was closed.

The Rotmunde Viaduct itself remained open, as did the three bridges over the Drai at St. Jakob.

In a statement, Teussische Fahren stated that “for the safety of our operators and passengers, our services will be closed for the rest of the day due to the wind storms along the Ostsee coast. We look forward to the resumption of regular service.”

Extra bus service was provided on the island of Rotmunde itself, with the #37 bus from Rotmunde to Romsee doubling its service during the afternoon rush-hour period. Teussische Bahn, responsible for train service in Teusland, added one more direct Felsenkirchen-Rotmunde route going each way for the afternoon to service those affected.

The winds in the region are expected to die down overnight tonight, which will surely be welcome news for local residents affected, including fishermen and travellers.

Goldhorns Win AOCAF Opener

Siovanija & Teusland’s national football team won its opening match at AOCAF 61 in Equestria, defeating Semarland 1-0.

“It’s important to get off to a good start, naturally, and I think we’re all eager to just get back out there and get going,” said national team vice-captain Thorsten Kramer.

It was the first action for the national team since World Cup 85, and the Goldhorns got off to a strong start, having most of the possession and taking control of the battle in the midfield. Semarland, however, put up a great showing defensively, particularly through the centre back partnership of Kadeem Bailey-Foster and Cyril Ansah.

The match was very much a grind for the Goldhorns to find space in the attacking end, as Semarland defended well. The best chance of the first half for the Goldhorns was a shot fired in by Lukas Tauscher that was just wide of the left goal post. At the half, however, it was 0-0.

The Goldhorns were fired up for the second half, knowing that they had most of the control of the ball in this one. The only thing missing was finishing, as the squad struggled firstly to find space in the opposition box and also to get their shots on target. However, as the Goldhorns probed more and more into the box in the second half, there was a feeling of inevitability; it was now ‘when’ more than ‘if’.

The goal would come about midway through the half, in the 72nd minute. Mario Kogler made a smart play to get the ball down the left wing, before sending a ball into the box that found Michael Ribbeck. Ribbeck, however, was being marked well, and found it difficult to create some space - so he instead sent a pass to a surging Thorsten Kramer. Kramer tucked the ball in at the right post, just beating Stephane Claro-Hunt. That made it 1-0 to the Goldhorns.

The finish was somewhat comfortable for the Goldhorns, as they were able to handle the attempts by Semarland to even the score while playing more cautious going forward, content with their goal. When the whistle blew, it was a 1-0 win and 3 points to kick off the group stage for the national team.

“Excited to get the goal, obviously, and it was a good team performance overall. We’re still looking to improve, though, especially on attack - I thought we lacked a bit of a spark,” said Thorsten Kramer. Kramer was awarded the Stelburger Zeitung’s Man of the Match award, given to the Goldhorns player with the best performance on the day.

Next up for the national team will be the Busoga Islands, who also got started with a 1-0 win, defeating Maccian. It’s a chance for the Goldhorns to take on a Southwestern rival and also boost their credentials in Group B. Come on you Goldhorns!

Those were the three biggest stories in Siovanija & Teusland today. Thanks for reading the Stelburger Zeitung National Report’s Newsday Review, we’ll see you again soon.

[Valanora]

Sunny days with gentle breezes were the norm for the southern half of the Vanorian mainland during the summer season, the southwestern part of the nation making use of it to become something of the breadbasket for the nation. From Raynor City to Mar Sara and further south, all the communities enjoyed pleasant summers that did not seem to get overbearing in heat. Well, unless you were on the island of Capri, where the dense jungle and humidity levels made the summer months a bit miserable and many took to indoor living and making use of their air conditioners to keep cool from the oppressive, sticky heat that such conditions make. However, the capital was basking in its usual ray of sunshine, the meager clouds not doing much in the way of providing any shade to the millions of individuals who called the city home. Any other time, it would be have been a summer that was as right as rain, but the loss of the Emperor three days prior had left a looming cloud of doubt and despair not only over the capital but over the entire empire, particularly in Sabine and Caddonia where Hector Manuel Zevala had hailed from.

"What do you mean the medical examiner is declaring the cause of death to be a heatstroke? Hector was born and raised in Sabine, where it is a lot warmer and far muggier than the capital. There is no way a native of Sabine would suffer a heatstroke in the paltry temperatures Raynor City has compared to that of Sabine. I do not buy the explanation at all, the examiner must have missed something during their examination." Sebestian Toran said, clearly upset about the insinuation that the Emperor could die of a heatstroke when surrounded by guards and access to some of the best medical care not only in the nation but in all of the world. It made no sense to the man, who had served off and on as the Emperor's secretary and coordinator of public affairs. He was one of four people who were in the Raynor Family Manor, which had been serving as the makeshift Emperor's Estate until a more permanent location could be found in the capital. The other three were Maria Felcao, Julian Brakkenmeyer, and Nigel Thornbury, all of them representing various branches of the government.

Maria rolled her eyes at Sebestian, knowing that he had been too close to the Emperor to take any report that was published seriously, believing instead that somehow Hector had been poisoned. "Sebestian, we know you are upset to lose a person you considered a friend, the whole nation is in mourning in the loss of the leader, but you have to be reasonable. I have sworn testimony from the Templara that no one could have possibly poisoned Hector, there was constant surveillance over the emperor from either them or other palace guards. Hector was getting old, not the same spry young man who grew up in Sabine and had acclimatized to such weather easily. You need to let this obsession go and instead let yourself grieve or you are not going to be any help to anyone." Being the current head of the Military Council had its perks, the Dark Templara who had sworn their oath to the Raynors now were serving more directly under the normal chain of command. The armed forces were still utilizing their talents wisely, with subterfuge and covert missions, as well as the personal army that the Raynors had in the Dark Bows. Their infiltration and stealth abilities made them perfect bodyguards or covert operatives and a handful had been assigned to the Emperor for years now.

Julian nodded in agreement, as did Nigel, and they all looked at one another before the former began to speak. "The obvious step forward is to organize the state funeral and allow the nation as well as foreign dignitaries to pay their respects to the late Emperor. Afterwards, we must then consider our options moving forward. There was a great sense of joy among the populace when they were allowed to elect the Emperor rather than passing through the hereditary means it had under the Raynors, though there are still a considerable amount of traditionalists who have and will continue to argue that it should return to that norm. Yet with Hector having no children of his own and no close relatives, there is no true heir or legal claimant with a strong claim to the throne. We could opt to have another election and hope that this newly elected Emperor would have a family to continue the line or we could go radical and move towards and elected President that serves terms. The least popular option of course is to install one of Hector's distant cousins or nephews, but given that Hector had not chosen to live them as the heir in his will or move to adopt one, it would seem even he had his doubts about their capabilities at ruling an empire such as ours."

"A crossroads then, though one that need wait for the proper mourning period." Nigel said matter of factly, as the trio looked at a still reeling Sebestian. "As Maria said, the nation needs to be allowed to grieve before can decide what the best course of action is. At least currently none of the old houses are threatening civil war as they did before and the Templara are already back in the fold, as well as the integration of Sabine and Caddonia into the Empire. It is a troubling time but nowhere near as rocky as it was when Hector was elected to his position in the first place. For that we can be quite thankful, I would say."

"Alright, I will start making the preparations for the state funeral. I still do not believe that my friend and our emperor could have succumbed to such an ordeal, but if you three are convinced, I will have to accept that and move on. As the person whom Hector counted on to coordinate his outings and meetings, I am sure I can make sure all the arrangements are made and the right dignitaries are invited. We are probably going to need a location that can seat tens of thousands..."

[Euran Oceania Territories]

EURAN OCEANIA TERRITORIES 4 - 2 XANNERIAN SUNBELT ISLANDS
Le Tonnelier 11, Ramsey 39, 55, 70

GK - 1. C Ross
RCB - 4. F Law
CB - 5. K Strong
LCB - 6. J Potts
RWB – 2. M Walsh (sub Gerduns 60)
LWB – 3. H Cabel (sub Hayden 37)
RCM – 8. J Clark
LCM - 7. P Chadwick
RAM - 10. J Conway
LAM - 11. K Fuller
ST - 9. P-L Le Tonnelier (sub Ramsey 31)

‘No…no…yes! No. Ye-no. No…yes! No?’ He can’t make his mind up, can he? ‘Sorry, what was that Rhea?’
‘…nothing.’ Thirty one minutes of the Expats opening game at the 61st AOCAF had passed. The lads had been leading 1-0 after Le Tonnelier scored an uncharacteristic tap in early, only for Desmond Hull-Sinclare Jr to cancel it out. As the equaliser happened Alfie Burnes had unhelpfully clattered Le Tonnelier, leaving him clutching his back and side, and now Skorji couldn’t decide whether or not to substitute him. Rhea didn’t think it required that much thought. ‘Skorji he has to come off.’
‘But he’s our best striker!’
‘He can’t walk.’
‘Oh whatever.’ Skorji reluctantly gave in to logic, and signalled half-heartedly towards Garret Ramsey.

In days gone by Garret was the golden boy of the Askari Union under Skorji and then the Expats as well. Something had gone sour – perhaps as the Territories fortunes stumbled in the last couple of years, Skorji had connected his own failures to Garret, and begun to treat him like a normal player as he always should have done. He’d even dropped the favouritism – and therefore dropped Garret from the starting line-up. ‘Alright Garret, you know what you need to do don’t you?’
‘Yes Dad!’
‘Papa. We’ve been over this.’
‘Papa, sorry. I need to synergise with the ball.’
‘That’s right. Synergise. Become one with it, nurture it. Make it feel like it’s loved. And try not to give it away.’

Garret galloped out onto the pitch and did what he does best; prance around doing bugger all and confusing everyone in the process as to why Skorji used to call him “The Chosen One”. It was all looking a little desperate, especially when Hans Cabel managed to trip over the ball in front of his manager on the touchline. Rather than saying anything, Skorji chose to gesticulate dramatically to one of his hired teenage hockey players. An evil looking fifteen year old with braces and pigtails in her hair scowled at Cabel as he lay on the floor, signalling her intent by sharpening the end of her hockey stick with a hunting knife. Cabel got up and back to work sharpish.

Cabel tried to make up for his mistake with a long range shot at Luigi Vittantonio Perendiatani, who was able to watch with glee a the ball flied over the bar. Skorji fumed. The teenager sharpened. Cabel shuddered. ‘Fucking useless. Why are we so rubbish against these supplicant fools from Xanneria, what are they? The Sunbelt Islands? Did someone think we didn’t have enough of the Sunrise Islands, hhhmmm?! Fuck sake.’ Skorji kicked out at a water bottle and sent it flying just past Callum Longquist’s head. The Xannerian objected strongly and squared up to Skorji, prompting yet another bit of side-line drama for the Expats. ‘What the hell was that about?’
‘I’m sorry, who are you? I didn’t realise this was amateur hour.’
‘You fucking what?’

A scuffle ensued, during which Rhea did her best – as usual – to sort it all out. Once some handbags had been bandied about everyone calmed down a bit and got back to the game. She could tell Skorji was going to do something stupid if this went on for long. They needed a goal, and quick.
‘OH!’
Wait, what?
‘OHHHHHHOAAAAH!’ Cabel crumpled to the ground and rolled off the pitch. Pigtails stood there mischievously, proud to be caught at the scene of the crime. The referee swanned over and simply shook his head at the absurdity. ‘Right. Out!’ Security descended upon her. It wasn’t a fair fight really, a kid hockey player against a number of security professionals and stewards. Still, it was their job and it had to be done, and to her credit she did at least let them live.

With the stadium staff sent packing by a psychotic child, Skorji was able to quietly slip her a twenty note – job done. Cabel came off and Skorji had an excuse to bring on Hayden, the zippy youngster from Fligsive. His first act was to whip in a perfect cross for Jake Clark to head in for a first international…never mind. ‘What the fuck is Garret doing there!’ The Ezriquay United striker had unhelpfully wandered into the path of the cross and Clark was ready to scream as his free header was denied by Garret’s shoulder. Just as Skorji finished his sentence he saw the blue and gold crowd behind the goal celebrate unexpectedly. The ball had ricocheted off Garret and in, well beyond the reach of Perendiatani.

In that moment, Skorji couldn’t resist the urge to sprint on the pitch, spear tackle Garret and deliver the tightest, asphyxiating hug a man had ever given a boy he’s projected fatherly instincts onto. After a word from the referee (and with it a final warning) Skorji went back to the touchline, but the confidence boost had already given him and the Expats what they needed. They played wonderful free flowing attacking football from then on and were unlucky not to score six or seven. Garret bagged another in the fifty fifth minute, this time actually quite a nice finish on the volley. And what did he do then? He only went and completed a hat-trick, this time in more classic Garret style; shinned home from three yards. Jurickson St Paul got one back for the Xannerians but it was far too late – Skorji and the Expats were off to a flying start.

[Huayramarca]

OOC: Trome is the Huayramarcan light equivalent to what you would read in "The Sun" or similar newspapers in terms of sensationalism.

Garbage was put in its place by ponies..

Written by: Marco Orellana.
05/08/1980 - 6:25 P.M.

In a horrendous, if not a circus exhibition by our defenders, Huayramarca got decimated by the Equestrian States, a nation whose name indicates sent a team with a mixture of humans, other species and mostly sentient ponies, yes, you read it right, sentient ponies! To the average Huayramarcan, read or talk sentient and ponies in the same phrase would be result of a conversation after at least a dozen of beers or after sniffing some white dust, I concede, we are a rather ignorant nation not prepared to have a talk about sentient species aside from humans due to our historical isolation caused by the inaccessibility we have in pretty much everything.

It was supposed to be a win for them, of course, since Huayramarca is a relatively new nation into sports, despite not having much knowledge, reading the names of Equestrian States, whose squad have won recently a World Cup (the 83rd iteration), then Audioslavia (whose league system is strong and the fact of being a traditional powerhouse of football) were early indicators that we would not have a chance to beat them. Those games against Nephara and Port Ember were somehow a fair decent idea on what the tonic of the game would be, we would play decently but without real aspiration to win a game against those sides, but then, another ones that we could fight against and aspire to beat them or draw with them and make our ending a bit more tasteful for us, but it wasn’t the case.

Surpisingly, Huayramarca was the invitee for the inaugural match of the AOCAF Championship, regarded as the most important regional tournament out there, hence the spotlights would point us too, since we were the rivals of the hosts, but we didn’t even managed to be their “rival” we instead turned into their victims, we didn’t were capable to hold the ball since apparently the team was underestimating their rivals, as seen by some exclusive footage that we have got! Where we can see Ian Manani saying “Those are ponies, they could do something but not the big thing.” While Abraham Mendoza approached Mamani and launched a sheer warning “They are sentient, I’ve learned that in geography on school.” While our captain laughed, Mendoza warned it to the rest of the team, they all reacted in the same way while Mendoza was facepalming in regret, he was aware on what has happened to Hapilopper the last edition of AOCAF Championship, they got steamrolled with a brutal 8-1 by the Equestrian States.

Within the start of the game, it was noticeable how some Huayramarcan players approached closely to their pony rivals in order to see if they were sentient, they didn’t noticed it at all since they simply ignored them and they tried to do their business, since they took the ball and were moving forward with ease, beating Vilca and Fernández in speed, they weren’t able to equal the pace of the ponies nor their human mates while trying to stop their ambushes. Early on, at the 4th minute, Luminesce, one of the Equestrian players smashed the ball deep into Juan Mamani’s goal with enough power given from their hoofs to leave the Ate FC player chanceless.

Gestures by Juan Caicedo and Ian Mamani were of shock, they were on disbelief that they would get a quick lead because they were simply judging from appearances, suddenly a pony patted Mamani and said “We are sapient, buddy.” Mamani ran desperately in order to ask someone from the bench to smack him on the forehead, he was in complete shock, once again said pony approached and said “Not a joke.” Mamani ran by fear to the middle and moved the ball backwards, perhaps in an attempt to hold the ball futilely. The teammates noticed fear on Mamani, they were somehow shocked at the pony speaking, it was matter of time for the Equestrians to take advantage of the Huayramarcan fear, they did it at the 8th minute with another goal, this time a midrange effort from Aarón Aiza, enough to see Juan Mamani launching himself through the air in vain while the Royal Equestria Stadium roared in happiness.

Ian Mamani was extremely nervous, he fainted and required medical assistance, he was scarred but he managed to get into the field after receiving medical support for five minutes since it wasn’t something risky for his health, hence he was able to continue. Perhaps the biggest mistake in the short history of the Huayramarcan National Team was the one that happened after Mamani turned back to the field, he told the team to go to full attack while ignoring what Omar Caicedo was telling them, the manager told the team to chill down and try to find the road into the match. Caicedo noticed that the mindset changed in a bit too imprudent way from one minute to the other, Orlando Mina and Nicolás Allauca were trying to recover the ball from the ponies in a bit unorthodox way, at the 15th minute, Allauca attempted to grab grass and give it to the pony, he was left behind while the pony laughed, it was a lethal counter that turned to be a cross to the box that let the 98,000 fans on the stadium roar for a third time, it was a header from one of the well-known Pristina Shine, who nodded her unicorn horn to beat Juan Mamani, who retreated in fear of getting gored by Shine.

The team was failing apart, the Equestrians were with a large smile while the team continued to push forward without mercy, the chance was now given by the Huayramarcan side to get attacked and also being unable to produce an answer, it was in vain the effort that Caicedo tried to do, figuratively he was applying CPR to a patient who wasn’t unable to provide life signs… And once again, at the 18th minute the fourth goal appeared in the form of a penalty, Kevin Quispe grabbed the tail of Pristina Shine and the referee sanctioned the kick, Shine was merciless and sent the ball to the upper left corner of the goal, 0-4 and still seventy minutes left into the match, a massacre was the most logic outcome.

The situation would calm a bit more, since Ian Mamani was recovering a bit, he managed to give a pass to Abraham Mendoza, the player dribbled Krysia Bailey and then sent a cross to Bryan Tello, he controlled smoothly and sent a powerful shot to the goal protected by Gentle Breeze, who was only able to feel the gentle breeze the ball produced on its flight into the goal and it was the first and only goal for the Huayramarcans at the 26th minute. It was a sigh of relief for the team, who grabbed the ball and put it into the kick-off spot, they didn’t imagined that the monologue was only beginning for the Equestrians, who relaxed a bit but still hold control of the ball for the rest of the first half, with some chances and goals.

On the 36th minute, Rumble gave a large pass to Apple Cobbler, the equine held the ball and entered into the area, it hoofed the ball and Mamani once again conceded a goal, chanceless while the stadium roared for the fifth time. It was pretty much everything on the first half, the Equestrians did pretty much all what they wanted while the Huayramarcans were still shocked of the fact of facing ponies and also being at a stadium with lots of them, they were completely out of their minds, baffled and fearing.

It was somehow comprehensible those fears, let’s remember that they have only played human sides before this, hence, the issue was complicated to cope for them. Omar Caicedo tried to calm and motivate the players after such a terrible performance, that there were 45 more minutes into the match that could help to turn the outcome into a more digestible result for the Condors, who apparently drank a weird beverage with a cacao-like appearance, perhaps would be the once reported substance by one of the broadcasters of Trome during the qualifiers.

It was for sure that the talks helped the team to improve for the second half, they were a bit more confident on their stuff, which was demonstrated at the 5th minute of the half, Bryan Tello held the ball and passed it to Gabriel Sayritupac, he shot and Gentle Breeze was able to deflect the ball and send it into the corner. Mendoza kicked it and Gentle Breeze took it with its hoofs, cleared it and it was a large pass to Pristina Shine, she passed the ball to Rainbow Blitz who performed an astonishing midrange kick that caught Mamani in surprise, the goalkeeper deflected the ball wrongly and put it into his net, it was the 1-6 for the Equestrians. Mamani drank water and relaxed on the grass while the ponies were celebrating with their fans, it was a dreamed debut for the local side and also a nice motivation to move forward and try to earn the title for this competition, something that they might do since the Equestrian side is one of the main contenders for it.

There was depression into the Huayramarcan side, they weren’t able to produce chances by themselves, the Equestrians slowed their pace a bit in order to make the scoreboard something far more humiliating for the Huayramarcans. Nicolás Allauca was helping Ian Mamani into the gestation of opportunities for the Condors, they were performing a bit better when we entered at the 60th minute mark, Tello wasn’t being fed enough with balls but Sayritupac and Mendoza were doing a decent labor on the wings, specially Mendoza, who was taking advantage of its speed and physique against the Equestrian defenders. At the 65th minute, Mendoza delivered a pass to Nicolás Allauca, the midfielder held the ball and walked twice in circles seeking for a companion, he found Sayritupac, who ran into the box and gave a backwards pass to Bryan Tello, the striker received the ball and sent a somehow badly kicked ball to the post, Mendoza appeared to take the rebound and sent the ball flying into the top seats of the first deck of the stadium.

The Condors manager was motivating his players to push more, since he knew they were capable to do a somewhat better performance in the match, they weren’t able to recover after the five big blows received during the first half, let’s also accept the fact that the Equestrians had spared the life of the squad, since they were able to score even three more goals, adding a bit more to the already strong score line against the Huayramarcans. The nightmare wasn’t that close to end, at the 80th minute it came the last nail in the coffin, Pristina Shine scored from a free kick to sign her hat-trick in the match (Should we call it hoof-trick?) to seal the seventh and last goal of the match against the Condors, who were beaten out by a mixture of ponies, unicorns, humans and a bit more.

If the Equestrians put our garbage into the bin, should we expect Audioslavia to do the same thing, the next match is against them, we should consider that they are a powerhouse into the region, their team is strong as the Equestrian side, should we hope for a reborn of the Huayramarcans or a continuation of the waterboarding that they suffered in the inaugural match? Time will speak, and I hope it does favorably for us into a project that made good illusions for us and that has received a lot of support.

[Saltstead]

---

Security Cabinet Room, Exchequer House, Ashwell
???

---

“We’ve been monitoring the situation,” the Defence Minister reported, “and we’ve received reports of another series of explosion-type events, this time in the Dalstead province.”

“Where exactly were the bursts?” Alexander queried Jån-Pijr without a moment of hesitation. The Prime Minister was getting concerned about all these bursts and the weird effects they always had.

“About three kilometres south of Borg-an-de Gränse,” Jån-Pijr replied. “It’s a mostly empty part of the commune, largely filled with wildlife. The Gendarmerie found a person knocked unconscious at the site when they went to investigate.”

“Is he okay and does he know anything that could help us?”

“He’s in the Royal Dalstead Hospital in stable condition, but he’s still unconscious. We have National Intelligence Service agents there to speak to him if and when he’s able to do so.”

“Do you know if the United Republican Security Service has any information on this?” Alexander asked the Foreign Minister. “Surely they’d be keeping an eye on this as well.”

“According to the [Omerican] Foreign Secretariat,” the Foreign Minister chimed in, “The communication lines between the Ministry and the Secretariat have been patchy. According to them, it’s been like that for years.”

The room fell silent.

“Years?” Alexander asked. “It’s only been a few days.”

“They say it’s been three years since we last had regular service between Ashwell and Port-des-Saints. I doubt they’d lie to us about something like that.”

“Anything to corroborate a hypothesis like that?”

“The fact that the Atlantian Oceania Cartographic Institute has wiped Saltstead off their maps. That’s weird, don’t you think? Almost as if they thought we weren’t here.”

Before the Prime Minister could answer, a thud could be heard: someone had run into the door. Jån-Pijr got up to open the door to the audible protest of the Foreign Minister: “This is a secure meeting room,” Marita stated. “No one is supposed to enter while the Cabinet is in session.”

Without hesitation, Jån-Pijr helped the young man at the door up and began to speak: “There are reports of more bursts, aren’t there?”

“Where?” Alexander instinctively asked.

“Asterholm,” the page replied. “Near Westerpont.”

Things were officially getting weird.

[95X]

Sideline Dilemma
Following Katelynn State’s arrest, 95X hired retired foreign manager Luke Trenton to lead the team on an interim basis. The 95Xers were pleased with the teams’ performance and even offered Mr. Trenton the permanent position.

“No thank you,” Mr. Trenton said, while reaching for an overcoat and hat. “I was happy to assist you in your time of need but I must be heading home,” he said as he put on his coat and Panama hat.

“Good day”, Mr. Trenton said as he left the office.

Minutes later, a woman with combination blond and brown hair walked in. Kinda unheard of for an office that isn’t open to the public.

“I’d like to apply for the Head Coach position,” she calmly said to the indifferent receptionist.

“Alix?”, someone else walked up. “Alix Ajax, is that you?”

“Yes!”

Alix described a story that would otherwise be unbelievable but was 95X. After a discussion over coffee, including how Alix could personally mentor Sarah Foureleven on her starstruck-ness when it happens, the press releases were written.

Ajax’s first game running the sideline was alright, and Ajax seemed to have adjusted well. After ninety minutes, 95X tied their very worthy opponents, and neither first-time coach/manager took a loss. Nowhere to go but up, it was thought.

[Xannerian AO Territory]

Seismic activity in far western regions of the AOT
Excert from http://www.territorialnews.xan/AOTerritory

FORT MACPHEARSON - A recent report has indicated that seismic activity in the AOT near the border with the wasteland of Sorthern Northland. a military patrol aircraft in the area revealed a blackened crater near the border of the Xannerian Atlantian Oceanic Territory and the old wasteland of Sorthern Northland. reports from the meteorology station in Fort Macphearson, a military town of 1,500 people and the closest population center to the border (A mere 100 miles away.) have reported some form of meteorite struck the area. Though there are conflicting reports, a private aircraft in flying southward with a pilot known as "Vela" was flying south with stops in Port Davidson before flying south towards Vilita and Equestria when he clams to have seen a beam of light from the sky, which should indicate he saw the meteorite, but "Vela" claims the light came from what he had described as an "angel" with bright white wings and a blue vest.

Is military presence in AOT and TSI worth it?
Excert from http://www.territorialnews.xan/AOTerritory

One thing that does have people worried is that the military presence in the AO Territory and the Sunbelt Islands was possibly a "missjudgement" in bringing in forces to the territories under oddly introspective circumstances. When asked Commandant Sage replied with the following statement.

We are doing this to do nothing more than protect Xannerian interests in the region. We feel that a nation such as Valanora having the troubles they are having could have implication dreadfull to many outside of the nation, We are more than willing to offer any support to the existing Valanoran officers at the time as we would like to see a safe transition to power. We will not offer any military support as we do wish to stay neutral as usual, but we will defend ourselves if anything goes awry.

There's been rumblings of a military test going on in one of the territories, but alas the rumblings have been succinctly denied by the government.

Miners draw Oontaz in six goal thriller
Excert from http://www.territorialnews.xan/sports/aoterritory

EQUESTRIA - The Miners did better than their tropical counterparts as they scored a point on a 3-3 tie with desert sultanate Oontaz. the Bright Green versus the dark Gray of the Miners provided us with a thrilling game when 5 of the six goals were scored in the first 45 minutes of play a brilliant performence from the offense saw the wonder boy Yoennis Burt score twice and assist the games other goal, Burt a 21 year old playing in Xanneria at the Sporting New Arch team. Burt has gotten many looks from bigger teams as New Arch has seen their stock rise in the second division. Burt got his first in at 15' and his last was the one that drew the game into a 3-3 draw at the 90+2 mark. So he did a lot for the miners, but also the Oontaz team did a lot to as a key goal was in the 40' mark with Greg Rhombus getting a key score off his own missed Penelty Kick. This came after a super controversial incident involving an Oontaz player named Halim Gueroabi, who fell into Jeff Putz, and even though it seemed to be Laureno Phillipi who played rough with Halim, the Ootntaz player got the yellow card out of it and some conpiracy theorists are saying this is to do with the supposed feud between Phillippi and Putz over the transfer to Xanneria, Putz got.

In the end the Miners drew 3-3 putting them in a spot with points after only one game. Nexst up is the challenge of Baker Park, many are fimiliar with BP from the Xannerian NT's 6-1 loss to them in a freindly where Loretta Walters went off on a sketchy Baker Park ref. This will be the big challenge for the Miners

Xannerian AOT - 3
Burt 15,' 90'+2
Rhombus 31'

Oontaz - 3
Daher 22'
Supranto 37'
Weyverley 43'

[Equestrian States]

Match Day 2 Results

Group A
Huayramarca 0–1 Audioslavia
Demot 1–2 Yesopalitha
Equestria 3–1 Hapilopper

  Group A                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Equestria                      2   2  0  0   10   2  +8    6
2 Audioslavia                    2   2  0  0    3   0  +3    6
3 Yesopalitha                    2   1  0  1    2   3  −1    3
4 Demot                          2   0  1  1    3   4  −1    1
5 Hapilopper                     2   0  1  1    3   5  −2    1
6 Huayramarca                    2   0  0  2    1   8  −7    0

Group B
Maccian 3–5 Farfadillis
Semarland 2–4 Freeport
Busoga Islands 2–1 Siovanija & Teusland

  Group B                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Farfadillis                    2   2  0  0    9   5  +4    6
2 Busoga Islands                 2   2  0  0    3   1  +2    6
3 Freeport                       2   1  0  1    6   6   0    3
4 Siovanija & Teusland           2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
5 Maccian                        2   0  0  2    3   6  −3    0
6 Semarland                      2   0  0  2    2   5  −3    0

Group C
Tamgu 0–2 Iskandervale
Twicetagria 1–0 Ko-oren
Starblaydia 2–1 Québec

  Group C                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Starblaydia                    2   2  0  0    8   3  +5    6
2 Québec                         2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
3 Twicetagria                    2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
4 Ko-oren                        2   1  0  1    2   1  +1    3
5 Iskandervale                   2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
6 Tamgu                          2   0  0  2    2   8  −6    0

Group D
Xannerian A.O.T. 2–5 Baker Park
Krytenia 3–3 Lochario
Sultanate of Oontaz 3–1 Lindmark

  Group D                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Baker Park                     2   2  0  0   10   3  +7    6
2 Sultanate of Oontaz            2   1  1  0    6   4  +2    4
3 Krytenia                       2   1  1  0    5   3  +2    4
4 Xannerian A.O.T.               2   0  1  1    5   8  −3    1
5 Lochario                       2   0  1  1    4   8  −4    1
6 Lindmark                       2   0  0  2    1   5  −4    0

Group E
Sunbelt Islands 2–4 West Pocono
Mriin 2–0 Gyatso-kai
Euran Oceania Territories 1–2 Timuria

  Group E                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mriin                          2   2  0  0    8   1  +7    6
2 West Pocono                    2   1  1  0    8   6  +2    4
3 Timuria                        2   1  0  1    3   7  −4    3
4 Euran Oceania Territories      2   1  0  1    5   4  +1    3
5 Gyatso-kai                     2   0  1  1    4   6  −2    1
6 Sunbelt Islands                2   0  0  2    4   8  −4    0

Group F
Dogsmouth 2–0 Banija
Verceola 4–2 Tropicorp
Chromatika 2–2 Blouman Empire

  Group F                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Blouman Empire                 2   1  1  0    6   4  +2    4
2 Dogsmouth                      2   1  1  0    2   0  +2    4
3 Verceola                       2   1  0  1    6   6   0    3
4 Banija                         2   1  0  1    2   3  −1    3
5 Chromatika                     2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
6 Tropicorp                      2   0  0  2    3   6  −3    0

Group G
The Jovannic 0–3 Vilita & Turori
Sarzonia 4–4 Legalese
Saltstead 1–2 95X

  Group G                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Vilita & Turori                2   2  0  0    9   2  +7    6
2 95X                            2   1  1  0    5   4  +1    4
3 Saltstead                      2   1  0  1    3   2  +1    3
4 Sarzonia                       2   0  2  0    7   7   0    2
5 Legalese                       2   0  1  1    6  10  −4    1
6 The Jovannic                   2   0  0  2    0   5  −5    0

Group H
Delaclava 1–0 Northwest Kalactin
O.T. of Sylestone 1–1 Flavovespia
Qasden 3–4 Valanora

  Group H                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Delaclava                      2   2  0  0    4   2  +2    6
2 Valanora                       2   1  1  0    7   6  +1    4
3 Flavovespia                    2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
4 O.T. of Sylestone              2   0  2  0    4   4   0    2
5 Qasden                         2   0  0  2    5   7  −2    0
6 Northwest Kalactin             2   0  0  2    1   3  −2    0

[Audioslavia]

Yeso / Huay Can Boogie
Bulls Can't Go Wrong in AOCAF Cup

The Bulls squad that takes to the field in AOCAF Cup matches tends to be an almost-first-team of younger Audioslavia players, and a trio of Audioslavia's next-gen superstars have turned on the style so far in this tournament.

1830 Cathair keeper Goran Stroud forced his way into his club's first team late on the previous season, and played all but three of the Teatimers' league games this season, including appearances in the Champions League and Cup Winners Cup finals, unfortunately both on the losing side. Cathair, however, became league champions after the previous cycle's disappointing third-placed finish, and Stroud's athleticism, confidence and ability to berate a full-back from forty yards away in a cross-wind has had something to do with it. After having fielded the same trio of thirty-something keepers every tournament for what feels like a decade, the Bulls finally have some young blood to contest the #1 jersey, and with Mozi's Artetxebarria and Xarles Zarragoitia getting a new lease of life after his transfer from Zozi to Chromatika's Brisara, the next generation of Audioslavia goalkeepers appears to have arrived. Stroud is the chosen one for now, and with two clean-sheets in two games, he's making quite the impression in his debut tournament.

Eurico da Rosa, simply referred to as Eurico, has started both games from the bench, largely due to him being the youngest player on the pitch and the current duo of midfielders - Moses Moxey and Tigran Deschapelles, being more experienced and balanced in their play. Nevertheless, Eurico has impressed in both games, arriving to the field late in games and posing a real danger on the counter-attack. Eurico is an out-and-out attacking midfielder, so when Audioslavia switch from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-1-1 late in games (Moxey and the wingers dropping back, Deschapelles leaving the field to be replaced by the young Zozi player), it's Eurico who provides the link between the defence and attack on counters. It was his speed on the breakaway against Yesopalitha that created the second goal to put that game beyond doubt, and his threat made Huayramarca more cautious when pressing for the equalizer last night. Eurico may well have to spend much of the first half of his international career deputising for Moxey and Deschapelles, but he will nevertheless be an important part of the national team's attack for the foreseeable future.

Oljestaden winger Erwin Spijkers is another teenager who had an amazing season, single-handedly propelling an otherwise strange Oilers side into the Challengers' Cup. Speculation grows on the right winger's future, who has usurped the great Rickson Marañón already in the Bulls' starting line-up, and he may well end the tournament at a different club to that at which he started. Spijkers has provided two goals thus far, both delivered impeccably for Santiago Rosel - another young Audioslavian player relishing the freedom he's been given by a long run playing first-team football, this time at Valladares's Marinos Metropolis - and Spijkers, perhaps even more so than Eurico, is being seen as the great hope of Audioslavia's future.

That midfield foursome of Knudsen, Moxey, Deschapelles and Spijkers, with Cacho the water-carrier just behind, and Eurico and Marañón dangerous options from the bench, is easily the most dangerous midfield Audioslavia have had in a generation.

The Bulls sit second in Group A, and could well be all-but out of sight should they defeat Demot this weekend.

[Hapilopper]

Bill Martin’s apartment, Hapilopper City
Sometime during the second game of the 61st AOCAF: Hapilopper v. Equestria
After receiving audio recordings from an anonymous source in a deserted parking lot under Capital Stadium just before the first game of the AOCAF, Bill was told to find tapes of the qualifying matches from Hapilopper’s World Cup 85 campaign to see if the audio recordings matched up with anything he had heard. In addition, he had been asked to watch the Hapilopper National Football Team’s matches going on at the present time during the 61st AOCAF.

Bill typically wasn’t a football fan. Auto racing was his game, he’d tell people, and in fact, not far from his television set in this cramped apartment in the Parktown district, was a computer where he raced online against others on the eRacing platform. But what his editor told him to do, he’d do it, so he grabbed some popcorn and turned on Venerable Television’s coverage of the group stage of the AOCAF. This evening was the match that everyone in Hapilopper wanted to see – their matchup with Equestria. By now, everyone knew the story about Hapilopper and Equestria, and Hapiloppian football fans tended to say they remembered where they were when the “Manehattan Massacre” went down – the night Equestria hung eight on the Haps and Cooter Harris tried to behead Pristina Shine with the ball.

Having heard what he had heard over the course of the last few days, Bill did not expect the Haps to do well at all against one of the football powerhouses in all of Atlantian Oceania and the multiverse. In fact, he halfway expected Equestria to put six or seven on the board on this evening.

He had spent the day in his apartment, listening to – and re-listening to – audio recordings from who were probably members of the Hapilopper National Football Team and other individuals who he couldn’t point out. At the same time, he also logged onto the Veedeo site to find clips of the HNFT’s matches from the previous qualifying campaign. Frighteningly, it seemed like things were starting to match up.

“Let’s give them something to talk about,” an unidentified voice can be heard on one recording. “Let’s start one goal behind. I got a few friends that stand to make some huge money on this one.”

“So, drop a goal to those guys?” another voice responded. “Should we score any?”

“No,” the first voice responded. “One nil. Give them something to cheer for, and give my guys something to cheer. I got one guy that’ll make ten grand on that game. You know what to do. Just let the ball sail past the net.”

Hearing that last phrase, Bill wondered if someone was talking to one of the goalkeepers, specifically Rod Hughes. He had heard that name from the anonymous figure, and heard that he had been the ringleader among the players, but he wanted to see it for himself.

There was another audio recording – from the same two people. This one concerned another “one goal advantage.”

“Nobody has those guys having any kind of advantage on you,” a voice says. “They’re near the bottom of the table. I’ve got a few people who’s got some money on them for this match. You know what to do.”

“Give them a goal,” the other voice, possibly Rod Hughes, says. “I’ll try to get the rest of those in on the deal to help us out on this, but I feel like there’s been some pushback. Ernie and Claire were screaming at some of us, they told us to pull our own weight.”

“What’d you tell them?”

“They pretended to care,” the other voice responded. “They were like, ‘oh yeah boss, we’ll try harder next time’ and I think we got them off our back. For now at least.”

“Good. Does anyone know about what we’ve been talking about?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Good. If this gets out, the deal is off and this will get back to you.”

“Understood.”

Bill wondered what the voice meant by “this will get back to you.” He imagined there would be some kind of retaliation against, who he imagined was Rod Hughes and the others in the scheme, if word got out about what had gone on. For a second, he felt kind of bad for whoever was in the scheme. After all, there had to have been some valid reason for the players to involve themselves in whatever kind of plot existed. There had to have been a motive for these players, supposedly the best footballers from Hapilopper, to enter into such a scheme.

But then, Equestria scored the first goal of the match. Outside his apartment, he could hear patrons of a nearby outdoor bar utter expressions of extreme frustration as it seemed like the Haps had given up a goal they really shouldn’t have. Worse, Bill looked back at his TV screen, which showed Rod Hughes not looking all that upset at having given up the goal. A few players had come over to chat with Rod, and it looked like they were cool with what had happened.

The next shot was of Nate Ellis, who appeared to be in the middle of shouting expletive after expletive, and when those had run dry, he invented new ones to come up with. Bill grabbed a legal pad and wrote “ELLIS PROBABLY NOT IN ON SCHEME.”

Which was good. Nate Ellis was a low-down dirty thug, but he was a low-down dirty thug because he wanted to win football matches for his club and for his country. He was the way he was because he wanted to win matches, no matter the cost. Bill didn’t know it at the time, but Nate had just discovered the scheme himself and was absolutely enraged with what he had heard.

The Equestrians won this one, 3-1, and you could possibly see who was in on the scheme and who wasn’t based off their reaction to the loss. Nate Ellis and Ernie Stevenson were seen visibly angry about the result, but interestingly, they weren’t casting angry looks at the Equestrians. It looked like they were casting angry looks at their own teammates. Even more interestingly, they appeared to be having an animated conversation about what they had just seen out there.

What the fans and Bill didn’t see, though, went far beyond an animated conversation.

The Hapilopper Locker Room, Equestria
Ten minutes later
Nate and Ernie were among the first people in the locker room after the match had concluded. Both men were absolutely furious with what had happened out there on the field. Both men felt they could compete with the Equestrians, and the fact that certain members of the team had just given up so easily against them was too much for them to bear.

“Swear to god, Stevenson, I’m gonna beat the fuck out of Rod second he gets in here,” Nate said quietly.

“Do that and they’ll kick you off the team,” Ernie responded. “They’ll replace you with someone who’ll be in on it.”

“You know something?” Nate growled. “I don’t give a fuck anymore. I’d rather not be on this team if they’re just gonna blow matches like this.”

And sure enough, as Rod Hughes came into the locker room, Nate shouted at him. Rod was all smiles as he came into the locker room, joined by a few of his teammates who appeared to be in a pretty happy mood after the match, even in spite of the fact they had lost 3-1 to those hated Equestrians.

“HUGHES!” Nate shouted. “We gotta talk in the showers. Got some business to discuss.”

“We can talk out here,” Rod said. “Any business you want to talk about can be discussed in front of the rest of the team.”

“No,” Nate responded. “We’re going to talk man-to-man, one-on-one. Are you a man or are you a bitch?”

“I’m not answering that, Ellis,” Rod replied. “If you want to talk, do it in front of the rest of the team. I’m not going anywhere alone with you.”

“Because you’re a bitch, Hughes,” Nate said. “We gotta straighten something out right now.”

“There’s nothing to straighten out. We’re good.”

“GOOD?” Nate roared. “WE JUST LOST THREE ONE TO A TEAM WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN AT LEAST COMPETITIVE AGAINST! Don’t give me this ‘we’re good’ bullshit when you’re not even trying to stop goals. You’re a bitch and you’re a chump, Hughes.”

At that point, Ernie and a few players on their side of the argument appeared to move a little closer to Rod Hughes, while a few others moved to the door of the locker room.

“A real man straightens out their issues one-on-one,” Ernie said. “You’re going to straighten this out with Ellis right now, one-on-one, or I’ll do it for you. I’m sick and tired of this. This needs to get resolved NOW or people are going to find out about this bullshit.”

“You’re not telling nobody,” Rod said. “You tell anyone and you’re getting thrown off the team. You tell anyone and I’ll have your legs broken. I’m not talking to Nate Ellis one-on-one. This can be resolved in front of the rest of the team.”

“Bullshit,” Ernie groused. “You’re going in there now.”

Ernie grabbed Rod and physically threw him into the team shower area. Nate stormed over to start his “conversation” as the rest of their side of the team walked over to guard the opening to the area. The other players tried to get through, but it wasn’t happening. It still wasn’t happening when head coach Buddy Martinez and HFA President Max Greenwell walked into the locker room.

“Where’s Rod?” Max asked as he walked in. “He and I gotta talk about the next match.”

Some of the players looked back towards Max, as if to say oh God, not now. Either way, Max got the idea and walked right towards the shower stall. Some of the players moved out of the way, but Ernie wasn’t budging.

“Stevenson, where is Rod Hughes?” Max asked him, standing about six inches from him in an attempt to intimidate, but Ernie wasn’t budging. “He’s got his friend to talk to about the next match.”

“He’s in the middle of a private conversation with a teammate,” Ernie said. “And you are not privy to that conversation, sir.”

At that time, everyone could hear “OH GOD, PLEASE! LET ME GO!” from the shower. Max realized what was going on and tried to push his way through Ernie. But Ernie wasn’t having it and shoved right back, dropping the HFA head on his ass. Max got right back up, rushed towards Ernie and it was on. The two started swinging at each other as their momentum sent them into the shower area, where it turned out Nate was more than having his way with Rod. The rest of the team followed into the shower area at the moment that several members of the Hapiloppian sports media came into the locker room for the traditional media availability.

When the media members walked in, they spotted the entire team, the coaching staff and Max Greenwell in the shower area. The skirmish was quickly broken up after everyone else rushed in, but Rod Hughes had very clearly gotten the worst of it. A photographer for one of the newspapers in Hapilopper couldn’t help but snap a photo of the keeper, covered in blood, and got more of some of the HNFT players – Nate Ellis with a bloodied lip and some of Rod’s blood on his person; Ernie Stevenson with blood coming out of the back of his head, probably from having hit his head on the shower floor; and a number of other players having taken some shots as a result.

The next morning, Bill Martin was woken up very early by a phone call from his editor, who sounded pretty stressed out.

“Bill, were you working on that match fixing story with the football team?” Joseph Brown said. “I just got off a conference call with Rod Knuckles (sports editor) and Stephanie Jones (beat writer). Something happened last night after the match and I think your story was blown.”

“What do you mean?”

“Stephanie said she’s got several players on record saying Rod Hughes and Max Greenwell were fixing matches,” Joseph said. “They’re ready to speak to you today if you’re ready to interview them. Apparently Nate Ellis confronted Hughes after the match and everything went downhill from there.”

Bill took a deep breath. This wasn’t what he expected to wake up to.

[The Overseas Territories of Sylestone]

OTS have managed to get yet another draw against a good side, this time against Flavovespia. Flavovespia are a side that Sylestone, the nation OTS are part of, has struggled against known the past. Not this time.

Flavovespia scored early with a shot into the correct goal in the 12th minute. Zenit their lead was short lived as the Hockey Stick hit a long shot from the halfway line in in the 19th minute to make it 1-1. And that was how it stayed. Both sides really should have scored again, especially OTS as the Soccer Ball was fouled but the resulting free kick hit the crossbar.

OTS remain fourth in Group H of the AOCAF after drawing with pots 1&3 in their opening two matches. Next up in Northwest Kalactin, who are Pot 4. After two great performances, who knows how well and far they could go in the next few matches, against some weaker teams?

[Northwest Kalactin]

Unrest Brews In Northwest Kalactin After Election of Jason Mitchell
For only the second time in the history of Northwest Kalactin, a Conservative Party Prime Minister has taken control of the nation. Jason Mitchell went in to win the Kalactanian election in one of the closest votes ever, against sitting Prime Minister Vincent Montiel. Mitchell won the vote by a 47-44 vote, surprisingly winning the Kolmer and Morris Parishes. Montiel had won the previous vote over a Conservative Candidate, by a 61-30 vote, as the Libertarian Government clearly had a strong hold in Gold Coast. Mitchell however, was able to win the election in a very close vote, and many activists where on the streets of Gold Coast protesting the leadership of Mitchell. Mitchell is a man from very good beginnings, and his family where strong Lawyers in the Coffs Harbour area as he was raised. He was able to win the Kolmer and Morris Parishes due to a proposed Policy change, in which he would funnel $20 Billion in to the Military, to increase the Veteran Benefits and the military presence in Atlantian Oceania. Both areas are very much populated with Veterans and Military Families, so it is no surprise they jumped at the chance of more benefits. Kyater and Jarrbergen are 2 Parishes that are protesting over the Policy, as they are some of the most Libertarian Areas of the nation. Kyater has a large amount of people who want to break away from Northwest Kalactin, and there are many problems that could stem from this change. The Police were able to shut down the initial protests, but they only seem to be growing now. As of 2 PM today, Gold Coast had 3,500 Protestors near the capital, and it only seems to be getting worse. A high ranking member of the Kalactin Communist Party has threatened to start an uprising across the nation, and this could be very troubling news for the leadership. Kalactin has a long history of civil unrest, and we are afraid this could be the last straw to cause a long and troublesome civil war between 2 sides.

A Kalactanian Military Division from the largest fort in Kalactin, Fort Ballina has arrived in Gold Coast today, ready to take action against those who do not comply with the National Laws. The Communist Party of Northwest Kalactin had its membership almost Triple over the past week, and the number of extremists, who are out to hurt people seems to be growing. We hope that this does not turn more violent than it already is, but there is a high chance of it happening. Many of the extremists have made their way over to the capital overnight, and there may be more coming. The Military has also set up a temporary command post at Murwelldobah, so if a battle breaks out there they can handle it. The nation has recently been funneled supplies North New South Wales, and they hope to prevent a similar incident from happening in their own nation. The Kalactanian Air Force has been doing extended scouting runs over Jarrbergen and Kyater, to make sure the already bad situation doesn’t go on to worsen. It is a changing situation by the moment, and we will continue to bring reports if something new develops.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Tuzzio Interview--Part 2
Scott McCrae
The Daily Mail National Football Writer

[Scott McCrae notes: "during the second part of our talk, we both wandered into topics that were probably outside the normal bounds of an interview of this type, so I've condensed some of the discussion, but didn't edit any of the questions & answers that are included.]

SM: "We touched on it briefly earlier, but what sort of thoughts did you have about taking on the challenge of a mixed gender national team squad? Obviously, a completely different experience than what you worked with in Farfadillis..."

IT: "On the day after I was hired, Trevor & David had a group of senior players in to sit down with us (himself & Dandalleion), with four men & ladies apiece; each of them were allowed to speak first, where they explained how the squad had developed and evolved from the beginning of combined rosters. I was extremely impressed by their passion, their strong defense of the mixed sex team concept & also their commitment to playing for the team, rather than just a particular manager or staff. Friekder responded to them first, saying that he was excited to work with the entire squad, as he was impressed with the technical skill and the tactical flexibility that they had displayed in the past. I agreed with that, as I could clearly see that women had shown their ability to me from video I'd seen."

SM: "The last World Cup Qualifying saw the biggest national team player pool, and a record number of call-ups to the squad for the tournament (58). Obviously there is a focus on how the NT will evolve going into the next cycle. Do you think that you will oversee a changing of the guard between now and the time World Cup 86 is in the history books?"

IT:(laughs) "I hope not! These current players are hitting the the peak of their careers right now. We are sorry to see Tracey (Vasillias, record setting defender & co-captain of the NT, who announced her retirement during the last WC) leave, and there could be a few others also. In the meantime, we don't want to hold back the group who are coming into prime years, many of whom are playing overseas in top leagues, so there will be many challenges on the horizon in terms of selection."

SM: "A couple more questions, Maestro...you took to that nickname quite readily after it was written that Trevor Richmond called you that on first meeting you.?"

IT:(laughs) "When that story came out in the papers, all of a sudden people were coming up to me everywhere I went--'Maestro Tuzzio, we wish you best of luck' or saying that they hoped I would enjoy my time in the Commonwealth. When people who probably only have heard of you for the first time a few weeks before wish good things for you, it means a great deal. I hope as Maestro I can conduct the National Team Symphony to its' greatest performance."

SM: "So that's partially an answer to my actual question regarding how you have settled in to residing in the country. Your other home is in Deauville, what is it about the South Bank that appeals to you?"

IT: "I love the area, how you can walk to find what you need on a regular basis, but the ability to get to other parts of the city quickly is also nearby. From my first time visiting Baker Park, I appreciated what Deauville had to offer."

SM: "You managed your home nation to victory in the World Cup--which, we as co-hosts will always indirectly associate us with your triumph--to finally put an end to perception that the average person hearing the name 'Farfadillis' immediately thinks 'failure'. On top of your extraordinary playing career for club & country, is that enough of a legacy for Ichi Tuzzio?"
IT: "No. If I had gone off to live a quiet life, my lasting success would be World Cup 84. Now that I am leading the Commonwealth team, if I don't bring a better result than 4th Place, I should not be judged by something I did before. Your final achievement should be your legacy."

[Delaclava]

In high-action game, Ingram the lone man to hit the mark

Unknown, EQS -- Hard-core football fans had the Delaclava-Northwest Kalactin match marked on the calendar as an opportunity to see a thrilling shootout. But it didn't quite pan out that way.

Dathan Ingram was the lone goalscorer in the 41st minute for a game that turned out to be a showcase of goalkeepers George Ross and Mark Romero, and Delaclava defeated Northwest Kalactin 1-0, in the process avenging a critical loss from last AOCAF and extending their win streak over their AO rivals to five games.

In a clash of styles, Romero was impressive in his athleticism and made a handful of diving, acrobatic saves to keep his team alive; Romero finished with ten stops total. But ultimately, it was Ross' superior tactics and positioning that won the day, making seven saves and restricting numerous additional chances, clearing crosses and winning balls in the air.

"George doesn't get nearly enough credit for what he does for this team," captain Keaton Durbridge proclaimed after the game. "He's an incredibly smart player, a highly effective and assertive game manager, with totally underrated athleticism... We're still a growing team and we took some beatings early on. Now that we've started to get it together, and our defense doesn't break down so much, he's actually had the opportunity to show off how good he is."

The 24-year-old Delaclav and recent acquisition of Squornshelan club Algolia AC was humble in victory and complimentary to his 25-year-old rival: "That was an incredibly fun game. I'm not usually expecting to be the star of the show but I was so privileged to duel with an equally game keeper today... Both of our teams are headed upward and so I'm looking forward to doing this again."

The two teams quickly established a pattern of fast breaks and counterattacks, and despite a handful of missed shots from both teams, it seemed that first blood would be drawn quickly. The first sign that the outcome would perhaps be different came in the 7th minute, when Lukas Meyer took a pass from Durbridge near the top of the box and shot low and to the left, a seemingly sure goal that Romero somehow leapt down to bat away. After the Kalactanian defense cleared away the corner, they came back the other way, and a Lamar Hall crossed very nearly made it to the back post until Ross timed his jump perfectly and snatched the ball away from the head of Jimmy McCarthy.

Even though the two goalies announced themselves with these massive saves, it seemed that the dam had to eventually burst. What turned out to instead be a small leak came when Ruben Albert led the Delaclav offense up the field and played the ball forward to Artem Kohut. Kohut paused near the top of the arc, drawing forward Joseph Anderson, and curled the ball with his left foot past Anderson into the box, where Ingram beat Larry Martinez on the run and tapped the ball past Romero, whose heroic effort could not stop the point blank shot.

At halftime, Johannes Detmer replaced an active Kelly Joseph at left back with Luke Lemieux and Ingram with Sargis Nazaryan, and the fresh legs helped the cause as the balance of possession and scoring chances tilted towards Delaclava. While the Phoenixes could not muster any more goals, thanks largely to Romero and a few expert sweeps from Anderson, the constant pressure helped to protect the 1-0 lead. As the game wound down, Detmer used the one substitution he'd reserved at halftime, replacing the offensive-minded Timur Zaitsev with Ryan Keating to close out the game.

"They say the best defense is a good offense," Detmer explained after the game, "and I know not everyone believes it, but this is how it can work. In game of football that's constant flow, back and forth, applying the pressure forward wears down the defense so it's harder for them to generate from the back and midfield...Offensively, we did many things great today, except for finishing. Honestly, I don't know how that'll pan out in future matches, I don't want to make it a problem when it's not a problem yet, but hopefully those shots will fall for us more."

Delaclava next takes on their stiffest challenge in Valanora, who recovered from a shocking draw against a Sylestone-based team to squeak by Qasden 4-3, matching Delaclava's opening victory. Durbridge admitted that he'd been paying attention to his homeland's hockey team and would attempt to draw inspiration from the unranked squad's valiant effort against the #6 ice Calcuttas in a 1-0 defeat.

"Those guys are fighters, and they're gritty as hell," Durbridge praised his hockey comrades. "They took on a world-class team that most people wouldn't have thought they had any business against. I talk a bit with Evan Coburn and Alex Sexton and we were excited to be meeting the same challenge.

"We're going to try to take some of the lessons from their game, to be fearless in the face of adversity, and press on forward. I really think they're going to win that next matchup. And so will we."

Delaclava 1–0 Northwest Kalactin

DEL, Ingram (Kohut, Albert) 41'.

Lineups: DEL - Ross; Joseph (Lemieux 46'), Nazaretian, Berrera; Ingram (Nazaryan 46'), Martin, Zaitsev (Keating 74'), Albert, Durbridge; Kohut, Meyer. NWK - Romero; M. Hall, Anderson, Martinez; Gilbert, Owens (Guidry 63'), L. Hall; Dillan, McCarthy, Sanders, Butler (Torres 56').

[Tamgu]

TAMGU NATIONAL MEN'S FOOTBALL TEAM ROSTER FOR AOCAF CUP 61

TAMGUNA KASEKOGERETA-AREKSER GOROTNA AOCAF CUP 61-NAV
TAMGUNA KASEKOGEMMA-NARSESER ESTORKER AOCAF CUP 61-NUAZ

OOC INFO: I have done a complete overhaul on the national team. The old players have..."vanished" , and they were replaced by a new and fresh squad of 16-year old who will age 3 years every cycle, and will quit football (other than a few exceptions) at 34 years of age.

Full Nation Name: United States of Tamgu
Team Trigramme: TMG/TGU
Coach: None
Formation: 3-5-2 W
Style: 3.5

Goalkeepers:

• Marko Han Lavitate 16yo
• Bosta Garnade 16yo
• Kalveni Hardinger 16yo

Defenders:

• LCB Fanelda Ortizane 16yo
• CB Paletar Navero 16yo
• RCB Amari Ossuran 16yo
• Albin Şano 16yo
• Kıdame Gayemo 16yo
• Rüsti Nane Halavda 16yo

Midfielders:

• LW Eren Toresti 16yo
• RDM Ümner Saytin 16yo
• CAM Gerano Tahetora 16yo
• LDM Vali Nairano 16yo:
• RW Tamin Mastelka 16yo
• Bakari Nastoki 16yo
• Kovasa Baverin 16yo
• Ogeta Gorokan 16yo
• Han Nastilar 16yo
• Bavita Hanatiga 16yo

Forwards:

• LSTBabil Cantorisa 16yo
• RSTErixil Sayerter 16yo
• Kogan Hortander 16yo
• Balive Zayben Gostardar 16yo

Tamguna Kits, Home/Away/Keeper:

[Gyatso-kai]

Originally posted in the World Cup of Hockey, but want to use this here so as to set-up a continued back and forth between the two players involved.

.:: On-board GyatsoAir Flight 3486, In-Bound to Roku Capital International Airport (GKRC) ::.
0230 hours local time, 7 August 2020.3

At times, it is hard to be a fan of the National Team…

The hum and drone of an airplane in flight usually relaxed most people, lulling them into a sense of serenity that often accompanied slumber for the duration of their flight, but for Relicyc Tho-An, it kept him on an adrenaline rush he never quite could ‘enjoy’. Sure, the young man loved his thrills just as much as any 22-year-old did, but flying… he just never did get used to.

Born and raised in Zhongyang, a district of Republic City, Relicyc had a rather metropolitan lifestyle; playing in the Republic Development League system from the time he was eight until he graduated high school and moved to the Avatarian Collegiate Sports Association, or ASCA. He then went to school at Republic City State University, making the top-level team in his first year, and played in the ASCA Small Nine conference for the three years he was in college. After graduating, and signing an entry level contract with the Itakawai Lighting, Relicyc boarded his first plane ever the day he was flown down to Itakawai to sign that contract; no one could understand why he was so nervous.

Even if my uncle is a monk at the Southern Air Temple, and my brother an airbender… Doesn’t mean I have to like flying… If humans were meant to fly, we’d have wings.

Even though his family was one of the more unusual in the Avatarian Republics – His father a former monk from the Southern Temple, his mother a nomadic Mandalorian whose clan held no fortress like so many – he still held the same outlook that so many in the Mandalorian culture held; bending, as it were, was unnatural and should be shuned. Odd for Relicyc as both his father and brother were airbenders, and his mother never once showed any distaste in the antics the two would get into around the house. Even as a kid, when Relicyc would race his brother up a hill, he would continue to try his best to beat his brother who would simply use bending to change the air resistance and effortlessly fly up a hill on foot while Relicyc would be digging his hands and boots into the dirt.

No matter. I’ll get stronger and beat him one day, was all the young Relicyc thought.

Haran… maybe my distaste in airbending could be the root of my hatred of flying, Relicyc thought as he looked to his phone. He had been watching the highlights of the World Cup, and decided it best to check on the other National Team for Gyatso-kai – the Bisons in football – who were currently beginning the Group Stage of the regional confederation tournament; the AOCAF Cup. Just like their ice brethren, the Bisons football team had been struggling since their return from The Silence, and Relicyc had a unique view on those struggles. One of his best friends from college, Guanyu Jun, was a midfielder on the Bisons, and spent most of the off-season training in Itakawai where he and Relicyc would hang out and talk about their national exploits.

*********

Man, you don’t understand what it’s like being under a coach so many players cannot stand, Guanyu had lameneted the last time the two hoisted ales at the local tavern.

I don’t? In case you don’t know, we all aren’t exactly fond of Ishii, Relicyc had said before the tournament had begun. After the CeeJay-Nine, there was talk he’d be replaced.

Oh really? Guanyu had looked around the tavern, as if such talk was paramount to treason. There hasn’t been anything about Tay getting the stiff boot.

Oh yeah, Ishii is in the hotseat, especially with how Omashu did in the league tournie, Relicyc had said, finishing his ale and motioning to a bar maid. There are talks that none of us will be going to the Cup, and that they – the National Sports Council – will send the Badgermoles in our stay.

I cant imagine that going over too well with Ishii, Guanyu put down an empty tankard as the young bar maid brought two more over. She gave them a smile, and walked away, and Guanyu kept his eyes on her a bit longer than one should. You know you Mandos are all hard-headed.

Speak for yourself, you damn flameboy, Relicyc made the joke stick with a firm hit to Guanyu’s shoulder. Besides… Tay’haai isn’t long for the team anyways. Isn’t his contract almost up?

Yeah, the Council only gave him five tournaments when they signed him on. This is number five.

What happens should he drop?

Eh, Guanyu laughed as he took a massive swig from the stone tankard. They’ll probably bring up some other Premier coach and swap the team around.

Haran, swore Relicyc, his own tankard calling to him. I wonder how long Ishii has left…

***************

Looking back, with the Ice Bisons having just shut out Mestigos and on their seventh consecutive victory, Relicyc felt rather foolish for doubting Ishii. He never would have guessed the man would have united the team behind some silly Mandalorian traditional dance. Relicyc still felt foolish stepping forward on matchday two, as he had not performed that dance since he was a child at those ridiculous “Journey Camps” his mother sent him to every summer right before school began. “Journey Camps”… as if being Mandalorian was some glorious gift from forsaken gods and to follow the culture and its rules was some spiritual journey.

But when Hed looked at me, I couldn’t help but feel drawn to perform it. Even if I barely knew the words…

Relicyc unlocked his phone, and looked at the top two notifications with a bit of remorse.

After draw with West Pocono, Bisons get BLANKED by Mriin 2-nil.

Unlike the World Cup of Hockey, AOCAF only had five matchdays before the group stage would end, and with the Bisons pulling a draw and a loss, they’d be damn in the middle and likely to be eliminated. Their group was a bit rough; two unranked teams, and the rest all outranked Gyatso-kai. To draw an unranked team, and then be silenced by the third-best team in the world was not much for a ‘morale boost’, and he could only hope that the team could turn it around and maybe qualify… The Bisons had yet to qualify out of the group stage, and in their third regional tournament, and the first time ranked in the Top 30 of the region, it would be expected to see a bit of fight from the perennial losers.

I’ll text Yun…

Relicyc swiped to open his Messenger App, and begin to type out a message to his friend, unsure of what to say.

Definitely don’t brag about the victories…

[Verceola]

You may be wondering how we got here. Who's this Verceola that's shown up on the tables and in the news? Are we posers, mere tourists to this competition and to this region? No, we're not - we're a proud team and nation, and we're here to stay. Allow me to explain where we came from.

First of all, who am I? I'm Tommie Hines. I'm now 27 years old and a center back for Club ESF in Valanora. I used to be in the pool for the Delaclava national team - now I'm a center back and captain for Verceola. Mainly, I've been daring to live out a dream for the past several years. I grew up playing in Luton FC's youth program. I always loved the game and imagined myself playing in the Verceolan League. But at the critical teenage years, I found myself just a bit too slow, too unathletic to keep up. But when my club and my coaches started giving up, one person didn't give up just yet: me. I adjusted, and while I kept trying to get stronger and quicker, I also figured out how to be a more effective positioning back, watching footage of Delaclav greats like Calvin Pope and Mose Fuentes, defenders who eventually also had to compensate for a lack of top-end speed. Even when, at 18, Luton FC told me I did not have a future in the development program, I was still improving. Sindsyge FC had a more robust program of reserve teams at the pro level, and somehow they gave me a chance to prove myself. It was a dream come true to make the Sindsyge FC top team at the age of 21. After six great years there, it was time to take the next step, but I didn't imagine the next step would be playing in the Elven Premier League and then playing international football for my original home country of Verceola.

What is Verceola? Right now, it is an affiliated nation, or territory, depending on who you ask, of Delaclava, and it is located quite near the mainland. But it used to be an independent nation, descended a few cultural generations down from Delaclava, perhaps someday it will be independent once again. Specifically, we come from Firinsymnia, which itself was a refugee republic of Delaclava. But Firinsymnia erred in trying to emulate the failed Delaclav culture and society; Verceola therefore chose to start anew. We pride ourselves on artistic and scientific development, and personal health and education standards. It's strict, sometimes unbending, and some wouldn't call it free. But if freedom means being able to diminish the mind with excessive technology, poison the body with processed food, destroy the psyche with weak will and an inclination to complain and tear down others - perhaps freedom isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Now how did we end up at this tournament? To be honest, none of us are really sure. Those of us who are Verceolan by birth simply got notice that this opening was available and invited us to try out. That's our perspective on it. I know AOCAF was trying to fill out the groups with viable squads, so the opportunity was there - from our end, was it mainland who initiated it or Verceola? Again, it depends on who you ask. Anyway, we showed up to training, got to work, and Joseph Peters, the manager of the Verceola team fifteen years ago, came back to coach, picked the best 23, and here we are.

Why are we talking about this? Well, no one cared when we went up against a middling Blouman Empire squad and lost 4-2. It was a sideshow, a distraction while the "real" teams, as well as Delaclava, took on the competition. But we just played Tropicorp and turned the competition on its head. We have this young phenom, Martin Bartos. He's 17, scary quick, incredibly skilled with the ball, who's becoming better accustomed to the players around him each game. He scored two goals early to put us up 2-0, and while Tropicorp finally got on the same page, it was basically a stalemate from there. They got two goals and so did we, one from Fisher Ellery, who plays in EOT, near Delaclava, and Israel Medina. It was an impressive and well-rounded effort from us, but one we knew we were capable of.

Now that we've got a legit win - our first victory in regional history - and currently sit in a position to advance, now the United Republic feels threatened. It was one thing when we were a joke squad - now we're a viable team and they don't want us to leave - even though they won't allow us to maintain our own culture. We're entered to play in the World Cup too, and they're trying to block that signup as well.

To be honest, I think this is good in the long run for Delaclava too. We're all still in the Delaclav player pool - and not many nations can say they have a team of C-listers who are getting their own opportunities to take on teams like Banija and Chromatika. Even if we keep representing Verceola, many of us will be playing in the United Football League and help grow the game there. And if they want to select us for the Delaclav team eventually, we'll have that experience too.

I think this all represents a flaw in the Union movement. Verceola existed in the first place because Firinsymnia failed. Firinsymnia existed in the first place because Delaclava failed. We are two broken nations removed from the Republic that currently governs us, and frankly, they missed out on their opportunity to get things right. And now the Delaclava FA is upset that they missed the opportunity to take advantage of the talents on our squad, infuriated that an independent republic is now utilising their "spare parts". We shouldn't be subject to their beliefs and their whims. Our ancestors moved on and started fresh: now they should too.

For now, it's a cracking football competition we've got going, and while we have a few tough games remaining to get a spot in the knockout stage, we're 100% focused on the goal at hand. The politics don't distract us; they only motivate us, remind us to proudly represent the Verceolan flag. We aren't just happy to be here; we're putting our best foot forward.

[Flavovespia]

After their win last time out, Flavovespia hit a bit of a bump in this encounter, only taking a point against Overseas Territories of Sylestone. In the eyes of many on the Flavovespian side of this match up, it’s very much a case of 2 points dropped, not a point gained. The match was probably defined by some erroneous play across the pitch and across the 90 minutes.

Flavovespia made a couple of changes, Paul Rodwell was given his debut cap in defence, replacing Alexander May. Jonathan Feld was rested and William Somers started in his place instead. It was yellow and black again for Flavovespia, with no need to change into their away colours.

Flavovespia were keen to start this game on the front foot, against their opponents who were the Pot 6 side of the group. However Overseas Territory of Sylestone had pulled off a 3-3 draw vs the Eternal Empire, and were keen to continue that good start with more points in this match.

It was Flavovespia who made their early pressure count in the 12th minute. Some good build up play allowed Ramon Martin a clear cut chance at goal. He finished calmly, with a placed finish across the face of the goal and into the other corner. Flavovespia had the lead, and with it the hope and expectation of taking another 3 points.

However, the lead only lasted for 7 minutes, due to errors by Flavovespia. David Meehan’s pass from just outside his box wasn’t great. William Somers mistimed his knockdown, sending it into the path of Hockey Stick. From around the hallway line, Hockey Stick went direct. The shot was as accurate as could be, and with Meehan not back to his line, it flew over his head and into the back of the net. The equaliser had come, and for Flavovespia it was a very poor goal to concede.

There were half chances in the first half, Flavovespia having a few more, but very little really to threaten either goalkeeper since the equaliser, and at half-time it was 1-1. For all their early confidence and good play, Flavovespia were still only drawing level with their opponents, and needed a way through.

Flavovespia had their best chance early on in the second half. Scott Coleman played a smart pass into the path of Steven Hall coming in from the right. His shot was on target, but Basketball Hoop was able to get in the way of it, when it looked like it could be going in for Flavovespia’s second of the game.

Overseas Territories of Sylestone however had the closest chance of the game to get a winner. Inexperience by Paul Rodwell saw him foul Soccer Ball, to give away a free kick in a dangerous position. The free kick was well hit, and David Meehan wasn’t getting to it. However it just didn’t quite have the dip on it needed, and it bounced off the crossbar and away.

In the end the game finished 1-1, and Flavovespia will definitely rue both their missed chances, and the clumsy errors that cost them a goal and the possibility of 3 points. Next up for Flavovespia is Qasden. Qasden lost for the second time, this time to the Eternal Empire and have 0 points so far. Flavovespia know Qasden will be giving everything to avoid a 3rd loss that would most likely send them home. In the other game of the group, Delaclava go top with their 1-0 win over Northwest Kalactin. A game that many thought would be a high scoring affair, it was George Ross and Mark Romero between the posts for their respective nations who put on fine displays.

In political news, whilst the Eternal Empire continues to mourn the loss of its recently departed emperor, political trouble has brewed in another Group H nation. Jason Mitchell of the Conservative Party in Northwest Kalactin defeated incumbent Vincent Montiel in the prime ministerial election. There are already growing concerns of an escalation of violence between conservatives and communists in the nation, with secessionism also a problem.

[Krytenia]

YOU GUIDE TO COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR AO NATIONALITIES

A semifinal of Krytenians
A profanity of Audioslavians
A breadvan of Baker Parkers
A busload of 95Xers
A boatload of Sarzonians
A kink of Quebecois
A shift of Tropicorpers
A gymkhana of Equestrians
An anarchy of Farves
A hyphen of Ko-orenites
A writ of Legalese
An arrogance of Vanors
A disappointment of Starblaydis

[Sarzonia]

As a defensive-minded manager, even one who has adapted his system to a team that plays more attack-minded football than he's used to, Kevin Connelly still can't reconcile his team's defensive lapses in the first two matches of the 61st edition of AOCAF.

Those lapses were exposed in Sarzonia's disappointing 4-4 draw against Legalese which left Sarzonian attorney general Britton Daniels for one frustrated.

"Very upset with all the goals we let," he said. Aware that reserve goalkeeper Paolo Gomes started in favour of normal starter Carlton Sandt, Daniels said he wished Sarzonian managers starting their reserve keepers in the second match matchdays of group stages "wasn't a thing."

"It's one thing during World Cup qualifying cycles because those are long and drawn out," he said. "But this AOCAF in particular there's no margin for error. We could be eliminated in the next match or two if we don't get our act together."

Connelly bristled at the country's top law enforcement officer getting involved with football matters.

"What's he gonna do, arrest me if we don't advance?" Connelly retorted.

"You have a match against Vilita and Turori next, and they're aware that Sarzonia beat them in the group stage last AOCAF," a reporter said before Connelly cut her off.

"Look, I know as well as anyone that Vilita and Turori are by far the toughest opponent we have," he said. "The fact we beat them last time will make it more difficult. I get that. But let me worry about football and let him worry about law enforcement."

Midfielder Brady Reynolds scored twice for the Stars, including a 79th minute tally that gave Sarzonia the lead. However, defender Charlie King missed an attempted tackle that gave striker Tim Ermanato an opening to plast a shot just beyond the outstretched glove of Gomes and drew the match level once again in the 86th minute of play.

Jake Campos scored the other two goals for Sarzonia.

[Dogsmouth]

Cleighmor Herald
AOCAF Group F going exactly as expected
Maya Saunders - Somewhere in Equestria

The Dogi have a thing about them when it comes to playing the best teams in the multiverse. That's an eventuality you simply have to be prepared for in the AOCAF, which will regularly feature somewhere between 5 and 10 of the top 15 teams by the NSWC rankings (current count: 8). No team looks forward to a match against Starblaydia, Valanora, or Vilita when elimination is on the line. Except, perhaps: those from outside the system. Sure, we Dogi will stick the World Cup on the telly when there's nothing better on and marvel at the big flashy presentations and world-class footballing. But it's not a tourney we're that deeply invested in, what with the DFF not feeling like it's worth the effort to enroll and send the team in for two whole international competitions per cycle. And of course, if you're only going to choose one, pick the one that's definitely always going to require cheaper intra-regional flights so you never have to fly out to wherever the fuck a Bonesea or Free Republics is.

And it might just be that disregard for the World Cup that enables Dogi teams to cause a ruckus in what the bookies say are horribly lopsided matchups. The Dogi debut in AOCAF 59--absolutely horrendously performance, gaining two entire points over ten games and scoring a big fat Zero (0) goals. But one of those points? Then multiversally eighth-ranked Valanora. Couldn't even manage a draw against Bolgano in two attempts, but the Marauders? Yeah sure we got it.

Then we look at last cycle, wherein our first match is against literally-just-won-the-World-Cup Farves. 2nd in the NSWC rankings. Who were playing at home. Against a side that had literally never scored an international goal to that point. 2-2 draw. Yeah, sounds about right. Seems reasonable. I can't understand why the Farf media went utterly apoplectic over that result.

And now, finally, we come to AOCAF 61 in the present day. Those upstart Chromatiks pull off a wild upset in denying a full three points to the powerhouse Dogi side, whom of course were heavily favored to sweep the group. Order was restored today as the Banijans were put to the sword to the tune of two-nil, thusly enabling the expected fight for first place in Group F between Dogsmouth and Blouman Empire. That's all what I would say in some other universe where the roles where switched, where Dogsmouth is the world #1, Banija is a recovering superpower, and Chromatika is the obscure backwater that only participates in regionals. But we're in this universe where those roles go Banija-Chromatika-Dogsmouth. Yet the results? They don't seem to care about the status quo. The AOCAF truly is the great equalizer.

The match itself was a cautious affair--or at least, quickly turned into one when the first Banijan attack ended with Madu Okparra underestimating Errol Avery and getting unhanded at a very inopportune moment. Okparra had made a daring run deep into Dogi territory just a few minutes in and the rest of the Kadongo Kamu where crashing in as well, smelling blood in the water against weak opponents. But just as Okparra was gearing up to launch what would surely have been a beauty of a cross, Avery covered the ground between them three steps quicker than most would expect--he has a unique talent for turning the afterburners on for a vital few strides. The ball came loose and was colelcted by Shyla Benn, who quickly turned with it and launched a counter-offensive the surging Banijans were ill-equipped to deal with. Not completely--Namakula Kawesa did excellently to turn on a dime and backtrack with urgency--but there was just enough momentum for Benn to find Aureole Rivers, Rivers to connect a through ball to Ellie Dyson, who then one-timed it to a waiting Cynthia Rayne just out of Kuma Bultum zone of influence. That scant few seconds of unpressured control was all Rayne needed to dunk it past Jumu Sanneh, a bullet to the upper corner that wasn't quite negotiable.

It's perhaps overstating it to say the Banijans were cowed--they're the best team in the multiverse (by some measures), for dog's sake. But that outrageous counterattack and instant deficit at least seemed to seed just enough doubt in them that the Dogi could lock their side of the field down. The Equestrian pitch wasn't the muddy mess they're used to grinding games out on, but with enough determination you can still make it feel like just as much of slog. The first half would pass without the Dogi even bothering to attempt another shot on goal. Gitonga Kahara and Ilman Jawara would both stake multiple challenges, proving their prowess into a side that's literally barking the bus as hard as possible, but the efforts of Amelia Tuff and Colwyn Faulkner were enough to ensure they weren't too quality chances. Eliot McCauley proved to be a match for all of them, catching four and punching one over the bar.

The second half started much the same as the first half ended: the Kadongo Kamu probing at the resolutely not-playing-football Dogi defense. Okparra would get their own shot on goal at a chance for redemption, and very nearly was too much for McCauley to handle, but the keeper got just enough of a finger on it to send it into the post in such a way that it bounced back out for Faulkner to clear. It wouldn't be until roughly sixty-five minutes in that the Dogi would have their first substantial possession of the half that had even a hint of threatening to press forward--before an awkward tackle from Mzukisi Nzo had the referee seeing red. Everyone on the pitch was a bit taken aback by the call--sure, it'd perhaps been a little impatient and sloppy, but it was hardly reckless! Either way, the referee clearly wasn't in a mood to be swayed and the Banijans were tasked with finding an equalizer down a player.

For a bit, it almost looked like that might be the shakeup they needed. The first numbers-emboldened Dogi push ended in catastrophic failure as Wulfnoth Robinson completely bungled an easy pass that was meant for Rivers but instead went right to Kawesa. Handing the ball to your opponent's playermaker is generally inadvisable, which I'm sure Meredyth Shepherd would later remind Robinson (thought not in as many words). The Dogi would manage to collapse back and successfully defend that opportunity, but in far more narrow fashion that you'd like with a raw numbers advantage.

Some ten minutes later the Dogi would finally have another shot on goal, an outside chance from Benn that was struck with utter malice. Sanneh had plenty of time to see it coming, but not enough to get a grasp on it--going for the safer play of deflecting it and eating the corner, lest the power behind the shot make it slip through his hands. Aureole lined up to deliver the corner, and among the ruckus Tuff rose above everyone to knock it down--not on target, but in a space where Robinson was able to slide in and poke it past the line. Just like that, the Dogi were somehow two goals up on the best team in the multiverse (by some measures).

Time would dwindle with the Dogi returning to their roots, firmly faffing about in their own half. It's theoretically possible there's a match that Shepherd wouldn't mind trying to run the score up, but this was in no way it. Take Rayne off for Delia Stanford, double mark Kahara at all times in a 5-5-0 that's a mockery of the sport? It's the sort of play that could get you mistaken for Auren. But it was enough to keep the Banijans off the scoreboard, and after a few ticks of injury time perhaps the most improbable clean sheet of recent memory was complete.

[Chromatika]

Chromatik City Courier
POLITICS
Candice Elliot, Politics Columnist

Hanna Swain Appointed First People's Commissioner
New position created to "ensure the integration of various Chromatik peoples"

CHROMIA, CHROMATIKA - In a surprising move, Premier Keri Wyse Aart of the Rainbow Party appointed Hanna Swain, Ph. D. to be the first People's Commissioner, a new position that will "ensure the integration of various Chomatik peoples".

The statement from the Premier stated thus:

"It is with great pleasure and honor that I appoint Dr. Hanna Swain, Ph.D., to be the first person to be appointed the position of People's Commissioner. The People's Commissioner and her office will have the honor of taking on the great challenge of bringing together all the peoples of Chromatika and ensuring that they all have equal say. Our great nation's past has always been marked by inequality between peoples, especially at government intervention; it is important that we have people dedicated to making sure that those who were previously overlooked will not be in the future. The People's Commissioner will have the authority to appoint people to the new position of Integration Officer; an Integration Officer will be appointed to each of the Districts and Islands to work with the District Commissioners. This position will exist until the people vote it out; that is to say, after ten years, the question of whether or not the People's Commissioner is still needed will be asked. If the people say yes, then the position will be extended another five years, and so on until the people express their opinion that it is no longer needed. It is the goal of my office that past hurts done by the Chromatik Party to the ROYG populace will be overcome; Dr. Swain and her team will be paramount in accomplishing this goal."

Most of Chromatika seems to be in favor of the idea. Josie Harold, District Commissioner of Myana Island, stated, "It is hard to keep track of what has been done and is being done to correct past wrongs; it will be good to have some help in that regard. Each District's situation is different too, which is why I am glad that positions are being created at all different levels of government."

Dr. Hanna Swain is a doctor of anthropology who has taught the last twenty years as the Dean of the School of Anthropology at Chromia Central College University. Though she hasn't had much of a career in politics, perhaps that will actually be good for the Chromatik government to have a completely outside perspective. She declined to comment when asked by the media.

Raoul Isaiah Thomas, a prominent figure of the Red Party, stated, "This is an admirable pursuit, but we will be entirely focused in making sure that the people who were being oppressed get everything that they deserve."

What actually comes from this new position should be an interesting thing to follow.

---

SPORTS
Jordan Lawless, Sports Columnist

AOCAF Matchday 2: Chromatika 2–2 Blouman Empire

Goals: Humphreys ('25), Kuznetsov ('66)
Starting XI: Alexander (C); Chapman - Odling - Torres - Adams; Humphreys - Zuniga - Kuzntestov; Arnold; Rogers - Haggard.
Substitutes: Ken -> Torres ('49), Marc -> Humphreys ('65), Thibodeaux -> Rogers ('78)
Projected Starting XI vs. Blouman Empire: Tioux; Xiao - de Aea - Ken - Pomeroy; Marc - Armageddon (C) - Croix-Pierre; Kim, M.J.; Yuan - Thibodeaux

EQUESTRIA - Prisca Rogers held her head between her hands.

The ball had been right there, she'd had a golden opportunity to get the game-winning goal, and she'd gaffed it.

She'd actually tripped over the ball. Tripped. Over. The. Ball.

It had made the result end in another draw. Once again, none of the four strikers had scored. Thankfully, Humpreys and Kuznetsov had connected, but it just wasn't working out...

And now, they'd be playing Tropicorp and Banija next. If Rogers, Haggard, Thibodeaux, or Yuan didn't start scoring, this run was going to end, very soon...