AOCAF LXIII - Everything Thread

[Pluvia and the Saxean Isles]

Pluvia and the Saxean Isles AOCAF LXIII Roster

Nickname: Magpies
Formation: 4-3-3
Style: +1.5
Manager: Lucian Hammerschmidt

The Magpies' uniform is a traditional black and white striped kit with white shorts. However, they may be seen on occasion sporting the national colors of blue and gold with white shorts.

Goalkeepers
GK #1 Kilian Kistler, 33, RSC Marienburg, captain
GK #12 Bram Holger, 26, Claesey Athletic
GK #23 Marc Neufeld, 30, Port Marian FC

Defenders
LB #2 Lyle Mullens, 31, Port Marian FC
CB #3 Marcus Rabb, 33, RSC Marienburg
CB #4 Gregor O'Donnell, 30, Claesey Athletic
RB #5 Axel Newman, 26, SC Roslina
FB #13 Lachlan West, 25, Barnwick Rovers
CB #14 Christopher Sussman, 27, Marienburg City
FB #15 Ashton Houghton, 26, Port Marian FC
CB #16 Tristan Baumeister, 23, Victoria Alenard

Midfielders
LM #6 Matthew Fletcher, 29, Marienburg City
CM #8 Niko Gardner, 30, RSC Marienburg
RM #10 Tristan Schuerer, 27, Racing Club Alenard
MF #17 Brandon Turner, 25, Victoria Alenard
MF #18 Alfie Baker, 27, Victoria Alenard
MF #19 Bernard Davies, 29, Claesey Athletic

Forwards
LW #11 Keir Gilbride, 32, RSC Marienburg
ST #9 Otto Pearce, 30, Invictus 1889
RW #7 Carsten Grisbaum, 31, Victoria Alenard
FW #20 Finn Roberts, 28, Racing Club Alenard
FW #21 Rory Goldberg, 22, Brentsea Athletic
FW #22 Carsten Francke, 24, SC Roslina

I Give My Opponent Permission To:
    =================================
    Choose My Goalscorers: Yes
    Godmod Goalscoring Events: No
    Injure Players: Small things, every two of my players you injure, one of yours must be injured
    Godmod Injury Events: No
    Red Card Players: Yes, one for one on each team
    Yellow Card Players: Yes, two on my team for one on your team
    Godmod Other Events: No
    =================================

[Huayramarca]

Football Federation of Huayramarca



Official Roster for the 63^rd AOCAF

About Huayramarca: The Plurinational State of Huayramarca, also known as ”Huayramarca Mamallaqta” in Quechua and ”Huayramarca Suyu” in Aymara (literally: Windy Country), is an extraordinarily diverse nation in terms of geography that’s located up north Atlantian Oceania. Crossing three time zones, from the coasts to the jungle, passing massive cordilleras such as the Andes and Sierra, a nation with 36 million inhabitants that belong to 9 different ethnical groups.

Huayramarca as such is a relatively new nation for the traditional standards of it, since it was constituted on 1822 (currently, we sit on 1981 according to the Inca Calendar), the main focus of building this nation was to help different ethnic groups to gather force into the region, in order to be recognized multiversally as a nation, hence, may gather some international protection in case their rights would be abused all of a sudden by an external force.

Being completely ignorant on what was happening on the neighborhood, the Aymara, Quechua, Shuar, Guarani, Montubio, Tsáchila, Huaorani, Andoa and Candoshi ethnics decided to form the Republic with the support of neighboring nations such as the Royal Kingdom of Québec. Migration from Québec happened in the late XIX century, mostly peoples known as ”Guayabalenses” decided to move in order to seek a stable place for their families, considering that their home soil was apparently brushed off the map by a dictator called “Gregory”. That last point forced the Huayramarcans into a stronger union in order to survive.

Until the middle XX century, Huayramarca managed to survive economically from llama, alpaca and vicuña herding, since its skins are highly valuable in neighboring Québec due to their strong winters; also, coffee production helped Huayramarca to build some solid institutions that promoted national expansion near the neighboring Cocoabo Forest, that place is “La Selva”, a lush but quite dangerous forest with hundreds of rivers that come from the Andes. After some years of exploration, the authorities met the first indigenous peoples of the zone, which were exploited in order to produce rubber for tires and some mysterious chickens that were provided in order to even more mysterious sacrifices to a deity, which the local people and even the rest of Huayramarca wasn’t able to understand how she works, granted, it’s not even a part of the Incan Mythology which includes Inti (the Sun god) and others.

Said abuses committed against the jungle inhabitants caused a heavy political turmoil around 1950, which formed a divide in the nation that still remains until today: Serranos (highlanders), Costeños (coastals) against selváticos(jungle inhabitants); Those divides weren’t noticeable in economic terms but politically, with constant attempts of coup ‘d etat against the government. That situation caused some issues with the neighboring Québec, who neglected to support financially any of those groups if they don’t manage to cooperate between themselves in order to provide prosperity to a heavily hunger-suffering nation back in the time.

Aymara and Quechua peoples took the power during the remaining part of the 50’s until 1969. On that period, Huayramarca suffered a lot of “huaycos” (mudslides) caused by heavy rain storms near the Andes and Sierra, those events killed at least 300,000 people and urged for an attempt to reincorporate Huayramarca back into normality, but, how? The main bet of the government was to aim for the tourism industry, spamming the developed nations of Atlantian Oceania in order to make some tourists visit sacred places such as Illimani (a mountain that’s devoted as god for the Aymara folk), Huayna Picchu (the royal Incan palace for Quechua) and the sun drenched coast ranging from Guayaquil to Lima (specially Montañita, the best beach par excellence in northern Atlantian Oceania).

The formula was working decently, since the economy was reporting high growth numbers, but seemed to cause some lack of satisfaction on certain zones of the country, specially on the Jungle. Their inhabitants decided to support the Costeño elite in order to beat the Serrano government. 1969 election would be marked for the Huayramarcan history by the magnitude of the sabotage made against the current government, to the point of bribery or killings for their supporters, those incidents made the Costeño elite take control of government and focus even more on the Coast and Jungle, leaving aside the Sierra.

Currently, Huayramarca has a huge wealth gap between zones, the coast boasts the fact of being the economical engine of the nation despite the fact that the capital city is in the Sierra Region, while the Jungle is slowly developing with some cities such as Ormeño, Madre Santa, Virú and several others boosted by oil findings and rubber production. Sierra may be in disadvantage, but recent developments in neighboring nations may make them turn relevant once again in the nation, since lithium batteries demand is growing up and Huayramarca’s Sierra possesses one of the biggest lithium reserves of the entire multiverse.

Basically, Huayramarca is a nation of contrasts and never—ending conflicts that’s well into the deep borehole named “the natural resource course” a hard situation to overcome due to the lack of proper education, critical thinking and result-focused mindset on the population, that constantly seeks for shelter in entertainment industries such as soap operas, music, and now football. Right now, power struggles between the Costeño government led by Hugo Mina and leftist pro-Serrano social movement “Ñucanchi Ñan”made people more fond into football, since they really needed an oxygen supply inbetween a lot of crisis and turmoil that could lead to the radicalization of this conflict, to the point of seeing Ñucanchi Ñan turning into a guerrilla and killing Hugo Mina in 1981 after he wanted to exploit minerals in the Aymara holy land of Mount Illimani, located at the outskirts of Huayramarca Metropolitan District.

Since that, Huayramarca has breathed some fresh air, since Ñucanchi Ñan took power with Marta Mamani as the first woman president of the Plurinational Republic, and Augusto Buendía as VP, Huayramarca is enjoying some social transformations that may cause some shakings on what Huayramarcans were knowing as their daily life laws. Focus in sustainable economic growth, taking care of the environment and visibilization of minorities are the main topics on the political agenda, something that is being well received by many people in the nation. This environment has led to an increase in nationalism, since the national unity is being fostered as a State Policy, sports, specially football, is being the main vehicle to promote that sense, as now, the Huayramarcan Football Federation budget has been increased tenfold in order to aim for success in short-term, also aiming to send players overseas and developing techniques to enhance the player's physical and technical shape.

Facts about the nation

Official Name: Estado Plurinacional de Huayramarca - Huayramarcan Plurinational State.
Motto: Unión y Libertad - Union and Freedom.
National Anthem: Noble Huayramarca, tu hermosa bandera.
Capital City: Huayramarca D.M. (Distrito Metropolitano) - Huayramarcan Metropolitan District.
Highest Point: Nevado Inti (7,920 masl)
Currency: Inti (I$ 1 = N$ 0.33)
Languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara (main); Six other indigenous languages.

Football-wise Information: As a society, Huayramarcans enjoy sports a lot, specially when politics may turn the nation into a chaos every second, they just want to run away from that horrible and desperate situation and may try luck on football.

Considering the levels of poverty on Huayramarca, many young people may give a shot for football in the chaotic Liga 1 or lower tiers, with the hopes of achieving a decent salary that may help their families to get away from poverty and huayco-prone neighborhoods. Liga 1 has fourteen teams from different parts of the country, mostly focused on the Sierra and Costa regions since those are the most heavily populated ones.

In the last year, the president of the Plurinational State, Hugo Mina (Costeño), thought it would be a great idea to form a fringe squad for the AOCAF and then try to make it into Baptism of Fire or World Cup Qualifiers, hence he asked for Eliezer González (head of the Huayramarcan Football Federation) to try and apply for said tournaments. He sent notes in order to sign-up for those events, but he sent them incorrectly, at AOCAF, he sent it to a grandmother living up near the Andean Organization for Coffee, Agriculture and Forests (located at Cumbayá) instead of sending it to the proper AOCAF tournament organizing committee, which turned González into laughing stock for several weeks in Huayramarca. Despite that, González managed to sign-up properly for the WC, despite he was rejected for BoF because he applied to the “Burger of Fire” and not the Baptism of Fire.

After all, the HFF managed to convince 25 players from the amateur-ish Liga 1 sides to build the National Team, whose nickname is resumed to “Kuntur” (The Condors), all those players range from being high school students, to chemists, bus drivers, and even people from the local tavern, whose preference is revealed on how they named their team “Real Ebriedad”, which was later supported by Cristalina, the main brewery firm from Huayramarca. Those 25 players decided to investigate some football techniques and decided to apply them at the different games they played on the inaugural Liga 1 season that was won by Real Ebriedad (in a game where corruption was noticeable as how the referee was given beer instead of an energetic beverage).

Nothing that would be possible without the support of Omar Caicedo, a Costeño who migrated to Québec and decided to learn some football techniques while managing Beyreuth University, where he won three national titles out of eight seasons on his span with them. Caicedo is a fan of high-pressure football, known as “gegenpressing” or “El Huayco” as Huayramarcans may call if (specially Serranos, since they might be quite shy or sometimes plain dumb that doesn’t like to attack) Anyways, Caicedo’s strategy proved right on some matches played by Huayramarca against their northern neighbor, the Royal Kingdom of Québec, beating them 5-1 at Huayramarca’s Estadio Nacional (located at 4,012 masl only?!…) and tying 2-2 at Iqaluit’s Ice Hockey Rink (that’s what the players thought at playing in a frozen city… ¡Achachay!) If you wonder what’s ¡Achachay! Well, figure out you’re on top of the mountain receiving wind and gelid weather right into you, if you did it, welcome to Huayramarcan’s sense of cold shivering!

Well, coming back to football, Caicedo’s devotion for 4-2-3-1 is unquestionable, he always loves to boast of having a neat defense, two defending mid fielders that may aim to recover possession when needed, or even having one of them switching to creative duties in support of the team’s brain, Ian Mamani, then, two wingers feeding the sole striker up in the middle of the box. That striker may often go back and try to recover balls and make a power play from himself with support of a winger and then seek for a goal. He did demonstrated a lot during the first part of the World Cup Qualifiers, earning some mixed results during it, but it failed for a part of the second half, where the team accumulated an 11 winless game streak added that they weren't capable to snatch a win during their first eight local games, in fact, their first home win came at the 9th home game, after that, they won three out of their four last home games, earning a 8 games unbeaten streak to finish off the Qualifiers, which was a quite impressive recovery after having their morale smashed on the floor and some players even considered suicide, since they were considered to be a mediocre living fail walking through their home cities streets.

Said streak wasn’t a mere happening, it was somehow a confirmation on how the Huayramarcan National Team had turned into a squad that tried to consolidate themselves as a hardworking team, with limited chances to put some squads in troubles but capable enough to defend well and to avoid harm being done against them. The Cup of Harmony 77 was an interesting test for the team, to see if they are capable to handle out the nerves of what it implies to be struggling for a knockout spot until the last second of the last match, which is what happened to the Condors, since they tied their first three games, they had a chance to get into the last rounds but they had to face Port Ember, the top seed of their group. Huayramarca succumbed to the nerves and wasted a 2-0 lead to see how Port Ember scored five goals in quick succession, nothing more to do for a Huayramarcan squad that seemed capable to pull off a decent feat.

The AOCAF 60 saw how a somewhat forged squad perform against the top dogs into their region, a path that won’t show immediate results and may fuel some anger amongst the Huayramarcan populace and media, but, the patience of Omar Caicedo and his pupils is being determinant in order to see if this generation profiles themselves to be somehow relevant. A 1-7 against Equestrian States, followed by draws and a win, helped the team to gather some confidence, despite the terrible beginning on said championship.

A spectacular beginning on World Cup 86 Qualifiers helped the Condors to finish 4th in the first half of qualifiers, being two points below the second placed squad, but defeats against top dogs such as Ko-oren and Tequilo killed the desires of this national team to qualify, also, instigated by poor performances against low and other mid-ranked nations boosted that debacle. The Cup of Harmony wasn't different to the end of the World Cup Qualifiers, it was in the same shape, defeats, defeats and pressure on the squad due to the fact that they were worried on what was happening on Huayramarca, due to the death of Hugo Mina, uncertainty arosed and caused the players to have a subpar performance in the tournament, despite a late win that turned to be the first ever one for Huayramarca in the Cup of Harmony.

With the latest investments made by the Huayramarcan Government to the Huayramarcan Football Federation, by multiplying tenfold their budget, the HFF has now sent the managerial staff of the Condors to other nations, in order to gather new ideas and apply those in order to build a competent side in tactical terms, with the main purpose to achieve World Cup qualification for the first time as soon as possible and provide that joy to the Huayramarcan folk. That heavy investment provided some benefits during the 87^th World Cup Qualifiers, where Huayramarca left behind the label of being an "uncomfortable rival" to take a protagonic role in their group, finishing second, behind Audioslavia, with a solid 40 points in 18 matches. Things in playoffs might be forgetable since the beginning, since Huayramarca didn't took advantage in the first leg despite playing home, tying with Tikariot and then being defeated heavily at the second leg (1-4), made the Condor's illusions of WC Qualifying end horribly.

Despite the downturn in the team's mindset, the team faced some struggles at the Cup of Harmony group stage. Being defeated by Mriin at the first game, defeating Garifunya 1-0 and then tying against Ibixa for the second time in the cycle sent the Condors to the Knockout phase of CoH for their first time ever, Xanneria was a hard rival for the Round of 32, Huayramarca's miracle run was about to start with a narrow 2-1 win over them; then two rock-solid performances against Saint Domingue and a well-known foe from the WCQ Group (Sargossa) with a 3-1 and 2-0 respectively, put Huayramarca among the best four sides in the Cup of Harmony. Being defeated by Mriin with a hard-fought 2-3 and then once again a 1-4 against Newmanistan were enough to confirm Huayramarca as the 4^th placed side, with desire to improve their performance in this AOCAF.

Something that makes Huayramarcan football so distinguishable is that they are prone to do long range shots, due that they are used to play at significant heights, the lack of oxygen may make the ball travel further without applying a lot of strength during the mechanics of kicking the football, that is known as the “Andean Effect” and may cause serious troubles for visiting sides on Huayramarca, adding the main fact that breathing might be harder for those used to low altitudes.

Without further ado, the starting XI and substitutes are presented in the following tables:

Starting Eleven



Substitutes

Summary


Nota bene: Only official matches are taken into consideration for current record, caps and goals – Updated after AOCAF 61.

Nickname: The Condors.
Current Record: 18-17-22 (W-D-L) 
Most Caps: 10 players tied at 57.
Most Goals: Bryan Tello (28)
Biggest Win: 4-1 (vs. Welzat, Iles Rougieres / WC 85, MD 3; WC 86, MD 6)
Most Important Game: 3-1 (vs. Greater Lausitz / WC 85, MD 18 - First home win) / 2-2 (vs. Nephara / WC 85, MD 4 - Tying a top-10 ranked nation while being UR).
Biggest Defeat: 1-7 (vs. Equestria / AOCAF 61, MD 1)

Captain: Ian Mamani.
Second Captain:Kevin Quispe.
Third Captain: Nicolás Allauca.
Most likely to score: Bryan Tello
Most likely to get red carded: Kevin Quispe.
Prone to get injuries: Gabriel Sayritupac.
The genius: Ian Mamani.
The motivating soul: Santiago Chumacero.

Manager: Omar Caicedo. (40)
Assistant: Rubén Condori. (54)
Physio: Lautaro Huamán. (61)
GK Trainer: Martín Zubeldía (43)
Doctor: Luciano Zambrano. (53)

Team mentality: Huayramarcans, per se, are bold and quite diverse between the team due to the regional contrasts among them: You might note some surnames such as: Condori, Mamani, Quispe, Sayritupac, etc. Those are Serrano surnames. Serranos as such are quite shy people with non-serranos, between them, great footballing societies may be made due to their complete understanding of each other, they are quite homogenous on how they act and may be predictable for each other. But, for the non-expert eye, Serranos are one on their kind and could result unpredictable for them, since they love to do things at fast pace between them, without doubt one could send a 60 meters cross with complete confidence that they might find their teammate, with this, you can notice that Serranos are overconfident on themselves and somewhat dubious with Costeños and Selváticos. Other characteristic of Serranos is that they are quite easy to intimidate, being shy and short-sized doesn’t helps, but in that situation, they might opt to act even better than they do for the sake of shutting your mouth.

Costeños and Selváticos (jungle) in the other hand are confident with everybody, even if they might not receive the same treatment by their Serrano fellows. Those two groups conform the rest of the team and might do good societies on field, declining the quality of their chemistry when trying to connect with Serranos, due to the latter shy mood. Physically speaking, Costeño and Selváticos are people who boast being the tallest overall in the team, also, their mania for body preparation at gyms make them suitable to defensive duties and running on the wings since they love running crazily (they usually do that, since they are used to run away from police or a mob of angry Serranos after robbing).

Overall, the team has some issues while trying to build chemistry, since there are two well-marked groups with some issues, but may try to join forces when needed or when they are being heavily massacred (football-wise) such as it happened on World Cup Qualifiers, when they were 3-2-6 on the first half of Qualifiers, they managed to comeback decently with a 5-6-2 sheet for the second leg, turning it into an overall 8-8-8, which is nothing bad for the usual accountability of unranked nations. Leaving aside those issues, the team boasts some decent characteristics for running on the wings, the team itself is fast paced but may have problems while struggling physically (especially if a Serrano is trying to mark) since they aren’t so strong to do that, albeit, the consequences of it may be noticeable only with high-ranked teams.

Cup of Harmony and AOCAF weren't precisely the best participation that Huayramarca could've done, at least they put some decent opposition on the CoH with three tied games and losing the final one, despite they had the chance to get into the knockouts had they won the game against the top seeded side of Port Ember, but two goals were the nail into the coffin for the Condors. Equestrian States, the hosts of AOCAF were the ones ready to face Huayramarca for its debut, a shameful and one that Huayramarca will be likely to skip the page since the hosts drove over the Condors with an astounding 7-1, then, some defeats were complicating Huayramarca and left the side without chance to reach the playoffs, one tied game and the first victory ever of this side against Yesopalitha were the games that somehow let Huayramarca with some dignity and not being able to be the worst team of the tournament.

For the second cycle in World Cup Qualifiers, things will not change and the same squad with the same managing team will try to do a somewhat decent participation in a group that looks as complicated as the last WCQ one did seemed. There's some experience for this side right now, also, their skills might be improving since they are getting the real professional experience rather than the one they could find this year in the inaugural season of the Huayramarcan Liga-1|2|3 system. Caicedo had some hard time during the AOCAF, his head would be on risk in another nation, but being the only one able in Huayramarca to manage a team like this one is a point on his favor, still, he does know that patience won't be eternal, hence, the need to recover the path will be fundamental, specially on home where there could be a lot of advantage, even more in the capital city, perhaps one of the most difficult venues in the multiverse. Risks have been taken, Caicedo decided to take the team into a series of high-performance camps all across Huayramarca instead of taking friendlies, since he considers that chemistry and tactics need a new breeze, specially an adaptation to a new physical stamina level that he does want to apply to the players, hence, a lot of physically-demanding activities have been done by the team during the New Year holidays.

To finish with this part, Huayramarca is that kind of team that may be overconfident sometimes, but if you press them to their limits, they might react in unsuspected ways, be those positive or negative for their interests, you don’t know what would happen in the Serrano, Costeño or Selvático mindset. As they do on the local league, they might try to do some antics to their rivals, be it: providing beer instead of water to their rivals, or the classiest one, giving distillated “ayahuasca” (vodka-like alcohol) and pass it like water and make their rivals be drunk, taking advantage of their influence to beat the rival team. Of course, they might not abuse of this resource, Serranos might ask Inti for it.

Game Scheme: Caicedo aims to use always a 4-2-3-1 scheme that he dubs it as “El huayco” (the mudslide) due to an analogy he made of his team with such a devastating natural phenomena: “We aim to build a fast team, aiming to be unpredictable for the others while using our regional paradigms in our favor. The less known we are, the more lethal we could be and that’s why I love not having a specific plan.” That’s what Caicedo wants to use, but in reality, there are some hints to analyze what he loves to do with his teams, especially on Beyreuth University of Québec.

El Huayco is a style of play in which you look to win back the ball as soon as you lose it, and you try to win it back as high up the pitch as possible; that means you’re closing down a lot to put pressure on the player that's just won the ball back.

The idea is that the player who just won the ball will be vulnerable and won't have time to think about his first pass. You just close him down to win the ball back quickly as high up the pitch as possible, and then you initiate a counter attack. You're likely already half way there and ready to go past into space and score a goal.

You can also use this tactic to target specific weak players, if you have noticed a weakness in a certain team. Maybe central defenders or full backs aren't comfortable on the ball, and you can look to press and close down certain individuals to try and make the most out of this game pressing style.

For the last purpose mentioned, Serranos are heavily important, they might be the analogue of a dog felling your fear and then attacking, they as collective love to use their different point of views and implement them as one while attacking, then fast passes and maybe a long range shot may happen, especially if the team is playing on the highlands. If the team is playing on the coast or jungle, they might seek to control the ball and make the rival team run behind the ball for some time, in order to cause climatic exhaust on them, since coast and jungle are hot and terribly humid in this part of Atlantian Oceania, so it may pose a real challenge for teams not used to play in such conditions.

To achieve Caicedo’s main goal, there are several prerequisites for successful counterpressing. The decisive factor is the overall positioning of the team and their playing style right before attempting to counterpress. The players must play as close to one another as possible so that they can press together as a unit right after the ball is lost – which is a given in short passing football. At the same time, they should not stick so close to one another that they neglect to cover enough space. Usually, a good layout in possession and a good shape behind the lost ball go hand in hand.

Some trainers use the basic rule of thumb to “occupy the fewest possible zones with individual players, but the greatest possible distance between the players within those zones so that they don’t occupy the same space” to make the positioning simple to understand; although, with a rule of thumb like this, some aspects are lost in terms of complexity.

Many teams also have problems deciding when to stop pressing, for example, when we stop pressing if we can’t win the ball back? When should we retreat? How long should you press and with how many players? This is particularly problematic because the position of the ball is always changing. Therefore, there is a theory created by Caicedo – the five second rule. Immediately after losing the ball the team should press at top speed and with maximum intensity for five seconds.

If the team hasn’t recovered the ball within five seconds and there is no chance of immediately winning it, they should fall back into their defensive formation. Depending on the team, the number of seconds may vary. It is recommended that the strategic basics of “El Huayco” be coached in order to develop a flexible, situation-specific length of time for counterpressing.

For scorination purposes, set the style modifer of Huayramarca at +1.

The Kits: Huayramarca’s social mindset is to aim for local consumption in the long term, hence the HFF decided to hire “eva Sportswear” to manufacture the kits for the national team. “eva” decided to take the ball out of the park with some unique designs for Huayramarca, reflecting the national identity and adding up some motivational phrases on them for mere sake of marketing. Those kits are based on the geography of this nation, from the coast, to the highlands and jungle in order to promote a sense of national unity, especially on a stage that the national team might try to do something decent in their first World Cup Qualifiers venture.

As backgrounds, you might notice some decent spots that Huayramarca has to offer, such as Huayna Picchu, the mythical castle built in the Andes and thought to be built for the Incaic Emperors some centuries ago. On the second kit, the sacred Illimani, a mountain located just outskirts Huayramarca’s Metropolitan District, this 6540 masl mountain is believed to be an angel sent my Inti to protect the city against any disaster. On the third kit, the gigantic Guayas River is displayed, with some Guayaquil neighborhoods in it (Guayaquil is the third biggest city in Huayramarca), also possible home for some World Cup Qualifier games.

As for the goalkeeper kits, in their main kit, the second largest city of Huayramarca, and the main coastal city, Lima is featured, this city is known for their gorges near the coast, something like a potential protection against disasters as the so frightening tsunamis. To finish with, the magnificent Chimborazo mountain is featured in the background for the away goalkeeper shirt, with some important animals for the Huayramarcan folk such as the wild vicuñas, known for their weird habit of flesh-eating (Beware if you go there and see one of those, they might not be friendly if meat isn’t given to them).

Players description - Starting XI.

Nota bene: Caps considered before World Cup 87 Qualifiers - For national purposes, friendlies are never taken into consideration for official registries.

N°1 - Juan Mamani - GK - 24 yrs - Team: Ate FC - Height: 1.88 mts - Caps: 57 - Goals: 1

Mamani is an individual that believes he always is right, he tends to be creative when saving balls of creating some innovative ideas to take the ball forward, based so much in the fact that he is protective, spontaneous and loves to be independent in his actions. Currently, he is sad because he broke up with his girlfriend. Despite his relationship failure, he might seek some attention as the goalkeeper of the national team, forming decent bonds with his teammates in order to leave the baby steps soon in terms of footballing level. Also, he's brother with the creative mid of this team, Ian Mamani. He also has the curious record of scoring a free kick goal against Greater Lausitz, that goal helped Huayramarca to get their first ever victory at home soil on World Cup 85^th, matchday 18^th.

N°2 - Kevin Quispe - RCB - 20 yrs - Team: Fadrön Flight (Taeshan) - Height: 1.75 mts - Caps: 56 - Goals: 3

A pretty average guy in terms of intelligence that has no life plan, hence he left studies in order to make a living with football. He is very secretive, doesn't likes even to tell his teammates what will be his next movement because he knows we will be wrong, Quispe has serious issues with anger management and may be rebellious, he is cold and ignores what the others might feel or think about him, he doesn't gives a fu*k of anything. Anyways, he's flabbergasted by the fact of being called to the national team, even more by the fact of being part of the starting XI. Quispe is now an historical player by the fact of being the first Huayramarcan player to move to another country to play football, being at Taeshan will help this useful defender to innovate his tactics and improving the odds for the Huayramarcan National Team to get better at defense.

N°4 - Carlos Vilca - LFB - 25 yrs - Team: Valnohar Rovers FC (Tikariot) - Height: 1.78 mts - Caps: 57 - Goals: 7

Vilca exemplifies the stereotype of a Serrano, he is overly analytical and optimistic, with some patience when a player might approach to him, he might take some minutes to make a mental profile of who he will face and how to block him in its right side. Despite being coordinated and loving to be the center of attention, he loves to be quiet and solitary with his own personal code of conduct, he might be extremely fair while robbing balls and could try to be the surprise factor, since he tends to react when needed, his two goals to equalize the match against Darmen (both first and second leg) helped Huayramarca to snatch vital points against a superior rival. Right now, he's is hyped by the fact of being called, with Gabriel Sayritupac, to Valnohar Rovers FC of Tikariot, in what it seems to be an incredible experience for both players, who might support themselves during their adaptation time on said club.

N°6 - Felipe Fernández - RFB - 20 yrs - Team: Club Atlético Lima - Height: 1.85 mts - Caps: 57 - Goals: 3

Pipe, as known by his teammates is an extremely intelligent right fool back that adapts quite quickly to any situation he might face, he loves being orderly and hates mess. When playing, he is straight-forward and might argument with rivals, referee and even his teammates, he rarely praises others and values learning from experience, hence why he has a promissory future in football. Right now, he's kind by the chance given by the HFF to play for the national team.

N°14 - Santiago Chumacero - LCB - 24 yrs - Team: FC Atahualpa - Height: 1.81 mts - Caps: 57 - Goals: 8

Chumacero's perception of things might be out of this world, his mind might be some steps forward the others and might help to anticipate to some movements that may be done by the rival. For that purpose, he's always flexible, active and plays like he would be killed if he does a mistake, he's loyal with his team, faithful and gentle, hence he might be the motivator of the squad. Chumacero's right now really sorry with his mom, because he robbed her I$ 100 Intis to get a room and go with his girlfriend to a hotel and experience some intimacy. Also, he feels inspired by the fact of scoring 6 goals during the whole World Cup Qualifier process, four of those goals came on two consecutive matches, basically, a polyvalent when needed.

N°17 - Orlando Mina - CM - 21 yrs - Team: Sporting Club El Alto - Height: 1.95 mts - Caps: 57 - Goals: 4

One of the two defensive mid of the team, being the classical Costeño out there, Mina is the tallest and strongest player of the squad. Mina's attitude is being original and stubborn, giving you some classical Costeño vibes, consistent in his performance and devoted to God, he cares a lot about what he does, since he tries always to correct his mistakes and not suffering on them, instead, he uses them as feedback to improve his game and abilities. Mina's sad right now because his mother was fired from the job, although, he might provide some food for his family while playing with The Condors.

N°11 - Ian Mamani - CF - 21 yrs - Team: Illimani FC - Height: 1.65 mts - Caps: 57 - Goals: 10

The second of the Mamani brothers in this team, along with Juan, Ian has what Juan might lack sometimes, creativity and brightness, although they play in totally different positions and roles in the team. This creative mid and captain of the team is one of the big things among this team, a fast-paced and fussy person with lots of potential, euphoria that drives him to perform as what he can do, being the best of the entire nation in his role. Large crosses are his specialty, including long-range shots when playing on the highlands. Right now, his euphoria level has increased a lot, considering he got called to the national team, the fact of being called captain and being on the international TV screen for WCQ.

N°8 - Nicolás Allauca - CF - 26 yrs - Team: Huayramarca FC - Height: 1.80 mts - Caps: 57 - Goals: 8

Nico was a bus driver until the last three weeks prior to WC 85 Qualifiers, when he decided to enter to the amateur football world of Huayramarca, he was in luck that Caicedo watched him plat and fell in love on how he performed. Allauca is spontaneous and may not like to do training, he is a fast-moving and extremely practical (hates theories) defensive mid, that may mutate to a second creative mid with Ian Mamani and has also a decent capability to score goals while going to attack. Allauca is blunt, might hurt you with his eyes and ignores rules, he might be dramatical when somebody tackles or fouls him, in order to make that player get sent off of at least yellow carded. Nico is pleased with Caicedo for being called up to the team once again.

N°7 - Abraham Mendoza - LF - 22 yrs - Team: Huayramarca FC - Height: 1.63 mts - Caps: 57 - Goals: 5

The smallest of the entire team, Mendoza is a mentally strong individual who loves to work hard, play hard and also be a strong leader inside the team in terms of order. A competent but realistic player who may not be spectacular while playing on the wings, but pragmatical and effective when achieving his purposes. Perhaps, on his personal life he is the best positioned of all the group, since he's currently studying Industrial Engineering at the Huayramarcan Technical University and he's scoring some of the best grades ever in that institution. You might notice how Abraham's personal discipline is, and this is translated even to football, where he tries to compliment some weaknesses that he may have as his height, but he tries to compensate with some decent body-building routines. He might not be a prolific scorer for the standards of a winger, but he has at least a 35% of assists for the total of Huayramarcan goals scored during the Qualifiers, hence, somebody to take care of.


N°21 - Gabriel Sayritupac - RF - 22 yrs - Team: Valnohar Rovers FC (Tikariot) - Height: 1.75 mts - Caps: 57 - Goals: 17

Sayri as he's known by many people in his native Tulcán (near the Québécois-Huayramarcan border) is an artistic person in all senses of his life. Usually he makes a living by painting portraits of people visiting the Chimborazo National Forest Reserve, sometimes working on a local brewery or doing some football for fun. He doesn't stands being alone and might be that easy-going Serrano (which is weird, if we come to think it). He has some genetic problems that makes him quite prone to injuries, and when those occur, Sayri decides to get inebriated to let frustration go away. A dirty antic he has is that he's well known for giving alcoholic beverages to the rivals instead of water, he has developed modified ayahuasca in order to make it feel and look like water, which has fooled some teams. Keep an eye on him!

Despite that, Sayritupac is a well skilled winger, an antithesis of Mendoza, since he loves to be artistical while dribbling and doing a cross, he might try to do rabonas while shooting or passing and will keep attacking, even more than the usual for a winger like him, he always loves to risk it all. Right now, his mood is high and confident, his departure to the Tikariot Premier League has made him achieve his dream to play abroad and help his family.


N°21 - Bryan Tello - ST - 27 yrs - Team: Club Sport Cumbayá - Height: 1.86 mts - Caps: 57 - Goals: 28

A decently heighted Costeño as forward is always a neat solution for your goal needs, with good pace, stride and also physic abilities Tello is what every team may need for up front. He's factual since he studied Philosophy at the University of Cumbayá, a committed and self-confident man who might be extremely traditional to his striker role, he might seek for some space in order to go front, use his strength and move towards the goal. Tello is a somewhat strong leader among the shadows of the Huayramarcan national team, an outgoing and straight-forward person that could sometimes aggressive since he's prone to be insensitive. He's right now interested in evolving as a legend for Huayramarcan football, something that he is slowly building up, and those key goals against Nephara and Jeruselem prove it.

Substitutes:

Nota bene: In order to have a deeper understanding of Huayramarcan players, take in consideration the following list of personalities for the substitutes. For a better understanding of said list, take time to watch the substitute players list posted again down here and follow the order of said list. The first player on this list, has his mindset reflected in the left of the first row, the second in the right of the first row and then, so on until the last one:

Useful Information and Stadia: Before introducing the stadia, there’s some handy information for away fans who might visit Huayramarca. As said before, this nation has a quite complex geography and some long distances to travel for away fans, since there are only two airports: Huayramarca International Airport, located near Huayramarca Metropolitan District at the highlands, and the Jorge Guerra International Airport in Lima, on the coast. You might need to go up mountains or driving through them which is a complete odyssey due to the risks caused by the Andean geography itself.

People in Huayramarca might be passional about football pretty much everywhere, but more hostile when you go down the mountains, driving to the coast. Down there, if people don’t attack you, weather might do due to the offensive humidity, mosquitoes and heat that may occur there. In Lima, despite being in the coast, the weather is mild and great to play football, but there might be some sandstorms due to the deserts located south of said city. Coastal teams usually play at afternoon, when humidity may suffocate those not used to deal with it.

Same happens at the jungle, but the mosquito issue multiplies thousand-fold, also as humidity caused by constant rains that pass there in their transit to the highlands. Water absorption made by trees cause severe issues with an extremely humid weather, hence jungle teams decide to play often at noon, in order to torture rival teams.

On the Sierra things get worse, since the main problem up there is respiration. For a physical activity like football, people might need some weeks to acclimatize altitude and get an efficient breathing pattern that might supply their physical effort needs. Several cities are above the 2500 masl, even the capital city, which is located at 4000 masl, it doesn’t matters at which time they decide to play, if a team isn’t acclimatized, they will even faint during the game if they don’t have with them oxygen tanks to breathe before the game or if they don’t get some treatment into an hyperbaric chamber.

Stadia are distributed in order to have an equal distribution for regions, considering that there will be twelve local games at Huayramarca, Sierra, Costa and Jungla will receive three matches each one. Each region will receive a high tier rival and then a randomized sort of two other teams in other matchdays. You might contact the Huayramarcan Football Federation (OOC: TG me or shout me at Discord!) in case of more information or solving some needs for your team and fans.

Estadio Nacional de Huayramarca - Capacity: 45,500 - Huayramarca Metropolitan District.

Tenants: Ministry of Culture and Sports of Huayramarca.
Built in: 1968.
Altitude: 4012 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Illimani FC, Real Ebriedad, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: Built in 1968, the Estadio Nacional is the jewel in the not so well-shaped crown of the Huayramarcan sport venues, an olympic stadium that might be a nightmare for visiting teams due to the altitude and weather of the city, which tends to be somewhat hostile everyday, even more if it's played at noon due to the sun's radiation at that altitude. Despite being an olympic stadium, people tends to set a lot of pressure in it, especially from the neighboring appartment blocks which tends to be crowded for the matches being held there (they might aim lasers from there, take care!).

Also, the walls near the dressing room have some curious messages as such: "Welcome to Huayramarca D.M. At 4,000 meters above sea level "is one of the first things the visiting teams will read upon entering the dressing room, perhaps to make clear the conditions to which they will be subjected throughout the game. It is still somewhat intimidating the following warning that is issued when they leave the visiting dressing room "Caution, if you have the following symptoms: Headache, vertigo, fatigue, tachycardia, nausea or vomiting, wheezing, dyspnea or inappetence, go to the medical staff, we are at your disposal."
Will host:

• Huayramarca vs Ibixa. Matchday 5 - 19:30 - Weather conditions: Cold and dry, 0% humidity, 9°C.
• Huayramarca vs Audiosavia. Matchday 7 - 21:30 - Weather conditions: Cold and foggy, 55% humidity, 0°C.
• Huayramarca vs Mytanija. Matchday 13 - 19:30 - Weather conditions: Dry, 0% humidity, 5°C.

Jungla:

Estadio Olímpico del Oriente - Capacity: 26,000 - Sechura.

Tenants: MuniSechura - Municipality of Sechura.
Built in: 1945.
Altitude: 560 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Sociedad Petrolera, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: One of the biggest stadia in Huayramarca, the main hub of sports in the Jungle region is located at Sechura, a city of about 300,000 inhabitants which serves as logistical hub for operations of rubber production and for explorations into the dense jungle nearby. Sociedad Petrolera is a modest Liga 1 side, but one that tends to attract almost ticket sell outs every game, since people in that region tends to be quite passionated of football in order to forget their not so good daily life. At that city, one should take care of humidity, which tends to be quite strong at times, hence teams usually play there on afternoon or night, since heat might be something difficult to stand even for locals.
Will host:

• Huayramarca vs Critical Operations. Matchday 3 - 20:00 - Weather conditions: Heavy rain, 100% humidity, 25°C.
• Huayramarca vs Emastalia. Matchday 9 - 20:00 - Weather conditions: Clear skies, 45% humidity, 24°C.
• Huayramarca vs Northwest Kalactin. Matchday 17 - 15:00 - Weather conditions: Heavy rain, 100% humidity, 30°C.

Costa:

Estadio Metropolitano del Guayas - Capacity: 62,000 - Guayaquil.

Tenants: Autoridad Guayaquileña de Deportes - Guayaquilean Sports Authority.
Built in: 1980.
Altitude: 15 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Guayaquil Wanderers, Barcelona Sporting Club, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: A kettle pot, that's the definition for the biggest stadium in all of Huayramarca. "El Metropolitano" is the most recently built stadium in the nation and will make the debut for international football in Huayramarca. Hosts two teams and the fan athmosphere in Guayaquil is perhaps one of the most intimidatory ones in the multiverse, fans throwing you stones while receiving, throwing flares, extremely noisy people all around and the incredibly hot and humid weather that dominates the city may be lethal for some teams when trying to visit. Rescuing a tie from here may be considered something great, since you survived the "Guayaco" hell. Hence that, teams often love to play at the afternoon, specially at 3:00 P.M. in order to squeeze out the rivals in exhaust.
Will host:

• Huayramarca vs Cirrus Azale. Matchday 1 - 20:30 - Weather conditions: Clear skies, 65% humidity, 26°C.
• Huayramarca vs Damukuni. Matchday 11 - 15:00 - Weather conditions: Cloudly, mildly hot, 55% humidity, 33°C.
• Huayramarca vs Sargossa. Matchday 15 - 12:00 - Weather conditions: Sunny and oppressively hot, 80% humidity, 38°C .

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:

    Godmod scoring events: No.
    RP injuries to my players: Yes. (Contact me first, so we can agree)
    Godmod injuries to my players: Y (Contact me as well)
    Give red cards to my players: Y (Maximum of 3).
    Godmod other events: Y (Contact me first.)

Nota Bene: Do not RP a pandemic on Huayramarcan soil, if done, it will be ignored and a complaint will be raised to the hosts due to invalid godmodding.

[Flavovespia]

Introduction

Lying towards the east of Atlantian Oceania, just within the COCANEFA hub, Flavovespia will enter their 5th AOCAF Cup in this, the 63rd edition. They come off a run of relatively poor tournaments, that started with the previous edition of the AOCAF Cup, and has seemingly continued on. New management comes in however, with a change of ideas. Whilst almost every Flavovespian knows World Cup qualification is the true ambition of the nation, a nice run in the AOCAF Cup would go down well, and be a god platform setter for the future.

Kit

Home-Away-GK/Third

Flavovespia’s kit remains unchanged from the World Cup Qualifiers 87 and Cup of Harmony 79. The yellow home kit and black away kit contain interchangeable elements if necessary, and the third green kit, is also the goalkeeper kit.

Roster

(Note, all caps and goals are taken as of the start of AOCAF Cup 63)

Manager

Marcus McCormick Age: 55

Marcus McCormick was briefly the interim manager of Flavovespia in the World Cup 84 Qualifying campaign. A record of 1 win and 3 losses meant he didn’t stay on for the rest of the qualifiers. Since then, he became the manager of Binclestead Wood, taking them back to the Super League, and up towards the top end of the Super League. A manager who comes across a stern and strict, his mannerisms in that regard are similar to that of Nick Cole, the manager McCormick was deputy to for plenty of years at Waldster and Flavovespia. McCormick is also vocal in the dugout, shouting out orders, and both on the sidelines and in the media isn’t afraid to dish out criticism to his players, the officials or anyone else who’s aggrieved him. Nevertheless, when his sides are playing well, he is generally in good spirits.

His tactical setup is something of a departure from the previous Flavovespian managers. He plays a 5-2-1-2 usually. The wing backs are given freedom to advance forward. The 3 centre backs are normally helped by one of the central midfielders acting as an anchor man, whilst the other moves forward and attempts to influence the game in the centre of the pitch. The central attacking midfielder is the key link between the midfield, wing backs and strikers. A two striker setup remains, one likely to be a bit more forward than the other, but both expected to contribute either with goals or assists.

Goalkeepers


1 Aarif Muhammad Age: 24 Position: GK Club: Rockridge Phoenix [BRE] Caps: 43 Goals: 0
12 David Meehan Age: 34 Position: GK Club: Bavingtor FC Caps: 79 Goals: 0
23 Lucky Diamond Age: 26 Position: GK Club: Loxthorpe Rovers FC Caps: 0 Goals: 0


McCormick keeps the same 3 goalkeepers from the Cup of Harmony 79 for the AOCAF Cup 63. Aarif Muhammad may not have been a standout star so far in his international career, but he’s reached the stage where it’s hard to argue he isn’t the best Flavovespian goalkeeper. His natural goalkeeping instincts are second to none, and with a bit more consistency and experience, he could be wearing the #1 jersey for Flavovespia for many more tournaments. David Meehan remains as the second choice. Greatly experienced at club level, and a lot of international experience, he may not quite have the skills of Aarif Muhammad, but he’s still a very competent goalkeeper, and age is not yet affecting him. Lucky Diamond is uncapped, but this isn’t his first time in the national team. He’s a very eccentric goalkeeper, not afraid at all to come out off his line or box to make clearances. A goalkeeper who’s not afraid to take risks, but plenty of them pay off.


Defenders

2 David Lyons Age: 23 Position: LB Club: Langmere Green Rovers FC Caps: 25 Goals: 1
3 David Blythe Age: 26 Position: RWB Club: Kytheas Rivermen [TKT] Caps: 72 Goals: 0
4 Alexander May Age: 31 Position: CB Club: Langmere Green Rovers FC Caps: 89 Goals: 2
5 Tony Gardner Age: 29 Position: CB Club: Kings Lunsel FC Caps: 135 Goals: 5
6 Ian Cohen Age: 31 Position: CB Club: Loxthorpe Rovers FC Caps: 14 Goals: 0
13 Scott Vaughan Age: 32 Position: LB Club: Kings Lunsel FC Caps: 60 Goals: 1
14 Daniel Lansdell Age: 25 Position: CB Club: St Astons City FC Caps: 5 Goals: 1
15 Mohammed Saleem Age: 28 Position: CB Club: Dí Maozöxê [FFD] Caps: 0 Goals: 0
16 Mj Hayes Age: 26 Position: RWB Club: Marthorpe City FC Caps: 0 Goals: 0


McCormick brings 9 defenders to the AOCAF Cup 63, maybe in part due to his tactical changes compared to his predecessors. No change at left back, but the new setup may suit David Lyons. A full back who does like to get forward, he may enjoy the added freedom he has playing with 3 centre backs. Lyons is fairly quick for a defender, and is good at tackling, and long balls forwards. Positioning, especially at international level, still needs a little work. Scott Vaughan has always been a solid full back, although a few are surprised he’s kept his place. Nevertheless he’s the sort of defender a team loves to have when defending a lead late on, high work rate, and always willing to hustle attackers, and good at keeping on the right side of the law.

Tony Gardner will more than likely be the main defender for Flavovespia. There’s a bit of a sense he never quite lived up to his hype, but he’s generally shown a good level of Flavovespia for many tournaments now. With 3 centre backs, his ball playing ability, somewhat unusual for a defender, may come into play. Alexander May and Ian Cohen are two domestically experienced centre backs who seem to be favourites to start with Gardner. May is a bit of a “card collector”, often ending up in the referee’s book, but despite a few shaky tournaments, can be a very tough defender to beat at his best. Ian Cohen is a hard working defender, who may not be a superbly talented and stylish player, but he’s able to but in a real shift. He’s earnt his way into the Flavovespia side, and will work hard to stay there. Daniel Lansdell let his inexperience at times get the better of him in the first few caps, even if he scored a debut goal. Nevertheless, he has time to grow into his role. Mohammed Saleem is something of a surprise debut call up. Only a fringe player at Dí Maozöxê, McCormick has obviously felt is experience at a higher league level than the Super League will pay dividends, and he makes the squad. Maybe a controversial call-up, as there were calls for other players to get called up.

David Blythe was a surprise star in an otherwise lacklustre cycle last time out. He plays his club football in Tikariot now, and will hope that experience continues to boost him. Pacey and with an eye to getting forward, playing as a wing back internationally will suit him to the ground. It’s his replacement at Marthorpe City, MJ Hayes who McCormick calls up for his potential debut. Almost a carbon copy of Blythe in terms of play style, although maybe not quite as effective in the defensive side of his game.

Midfielders

7 Kieron Player Age: 22 Position: CDM Club: Sleepy Hollow [TAE] Caps: 18 Goals: 0
8 David Clark Age: 27 Position: CDM Club: Langmere Green Rovers FC Caps: 36 Goals: 11
11 Steven Hall Age: 31 Position: RAM Club: Kings Lunsel FC Caps: 147 Goals: 57
17 Jonathan Feld Age: 30 Position: LM Club: Kings Lunsel FC Caps: 115 Goals: 15
18 Robert Totten Age: 26 Position: CAM Club: Loxthorpe Rovers FC Caps: 7 Goals: 1
19 Alexander Clarkson Age: 28 Position: CDM Club: Binclestead Wood FC Caps: 0 Goals: 0
20 Christopher Ace Age: 28 Position: RM Club: St Astons City FC Caps: 48 Goals: 5


The #7 shirt has previously only been worn by James King, but Marcus McCormick doesn’t call him up, and that could be the end of his international career. Kieron Player instead takes that shirt. Kieron Player seems a natural successor, good vision with a good pass on him to make up for that. Now playing in Taeshan, he’ll look to breakout and become an important player for Flavovespia in the coming years. David Clark will likely join him in central midfield. He’s good at winning the ball and being a nuisance for opposing midfielders. For a central defensive midfielder, he’s certainly not afraid to go into advanced positions, and with 11 goals in 36 caps, he can find the back of the net. He and Player will hope to be the dynamic duo in midfield McCormick and Flavovespia need. Jonathan Feld drops to a bench position for now. A left midfielder, but one who can play centrally, he’s a bit out of position in this setup. Nevertheless, he’s a hard worker and whilst he may not have the peak performance of his teammates, rarely has a particularly poor game. Alexander Clarkson is another debutant in the squad. Very much a no-nonsense central defensive midfielder, his physicality and tackling can be a hassle for teams looking to their midfield to bring success. How quickly he can adapt to the international game, and whether the pace of the game he can deal with or not will determine if he continues on in the international picture after AOCAF Cup 63.

Playing the central attacking midfield role is captain Steven Hall. Despite being a winger originally, he’s more than capable of playing anywhere in attacking midfield. His dribbling is second to none, and he can often find a pocket of space to create something from. Still seen by many as one of the best Flavovespian players, and a generational talent, at 31 the question does remain as to whether or not he can finally help Flavovespia to a World Cup appearance or deep AOCAF Cup or Cup of Harmony appearance. Robert Totten is his backup. He’s played very well both for Binclestead Wood and now Loxthorpe Rovers. He put in some reasonable performances in the World Cup Qualifiers, getting himself a goal, even if he took a few whacks. Totten is good at dribbling, passing and shooting, although he doesn’t excel anywhere in particular. Christopher Ace gets another call-up to the national side. The winger is one of, if not, the fastest of the Flavovespian players. However a lack of skill with the ball relative to this level has hampered him. Has played a few games in central attacking midfield with middling effectiveness. He may struggle for minutes without a formation change, but could be a bit of a wildcard off the bench.

Attackers

9 Michael Cole Age: 22 Position: CF Club: Waldster FC Caps: 1 Goals: 0
10 Scott Coleman Age: 28 Position: CF Club: Aries Chariots [NPH] Caps: 129 Goals: 81
21 Anthony Hannigan Age: 24 Position: CF Club: Loxthorpe Rovers FC Caps: 0 Goals: 0
22 Sean McClafferty Age: 28 Position: CF Club: Binclestead Wood FC Caps: 0 Goals: 0


With Scott Coleman starting in the Nepharan Zenith, for a side battling towards the top, it’s no surprise he’s been a starting striker for Flavovespia for so long, and still is. 81 goals in 129 caps is a very impressive record. Coleman has the gift of a poacher in finding positions to score from, with the pace and accuracy to get the goals. Who partners him has been a debate for a while now. McCormick has gone bold with the other striker choices. The #9 shirt goes to Michael Cole. The son of former manager Nick Cole, some are describing Michael Cole as potentially one of the best strikers of his generation in Flavovespia. He’s been playing well above his years for Waldster in recent seasons, and seems to be equally adept for now as both a creator and a finisher. Definitely one to watch, especially if his play complements Scott Coleman. However two debutants will be keen to impress. Anthony Hannigan burst onto the scene first at Croxlich as a teenager, then Hadford Hill before a move to Loxthorpe Rovers. Despite his relatively young age, he’s amassed a great goalscoring record. He has a turn of pace that can leave defenders wrong-footed and from there that creates the one on ones he loves to finish. The main criticisms of him are a tendency to struggle with the more difficult shots, plenty of his goals are “high chance” efforts and penalties. Sean McClafferty left Apsbrooke 6 years ago for Stanmorn, painted as their future star. He never lived up to the hype there, but at Binclestead Wood has proven very effective. He normally plays a slightly deeper role in an attacking pair, and can even play in central attacking midfield. Nevertheless, he has a powerful, but still decently accurate shot on him, and also has more of a positional awareness of teammates than maybe some other strikers possess. A player who, once seen as a busted transfer, now has the chance at international football.


Schedule:
MD1: Dogsmouth (Pomorie-Arena, Pomorie/Marzig) 0-1
MD2: Delaclava (Vest-Marlebucht-Stadion, Pomorie/Marzig) 2-3
MD3: Bye
MD4: Quebec (Vest-Marlebucht-Stadion, Pomorie/Marzig)
MD5: Valanora (Pomorie-Arena, Pomorie/Marzig)

Predicted Starting XI:
MD1: Aarif Muhammad, Lyons-May-Gardner-Cohen-Blythe, Player-Clark, Hall(c), Coleman-Cole (5-2-1-2)
MD2: Aarif Muhammad, Lyons-May-Gardner-Cohen-Blythe, Player-Clark, Hall(c), Coleman-Cole (5-2-1-2)
MD4: Aarif Muhammad, Lyons-May-Gardner-Lansdell-Blythe, Player-Clarkson, Hall(c), Coleman-Cole (5-2-1-2)

Style Mod: 0

Code: Select all

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Y
Godmod scoring events: TG me or Discord me first
RP injuries to my players: Y, I choose length of injury
Godmod injuries to my players: TG me or Discord me first, I choose length of injury
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Y
Hand out red cards to my players: Y (although if you want multiple Red Cards, TG me or Discord me first)
Godmod other events: TG me or Discord me first

COVID-19 specific issues: Flavovespians are assumed to be vaccinated/immune against this. However if your nation is in a pandemic, assume the Flavovespia NT take specific precautions to avoid infection (i.e. isolating at all times before and after the match, daily tests. If you have any particular questions or RP lines that may involve my permission, TG me or Discord me.

I'll try and post the next MD line-up here before each match. If not, assume the same as previous in the event of a win, or some rotation otherwise. Feel free to use any player as a sub (within reason), unless they're listed as injured or suspended

Code: Select all

OOC Info: The year in Flavovespia is 32AU. Player ages are taken from the start of the year, player teams are prior to TW31 (as of yet unopened). TG me or Discord me if you need some IC or OOC info for RP purposes.

[Pluvia and the Saxean Isles]

28 Greatstreet, Marienburg, Pluvia and the Saxean Isles

Prof. Charles Cunningham of the history department at the Royal Marienburg University was feeling puzzled. He had returned home to his wife to discuss the importance of the diary to his work and their recent fight. He had expected another fight or at least a robust discussion. Instead, he had been met with a chilly acceptance. His wife had not objected to anything he said, saying instead, "It's fine," or "Do what you want, Charles". Her only show of passion had been a brief lecture on answering his mobile phone and the importance of knowing that he was alive. He'd been fine, so he didn't really understand that bit, and the overall lack of emotion definitely wasn't like his wife. He had retreated to his study to think it over. Perhaps if he returned to the diary, it would help him understand.

The last diary entry saw William II's meeting with the Lord Constable, the Lord Stromberg. This was his third individual meeting with a member of the Praesidium. William II hoped that by meeting individually with each member of the Praesidium, he could convince them to support his plans. Together they could put up a united front, but individually, perhaps he could break them down. The issue with the Lord Constable was, quite frankly, that he was a vicious and unintelligent man, much more interested in using the police to crack down on undesirables and torture suspects than actually solve crimes. William II plumbed his depth of knowledge (a thimbleful) before informing him that he would use his wide powers as king to remove him from the Praesidium. He then appointed the Lord Hochheim as the new Lord Constable, consistent with his spymaster's recommendation of the man as scientifically-minded and a zealous pioneer of detective methods. With his own Lord Constable, a cowed Lord Ambassador, and a friendly Lord Treasurer, the Praesidium was beginning to take shape.

February 3, 1885

My next meeting with a member of the Praesidium was with the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Ashburn. I decided to meet with him next because he is the final of the four Praesidium members who may be removed or won over through friendship, force, bluster, or blackmail. The Lord Ashburn is avaricious, venal, corrupt, malicious, and thankfully, oozes these things behind him like a slug. It makes him quite easy to track.

To prepare for this meeting, I again returned to our spymaster. His ability in intelligence gathering and his skill in using that intelligence are unparalleled. The man has agents in many places, including within each of the ministries of the Praesidium. The Lord Ashburn surely has attempted to cover his tracks with regards to bribery, favorable sentencing for political allies, torture, extortion, and false imprisonment. Nonetheless, I suspected that he had only been partially successful in doing this, and that my spymaster's men would be able to ferret out whatever he had not been able to hide. I went to the man days before my meeting with the Lord Chancellor and in time, I was rewarded. A treasure trove of documents and witnesses testified to the man's incompetence and outright maladministration of office. This was exactly what I required.

When I met with the Lord Chancellor, I at first tried to offer the man as fair of a chance as I was willing to give him. I asked after the condition of the courts and the state of law and the prisons in our realm, and when he gave vague but positive answers, that was a black mark against him. I attempted to probe his openness to and understanding of modern methods of punishment and rehabilitation, or even his awareness of them, but he dismissed it out of hand. I silently gave him another black mark. Finally, I asked him about his efforts to root out corruption or ascertain that justice was being done in our realm. He asserted that everything was in order, as it should be, and that only the finest men held judgeships, state prosecutorial appointments, or wardenships of prisons. This was his third black mark. At this, I asked him to resign, hinting that I knew he was lying. He denied this vigorously, so I informed him that I knew of his many crimes and that he could resign and keep his lands and titles or he could have charges drawn up against him and see his day in court. At this, his face fell and he meekly agreed to resign his post. I do not believe that he will become a supporter of mine, but if I have removed him as a threat, this is enough.

Initially, I was desirous of appointing one of my tutors, a professor of law at the university as his replacement, but he is not a noble, and thus ineligible for the Praesidium. I have settled instead on the 1st Lord Pembroke. The Lord Pembroke is a military man, who practiced law at military tribunals and the like. No doubt some will criticize me for appointing a military man instead of a civilian, but so be it. My father created the man a noble for his evenhandedness, incorruptibility, and massive knowledge of the law. He will serve ably and will reform the courts as they ought to be.

Now begins the most difficult portion of my struggle to remake the Praesidium. The Lord Commander, the Lord Steward, and the Lord Chamberlain cannot be bribed, threatened, or blackmailed into resigning. They all have advantages of power, influence, heritage, and tradition on their sides. If I am to assay this task, I shall need all of my rhetorical skills to convince them or some sort of chip with which to bargain. Simply dismissing them would earn me more enemies than I care to make. I must think carefully about my next move.

[Nuovo Serone]

The Nuovoserone team for AOCAF LXIII

Information about Nuovo Serone:
Capital: Cucenza
Population:1,020,000
Demonym: Nuovoseronese
Country code: NSR
Football Association: NSAFA(Nuovo Serone Autonomous Football Association)
Nickname:I eroi
Football Philosophy:Much like the motherland, Juvencus, Nuovoseronese playstyle is an aggressive, counter-offensive form of football. Although not as aggressive and lackluster in regards to backline focus, it is still a pretty effective way of playing the game. The players are a bit more laid-back due to the islander way of life in Nuovo Serone, thus they won't be as hot-headed and inclined to commit a lot of foul plays or gather around the referee all that often. However, there is this sense of altruism so tactics require a lot of team effort to be pulled and fights are definitely not a necessity.
Tactics this AOCAF Cup:Despite being one of the weaker teams out there, a focus on the typical aggressive, counter-offensive style of play will be given, as it is the most common form of football in the nation. A 3-4-3 lineup, that is quite tightly knit and well-positioned, without a lot of rotation and cover, as it is the team's weakness. The tema will be hoping to get out with at least a victory.

Starting XI:
GK:Geronimo Albertini(Age 28)(AC Chiescara)
CB:Giordano Pusi(Age 26)(AC Cucenza)
CB:Martino De Sanctis(Age 19)(AC Navera)
CB:Luciano Caparotti(Age 22)(AC Portonovo)
CM:Danilo Goncalves(Age 30)(Cavalli FC)
CM:Alberto Federico(Age 28)(Deportiva de Paciras)
RM:Danielle Valentino(Age 22)(Potermo FC)
LM:Giorgio Ascenza(Age 31)(Rivenna FC)
CF:Giovanni Polente(Age 34)(Salvatore FC)
CF:Antonio Teixeira(Age 21)(Torregon UD)
CF:Basile Ancelotti(Age 27)(UD Copu)

Substitutions:
GK:Massimiliano D'Omori(Age 20)(UD Guadavilés)
CB:Gonzalo Solaez(Age 24)(Universita de Abragas)
CB:Justino Giovanne(Age 27)(Universita di Casopaglia)
CB:Adrian Brutti(Age 23)(AC Chiescara)
CM:Federico Mossini(Age 29)(AC Cucenza)
CM:Fransisco Gagliardi(Age 25)(AC Navera)
RM:Nicolao Setto(Age 17)(AC Portonovo)
LM:Luca Corini(Age 22)(Cavalli FC)
CF:Constantino Pavletti(Age 30)(Deportiva de Paciras)
CF:Juan Escudos(Age 20)(Potermo FC)
CF:Pau Sempreza(Age 26)(Rivenna FC)

Coaching staff:
Main coach:Oriol Vives
Secondary coach:Donaldo Sarrini
Secondary coach:Carlo Istude

Home

Away

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: Yes
Choose my scoring events: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yea, of course you can, go crazy, make my goalkeeper temporarily blind while you guys are shooting at him or something. 
Godmod Injuries to my players: No
Give Yellow Cards to my players: Yes, 1 per game.(see below, if it's a 2nd yellow)
Give Red Cards to my players: Yes, 1 per 2 games, with a preferred punishment of 1 matchday
Godmod other events: Yes, however in regards to the coronavirus or any plague-related RPs, the country just recently stopped an epidemic of grand levels of its own, so it'd be wise not to RP another one.
RP injuries to my players: Yea, but nothing too serious such as aocaf cup-ending or career-ending. The max is 2-matchday long injuries.
Style Modifier: +3

[Krytenia]

A Tale Of Yes And OH DEAR GOD NO
By Rami Niblick in Emberton

ONCE more unto the breach, dear friends. Paul Davis has kept most of his cards, but very much shuffled the deck. With an almost-but-not-quite-new squad, the Dragons travel to Siovanija and Teusland with high hopes but low expectations following their surrendering of the Cup of Harmony title.

The changes that have been made have, for the most part, one eye on the Krytenian campaign for World Cup 88. Veteran goalkeeper Damian Carpenter, for so long the recognisable and consistent prescence between the sticks, finds himself out of the squad entirely with his international career almost certainly over. Robert Wilson, who has been quietly honing his game in the "Glorious Southwest", will be hoping to fill those shoes (well, gloves); if he fails in that regard, Kevin Rizzo and Aaron Shephard make for a pair of talented understudies who'd be more than happy to take over.

Defensively, a broken ankle pre-tournament has ruled out Rodolfo Marquez, allowing Stephen Cameronesi a proper chance in the first team. Ian Angell, the only uncapped defender in the squad, offers an alternative if Davis wants to play a more attacking style, whilst Alex Rivers and Eddie Bull will both be eager to force their way into the Okano-Sinton conversation.

Perhaps the most surprising omission from the squad is Ben Foyle. It looks like Davis has decided to go in a different direction, putting his faith in Jésus Cruz instead. Robert Reeder, who had a breakthrough season helping Casuals Osteria to the O-League title, will enjoy experiencing the rarified air of being in the squad for a major tournament, though it remains to be seen how much faith the manager has in his teenage winger in terms of meaningful minutes. Max Snelders, meanwhile, will take this opportunity to learn at the feet of Cormac O'Neill in what could be the Stanton midfielder's last major tournament.

Up front, the question still remains; who has the ability to play left forward? The answer, at least for this tournament, appears to be Alex Vinelli. The Ashton Olympic striker was banging them in for fun domestically, and has the asdvantage of being naturally left-footed. Unfortunately, he's also thirty-one, so clearly isn't the sort of player you'd want to be looking at for the long term. Simon Ellison, on the other hand, could be one to watch, but probably needs to be playing for a team that creates more chances to truly hone his game.

That's the personnel sorted; now what of the opposition? Well, Yesopilathia are first on the fixture list - a team that Krytenia should beat, and a win would of course raise the Dragons' confidence ahead of trickier games. Pluvea and the Saxean Isles shouldn't be overlooked, but again on paper it's three points for our lads, whilst the match against Hapilopper on Matchday Four could be a real six-pointer. None of that will have registered, though, because of who the top seeds in the group happen to be.

That's right; it's time for Episode 33 in one of the biggest rivalries going. Krytenia and Starblaydia face off yet again, with the usual bouts of jingoism and irrational hatred that usually ensue. The Dragons have the numbers on their side, with a 14-6-12 record in 'A' internationals between the sides, and also won their last encounter. That being said, there's a reason the phrase is "You Beat Us, We're Still Better", and it would behoove the Krytenian team not to put too much focus on that match at the expense of the rest of the group phase.

There is one chink of light to add, too. The Curse of Matchday One doesn't apply for this tournament, as the Dragons have been handed their bye day in the first round of fixtures. Hopefully that means they can hit the ground running when they play Yesopilathia on Matchday Two. Onward!

[Demot]

Demot "Dynamo" Roster

Kits

Home Away

Manager: Scott Gaines, age 57
Assistant: Gary Josephs, age 55

Modifier: +4

GK: Ramón Coleman, age 27, Tiranyus FC
GK: Erica Caldwell, age 29, Skyhaven FC(F)
GK: Elsie Morris, age 33, Santa Rosa FC (F)
LB: Emily Blevins, age 23, Skyhaven FC (F)
LB: Melvin Kinney, age 31, Freestone FC
CB: Jacqueline Juárez, age 28, Skyhaven FC (F)
CB: Irene Colón, age 24, Club Demot (F)
RB: Julio Jordan, age 28, Druidisian United
RB: Clyde Torres, age 22, Atalantian FC
RW: Judith Mason, age 28, Club Demot (F)
RW: Derek Crawford, age 21, Druidisian FC
LW: Irene Osborne, age 28, Atalantian FC (F)
LW: Glen López, age 23, Santa Rosa FC
MC: Dawn Washington, age 20, Parthen United (F)
MC: Ricardo Henderson, age 27, Club Demot
AMC: Theodore Dunlap, age 29, Oceanic United
AMC: Randy Banks, age 31, Santa Rosa FC
AMC: Edgar Méndez, age 26, Likewell Kirk
AMC: Margaret Castañeda, age 27, Freestone FC (F)
ST: Gabriel Baldwin, age 27, Druidisian FC
ST: Gilbert Irwin, age 28, Skyhaven FC
ST: Bryan Hernández, age 22, Santa Rosa FC
ST: André Maynard, age 30, Likewell Kirk

Morris
Jordan               Juárez              Kinney
Mason                         Henderson                      Osborne
 Banks                 Méndez  
  Maynard         Baldwin    

I Give To My Opponent The Permission To:
=================================
Choose My Goalscorers: Y
Godmod Goalscoring Events: N
Injure Players: Y, but no more than two games out
Godmod Injury Events: N
Red Card Players: Y
Yellow Card Players: Y
Godmod Other Events: TG me first.
=================================

[Gyatso-kai]

Gyatso-kai Men's National Football Team,
凯海洋国家足球队
Kaihaiyáng Guójia Zúqiú Duì
Gyats'kai Tsad droten Taab’rugam

Official Name: Gyatso-kai Men’s National Football Team
凯海洋国家足球队 (Kaihaiyáng Guójia Guójia Zúqiú Duì)
Gyats'kai Tsad droten Taab’rugam
Official Nation Name: The Avatarian Republics of Gyatso-kai
凯海洋降世神通共和国 (Kaihaiyáng Jiàngshì Shéntong Gònghéguó)
Tsad Gyats'kai Jettise
Country Code: GKI
Officiating League: The Republic Premier Football League (RPFL)
Founded: 1876 (228 AKy)
Regional Officiating Body: The Atlantian Oceania Confederation of Association Football (AOCAF)
Year of Membership: 2019.2 (63 AAg)
AOCAF Cup Record: 8-6-15 (WDL)
Titles: 0 (Four AOCAF Cup Appearances)
Rank: 24th (After AOCAF LXII)
Nickname: Bisons

Despite a successful AOCAF LXII, which saw the Bisons emerge from the group stage for the first time in the Atlantian Oceania regional tournament, to the Eighty-Seventh Edition of the World Cup which saw the team just barely miss out on the World Cup Proper, it had seemed as though the ‘Mandalorian Experiment’ was finally paying off for the team.

Then came the Cup of Harmony…

In just three short games, everything that Head Coach Kad’e Tay’haai and Avatarian Sports Legend Ishii Hakoda had worked so hard to accomplish was quickly dashed out; like a fire drowned by a typhoon, the Bisons were swiftly dispatched in a tournament many analysts had seen them at least getting out of the Group Stage. Scoring 2.67 Goals Scored Average is a somewhat respectable statistic, unless of course you are giving up 5.67 Goals Against Average against teams that should have been easily handled. The Bison goalkeeping feel apart, the defence never could quite get in stride, and the offence was lackluster at best. All this after a World Cup which saw those same stats as 2.78 and 1.78, respectively.

So what happened?

Honestly, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The goalkeeper tandem of Zhao Baoli and Armok Hikari were essentially useless. Head Coach Tay’haai, it is reported, wanted to put in Hamada Roshi in net for the final game against Electrum however a sore ankle during practice that morning led to Hamada being sidelined and Armok taking the start for the third consecutive loss in the three-game invitational.

So what has changed since that tournament?

Unfortunately for most of the team, very little.

Most of the lines remain the same, and the Starting XI are basically the same. Staff-wise, the team has been the same since World Cup 84, and Ishii Hakoda will not be returning for the 2021.2 Campaign, though he was present at The Combine as well as the two-week training camp.

However, the largest difference is the departure of Zhao Baoli from the team. The starting goalkeeper since AOCAF 60, Zhao has been a consistent member of the team, having been the backup since the return from The Silence. The reasons for his departure – or rather, his failure to return following Cup of Harmony 79 – are varied depending upon the source, and Zhao himself could not be reached for comment. According to sources inside the National Sports Council, Zhao reported to the first day of The Combine, and had a three-hour long meeting with Tay’haai and Vhett, expressing his concerns for the team; everything from failures in offence to coaching issues, it was reported by staff that you could hear shouting from inside the conference room. It was also reported that Zhao – a Earth Kingdom player from the border kingdom of Waidun in the southern islands – left the meeting with a bruised eye and Tay’haai was seen at practice later that day with a swollen lip; who knows what kind of ‘Macho-Mando’ happened behind those closed doors. There are other sources from Enceri who said that, during the last few games of the season, Zhao had very little good to speak of his experience on the National Team, as well as how he felt that it was a wasted venture.

Harsh words to hear from the inside… but what does that mean for the team going forward?

Already, we have seen less media access during training and practices; from no more locker room interviews to no post-day press conferences. On top of that, President Vhett has been uncharacteristically quite regarding the team leading up to the 2021.2 Campaign, even going as far as to say “Nayc mitte" in interviews whenever asked about the team. All we know is that the team is looking for revenge, looking for redemption, and we just have to wait and see what the final result is.

See if they can take the fires that burned them going into the Cup of Harmony are enough to bring glory in AOCAF.

I wouldn’t hold my breath…


***************
The Roster

When RP'ing, the name of my players in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS AND BOLD are the player's family names. These are the names on their jersey and the name professional commentators would call out when making observations. Also, do not write the names in all capital letters, as this is somewhat annoying when reading; I just imagine someone reading calmly along then suddenly SHOUTING the player's name. For example, if writing about FENG Shaoli making a long shot, one would write "Feng made a long shot..." as opposed to "FENG made a long shot..." If you have any further questions regarding names, please feel free to telegram me.

Players age ONE YEAR in-between cups.

Starting players will have their names in GREEN type
Alternate players will have their names in BLUE type
Reserve Players will have their names in STANDARD type.
Travelling Players will be in tables.

22- ARMOK Hikari
Height: 177cm - Weight: 80kg – Age: 27 years old - Team: Southern AFC

Coming off a successful fifth season with Southern AFC, Armok Hikari has continued to develop rather nicely when compared to his style back at his alma mater, University of Omashu. After the announcement of Zhao Baoli taking off the 2021.2 Campaign to rest and regroup after his disastrous performances in both World Cup 87 and Cup of Harmony 79, it was to be expected to see Armok promoted to starter.

Unlike Zhao and his sniping mid-range clears, Armok tends to favor the long-range kicks out to midpitch so as to clear as much action from the back end as possible. Also, Armok is a much more traditional goalkeeper when compared to the very ball-heavy play styles of the former starter for the Bisons; he firmly believes that his primary goal is to stop balls from getting to the net, and by clearing out the attacking zone quickly, it gives him a chance to set the team up more defensively as he does tend to hand over possession often, but that allows him to focus on the main job of stopping balls and not worrying about diving out of the box and going for more ‘flashy’ plays.

Rating: B - Team Relationship: B - Morale: B - Form: B
CAPS: :: 32 GOALS: N/A :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 61-62,[ WC 85-87, CoH 79

44- HAMADA Roshi
Height: 181cm - Weight: 90kg – Age: 23 years old - Team: Concord Dusk AFC

After signing a three year, ¥15 million contract with Concord Dusk AFC, Hamada Roshi has essentially made it as a goalkeeper in Gyatso-kai. Coming onto Concord Dusk to backup the aging Kjotvi Bar’kad is no easy assignment, however, with most analysts seeing Bar’kad retiring in no more than two years, soon Hamada may see himself starting for the Black & Gold.

A player who developed an odd style in the Fire Nation, Hamada is known for stepping way in front of the net and attempting to use his physique to stop an offensive player before getting to the ball. Many attribute this odd quirk to Hamada and his twin brother Yoshi having grown up playing ice hockey; whereas Roshi would go on to find his love in football, his brother Yoshi continues to attract scouts on the ice at the University of Kyoko in the Fire Nation. Equally adept at his position as a younger Kio’los, the 2021.2 Campaign is now the time to prove to the nation that he is the right player chosen to succeed Zhao.
Rating: B - Team Relationship: B - Morale: A - Form: C
CAPS: 4 :: GOALS: N/A :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 62, WC 87

31- LEE Findao
Height: 191cm - Weight: 94kg – Age: 20 years old - Team: Academy of South Kibago

An incredibly young and underdeveloped player – at least in terms of multi-verse play – Lee Findao took the Avatarian Football world by surprise when it was announced after The Combine that they would be taking the Reserve Position on the National Team ahead of suspected replacement Pao Lishin. Such a surprise that on the day the rosters were set to be announced, Lee had already packed themselves up and was boarding a transport out of the National Sports Complex.

Not the most confident way to start your journey to the AOCAF Cup…

With a collegiate style typical of players his size – wide stance, quick to try and muscle defenders out of the ball, and making saves from deep out of the net – we can only hope that has time goes on, Lee will continue to mature under the tutelage of Nishimura on the National Team.

Rating: C+ - Team Relationship: B - Morale: B - Form: C
CAPS: N/A :: GOALS: N/A :: TOURN. PLAYED: None

Travelling With the Team

Name		Age		Team					Nation              .
PAO Lishin	24		Mando FC				Earth
TSUTSAMA Yen	21		University of Adirolf			Fire
TSUNADE Ki’sae	20		Kyoshi State University			Mandalorian

As had been done under Vhett, Head Coach Tay’haai has instituted a Travelling Corps so as to bring young and upcoming players along with the Bisons to show them what Multiverse Play is all about. Pao Lishin, still a bit bitter about being passed over last World Cup and now for AOCAF, is a surprise to see return on the travelling corps. Last campaign, it was reported that Pao spent most of the practice days away from the other members of the goalkeeping unit; in the weeks leading up to the AOCAF Cup, it is being reported he is talking more with Goalkeeping Coach Nishimura Kenshin.

Tsutsama Yen, is a relative newcomer to the multiverse; having a somewhat average season at UA, he came to the National Team tryouts before World Cup 87 and put up some impressive physical numbers through the Combine, and thus found his way onto the Corps. Showing great promise as a younger player, it Is reported that he is to be signed to Gaoling Union upon graduation.

With the promotion of Lee Findao to Reserve, the third spot on the Corps was awarded to Tsunade Kise, a young Mandalorian keeper out of Kyoshi State. At just 20-years-of-age, he is still developing on the collegiate level, though shows a similar style to the former Bison Aki Kio’los. Expect to see him on the Corps for another campaign or two before he is considered for promotion.

Left Defenders:
16- TERCAR Shuajo
Height: 180cm - Weight: 84kg – Age: 24 years old - Team: Mando FC

Tercar Shuajo, who signed a four-year contract with Mando FC after graduating from Northern University, has added 8kg to his frame in muscle, yet still retains his speed. A very quick and agile defender, Tercar uses his feet and agility to outmaneuver most other players instead of relying on sheer mass to take away a ball, a tactic he learned from pairing with Itawaku during exhibition games prior to World Cup 86.

Now into his second campaign as starting defender, Tercar is looking to further cement himself into the team. With both Hashimoto Isamiru and Somchai Kikwan both growing older with every passing game, soon it may be time for Tercar to take his speed and agility to the centre of the pitch.
Rating: B- - Team Relationship: B - Morale: B - Form: C
CAPS: 44 :: GOALS: :: 11 TOURN. PLAYED: WC 86-87, CoH 79

12- PAM Kai
Height: 183cm - Weight: 86kg – Age: 25 years old - Team: Senlin Timbers

Formerly the backup to the Beast of the North, Pam Kai spent five tournaments in the shadow of Itawaku, hoping to one day earn the starting spot from him or to replace him. However, at the tryout camp, it was Tercar Shuajo who shined, and received the Starting Spike from Tay’haai. Following another lackluster season in Senlin, Pam has shown himself to be a perennial backup defender; though this time, he has been kicked out of the limelight by a former classmate and teammate of his from Northern University… One has to wonder how that will play out during the tournament.

Rating: B+ - Team Relationship: B - Morale: B - Form: A
CAPS: 32 :: GOALS: 14 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59, 61-62,WC 84-87, CoH 79

26 – Khánh KA’LOMI
Height: 190cm - Weight: 94kg – Age: 21 years old - Team: Island FC

A young Southern Watertribesman who signed a professional contract with Island FC at just 20-years-of-age, Khánh Ka’lomi is already making waves in the Avatarian sports community. With an impressive size for such a young player, many see him as the next Itawaku, and some have already started calling him “The Beast of the South”. In his first season at Island FC, Ka’lomi put up impressive numbers for a defencemen; ending his season with the highest involvement in goals by a defender with 2 goal and 7 assists to go with 6 clean sheets. Given the way the Bisons have been playing in tournaments prior, don’t expect Ka’lomi to find himself sitting in the press box too much, with a late series call-up likely should Pam or Tercar start to tire or fail to produce.
Rating: B- - Team Relationship: B - Morale: B - Form: C
CAPS: 11 :: GOALS: 1 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 62, WC 87, CoH 79

Central Defenders
5- HASHIMOTO Isamiru
Height: 178cm - Weight: 75kg – Age: 32 years old - Team: Ba Sing Se UNITED

One of the most highly-rated player for the Bison defence, Hashimoto Isamiru, or “Hashi” as he is loving called by fans, has shown himself to be a very valuable asset to the team. A strong defensive player who often falls in to a full-back position, Hashimoto has made great strides in improving his passing and marking skills since he was traded to Ba Sing Se UNITED from Keldabe FC after a very disappointing season which saw Kelabe not advance to the playoffs for the first time in five years.

However, as time as worn on, so too as age on Hashimoto. Set to turn 33 during the 2021.2 Campaign, many have been calling for Hashi to step down gracefully and retire. However, in previous interviews over the 2021.1 Campaign, Hashimoto has already said he would not even entertain retirement until he had earned his century-and-half cap for the National Team.

Only 48 more caps to go…

Rating: A – Team Relationship: A – Morale: A – Form: A
CAPS: 102 :: GOALS: 18 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59-62,WC 84-87, CoH 76, 79

15- UTHAN A’den
Height: 185cm - Weight: 83kg – Age: 23 years old - Team:Kyoshi State University

A large and physically imposing player, Uthan A’den does not play a very physical game like Auranaq or Hashimoto, but instead proves himself to be one of the fastest players on the team; one who uses that speed to outpace and overtake many of his opponents. Less prove to tackle and trip, and more likely to simply run up from behind and steal the ball mid-dribble, expect to see Uthan engaging opponents closer to the net than you will be comfortable with from previous Bisons campaigns.
Rating: A- - Team Relationship: B - Morale: A - Form: A
CAPS: 88 :: GOALS: 20 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59- 62,WC 84-87, CoH 76, 79

15- Ganham Ri’om
Height: 175cm - Weight: 70kg – Age: 26 years old - Team: Concord Dusk AFC

Though not as fast as Uthan, Ganham Ri’om is a full-back more focused on the offence, who uses his skill with the ball to often drive the offence from the backfield. Though Ganham can have some minor difficulties when tasked with defence (given that he played his entire career at Hatsu State as a offensive midfielder before switching to defence when drafted), he is a very dedicated player and works hard to improve where he knows there are weakness.
Rating: B+ - Team Relationship: B - Morale: A - Form: B
CAPS: 32 :: GOALS: 9 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59-60, 62,WC 84-87, CoH 79

Right Defenders:

3- SOMCHAI Kikwan
Height: 187cm - Weight: 83kg – Age: 32 years old - Team: Itakawai City

While certainly not the oldest player in the defence, Somchai Kikwan does serve as the counterpoint to Uthan’s youthful excitement. Having graduated from Kyoshi State, Somchai is very familiar to the style of play Uthan is used to, and the two of them communicate very well on the side of the field. Very adept at playing the middle of the field, when pushed to the right side, Somchai is quick to adapt and has the endurance and stamina to keep up with the demands.

Having made his multiverse debut in World Cup 85, Somchai has continued to play through a nagging lower body injury. While he has shown signs of improvement – as well as the additional reports of him seeing a Northern Healer for therapy, he continues to play a On-Off schedule; starting one game, resting the next. Many felt he should be taken out of the starting line-up, however, after being the only player to score in four of the Bisons’ five World Cup 86 victories he seems to have garnished a bit of faith from the ASPN team of commentators. Though in World Cup 87, he hit a bit of a dry spell and then during the Cup of Harmony 79 scored three of the team’s eight goals.
Rating: A – Team Relationship: A – Morale: A – Form: A
CAPS: 42 :: GOALS: 18 :: TOURN. PLAYED: WC 85-87, CoH 79

23- HUANG Aodhán
Height: 183cm - Weight: 84kg – Age: 26 years old - Team: Makapu ERUPT

With Mi’rez Yiman retiring, Huang Aodhán would find himself moving up on the list of right defenders. Signed onto a Taap-A team right out of college, Huang was quick to mature and found his way onto the Makapu ERUPT just two season ago. A quick study, he adapted well to his new team and soon made it to their starting eleven. Huang is a natural athlete, with impressive speed and stamina to match, and we can expect to see that natural athleticism on display as the tournament wears on and fatigue sets into the Starting Eleven.
Rating: C – Team Relationship: B – Morale: B – Form: C
CAPS: 30:: GOALS: 4 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 60-62, WC 84-87, CoH 79

15 – Tarou ADEEN
Height: 189cm - Weight: 90kg – Age: 22 years old - Team: Royal Flames

With the retirement of a couple of the Bisons’ core defenders, the Travelling Corps has produced another potential feature player in the form of Tarou Adeen. A product of both the Royal Fire Developmental Programs as well as serving under the tutelage of Fujimoto Zhong at Omashu State, Adeen is sure to see his number called in future tournaments. Much like his counterpart on the left, Tay’haai seems to be wanting to bring size into the game; Adeen stands at just under 190cm and weighs a little under 90kg. Combine that size with his speed and vision on the pitch, and you have a defender who can knock an opponent off course and redirect a ball to a forward without even lifting his head from his target. As with others in the lower levels of the team, expect to see Adeen as the tournament progresses.
Rating: C – Team Relationship: B – Morale: B – Form: C
CAPS: 2 :: GOALS: N/A :: TOURN. PLAYED: CoH 79

Travelling With the Team

Position	Name		Age		School / Team			Nation                |
RD		KATO Zhao Ling	22		Enceri FC			Mandalorian	
RD		YAMADA Goro	21		Republic City State University	Fire
CD		ZHOU Hiroto	21		Kibago University		Earth

The Travelling Corps for Defense is all small trio of defenders who are all potential future Bisons.

Kato Zhao Ling, who graduated from Enceri University and signed an entry-level two-year contract with FC She Pass, is coming off his first RPFL All-Star selection and a third-place finish in the 2021.1 Season. Yamato Goro continues to excel at Republic City State, having caught the eyes of scouts from both Hikrou and FC Itakawai; likely to sign following graduation, Yamato is certainly being watched to replace either of the aging defencemen in Hashimoto and Somchai. Zhou Hiroto, who helped Kibago University win their third consecutive Earthen Shield tournament in five years, also is vying for an eventual spot on the national roster.

Defensive Midfielders:

7- TAKAHASHI Hikaru
Height: 178cm - Weight: 76kg – Age: 35 years old - Team: Northern AFC

A strong defensive midfielder. Takahashi Hikaru’s strength lies in his kicks; easily able to send a ball soaring across the pitch with surprising accuracy, Takahashi is known for feeding the ball to the strikers and catching many opposing defences off-guard. He often has great vision, and he is easily able to read the play and can adapt accordingly.

Now, Takahashi has to step into a new role, as the oldest player on the team. With the retirement of so many of his fellow over-30 players, some feel the pressure is on Takahashi to produce more in this lengthened tournament, or find himself warming the bench while the young ones sharpen their teeth.
Rating: S – Team Relationship: S – Morale: A – Form: A
CAPS: 103 :: GOALS: 45 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59-62,WC 84-87, CoH 75, 79

6- MA Haijiang
Height: 187cm - Weight: 85kg – Age: 32 years old - Team: Northern AFC

Head Coach Tay’haai made the unusual selection of having both of his defensive midfielders come from the same team, for reasons most can ascertain. A proven veteran on the pitch, Ma Haijiang complements Takahashi’s strong kicks and accuracy with the speed to overcome most opponents; if he can not strike a ball deep, Takahashi will often send a volley up to Ma who will then run it into the offensive zone before lasering the ball to an open forward. Expect to see either Ma or Takahashi in the assist column for plenty of goals.

Though, now with both players into their 30s, and many calling for younger blood to take the reigns, one has to wonder how much longer the ‘Northern Duo’ will continue to play together… or worse, who will be the first to retire…
Rating: A- – Team Relationship: A – Morale: B – Form: A
CAPS: 102 :: GOALS: 30 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59-62,WC 84-87, CoH 76, 79

17- YOSHIDA Arata
Height: 177cm - Weight: 80kg – Age: 28 years old - Team: Royal Flames

Yoshida Arata is a dedicated player who has worked incredibly hard to make his way to the national team; having spent several months training with one of the greatest Avatarian midfielders to ever play the game, Bralor Kotyc’e. Time spent with Bralor has proven to greatly improve his game, seeing Yoshida climb up the ranks during the Trials for the national team.

Though, Yoshida is not a player you will often notice. He is not one for showboating, and very rarely makes a goal or garnishes an assist. Instead, he focuses his time on the pitch by setting up the offense for a great pass, a decisive tackle that often swings the game’s momentum, or just being able to intercept the ball at the most opportune time. One of the best midfielders in the Southern Conference of the RPFL, Yoshida is sure to see time on the pitch by relieving Takahashi or Ma in the later games of the competition.

Rating: B+ – Team Relationship: A – Morale: B – Form: B
CAPS: 45 :: GOALS: 8 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59, 60, 62-63,WC 84-87

Neutral Midfielders:

18- HISAKAWA Si Woo
Height: 183cm - Weight: 84kg – Age: 32 years old - Team: Senlin Timbers

An extremely technical midfielder, Hisakawa Si Woo is not one to shy away from trying for goals. More aept at reading the play and setting up his forwards, Hisakawa is a bit more impatient than one would like, and he posseses the speed and agility to run through a good defence and find the back of the net on occasion. He is also the only player on the Bisons who is currently unsigned; his contract with the Taap-A team Omashu Athletic ended after AOCAF LX, and with nothing really to showcase his worth, Omashu Athletic chose to not sign Hisakawa; a fact that has certainly hurt his morale going into the last World Cup. However, an impressive showing, including four goals at WC 85, saw Hisakawa sign a two-year contract with the Senlin Timbers just days after the completion of the group stage.
Rating: B+ – Team Relationship: B – Morale: B – Form: A
CAPS: 73 :: GOALS: 20 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59-62,WC 84, 86-87, CoH 76,79

Attacking Midfielders:

8- YU Shichiro
Height: 183cm - Weight: 85kg – Age: 27 years old - Team: Keldabe FC

With a very offensive-minded footballing style, Yu Shichiro works as the last link between the midfield and the offence. Much like Hisakawa, Yu has been known to even advance from the midfield to score quite a few key goals in pivotal games, including the 2019.2 Ve’vut Cup winning goal against Concord Dusk AFC. He has a powerful long shot and is exceptional at heading, both of which are aided by his height. However, as skilled as he is in offense, Yu still prefers to pass the ball up to forwards for an assist in a goal as opposed to being the star player.

Rating: A- – Team Relationship: A – Morale: B – Form: A
CAPS: 76 :: GOALS: 11 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59-62,WC 84-87, CoH 79

11- GUANYU Jun
Height: 185cm - Weight: 81kg – Age: 25 years old - Team: Omashu Athletic (Taap-A)
A very creative midfielder, Guanyu Jun is very capable of making plays on the fly; with great vision and quick feet, he often can set up his forwards for a great goal or keep the ball moving through the middle. Though having graduated from Heibai University right after AOCAF, Guanyu, who managed to only appear in a single game during AOCAF, started in the next two World Cups as well as AOCAF 60, before being knocked off his starting position by Yu Shichiro coming into AOCAF 61. Who knows how that will play out, seeing as how many in the sports world see Guanyu as more of a playmaker than Yu and a bit more skilled despite being three years his junior.

Rating: B+ – Team Relationship: B – Morale: B – Form: A
CAPS: 34 :: GOALS: 8 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59, 60,62,WC 84-85,87, CoH 79

14 – Fei’kao SONG
Height: 185cm - Weight: 81kg – Age: 24 years old - Team: FC Mando

Relatively young when compared to his teammates, Fei’kao Song chose to forgo his collegiate career, getting drafted by FC Mando the day before his twentieth birthday. Despite all the fanfare of his first season behind him, Song has not had a promising start to his sophomore season. Given his still-developing skills in midfield, his is seen as a comparatively weak player and often spends more time with the coaching staff than other more-seasoned players. Song, much like Hisakawa, is a technical player by nature whose greatest asset is not in his aim or power, but in the art of dribbling which he uses at every opportunity. While more prone to provide assists on plays as opposed to goals, Song has proven himself through Trials to Tay’haai and earned a spot on the National Team, albeit a reserve position.

Rating: B- – Team Relationship: A – Morale: B – Form: C
CAPS: 14 :: GOALS: 3 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 60, WC 87 CoH 76, 79

Travelling With the Team

Position	Name			Age		School/Team					Nation
DM		INOUE Anernerk	24		R.C UNITED				Water
DM		Kal ITOWA		24		FC Beijing				Water
NM		Penlu SAITO		21		Omashu				Fire
OM		SHAO Mi’ka		23		Solus FC				Water
OM		DIK Up’lis		22		Northern AFC				Earth

Mostly comprised of Water Tribesmen, the Midfield Travelling Corps is a grabbag of talent. From the University of the Northern Tribes come home-grown Inoue Anernerk, who at just like his father, the famed Inoue Kuruk, completed back-to-back double-digit scoring seasons in his last two seasons of college; impressive for a man who is supposed to be on the defensive midfield. From UST, Kal Itowa mirrors the success of Inoue, though a career less filled with goals and more with assists. Penlu Saito, a young player from the developmental Chomain State Academy, hopes to see a professional contract within the year, and with such a great season in the ADFL, you can be sure he will at least entertain some good offers. Out of the University of Kibago, Shao Mi’ka is a relatively quiet player who has had offers from both Gaoling Union and Senlin Timbers. Dik Up’lis rounds out the Travelling Corps, bringing from Omashu State a drive for excellence many teams would love to have, even if it comes with a bit more maturing to be fostered.

9 - Dag’da SKIRATA
Height: 185cm - Weight: 85kg – Age: 25 years old - Team: Ba Sing Se UNITED

From the fabled and illustrious Skirata family, Dag’da Skirata continues to show why the Skirata’s are the most famous Avatarian family in sports; from his grandfather Kad coaching the Men’s National Ice Hockey Team to his father A’den’s 59 goals in 190 caps for the Bisons, Dag’da has some massive shoes to fill. Though his youthful energy often times shows itself in classic mistakes, Skirata is able to power his way through many the defender and be it by foot or by head, he finds the net more often than not. Earning his century in the abysmal Cup of Harmony 79, Skirata hopes to redeem himself in the next campaign set to begin in Atlantian Oceania. In-between the 2021.1 and 2021.2 Campaigns, Skirata has shocked much of the Avatarian Sports world, forgoing the expected signing with his hometown FC Itakawai and signing with their interleague rival Ba Sing Se United for an undisclosed amount; however, the six-year contract is likely one of the most expensive to be signed in recent memory.

Rating: S – Team Relationship: S – Morale: S – Form: A
CAPS: 101 :: GOALS: 59 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59-62,WC 84-87, CoH 76,79

10 - SONG Kaoru
Height: 178cm - Weight: 74kg – Age: 27 years old - Team: FC Mando

Much like Skirata, Song Kaoru comes from a sports-centric family; with his father a coach in the RPFL, his mother a third-line winger for the Ice Bisons and his younger brother the star goalkeeper for Itakawai City, fans and critics have come to expect nothing but greatness from Song. They have certainly not been disappointed in domestic play, with Song showing a near-effortless game on the pitch. Dodging defenders as if they were standing still, sniping balls past nets which might as well have been empty, Song has quickly become the media’s favorite player... especially with how he loves to be interviewed.

Rating: A – Team Relationship: A – Morale: A – Form: A
CAPS: :: 98 GOALS: 43 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59-62,WC 84-87, CoH 76, 79

29- LI Yuuta
Height: 185cm - Weight: 85kg – Age: 28 years old - Team: Island FC

Older than both of the starting forwards, Li Yuuta also finds himself the oldest member of the Forward Corps. Playing the last six seasons in Island FC, Li has continued to develop as a well-rounded secondary striker; able to shield the ball from the other team and hold them off long enough for either of the Bisons’ primary stikers to get into position for a great shot. Li is very adept at striking himself, having led Island FC in Goals Scored last season.

Rating: A – Team Relationship: A – Morale: B – Form: A
CAPS: 25 :: GOALS: 6 :: TOURN. PLAYED: AOCAF 59, 60,62,WC 84-87, CoH 76

19 - KIM Vinh Lành
Height: 185cm - Weight: 80kg – Age: 26 years old - Team: Island FC

A seasoned pivot man through five seasons at Island FC, Kim Vinh Lành is known for his ability to read the pitch and place himself ahead of a ball to bring in an attempt --- even if the pass is terrible --- through his excellent ball-handling skills. Albeit not the most conditioned player, with stamina that often finds him at the back of the pack during running exercises, Kim makes up for his endurance with incredibly fast bursts to the goal.

Rating: B – Team Relationship: A – Morale: B – Form: A
CAPS: 21 :: GOALS: 5 :: TOURN. PLAYED: WC 86-87, CoH 79

---

Captain: TAKAHASI Hikaru
Vice-Captain: HASHIMOTO Isamiru
Third Captain: MA Haijiang

Kick Takers (in order of ability)
Free kicks: SONG Kaoru
Right corners: GANHAN Ri’om, UTHAN A’den
Left corners: TAKAHASHI Hikaru, UTHAN A’den
Penalties: Dag’da SKIRATA, TAKAHASHI Hikaru, MA Haijiang, GUANYU Jun, HASHIMOTO Isamiru, YU Shichiro, SOMCHAI Kikwan

---

Head Coach: Kad’e TAY’HAAI
Height: 182cm – Weight: 76kg – Age 60 years old – Team: University of Adirolf, Head Coach

With 253 caps in Multiverse Play, and originally having been dubbed “The Next One” as a player, it only seemed right when Vhett Boba, the esteemed Head Coach of the Natonal Team since World Cup 57, stepped down that Kad’e Tay’haai would step into his boots. After such an illustrious career in football, Tay’haai found himself retiring from the sport in 2016.2 and moving on to become an assistant coach for the University of Adirolf for three cycles, before stepping into the role of Head Coach in 2018.3. While Adirolf has not quite enjoyed great success through the ACSA, it has begun to turn itself around; after boasting their first losing record in 32 years, the Adirolf Gators came out of 2019.2 with a 17-7-0 record and a second place finish in the National Championships.

However, with all of this domestic success, Tay’haai has struggled to convert it to the multiverse. Since the return of the Bisons’ from The Silence, the team has garnished a paltry 29-16-35 record, with their AOCAF record a measly 8-6-15. So many in the National Sports Council have been calling for Tay’haai to step down for the last three campaigns, but President Vhett will not throw in the towel just yet.

Rating: A- - Team Relationship: A - Morale: A - Confidence: B
Tourn. Coached: AOCAF 59-62,WC 84-87, CoH 76, 79

Assistant Coach: WONG Haru
Height: 185cm – Weight: 88kg – Age 49 years old – Team: FC Itakawai, Assistant General Manager

Once a star defender for the Bisons, following his retirement from national and multiverse play, Wong Haru made a name for himself with a brief stint in coaching professionally; first as a Defensive Coach for Solus FC for two years and then FC She Pass for another four. However, when Wakahisa Hikaru – whose infamous knee injury in the championship game for the Republic Chalice brought the nation to tears and ended his professional career – called Wong to bring onboard FC Itakawai when they shifted ownership, it was a call he could not pass up. Being the head coach of one of the RPFL’s best teams for nearly 8 years truly honed his knowledge of the game as well as his abilities to analyze and coach players to greatness. Of course, it was an easy decision for Tay’haai to bring an old teammate on-board to be his assistant coach, who then filled out his coaching staff with even more veterans of the Bisons...

Rating: B - Team Relationship: A - Morale: B - Confidence: B
Tourn. Coached: AOCAF 59-62,WC 84-87, CoH 76, 79

Coaching Assistants:
Forwards: KUSONAGI Batou, PHAM Vinh Lành, KRYSE Pre
Defence: NAKAMURA Batou and MAKI LI
Goalkeepers: KITA Bai’a, NISHIMURA Kenshin

Head Medical Officer: Doctor FONG Jintao
Height: 190cm – Weight: 82kg – Age 34 years old
Following the retirement of Wen Wuchin after the 85th World Cup, the much-younger Doctor Fong Jintao replaced the “Ol’Doc” as he was so lovingly referred to as by the team. Having served through the Grand Army of the Republic, Doctor Fong is a veritable successor to the Ol’Doc’s history as the last member of the Old Guard – all staff appointed by former-Head Coach and now Director Boba Vhett. When not travelling with the team, Fong carries the rank of Captain, First Class and serves in the 501st Legion in the First Territorial Army, stationed in Republic City; specifically, he is a resident Surgeon within the Third Avatarian Guard, and is seen as a competitor for the soon-to-be-vacated position of Head Assistant Surgeon in the Capital Medical Facility, thanks to another former member of the Old Guard retiring from that post.
Rating: A - Team Relationship: A - Morale: A - Confidence: A
Medical Assistants: HU Haicheng, HONG Sujin, LEE Jiabao

Security Chief: Captain AKAAN (RC-4868)
Height: 183cm – Weight: 81kg – Age: 46 years old CHRONOLOGICAL (49 years old BIOLOGICAL)
A clone officer within the Grand Army of the Republic, RC-4868 was appointed Chief of Security for the National Team in 2011.1. Each time the team travels abroad --- so long as he is not engaged in a mission --- RC-4868 is pulled from service and placed into the spotlight of security. He is battle-hardened, having been raised since birth for war and combat, and as such often views these assignments with true boredom. The seven men he brings with him on assignment share the same sentiments of the ‘mission’, however, their ‘unwaivering loyalty’ to the Republic prevents any negative speak during the assignment. Each is a member of the Avatarian Guard, whose sole responsibility is to defend the Avatar at both home and abroad; this protection then extends to all sports teams travelling beyond the borders of the Five Nations.
Rating: A – Strength: A – Tactics: A – Skill: A
Security Assistants: CT-2234, CT-45-9934, CC-8341, CT-2401, CC-75-3341, RC-1346, RC-4321, RC-4555

President of the ALAF: HIS RIGHT HONOURABLE VHETTBoba
Age: 74 – Time in the job: 8 Years (33 jì)

Once the longest serving Head Coach in Avatarian History – with a record spanning 261 games, ten World Cups and multiple other multiverse competitions – it was only right for Vhett to step into the role of President of the Avatarian Leagues of Association Football. Having brought a team from nothing to the quarterfinals in 8 World Cups is not something to look away from, and although his career was tarnished slightly by the final performances of the Bisons – going 5-7-1 in his last World Cup – Vhett is confident that soon glory will be returned to the Avatarian Republics, although initial performances in all seven tournaments to date have been far from promising.

Rating: S - Influence: A - Morale: A - Confidence: A – History: S

---

Kits

For the Sixty-Third Edition of the AOCAF Championship, the Bisons will be wearing the uniforms they debuted in the 2021.1 Campaign at the Eighty-Second World Cup.

The THIRD Kit shall be worn during the matches against Ko-oren and Vilita & Turori, to signify the rich history the three teams share.

---

------------------------33------------------------
-------------05--------------------04-------------
--------16------------------------------03--------
--------------------------------------------------
--------07------------------------------06--------
-------------18--------------------11-------------
-------------------09--------10-------------------
 

---

.:: GROUP STAGE ::.
*Group E*[/size]

Matchday 01 (19 March) vs Vilita & Turori₅
Matchday 02 (21 March) BYE
Matchday 03 (23 March) at Xannerian Sunbelt Islands₆₃
Matchday 04 (25 March) vs Ko-oren₉
Matchday 05 (29 March) at Overseas Territories of Sylestone₃₉

---

Style: +3.5 out of 5.0
Choose my goal scorers: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events:[\/b] Yes
[b]Injure to my players: Yes for minor, one-game-out injuries. I will decide and RP any further inactivity for a player caused by your injury.
Godmod injuries: Yes for minor, one-game-out injuries
Hand out Yellow cards to my players: Yes, within reason
Hand out Red cards to my players: Yes (1 MAX PER GAME)
Godmod Other Events: Yes, within reason. Please telegram me if you’re in doubt.

---

[Hapilopper]

The Hapilopper team hotel, Felsenkirchen, Siovanija and Teusland
Right after the group draw (and right after Hapilopper arrived for the AOCAF)
“What the HELL, Ellis?!”

Team Hapilopper had been in Siovanija and Teusland for the 63rd AOCAF for just a few minutes, and Nathan Ellis was already in trouble. That had to be some kind of record. Either way, as the team arrived in the team hotel in Felsenkirchen to prepare for the AOCAF, which they would use as a tune-up for World Cup 88, word had gotten out involving an incident in Cassadaigua involving Ellis, Drake Stevenson and Hap O’Loppa, a controversial reporter for the Hapilopper City Herald. According to an eyewitness, Ellis had flown from Nephara to Cassadaigua to confront Hap O’Loppa following an article falsely quoted Ellis saying some of the filthiest, most obscene things imaginable.

When Ellis was unable to reach Hap O’Loppa after the race in Cassadaigua, he took his frustrations out on Drake Stevenson, giving him a swift kick to the family jewels. There had been eyewitnesses, and now there was talk over what would be done to Nate for the kick. Thom Perkins, head coach of Team Hapilopper, was now reading his star defenseman the riot act for this behavior.

“Look, I asked Drake Stevenson to leave some of Hap O’Loppa for me, and he didn’t, so he took action,” Nate replied.

“That doesn’t matter, you don’t assault someone, especially the brother of a teammate,” Perkins snapped. “I’m not going to tolerate it. If you’re going to get physical with someone, be mindful of who it is.”

Ernie Stevenson, Drake’s little brother, was not pleased with it in the slightest, telling the media “I’m not going to be fighting my brother’s battles for him. It pisses me off because honestly, I think the world of Nate. He’s a dirty mofo but he’s the ultimate competitor. Nobody wants to win a ballgame more than Nate Ellis does, but at the same time, I don’t know if I want to be teaming with a guy that’s going to kick my brother in the jewels. I’m going to have to get around to it.”

This sort of team disharmony was the last thing Team Hapilopper needed. They were going into the AOCAF with some serious question marks on them. It seemed like soccer was starting to fade back into obscurity in Hapilopper, largely due to that match fixing scandal that killed the Hapilopper Football Association and put Max Greenwell, the association’s last head, in prison.

Until that point, Hapilopper’s football program had been building steam, and soccer matches all over the Dominion played to sell-out crowds. But a recent Highway Patrol/Soldiers match at Capital Stadium, the Hapilopper City Derby, was attended by only 20,000 fans, which is terrible when you consider Capital Stadium seats 66,000 and just four years before, that same match, at that same time of year, had sold the place out, while scalpers could send their kids to college just by reselling their tickets.

The entire week, Thom Perkins and Dom Probst, as well as other representatives from Team Hapilopper, held meetings concerning the future of the Hapiloppian national team, and in that meeting, serious consideration was given to several outcomes – disbanding the team or starting all over, with two or three players retained from the old staff.

The last thing Dom and Thom wanted to do was disband the team. They had formed Team Hapilopper in an attempt to keep the sport alive in Hapilopper following the match fixing scandal. And it seemed all was going well to start, before the team ran out of steam during last year’s World Cup qualifier. But interest in Hapilopper was so low, it almost seemed inevitable. Hapilopper was a nation that liked winners, and they were a nation that didn’t tolerate embarrassment if there wasn’t results going with them.

The other option was to start all over and keep just three players – Ernie Stevenson, Cooter Harris and Nate Ellis. Stevenson was the spiritual leader of the team, the top goal scorer, whose flair for the dramatic always brought him great results. Harris was an example of someone who could come back from the lowest depths to reach the highest peaks. And Nate Ellis was the fireplug of energy that Thom and Dom both felt the team needed. Sure, he was a dickhead, but there was nothing more he wanted than to win ballgames, and he wanted to lift his teammates up along with him.

These conversations went on as the team prepared for their first opponent of the AOCAF, Starblaydia, the number one team in the region. It would be the first time Hapilopper and Starblaydia had ever gone up against each other, and to say the least, pundits were not bullish on Hapilopper’s chances.

“Hapilopper vs. Starblaydia?” one Hapiloppian pundit asked. “I know the answer to this one. Starblaydia wins 5-1. Maybe Nate Ellis snaps a Starblaydi player’s leg and kneecaps their chances. Who knows.”

“We’re gonna get wrecked,” another pundit suggested. “Heh.”

But perhaps the worst came on a popular game show on Hapiloppian television. The show, “The Question is?” featured this clue.

“Who is Krytenia?” one contestant asked. Wrong.

“Who is Hapilopper?” another contestant asked with a sarcastic grin on his face. Correct.

Hapiloppians everywhere thought it was hilarious, and social media went alight with people laughing at Team Hapilopper’s chances against Starblaydia. Dom Probst and Thom Perkins didn’t like it. When Team Hapilopper watched the show as a team, Nate Ellis wanted to fire a soccer ball through the screen. Ernie Stevenson, however, decided to use it as bulletin board material.

“Let’s prove those quizmaster douchebags wrong,” Ernie said. “I know, we’re going up against football royalty. That’s the nation that gave us Simeone Di Bradini. A lot of those guys on that team won the AOCAF a couple years back. But they can be beat, am I wrong?”

Teammates murmured a bit. They knew Ernie wasn’t wrong, but still.

“I mean, hell, what’s the worst that could happen?” Ernie asked. This was a mistake. His attempt at a motivational speech had flopped and teammates started chuckling.

“We lose 8-1,” Cooter Harris replied.

“Well, at least don’t throw the ball at a Starblaydi’s head this time, will you?” Ernie asked.

“Can’t guarantee anything, pal,” Cooter said.

[Jabal Akhdar]

Page from a battered old tourist guide to Jabal Akhdar.

Located in the small pilgrimage town of Radewah, several miles outside the city of Abqaturah, the shrine of Shaafi Abyad is an impressive building topped with a huge vaulted dome of gold. The driver will see the dome before the town as he approaches; his wife will enjoy views of the lush orange groves lining the route. Radewah is a prosperous town, enjoying a steady income from the tourist trade, particularly religious pilgrims visiting the shrine to pay respects to the 12th century Sufi mystic Abdul Qayyoom. Evidence of this prosperity is to be found in the well tended gardens of the small but neat and richly appointed houses and cottages build into the sandstone cliff-face. Colours burst, from intricate carpets, tapestries and wall hangings, painted on the faces of children celebrating religious holidays, on platters of food paying testament to centuries-old trading links.

Though welcoming of foreign visitors, both observant and non-observant, the people of Radewah are fiercely proud of their shine and protective of its conservation. Visitors will be expected to exchange shoes and boots for sandals, and women to don head coverings; bathing stations provide opportunities to cleanse sand and dust encountered on the windy desert road approach before entering the heart of the shrine. Such measures are well worth the effort, for a chance to see the fantastic interior. Decorated in a characteristic tessellating pattern of blue-and-white ceramic tiles, an estimated 10,000 of which line the interior, the shrine is home to deftly wrought gold statuary set amid immense free-standing white stone pillars.

Those on pilgrimage will naturally attend first to paying homage to the grave sites of Abdul Qayyoom and assorted other Sufi mystics and saints, but even for the secular a tour of the shrine is a rewarding opportunity to marvel in the craftmanship hailing from the high point of Akhdari art. Afterwards, respectful visitors may find themselves invited to mint tea and sweet rolled pastries in the homes of the joyous celebrants who have guarded this ancient site through centuries of history. The odd bullet hole or burn mark in the walls of these quaint homes may alarm, testament to scuffles by the belligerent el-Masri tribe of desert raiders, but visitors can be assured the band of brigands, arguing a trivial claim to the Akhdari throne, represent no major threat to this peaceful and vibrant community.

Present day in Radewah, suburb of Abqaturah.

“Goal!”

Azzaam ran around whirling his arms in the air in excitement as Abdul Hameed and Abdul Faraj argued about whether the ball had gone inside or outside the “post” (a balled-up tracksuit top deposited on the dusty ground). Raihan grumpily jogged away to fetch back the misshapen ball, whose somewhat erratic proportions caused it to skip around crazily as it rolled across the barren ground.

Abdul Baasid screamed for the ball. He was wearing his prize possession, a Salayrah shirt with ‘Abdul Baasid’ printed on the back: of course it was the name of Abdul Baasid el-Moghaddam, his namesake and favourite player, but for about a week Abdul Baasid had managed to convince the others that it was him and that he’d been signed to play for Salayrah’s youth squad. Only when Wahid had pointed out that Salayrah was misspelled on the logo of the ersatz shirt had Abdul Baasid been rumbled. As the boy began trying to dribble the ball and immediately tripped over, Azzaam wondered how they’d ever believed him.

Azzaam wished Marjaana could play with them. Marjaana was the best footballer in the neighborhood. But she wasn’t allowed out to play with the boys. Sometimes in the evenings they’d sneak in a quick game in the courtyard of the huge, grey concrete block they called home, kicking the ball back and forth, her scarf whipping about as she dribbled so skilfully and nutmegged the boys to whoops and giggles, but they couldn’t risk it for more than a few minutes before they got caught and punished.

Tomorrow all the men were getting together to watch the match against Tropicorp. The Green Falcons, playing in the AOCAF! Azzaam could scarcely believe it. His heroes like Zaman and Nazari, playing in the same tournament as Starblaydia and Valanora. The women and girls wouldn’t be allowed to watch but he knew Marjaana would listen on the small radio she had hidden in her room. Her favourite player was Haddad; Azzaam thought Marjaana was more skilful than him! He hoped he scored a goal specially for her.

A yelp of pain interrupted Azzaam’s daydreams about Marjaana. Abdul Baasid had tripped over again. For someone who claimed to have scored fifty goals in one game for Salayrah’s youth team, Abdul Baasid tripped over a lot. But normally he stoically got up and resumed trying, and failing, to kick the ball. This time he was bawling and clutching his foot. There was blood on his fingers. Everyone ran to help their friend, “helping” by hauling him up and rubbing grubby hands all over his bleeding leg.

He’d fallen onto a strange sharp stone. Not stone, clay. It looked a bit like a kitchen tile, only prettier. White, with the corner of a blue pattern on it. Very sharp edges. Azzaam ran his finger over the corner and winced as it pricked his finger pad. He watched wide-eyed for a moment, until the ruby drop bubbled up.

The injury wasn’t severe, just a scrape really. Abdul Baasid had stopped crying (and would later fiercely deny he’d ever shed a tear in the first place). They all punched him a bit for falling over, but Azzaam could tell Abood let his next shot go through his legs deliberately, just to cheer him up a bit. The broken piece of pottery was smashed against a concrete wall until it turned to fine white dust and blew away in the gusts caused by the stream of motorway traffic roaring past on the main road. It wasn’t anything special. They found pottery fragments like this all the time.

[Audioslavia]

AO, Let's Go
Cammers Bullish about Chances

Rohan Cammers was bullish about his side’s chances ahead of their first match of this year’s AOCAF cup, with a marquee match against the Commonwealth of Baker Park first on the menu for his boys.

“The AOCAF Cup is the most competitive of all the regionals. It’s a point that gets laboured too often, sure, but it’s true. The battle to get out of the groups is tough. Saltstead and Savigliane would be quarter-finalists at the very least in most regionals. Here, it’s fairly likely neither will get out of the group”

The Bulls have never taken the field against either, but have a short history against Baker Park. In two World Cups in the 80s, the two sides have met in the final group game of the World Cup. Honours are even, with Audioslavia losing the first by three goals to nil in a torrid WC83 campaign and winning the second 5-3 in cycle 86, albeit with the BPNT progressing to the second round all the same.

Audioslavia reached the final of the AOCAF two cycles ago, losing disappointingly to Starblaydia, and had a torrid time last cycle, winning only four games (three of those against Equestria) of the eleven, eventually being ejected from contention by a fairly ordinary Busoga side.

Cammers is expected to line the Bulls up in a more defensive fashion, opting for a 5-4-1 formation that packs the central midfield and selects the uncapped Brown and Cotescasees to bomb up and down the wings for as long as their lungs can take it. Brannigan Burly and Moses Moxey are as high-octane an engine room as anyone could hope for, with Spijkers and a recalled Eurico expected to do the heavy-lifting with regards to chance creation. As usual, Cammers prefers the physical Koenraad Rijsbergen in attack to the likes of Rosel or Zozaia, whose appearances will likely be limited to late substitutions.

Audioslavia have appeared in eight AOCAF Cup finals in their history, winning only three, and though reaching a ninth may be asking a lot, Cammers appears confident.

“The AOCAF is competitive, sure, but very few of the squads are absolutely full-strength. The AOCAF is a time for experimentation. The average age of an Audioslavia squad drops a few years, and it’s the same for everyone else. If we can get our system working faster than other teams can theirs, we’ll have an advantage in getting out of the group and from there… from there anything is possible”

Nevertheless, none of the pundits are predicting a route out of Audioslavia’s 80s slump just yet, and very few bookies are giving favourable odds for the Bulls to get out of the group.

[Flavovespia]

AOCAF Cup 63 – Preview

Just 21 games in charge of The Hornets, and Alan Young’s time as manager of Flavovespia came to an abrupt end. After the failure to even come close to World Cup qualification, despite being a Pot 2 side and ranked 41st, Alan Young and Flavovespia had it all to do to make amends in the Cup of Harmony. But 3 games and 4 points saw them eliminated in the group stages, the only one of the 16 Pot 1 sides to suffer that fate. The plane carrying the team back from Northwest Kalactin had barely finished its precocious journey back before the decision by the FFA to fire Alan Young was made. The bright young star of managerial talent in Flavovespia had blown his reputation in the biggest stage of the nation.
In comes Marcus McCormick to replace him. He has experience in the National Team setup, both as the assistant manager to the first Flavovespia National Team manager Nick Cole, and then a 4 game stint as the interim manager in the World Cup Qualifiers 84. That didn’t lead to him staying in the role. However he went to then Challenge League side Binclestead Wood, took them straight back into the Super League and got them playing well. His appointment wasn’t necessarily the most universally popular. As well as those who wanted him to have more time, the likes of Carter Cromwell and Robbie Redfield were touted as options, along with the return of Nick Cole or Richard Crawford to the dugout for the National Team. Some even felt the time was right to look beyond the shores of Flavovespia to a new manager, the internet awash with rumours and suggestions of far-flung managers whom the armchair analysts had convinced would be the right fit for Flavovespia. But in the end, Marcus McCormick was the one selected by the FFA.

The AOCAF Cup 63, to an extent will be a proving ground for Marcus McCormick. Statistically Flavovespia are very unlikely to be contenders in the latter stages, and even making the knock out stages poses a challenge. However every challenge is also an opportunity. McCormick will come into this tournament, looking to right the flaws that his predecessors have suffered. Short of a spectacular failure, McCormick can also treat this somewhat as a trial run for the World Cup Qualifiers 88. Whereas Arnold Stevenson tried to play up a “feel good factor”, and Alan Young always sought a positive attitude, McCormick is a tough realist, not afraid to call out problems. For the 23 players selected, all will know they must prove themselves to their new manager, who based on his squad selection seems more than happy to shake up the squad.

Looking ahead at the tournament in particular, Flavovespia go into Group H of the AOCAF Cup 63. The format is more traditional compared to a few past AOCAF Cups, 8 groups of 5, top 2 go into a single match knockout stages, all games played in Siovanija & Teusland. The group sees Flavovespia face off against 4 sides they have met before, so no new names to add to the list of opponents. Flavovespia have their bye matchday smack bang in the middle of the tournament, with many arguing the positives and negatives of that. There’s few easy group draws in the AOCAF Cup, and this one does look like a potentially fierce battle for 2nd place, with nobody really looking like the big underdogs in the group. Here are the four opponents facing Flavovespia.

Dogsmouth

Dogsmouth came from behind with just 6 minutes plus stoppage time to beat Flavovepsia 3-2 in the last AOCAF Cup. That result, thanks to the implications on knockout qualifiers, is seen by some as the game that effectively ended Arnold Stevenson’s time as National Team manager. Flavovespia will be itching for revenge in their opening group game. They’re a fairly defensive minded team, playing a 4-5-1, which could lead to some low scoring games. The Dogi come into the is group from Pot 2, the 17th overall ranked nation in Atlantian Oceania. Critics would argue that for them, the draw is less than ideal as most of the other sides came from towards the top of their pots. Nevertheless Dogsmouth will want to establish themselves as frontrunners for qualification early on, against Flavovespia and Quebec, in what looks like a close group on paper.

Delaclava

Flavovespia played Delaclava back in AOCAF Cup 81. In a final group game that both sides needed a win to reach the knock-out stages, Flavovespia edged a 1-0 win against a Delaclava side involved in a chaotic tournament from their perspective, with a complete no-show in one match. Delaclava are a real contrast in style to Dogsmouth, a really attacking side playing a 3-5-2, where even the defence will look to make attacking plays forward. Outside the game, they’re a respectful friendly side, but in the game, they’re not above mind games ad sneaky play. One name plenty of Flavovespians will recognise is Minotauro Meñica, the speedy left back who plays for Loxthorpe Rovers. Delaclava may be from Pot 5 and 48th in the region, but can’t be underestimated, as an experienced nation looking to make a return to top class international football.

Quebec

Flavovespia and Quebec have met plenty of times, albeit with their opponents going through a few name iterations. Currently their full name is Royal Kingdom of Quebec and Shingoryeo, although Quebec is widely used still. The first meeting in the AOCAF Cup 61 saw Steven Hall’s 114th minute winner eliminate Quebec in the Round of 24 in injury time. Then in the World Cup Qualifiers 86, a 1-1 draw in Marthorpe saw Quebec win 2-1 in the penultimate Matchday, officially ending Flavovespia’s qualification hopes. AOCAF Cup 62, and Mark Paul’s injury time winner gave Flavovespia 3 points in the Xíxì Êns Group. In this cycle, Flavovespia’s penultimate game of the group will be Quebec’s last game of the group. Both sides could go into this with qualification on the line, and with plenty of recent history between the sides, tensions could be very high and one could well eliminate the other again.

Valanora

An opponent that seems to get more and more familiar to Flavovespia, Valanora will for the 3rd AOCAF Cup in a row, be one of Flavovespia’s opponents. AOCAF Cup 61 saw Valanora win 3-0 with relative ease, a match where they made Flavovespia look second best. In the first group stage of AOCAF Cup 62, with the home and away format, Valanora looked the better side in both games, but 4-4 in Capri and 3-3 in Waldster meant Flavovespia grabbed a point in each game late on, despite being underdogs. They were the only points of Group A1 that tourmanents, but were still results that went down well with Flavovespians. Five times World Cup winners and four times AOCAF Cup champions, Valanora would be speaking with no hubris if they called themselves contenders for the title this cycle. Laborious Hawk will no doubt be a key player, and there’ll be a keen eye on the young talents of Gideon Riemann, Indra Söderström and Lothas Ludwig. The 4th ranked team in the region, and the Pot 1 team, Flavovespia will not want to be going into the match against Valanora needing a result to qualify.

[Saltstead]

The Royal Saltsteadish Football Association proudly presents
Såutsteides näsjonal Footballsplug

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Country code: SAL
Nickname: The Stallions (De Hegsten)
National anthem: Risen from Ruins

Notable matches
First international: Saltstead 0–2 Loynn (Bellator, DRK; BoF 65 matchday 1)
First win: Finland 0–1 Saltstead (Bellator, DRK; BoF 65 matchday 2)
First loss: Saltstead 0–2 Loynn (Bellator, DRK; BoF 65 matchday 1)
First draw: Saltstead 4–4 Acapais (Bellator, DRK; BoF 65 semifinal)
Biggest wins: Makhnovia 0–6 Saltstead (Unknown City, MAK; WCQ 80 matchday 17); Belac 0–6 Saltstead (Unknown City, TBS; WCQ 87 matchday 18)
Biggest loss: Saltstead 0–6 Banija (Ashwell, SAL; WCQ 87 matchday 13)

For all the faults in his first two years at De Näsjonalpark and in spite of his “nations league” squad being blown out by the reigning world champions, World Cup 87 qualification has been the long-awaited rehabilitation of John Nicholas Rosencrants and of Saltsteadish football more generally. But despite unexpectedly finishing just one point behind group runners-up New Lusitania and ahead of third and fourth seeds Jeruselem and Oberour Ar Moro, the Cup of Harmony resulted in an expected disappointing group stage exit after consecutive defeats to Kandorith and Zeta Reka. Once again, expectations for the Saltsteadish squad are muted and merely advancing to the knockout stage will be seen as a success for the struggling Stallions.

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Personnel
Head coach: Heir John Nicholas Rosencrants [OME]
Assistant coaches: Heir Thomas de Vricht [OME] and Heir Aleksänder van den Bergen
Fitness coach: Heir Clement Kolen | Medical lead: Frue Annelise Prinsen | Physio: Frue Johanne Angelshus
The grandson of Saltsteadish republican dissidents, Rosencrants played as a forward for the Omerica national team before retiring to coach his hometown club Saint Anne Athletic. Achieving stability at the club and guiding them through an unexpected relegation battle, the Saltsteadish-Omerican’s appointment is seen as providing a safe pair of hands to transition Saltstead back into international football after its unexpected interruption. Rosencrants brings along another Saltsteadish-Omerican in former Omerica midfielder and longtime confidant Thomas de Vricht, while employing native Saltsteader Aleksänder van den Bergen to act as a cultural liaison between the Omerican duo and the rest of the Saltsteadish team structure.

Squad
The final twenty-three player squad for the Cup of Harmony has been retained for the AOCAF Cup, consisting of fourteen players from the Rabastor Unity Trophy squad and nine from the “nations league” AOCAF, committing to the vastly more successful four-defender-five-midfielder arrangement used by the RUT team.

Goalkeepers
№1 Heir Robert-Jan van Daal (age 29; Königlik Veelheim)
№12 Frue Christijn Sänt-Andreas (age 23; Cherrygrove City)
№13 Frue Kathrinita Äsħes (age 28; Sħip-in-Straxe FC)

Defenders
№2 Heir Micħäl Aurelius (age 23; Sänt-Claudie)
№3 Heir Johannes-Peter “Jan-Pijr” Åudenberg (age 22; Ōtachi Audfort)
№4 Heir Dijter Ackerdiħ (age 23; Königlik Veelheim)
№5 Heir Yorg Handel (age 27; Ōtachi Audfort)
№14 Heir Johan van Tilborg (age 24; Cherrygrove City)
№15 Heir Constantijn Kåler (age 24; Cherrygrove City)
№16 Frue Serena van Middelkamp (age 22; Union Orange)
№17 Frue Catharine de Vriħt (age 28; Cherrygrove City)

Midfielders
№6 Frue Aleksändra “Aleksa” Pascal (age 25; Royal Michaeltown)
№7 Frue Wilheumina “Mina” Ratmaker (age 27; FC Vengelo)
№8 Frue Violeta Igesleven (age 25; Saint George University)
№9 Frue Natasħa Aħterop (age 27; Sħip-in-Straxe FC)
№10 Heir Zacharias van den Slåp (age 25; Cherrygrove City)
№18 Heir Thomas Lions (age 27; Saint George University)
№19 Frue Margaretha Wilheumssen (age 27; Ōtachi Audfort)
№20 Heir Benjamin “Benni” Sħåul (age 25; Grandstrasse)
№21 Heir Nico Joxepħssen (age 25; Cherrygrove City)

Forwards
№11 Heir Haråud Haråudssen (age 26; Sħip-in-Straxe FC)
№22 Heir Edvard Rothås (age 23; Sħip-in-Straxe FC)
№23 Heir Reinhard Åubreħtssen (age 25; Ōtachi Audfort)

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Most likely to …:
Foul: Jan-Pijr Åudenberg
Be fouled: Zacharias van den Slåp
Be subbed out: Zacharias van den Slåp
Be subbed in: Johan van Tilborg
Shoot: Reinhard Åubreħtssen
Score from close range: Reinhard Åubreħtssen
Score from long range: Zacharias van den Slåp
Attempt the spectacular: Natasħa Aħterop

Player roles:
Captain: Catharine de Vriħt
Vice-captain: Robert-Jan van Daal
Second vice-captain: Mina Ratmaker
Left corners: Thomas Lions
Right corners: Natasħa Aħterop
Direct free kicks: Zacharias van den Slåp
Indirect free kicks: Zacharias van den Slåp
Penalty taker: Benni Sħåul

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Formation and tactics: (4-5-1)

Åubreħtssen/Haråudssen/Rothås
Lions/Joxepħssen/Pascal . Ratmaker/Wilheumssen . Van den Slåp . Sħåul/Igesleven . Aħterop
De Vriħt/Handel/Kåler . Van Middelkamp/Van Tilborg . Åudenberg/Ackerdiħ . Aurelius
Van Daal/Äsħes/Sänt-Andreas

The default Saltsteadish strategy can be summed up in one phrase: “the best offence is a good defence”. The Stallions play a highly opportunistic attack, lying in wait for an opportunity rather than charging head-on, with possession mostly confined to the midfield. Saltstead prefer to play a passing game in possession, while attempting to pry the ball away from the opposition when not, either by intercepting a pass or tackling players. The Stallions will attempt to frustrate and infuriate the opposition and are unashamed of playing for draws and advancing via penalty shoot-outs.

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Kits (Distinctly uni·q)

Primary (De Königsvarwe): Red-and-black hooped shirts with white trim, black shorts, black-and-red hooped socks
Secondary (De Vånesvarwe): White shirts with black trim, blue shorts, white socks with black hoops
Goalkeeper: Gold shirts and shorts with red trim, gold socks with red hoops

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We are and shall be
SALTSTEAD
Nothing more, nothing less

Style modifier: anti-pi (-3.14)

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RP permissions: Your RP permissions are mine, short of death, disease or career-ending injuries. In case of reciprocal “no u” permissions, you may do anything short of death, disease or career-ending injuries.
Note on surnames: Saltsteadish surnames follow RL Netherlands Dutch conventions on surname prefixes: they are not capitalised when used in combination with first names or initials, but are capitalised in all other situations. For example: “Carle de Marħt” (not “Carle De Marħt”), but “De Marħt” (not “de Marħt”).
Pandemic disclaimer: I do not recognise the existence of any international pandemics, which will be construed as a series of unrelated outbreaks and will not under any circumstances extend to or from the Saltsteadish Commonwealth. Any attempt to introduce new disease outbreaks to Saltstead will be immediately nullified by the Ministry of Defence’s “Instantaneous Godmode Neutralisation by Optimised Revision of Events” (I.G.N.O.R.E.) system.

[Ibixa]

Modifier: +2

Manager – Antoni GUELL, Age 50

THE SQUAD

Goalkeepers

Didac MARINES
Age: 30
Position: Goalkeeper

Aleix TRIAS
Age: 27
Position: Goalkeeper

Bartomeu ROSAS
Age: 29
Position: Goalkeeper


Defenders

Roderic ESCUTIA
Age: 31
Position: Right-back

Mateu NADAL
Age: 32
Position: Left-back

Andreu VALENCIA
VICE-CAPTAIN
Age: 31
Position: Centre-back

Llorenç RADO
Age: 29
Position: Centre-back

Pau SABATER
Age: 26
Position: Right-back

Josep SAMPER
Age: 25
Position: Left-back

Esteve PORTES
Age: 24
Position: Centre-back

Aleix GALVIS
Age: 26
Position: Right-back


Midfielders

Jordi GODINA
CAPTAIN
Age: 34
Position: Central midfield

Ximeno FIGUERAS
Age: 30
Position: Right midfield

Francesc PERNA
Age: 31
Position: Left midfield

Pau CERA
Age: 26
Position: Left midfield

Hèctor MOYA
Age: 24
Position: Central midfield

Pere SEGARRA
Age: 28
Position: Right midfield


Forwards

Adrià MOLLET
Age: 29
Position: Forward

Gonçal ORIOL
Age: 32
Position: Forward

Sergi SOLER
Age: 30
Position: Forward

Josep FARRAN
Age: 27
Position: Forward

Guifré PAIS
Age: 29
Position: Forward

Xavi MAIA
Age: 25
Position: Forward

LIKELY STARTERS – Formation: 4-3-3
1. D Marines
2. R Escutia - 5. L Rado - 4. A Valencía - 3. M Nadal
7. X Figueras - 6. J Godina (c) - 8. F Perna
9. A Mollet - 10. G Oriol - 11. S Soler

THE KITS – courtesy of JMC

[Banija]

Banija National Team- The Kadongo Kamu

Information
Country code: BNJ
Denonym: Banijan(s)
Association: Royal Banijan Soccer Association(RBSA)
Nickname: The Kadongo Kamu
Manager: Marcus Waters, 57 years old, native of the Equestrian States. Took over the interim manager role after Matchday 9 of World Cup 80 Qualifying; became the full-time manager at the end of that World Cup Qualification campaign.
Senior Assistant Manager: Kausu Gassama. 48 years old, Banijan native. George Wangolo, the former assistant manager, has left after the team's World Cup 86 title to go and become the senior manager for the Royal Kingdom of Quebec. That will leave Kausu Gassama hired as the new senior assistant manager. He started in this position ahead of AOCAF LXII. It is a prestigious position in Banija- the RBSA traditionally chooses the Senior Assistant manager, to be the head coach/manager for the youth national teams, and there is no exception in this case. He was the senior assistant manager at Istria City FC the past two seasons, where the club in Banija's biggest city reached new heights, winning the League and then following that up by winning the AOCL.
Captain: Kuma Bultum
Alternate Captain: Namakula Kawesa
Home Kits: Green
Away Kits: White
Alternate: Orange

RP Permissions
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Choose Scoring Events: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes
RP Injuries to my players: Yes(please state what injury they have suffered and how many games they will miss).
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes(please state what injury they have suffered and how many games they will miss).
Godmod other events: Yes(However, there is a hard ban on any Banijan nationals, player or fans or whoever, from catching a pandemic).
Style modifier: +2

Brief National Team History
The Kadongo Kamu have played in exactly 446 games, as of the beginning of AOCAF LXIII. This will be mark the beginning of our 15th World Cup cycle overall. We have entered in 12 previous World Cup Qualification campaigns(WCQ73, WCQ74, WCQ75, WCQ76, WCQ77, WCQ79, WCQ80, WCQ82, WCQ84, WCQ85, WCQ86, and WCQ87), and have made 8 World Cup Finals appearances(WC80-87). We have also participated in Baptism of Fire 60, and been a participant in three different Cup of Harmonies(CoH 66, CoH 67, and CoH 71). In three Cup of Harmonies, Banija has never once moved past the group stage in the competition, and in their lone Baptism of Fire, they earned a lone point.

After not competing at all during the World Cup 78 Cycle due to the RBSA's bankruptcy, they re-entered the world of international football in World Cup 79 cycle. A shocking World Cup 79 Qualification campaign saw them on the brink of qualifying, but the team simply ran out of gas and lost 4 of their final 5 matches to not make it to Ceni/Drawkland. Since then, the U21 team got 3rd place at the 42nd Di Bradini Cup, and the national team advanced to the quarterfinals of AOCAF LV, AOCAF LVI, and AOCAF LVII, establishing themselves as a strong regional side, falling to the eventual champs in the latter two tournaments. They stunningly qualified for World Cup 80, after starting poorly by losing 5 of their first 9, to going unbeaten in the second half of qualifying, where they won 7 of those games. In the World Cup 80 Qualification playoffs, a 3-0 first leg victory in Montreal, Royal Kingdom of Quebec, powered the team through to their first ever appearance in the World Cup Finals, advancing to sport's pre-eminent competition 5-3 on aggregate over Mercedini. While a pair of one goal losses saw them eliminated after two games, they earned their first ever victory at the World Cup Finals in a 2-0 win over New Gazi in their final group stage game. As they hosted World Cup 81, they went directly to the tournament, and went to their first ever knockout stages, winning Group A before falling, 1-1(2-1 AET) to Turori in the Round of 16. They cruised to qualification in World Cup 82, maintaining a top two spot in their World Cup Qualification group behind Brenecia for the entirety of the World Cup 82 Qualification campaign, getting to the tournament with relative ease before bowing out in the group stages.

The World Cup 83 cycle was their strongest yet. Starting with AOCAF LVIII on home soil, co-hosted with the Commonwealth of Baker Park, the Kadongo Kamu won 6 consecutive matches to open the tournament, taking their winning streak all the way to the final. Unfortunately, they were felled, 4-2, at home to their archrivals, the Equestrian States. Co-hosting World Cup 83 as well, the Banijans made a miraclous run at the World Cup, upending 5th ranked South Covelllo on penalties, and defeating the then two-time defending world champions Vilita in the quarterfinals, before falling, 3-2, at the national stadium to Starblaydia. They added to the trophy case, however, earning a bronze medal after defeating Cassadaigua in the 3rd place playoff game.

The World Cup 84 cycle, the first with real title expectations for the Banijans, was a disappointment in the regionals, as we fell 1-0 to Ko-oren in the AOCAF Round of 16, although we advanced to the quarterfinals of World Cup 84 before dropping to Eura in extra time. The World Cup 85 cycle seems to be a promise of hope for the Banijans. Although AOCAF LX was a rough tournament for the Banijans, it was surrounded by two excellent tournament performances for the Banijans. We won the U21 World Cup(DBC 47), and are just coming off earning our first ever senior-level trophy, by winning the 8th Eagle's Cup to be admitted as a full, permanent member of the Eagle's Club right before the beginning of World Cup Qualifying. Following that, the Banijans dominated World Cup 85 Qualifying, going wire-to-wire as the first place team in their World Cup Qualifying group, as well as earning more points in World Cup Qualifying(67) than any other team did throughout the entire campaign. Those strong performances both in the Eagle's Cup and World Cup Qualifying have caused fans to put an up and down AOCAF behind them, and heighten the standard for World Cup 85. While they escaped the group stages with four points, strong wins over Vilita and Zwangzug in the knockouts put them on course for a medal, as they eventually beat allies Baker Park in the bronze medal match, after falling 3-2 to the eventual champions Free Republics in the semifinal.

After a return to the AOCAF LXI Quarterfinals, their first quarterfinal appearance in the last 3 editions of the regional championships, they fell to Chromatika on penalties. The World Cup 86 Qualification campaign went rather swimmingly- the national team went a perfect 18-0-0 in World Cup Qualifying, the first time that had happened in well over 10 cycles. The multiverse's #1 ranked squad was brimming with confidence, the two-time bronze medalists entering World Cup 86 trying to win the biggest trophy in all of sports for the first time.

Marcus Waters has always preached the following- "you've got to win at home before you can win the World Cup." It's always meant you've got to win in Atlantian Oceania before you can expect to win the World Cup. And while we've never won the AOCAFs, our group was all Atlantian Oceania sides- Ko-oren, Chromatika, and Mriin. We finished in first place with a 1-0 win over Ko-oren, a 2-2 draw against Chromatika, and a 0-0 draw against Mriin being enough to earn 5 points. Then, we faced a gauntlet of former World champions. A 1-0 win over them put us in our fourth consecutive World Cup Quarterfinal, against 5 time World champions Valanora. A thrilling 4-3 win put us in the semifinal, again facing a GSW rival- World Cup 84 winners Farfadillis. In one of the wildest World Cup semifinals ever played, Banija came out on top 7-6, with a stoppage time winner to put them in the Final against the World Cup 85 winners Nephara. It was a true game of the century- neither team had lost a competitive match since the start of World Cup Qualifying, neither losing during Qualifying or the Finals. And in that thriller, it would be the Banijans who would win, taking a lead and holding onto it, winning by 3 goals to 2 against Nephara to lift the trophy and declare themselves World Cup Champions.

The ensuing AOCAF was strong, but not as strong as they wanted it to be. After starting slowly and losing their opening two games, they finished well done the stretch of group play, and even won a pair of knockout stage games before eventually falling to the champions, Baker Park, in the Semifinals. The Banijans redeemed themselves by earning a bronze medal against Sarzonia. The team took a B squad to Eagle's Cup IX, but a strong performance there landed them a silver medal, losing in the final to Valanora. World Cup 87 did not go the way they expected, getting eliminated in the group stages for the first time since World Cup 82.

Statistics(All up to date as of the beginning of AOCAF LXIII, including all friendlies):
All-Time Record: 251-137-58(W-L-D)
All-Time Winning Percentage: 56.28% (Wins over total games played)
All-Time Points Percentage: 60.61% (Wins plus 1/3rd of draws over total games played)
Current WCC Rank: #7
Current AOCAF Rank: #2
Top 10 All-Time Leading Goal Scorers: Italicized players are retired from international duty.
1. Gitonga Kahara(109 goals)
2. Ilman Jawara(99) goals)
3. Namakula Kawesa(59 goals)
4. Chibuzo Afolayan(54 goals)
5. Idai Uster(53 goals)
6. Madu Okparra(49 goals)
7. Kiggwe Mavuto(43 goals)
8. Mzukisi Nzo(38 goals)
9. Toyuwa Okafor(37 goals)
T10. Assefa Yitebarke(35 goals)
T10. Nwabudike Ugonna(35 goals)


World Cup Appearances: 8- World Cup 80, World Cup 81(co-hosts), World Cup 82, World Cup 83(co-hosts), World Cup 84, World Cup 85, World Cup 86
Times Ranked #1 in the KPB- Pre-World Cup 86 Qualifying, Pre-World Cup 86 Finals, Pre-World Cup 87 Qualifying, Pre-World Cup 87 Finals

Trophy Cabinet:
Senior-Level
Champions of World Cup 86
Champions of Eagle's Cup VIII
Winner of the Afro-Carribean Heritage Festival
2nd Place at AOCAF LVIII
2nd Place at Eagle's Cup IX
3rd Place at World Cup 83
3rd place at World Cup 85
3rd Place at AOCAF LXII
3rd place at the United Valhaven Regional Football Championships

Youth Level
3rd place at 42nd Di Bradini Cup
Champions of the 8th Sporting World Cup
Champions of the 47th Di Bradini Cup

World Cup Hall of Famers
Adama Sowe(former RBSA Chairman, current WCC Vice President)
GItonga Kahara(all-time leading goalscorer, World Cup winning captain, all-time cap leader)
Marcus Waters(Banija's winningest manager, has led Banija to 100% of our World Cup Qualifications, and has never failed to qualify for the Finals)

List of National Team managers
1. Kizza Kabila(Banija). Manager for Baptism of Fire 60 and the World Cup 73 Qualification Campaign. Overall record of 0-14-1(W-L-D).

Kizza Kabila is the only Banijan to have ever managed the national team. Hired for Banija's first foray onto the international scene in this sport, his reign was universally derided as a disaster. Managing 15 games, he drew his first game in the Baptism of Fire, and not only lost the next two, he then lost ever single match in the 12 game World Cup Qualification campaign for World Cup 73, with the side only scoring 5 goals across the entire campaign. Unceremoniously fired after becoming one of few managers to go through an entire World Cup Qualification campaign without earning a single point, he, alongside the entire board of the RBSA, resigned after the last game. He was disgraced in the sport after the campaign, and, to this point, has never returned to top-level soccer.

2.Jan Cassallerus(San Llera): Hired before the start of the World Cup 74 Qualification Campaign, managed through the World Cup 77 Qualification Campaign. Overall Record of 27-32-16(W-L-D).

Banija put its eyes abroad, searching for a foreign manager before the World Cup 74 Qualification campaign, and found Jan Cassallerus. He is Banija's longest ever serving manager, being at the helm for four entire World Cup cycles, and being at the helm for 75 total games, a kind of longevity unheard of in the modern game, especially managing the national team. He started winning a game at the Coupe D'Esquarium, in what was known as the group of death. He was largely celebrated for bringing the team into relevancy. The expectations were through the floor, following Kizza Kabila, but he brought the team to Cup of Harmony 66 and Cup of Harmony 67, as well as advancing in Olympic Qualifying and getting third place at the United Valhaven Regional Football Championships. He was forced into retirement after the World Cup 77 Qualification campaign, when the RBSA declared bankruptcy, and could not participate in the World Cup 78 Qualification Campaign due to their inability to compensate players and staff.

3. Randolf Cherry(Drawkland): Hired before the start of the World Cup 79 Qualification Campaign. Overall Record of 20-24-2(W-L-D)

Randolf Cherry, after the RBSA got its act together, was hired- controversially- as the manager of the national team. Not that his own hire was controversial, it was applauded across the sports spectrum here at home. He was given a 3 cycle contract, and everyone knew what the goal was- to make the World Cup Finals at least once over the course of the contract. They understood that it would take time to climb the rankings, and they were willing to give him the leash. However, he came in a very awkward situation. Adama Sowe, the Chairman of the RBSA, allegedly first offered the job to Sarah Owens, out of the Equestrian States. Of course, it is illegal in Banija for women to coach men's professional teams, and that caused controversy. And yet, here he was- the manager of the national team.

His own home country of Drawkland is, of course, very progressive in that area, where the sport is dominated by the ladies. Regardless, he had an excellent start to his reign as a manger, and was initially extremely popular. He won his first game, in a special Eagles Club match, against Aggrey-Fynn Land. He lost his first few qualifiers, but he went on a dear through the middle of qualifying, which included a 7 game winning streak on home soil. Big wins against then 4th ranked Chromatika at home and then 32nd ranked Eshan, put them in the conversation of World Cup Qualification, though they were simply not strong enough.

The Cup of Harmony was considered a disaster, finishing in dead last in their group. The competition maybe simply isn't for the Banijans, eh? But they were strong throughout the offseason, making a surprising quarterfinal run in AOCAF LV and bringing high hopes to the squad going into World Cup 80 Qualification. Hopes were through the roof for the national team, maybe even bordering unrealistic. They struggled, and the campaign got worse as the pressure built, as the squad lost their final four qualifiers of the first half of qualifying. With the campaign seemingly in free-fall, he was fired, as the RBSA said they wanted time to conduct "an open, thorough, search."

4. Marcus Waters(Equestrian States): Hired after the 1st half of World Cup 80 Qualifying, present manager of the national team. Overall record of 204-67-39(W-L-D). All-time winning percentage of 65.81%. All-time points percentage of 70.00%.

Marcus Waters was the national team's assistant manager with Randolf Cherry above him, and the manager of the youth national teams. He first gained notoreity in Banija after successfully leading the U21 team to a 3rd place finish at the 42nd Di Bradini Cup. With his abilities clear, it made sense to move onto him as the interim manager as they searched for a permanent manager ahead of the second half of World Cup Qualifying. However, he was able to complete a stunning turnaround of this team. His first game in charge, he changed nearly the entire backline, and had a massive upset, away to Qasden, by a score of 3-2. A 3-0 victory over Razenthuria in the other mid-qualifying friendly got high hopes for him.

Marcus Waters went out with an intent to keep his team focused, despite everything going on at home. He has proven adept at navigating the political minefield that is this job, especially with his own country of origin essentially at war with Banija. He didn't lose a single game in the second half of qualifying, winning 7 games to get to the playoffs, including when the team was forced to play home games in Montreal due to ongoing violence within Banija. He was widely applauded for getting the team ready to play in Montreal, and winning 1-0 against Turori, the group's top seeded squad, and a 3-0 win in Montreal in the Qualification playoffs. While the RBSA interviewed four other candidates, his successful push through the World Cup Qualification playoffs and into Banija's first-ever World Cup Finals essentially clinched the job for him, as he put pen to paper to take the interim tag off of his title ahead of the 80th World Cup Finals.

Since then, of course, he has done a lot to garner the confidence of the higher-ups, and of the fans. Falling to the eventual champions in the quarterfinals of both AOCAF LVI and AOCAF LVII was widely seen as a positive. As well as, of course, a surprising Fourth Place finish in the Cup of Champions Six, highlighted by a surprising point earned in their matchup against Nephara, while also pushing through to the Round of 16 of World Cup 81, pleasing the home fans. A different sort of pressure faces him this campaign, however.

For the first time in his reign, you could say that Banija had a disappointing tournament, failing to advance in World Cup 82 beyond the group stages. It might be harsh to say that- on paper, advancing from a group with both Pasarga and Farfadillis is a tall order if your team is not Pasarga or Farfadillis. They responded well, however, winning six consecutive games at AOCAF LVIII, and knocking off major nations including Cosumar and Mriin at the tournament, before being felled in the final, in their own capitol of Busukuma, to Equestria. Following up with a World Cup on home soil, they continued that momentum forward from AOCAF LVIII, as the Banijans took on the role of giantslayers on home soil. They beat the 5th ranked South Covello side, and the then two-time defending world champions Vilita, before eventually falling to Starblaydia in the semifinals, though they still earned a bronze medal. Although momentum was blunted after a tough 1-0 defeat to Ko-oren that secured an early exit from AOCAF LIX, they followed that up with their second straight appearance in the World Cup Quarterfinals, where they fell to Eura in extra time.

The last two cycles he really got the team to rise above themselves. The last two World Cup Qualification cycles, Banija has finished as the best team in World Cup Qualifying by points earned. And he has the silverware to match- a bronze medal earned in World Cup 85, followed by a gold medal in World Cup 86. Having risen from basically nowhere in Equestria to household name status in Banija, he has truly made a name for himself as one of the world's premier international managers. While World Cup 87 was disappointing, he will look to reset this team at AOCAF LXIII.

1. The Equestrian States. All time Banijan record against opponent- 0-7-2(W-L-T).

The Equestrian States are easily Banija's biggest rival, and by a country mile. It has all the makings of a good international sporting rivalry- plenty of matches played, history of competitive matches, geopolitical rivalry, player familiarity, and, of course, geographical proximity- all those boxes are checked. They've played each other 5 times, and Banija has come out on the losing end each and every time, most recently a 4-0 clobbering at the hands of the Equestrian States during Banija's final friendly before this qualification tournament began.

Three times have they played in competitive competition, and three times Banija has fallen. The Equestrian States eliminated Banija from Cup of Harmony 71 in group play, while also defeating the Banijans in both the opening match of World Cup 80, and the final group stage match of AOCAF LVI, though the Banijans still advanced to the quarterfinals of that tournament. The familiarity of players between each other is strong. Banija's present and most successfull all-time manager, Marcus Waters, is Equestrian. A number of players in each country play in leagues in the other. Famous Equestrian NT players like Aaron Aiza, Rosie Tyler, and Josef Lawrenz, ply their trade in the Banijan Soccer League, with Aiza particularly growing to superstar status while winning league titles at Herzegovina City FC.

Banija's first ever major final in this sport, at the senior level, was against none other than Equestria at the national stadium, with the winner to be crowned champions of AOCAF LVIII Final. In front of a decidedly pro-Banijan crowd, it was the Equestrians who dashed Banijan dreams of glory on their home turf as they picked up their first ever major international silverware, with a 4-2 victory. That victory has made the Banijans just that much hungrier to defeat their bitter rivals, and though the history is lopsided in favor of Equestria, that has just fueled the fire on this side of the matchup. The two sides co-hosted World Cup 83 together, and almost had a rematch of their AOCAF LVIII Final in the World Cup Final, though Banija could not fulfill its end of the bargain as they fell to a stronger Starblaydia side in the semifinals. Equestria, of course went on to win the World Cup, and the next AOCAF to boot, establish a fully fledged dynasty. The Banijans, in pre WOrld Cup 84 Qualification friendlies, got their first ever result against the Equestrians, a 0-0 draw in Everfree.

Equestria and Banija were in the same group at AOCAF LXII, with the opening match of the tournament being a repeat of the AOCAF LVIII Final. Banija, we thought, rising high and champions. But Equestria came to rain on the parade. They won on Matchday 1, by a score of 2-1 in Busukuma, and we could only manage a return draw. Our fiercest rivals, and yet, we've still never managed to have beaten them, in a competitive or a friendly match. That search for the elusive win against Equestria continues.

2. Farfadillis. All time Banijan record against opponent- 2-5-0(W-L-T)

What makes a good international rivalry? You need a mixture of history and luck. Luck, to have played in plenty of high stakes matches against each other on the biggest stages- World Cups, AOCAFs, and the like. But you also need nearness. What makes these two know each other so well? We've played in twice as many competitive matches against Chromatika as we have against Farfadillis.

Well, let's go with the political intrigue. Of course, there's geography- Farfadillis is the closest nation to Banija that does not share a land border with Banija. Their former capitol, is on the northern tip of their island, which is just south of Busukuma, the Banijan capitol city. So of course, there's that familiarity. And when the Farfadillis national government fell apart and they fell into some sort of a controlled chaos, many refugees fled Farfadillis for the stability of Banija. Busukuma became the natural landing place. There are no official numbers, but there an estimated 100,000 or so Farf refugees across the country, but with over half of them, around 60,000, residing in Busukuma.

So there's that familiarity on an intimate level, especially in Banija, and especially in Banija's capitol. Especially in the capitol, it's always a huge deal when these two meet. And besides that? Well, of course, we dropped a few nuclear warheads on Farfadillis, where Banija's nuclear weapons got both hacked and stolen by operatives. While, surprisingly, it didn't cause as much damage as one would expect, 5 nuclear weapons are still quite a bit to get hit by. Farf citizens weren't exactly appreciative, and that is fresh in everybody's mind.

Lastly, look at the integration of our footballing systems. We have a combined league. With the combination of our top flights in the Shango-Fogoa Premier League, Banijan footballing fans and Farf footballing fans interact every single week. Sometimes peacefully, sometimes violently, always loud and passionately. For two seperate nations(plus Busoga), they have a very integrated league system. And that, of course, will mean that the rivalry is played out every week. Banijan teams v. Farf teams. Farf teams got the better of their Banijan opponents, by and large, throughout the inaugural season, but there is still plenty left to say on the subject.

This is Banija's clear #2 rival, ahead of anybody else, besides Equestria. And as the S-FPL continues, this rivalry will continue to be competitive for years to come. Not to mention, the two have played a pair of thrilling World Cup Finals matches against each other- Farfadillis being victorious in World Cup 81, and then being victorious again in World Cup 84, where they went on to win that World Cup. What'd be more fun than another Finals matchup between these two juggernauts, right?

3. Chromatika. All time Banijan record against opponent- 6-2-2(W-L-T)

This is, admittedly, not the first nation you think of when you think of Banija's rivals. But There is a long-time history between these two nations. These two have more shared history than Banija and any other opponent, at least in competitive matches. Banija and Chromatika have faced off a grand total of 9 times competitively- all in the modern era of Banijan soccer, which is WCQ79-present. It was that first campaign back, after the RBSA bankruptcy, where it was established.

Banija had one of their biggest ever all-time wins in that Qualifying campaign, our first ever win over a top 5 opponent, when we beat then #4 Chromatika 2-1 in Jinja City. It's a night that has gone down in Banijan history. Looking back, many see it as Banija's first true launch towards where we are now- from a consistent middle of the pack nation in Qualifying, who couldn't do anything in the Cup of Harmony, to demanding a seat at the table by being an elite squad.

And we've played plenty of times since, as well. AOCAF LXI- we beat them in the group stages, only to fall to them in the Quarterfinals, on penalty kicks. We each got clean sheet victories over the other team at Eagle's Cup VIII, a tournament that we ended up winning. And we played them twice in World Cup Qualifying for 86, beating them twice en route to a perfect 18-0-0 Qualifying record. We played them again at the Finals, and we battled out a 2-2 draw.

They're a tough opponent, and considering the frequency of our matches in recent years, meeting up in the Finals would not be that unexpected. We know each other well, have played with plenty of stakes on the line. And, of course, there's those cultural and political connections that make the greatest international rivalries- a Banijan delegation, led by present Banijan Ambassador to Chromatika and former Banijan Minister of Justice, Xolile Lubabalo, helped shepherd Chromatika's transition to democracy. It's friendly, but there's plenty of history to make it interesting.

Honorable Mentions
Nations mentioned here are considered key rivals, but there is not enough competitive match history to really define it as a rivalry. Nations are not listed in order.
- Siovanija & Teusland(Geographic proximity, cultural + political ties)
- Valanora(geographic proximity)
- Royal Kingdom of Quebec(general history and close political/cultural ties- Banija is a former colony of Quebec and they have been close ever since)
- Sarzonia(General sporting rivalry, history with 3 AOCAF matches against each other, 2 World Cup Qualifying matches, and a World Cup Finals match)
- Baker Park(cultural plus political ties)

Jerseys

Full credit to Filindostan for the design and production of these jersies. Thank you very much!

Do whatever you want besides godmodding the actual goals(I prefer the actual goals to be real). If anybody dies, please TG me who so I can replace them.

http://lineupbuilder.com/?sk=vy2jy0

Roster for AOCAF LXIII

Starters: 3-4-1-2
Players who are based in a foreign league are bolded.
Players who have their first ever competitive callup received in this tournament are green.
BSL = Banijan Soccer League, Banija's second tier. National league. S-FPL is the joint first tier soccer league for Farfadillis, Banija, and the Busoga Islands.
GK #35 François Tantoh. Age 28. Plays for Herzegovina City FC in the S-FPL.
RCB #2 Alanso Tibamba. Age 29. Plays for Hondo FC in Valanora.
CB #3 Kuma Bultum. Age 29. Plays for Raynor City United in Valanora. Captain.. Former Galactico.
LCB #20 Samba Ogunsola. Age 24. Plays for Holdenberg City in Eura.
RM #22 Madu Okparra. Age 29. Plays for Raynor City United in Valanora.
RCM #6 Mzukisi Nzo. Age 27. Plays for Crisisbless in the Nepharim Premiership.
LCM #14 Cyper Corr. 24 years old. Plays for the Northern Stallions in Brenecia.
LM #18 Babaja Mboob. Age 26. Plays for Herzegovina City FC in the S-FPL.
CAM #10 Namakula Kawesa. Age 34. (Female). Plays for Sporting Iturributa in Astograth.
LS #17 Ilman Jawara. Age 29. Plays for Soldarian FC in Valanora. Present member of the Galaticos Starting XI.
RS #9 Idai Uster. Age 24(Female). Plays for AFC Treason in the Nepharim Premiership. Formerly wore #19 until this tournament.
Bench:
GK #23 Wanda Kouyaté. Age 27(Female). Plays for Jungle Strike FC in Vilita. Only player on this team to be a world champion at every level- U18 World champion(Sporting World Cup , U21 World Champion(DBC 47), and World Cup Winner(World Cup 86).
GK #39 Akabueze Okparo. Age 30. Plays for Istria City FC in the S-FPL.
CB #62 Chiokie Uchie. 25 years old. Plays for Marine Coast United in Vilita.
LB #4 Lama Nyang. Age 26. Plays for Jinja City FC in the S-FPL.
CB #5 Demba Kinteh. Age 25. Plays for Dí Maozöxê(Farfadillis) in the S-FPL. Captain of the U18 Sporting World Cup 8 championship squad.
CM #15 Immaculate Kaba(Female). 24 years old. Plays for Kitara AA in the S-FPL.
CM #8 Musa Gaye. 26 years old. Plays for Jinja CIty FC in the S-FPL.
CAM #49 Abigail Admassu. 25 years old. Plays for Energie Thorsborg in Savojarna.
CAM #29 Momodou Sene. 25 years old. Plays for 1912 Stelburg in the Republikgaliga.
LW/LM #17 Adama Coote. Age 27. Plays for Busukuma AC in the S-FPL.
RW/RM #12 Anwar Dawit. Age 24. Plays for René Skaé(Farfadillis) in the S-FPL. Captain of the DBC 47 Championship team.
ST #19 Cyper Baldeh. Age 27. Plays for Busukuma AC in the S-FPL.

Notes:
- Our free kicks are taken by Idai Uster. Our corner kicks are taken by Madu Okparra.
- Our penalty kicks are taken by Ilman Jawara.

Extended Player Pool
These members of the player pool were invited to camp, and will take part in pre tournament friendlies throughout the cycle. They will make changes to the 23 from this day pool 'every so often', although none of them will play for the team during the tournament.

RM #40 Theresa Lubalo. 28 years old. Plays for Ibini FC in Valanora.
CM #51 Tamba Kama. 24 years old. Plays for Umbazi Metropolitan SC in the S-FPL.
RB #27 Uzoma Iruka. Age 27(Female). Plays for Hoima Warriors in the S-FPL. World Cup winner, started in the World Cup 86 Final.
ST #47 Kamara Touré. 18 years old. Plays for Mar Sara FC in Valanora.
ST #59 Kausu Dione. 24 years old. Just signed for CdF Celtade in Audioslavia. Starter on both the DBC 47 and SWC 8 Championship Teams.
CAM #21 Enyinnaya Jideofor. Age 30. Plays for Lhor in Chromatika.

1. CAM Namakula Kawesa

Namakula Kawesa is one of the most interesting players to follow on this team. She is the first woman to ever put on the green and white for the senior national side, the first beneficiary of the repeal of the gender segregation law within the country. Implementation has been slow, as there are only a handful of female players in the BSL right now, but the rise in change of culture is always slow. Still, she has smashed that glass ceiling on her own, and Kawesa is looking to ensure that she is well respected on the national and international stage.

With her platform comes great expectation, and with great expectation comes great pressure. So far, she has been able to handle it. She scored crucial goals at AOCAF LVIII en route for the Banijan run to the final of that tournament, as she came off the bench behind Okparro. She did the same at World Cup 83, playing crucial minutes there as well. She was able to earn herself attention in the transfer market, and now she plays for the Gwinevra Barbarians. She has shown her talent for the Barbarians, scoring seven goals in the league and 11 in all competitions in her first season for the Barbarians, where she was a regular fixture in their starting XI, and helped the team get 2nd in the league and earn a Champions Cup berth, as well as scoring in the Marshall Cup Final, which is Apox's major domestic cup competition. She has performed at expectation in Apox.

And now, of course, she'd held the #10 jersey for a number of cycles, and she is assuredly one of the first players every week whose name goes down onto the team sheet. The World Cup champion is in an interesting place, though. Kawesa was pregnant- she has conceived a child, and of course the timetable of her pregnancy will caused her to miss almost the entirety of World Cup Qualifying. She came back for the World Cup Finals, which was an utter disappointment. Can she help lead this team to regional glory in Siovanija & Teusland?

2. CB Kuma Bultum

Kuma Bultum is one of the most accomplished Banijans to ever play this sport. Of course, the all-time most accomplished one is Gitonga Kahara- the leading goalscorer, captaining the World Cup side. But of course, Kahara is gone, and although there were a number of intriguing options- Kawesa, Francois Tantoh, and Madu Okparra, just to name a few, it would be Kuma Bultum who would be awarded the armbanded after the retirement of the long-time captain.

Bultum is the first national team captain to be a defender since George Wangolo, the team's former assistant manager, first ever Banijan Galactico long-lister, and the now senior manager for the Grim Repears(Royal Kingdom of Quebec NT). Aka, back in the 70s. Ever since the RBSA's bankruptcy-induced hiatus that caused the squad to miss World Cup 78, the national team has had four captains. George Wangolo for World Cup 79 cycle, Kiggwe Mavuto for the World Cup 80 Cycle, Chibuzo Afolayan for cycles 81-83, and then Gitonga Kahara for cycles 84-86. All left their mark.

And now Bultum is the next in that prestigious list. He has long been an anchor on the back line for this national team. Playing at what many consider to be the biggest club in Atlantian Oceania, he is a starter for Raynor City United in Valanora. They bought him from Bunyoro RSC in the BSL for a stunning $22 million NSDs- far and away a record transfer fee for any Banijan ever. But he has been worth the funds. Week in, week out, he is a dominant force on the back line for club and country. He rarely gets beaten on the dribble, and is excellent in the air.

His excellent performances have been recognized- He has reached the Galaticos long-list for the third consecutive season, as close to an authoritative document that you can find on the top 100 players in the multiverse. He is the only Banijan to long-list three times. He is the first Banijan to ever appear in the Galaticos Starting XI, and remains the only Banijan to short-list on that prestigious list twice. He will lead the switch from a back 4 to a back 3, as his ability to command a backline makes the gaffer believe that this team can indeed switch to a back 3. One of few to win both the World Cup and the Champions League, he continues to soldier on as the leader for this national team.

3. ST Idai Uster

One of the national team's two star strikers who play up top. Idai Uster is unique among her teammates for this- instead of playing for a club and going professional at such a young age, she is the only Banijan(And remains so) in the post bankruptcy era(World Cup 79 forward) to play college soccer. Having played at Loyola-Istria for a single season, she was dominant as a freshman, meaning many thought that she made a foolish decision to play for them and not go play for a paycheck immediately. However, she got noticed by Marcus Waters, and got her first national team callup at AOCAF LIX.

Ever since then, she has been a fixture for the national team coming off the bench. No matter- the young female striker was quickly lapped up to go and play in the Schottic Premier League, and she had strong performances there. After playing in Schottia, she eventually hit the transfer market to go play for a massive club in the world's best league- and she was signed to wear the #9 jersey for AFC Treason in Nephara. To say that the signing paid off is an understatement.

Increasingly, of course, there is all sorts of competitiveness for spots on the national team. But as Ilman Jawara had a stranglehold on the starting striker role, Uster chose this past season to really explode onto the scene. 24 league goals in the last season of the Nepharim Premiership- good for third in the league, and more importantly, helped lead her team to a double, as they won both the Premiership and the Copa de Campeones. She played a starring role their as well, scoring a hat trick in the CdC Final to put them over the top.

Coming to the national team in top form, Marcus Waters faced a question- how could he not play her? But he didnt' dare mess with the lineup that he had. She was the first person off the bench, playing in all 7 games in World Cup 86 without recording a start. But no matter- even in limited time, she made her presence felt. She scored three goals, including the game-winning goal on Matchday 1 against Ko-oren, and scoring in the World Cup final against Nephara. But it begged the question more- for someone who was clearly hitting their prime, how could he afford to leave her on the bench?

Her performances caused Banija to full-time switch to a Back 3 for the first time ever. With players like Gitonga Kahara retiring, Marcus Waters knew that he'd have an opportunity to play his strikers together, and he is doing just that. For the first time ever, she's a member of the Banijan starting XI. While the team will have to get used to the new formation, she had already done her talking on the pitch- Waters simply couldn't afford to leave her out. Her ride as a starter during the AOCAFs was a success, and she's excited to continue to search for success here in S&T.

4. ST Ilman Jawara

And now, for the other starting striker. Ilman Jawara has been with the national team for quite a while now. In terms of club football, he leads the starting line for Soldarian FC, in Valanora. You'll notice a pattern- the pipeline from Valanora to Banija is ever-flowing for this sport. Many of our best players play in Nephara, for reasons due to proximity and wealth, and it is a pipeline that is expected to continue for a while. And Ilman Jawara is one of the many beneficiaries of that pipeline.

He has done well for Soldarian FC, leading the strikeline as they are as competitive as ever in the Elven Premiership, chasing RCU. He has helped lead them to a league title, alongside almost leading them to the promised land in the IFCF, helping take the squad to the IFCF Champions League semifinals on one occasion. But what has he done at the national team level? The long time contributor has been around for a while, coming off the bench at World Cup 83. This wasn't his first goal, but his most famous goal before he became a starter was when he scored the winning goal against Vilita in the World Cup 83 Quarterfinals. Considering the success we've seen since then, many see that game as a turning point, from Banija being simply a good team who has the occasional great day, to vaulting itself to elite status.

While Waters would never fully commit to him at the position, he has had a vice grip on the #9 spot for the national team ever since World Cup 83. Assefa Yitebarke retired, and Ilman Jawara has been leading the frontlines. And he has fulfilled his end of the bargain, scoring goals- scoring loads and loads and loads of goals. He is the second all-time leading goalscorer for the Banijans, and many believe that he has a chance to pass Gitonga Kahara and become the second Banijan to hit the century mark in terms of international goals.

His routine excellence at the Banijan has helped make Banija's attack one of the most feared in the multiverse. Even as Idai Uster started her play for his spot, he has continued to put in good performances. As she became known as a star in Nephara, he continued to raise his level of play, and became the second ever Banijan to be named to the Galaticos Starting XI, and now is the only player on this team who has the right to be called a present Galactico. He will look to continue to excel for the national team as he tries to chase down Gitonga Kahara's goal record.

AOCAF LXIII Group ScheduleFranz-Gorz-Stadion (70,000)
Matchday 1: Banija v. Northwest Kalactin(19) @ Stahlarbeiter-Union-Arena (40,000) in Stelburg, Teusland
Matchday 2: Sarzonia(11) v. Banija @ Franz-Gorz-Stadion (70,000) in Stelburg, Teusland
Matchday 3: Banija v. Netop(44) @ Franz-Gorz-Stadion (70,000) in Stelburg, Teusland
Matchday 4: Ibixa (52) v. Banija @ Stahlarbeiter-Union-Arena (40,000) in Stelburg, Teusland
Matchday 5:

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Siovanija & Teusland National Football Team

Facts

Nation Name: United Republics of Siovanija and Teusland
Short Names: Siovanija and Teusland, the United Republics
Demonyms: Siovanijan, Teus
FA: Siovanija and Teusland Football Association (STFA)
Colours: Blue and gold
Anthem: ‘High Mountain Skies’
Capital City: Borograd
Other Major Cities: St. Jakob, Stelburg, Vlaikograd, Chernovets, Felsenkirchen
Highest Domestic Youth League: Republikaliga
Nicknames: The Goldhorns
Style Modifier: +2.5

Manager: Gavin Hughes (APX)

Gavin Hughes is back on the touchline for the Goldhorns at the AOCAF, and it’s arguably one of the biggest moments in the history of the national team. The incredible charge from the national team in their playoff match with TJUN-ia has become the stuff of legend, and it felt like destiny when they finally got over their group stage hump and reached the Round of 16 at World Cup 87. Now, they enter the AOCAF with high hopes: based off of the recent performances, the squad that includes several veterans of international football, and, of course, the big x-factor: AOCAF 63 is coming home. That’s right, for the first time the senior national team will play in a tournament at home. It’s expected to be a big spectacle, and pressure will be on the Goldhorns here. Sure, nobody expects them to win the tournament. But we wouldn’t mind a nice run either, and much of Gavin Hughes’ future could depend on how it goes. Expect the usual, a 4-3-3, and it seems at the moment Stanimir Ilev is the preferred option up top - but when you have a world-class strike force like the Goldhorns do, that could change minute to minute. In other team news, Raphael Klopfer has officially retired from international football - he’ll have a testimonial at some point in the next year - and Thorsten Kramer is officially the full-time captain of this team.

Extended Squad - Qualifiers

Caps and goals as of AOCAF 62. Players with NSSWiki articles will have them linked.

Goalkeepers

GK -- Ewald Heuser -- Brinemouth (NPH) -- 28y/o -- 62 caps, 12 clean sheets
GK -- Anatoli Sveteikov -- Olympia Borograd -- 34y/o -- 21 caps, 6 clean sheets
GK -- Lino Kaberle -- Sporting Iturributa (ASG) -- 21y/o -- Uncapped

Ewald Heuser has been and remains the first choice keeper, his performances in World Cup 87 helping the Goldhorns in their quest to return to the World Cup Finals - he was stellar in the playoff against TJUN-ia, even in a goal-filled second leg. Anatoli Sveteikov isn’t getting any younger, and he probably deserves more than around 20 caps during what has been a very good career - if needed, the Goldhorns can certainly call on him. Lino Kaberle is the future, a strong goalkeeper who got a few opportunities at World Cup 87, and now the young keeper who has looked stellar for his club side will be coming to the AOCAF as well.

Left Backs

LB -- Edgar Steimle -- 1912 Stelburg -- 29y/o -- 87 caps, 2 assists
LB -- Axel Richter -- FC Teussen Stelburg -- 27y/o -- 25 caps

Edgar Steimle is the first choice, but there’s some question about the future of this position for the national team. There haven’t been too many top names coming up at the youth levels at left back, and Steimle is a player who greatly relies on speed - something he could lose as he turns 30 next year. Cross-town rival Axel Richter is also here, having served as Steimle’s backup for much of his career. Richter will, as always, be wanting to take that next step forwards.

Centre Backs

CB -- Karl-Heinz Jager (VC) -- Raynor City United (VAL) -- 29y/o -- 116 caps, 9 goals, 2 assists
CB -- Taras Maksimov -- Energija Chernovets -- 25y/o -- 15 caps
CB -- Niklas Kronthaler -- AS Bezieres (VLD) -- 33y/o -- 6 caps, 0 goals

Perhaps the hardest decision for Gavin Hughes comes here. There are so many good CBs who do not make this list - Tristan Niedermayer certainly at the top, followed by Erich Thierse and a number of others in the Republikaliga. Karl-Heinz Jager is the obvious top choice, but beside him, Hughes has two choices, and how the decision pans out could be massively important for this tournament. Taras Maksimov is the younger blood, the future of the position and someone who is likely to be part of this squad for a very long time. Niklas Kronthaler, meanwhile, is in the form of his life, having starred for AS Bezieres and performing very well throughout World Cup 87 Qualifiers. It could be Kronthaler’s final shot at a big tournament, and he will surely be looking to make an impression in the chances he gets.

Right Backs

RB -- Darijen Vesele -- Rene Skae (FFD) -- 27y/o -- 41 caps, 1 goal, 2 assists
RB -- Pierre-Louis Lotbiniere -- 1912 Stelburg -- 28y/o -- 61 caps, 4 assists

Of all the defensive positions, this one is perhaps the easiest for Gavin Hughes to lock down. Darijen Vesele isn’t just the best right back on this team, he’s arguably one of the best right backs in the world at the moment, and his combination of pace and a great crossing ability has made him the star of Rene Skae in Farfadillis. He is a major contributor for this team, and is a factor opposing teams will need to beware of. Pierre-Louis Lotbiniere is a strong backup, one who can be counted on in any situation, but really, you won’t be seeing much of him without an injury to Vesele.

Centre Midfield

CM -- Thorsten Kramer (C) -- 1830 Cathair (AUD) -- 32y/o -- 190 caps, 61 goals, 74 assists
CM -- Todor Mihailov -- Revolutionaries (EUR) -- 28y/o -- 91 caps, 4 goals, 10 assists
CM -- Heinrich Bahr -- FC Teussen Stelburg -- 27y/o -- 45 caps, 5 goals, 2 assists
CM -- Henrik Martin -- Di Maozoxe (FFD) -- 23y/o -- Uncapped

The greatest player in national history, Thorsten Kramer has always wanted to lift the one thing that eludes him in what has been a storybook career: a trophy for his country. And what better opportunity will he ever get than to do it here, at home? The 1830 Cathair star is eager for this tournament getting underway, telling journalists he’s ‘the most excited I’ve been for a tournament ever, honestly, just to play at home will be amazing.’ After a legendary performance in the World Cup playoff, perhaps Kramer can will his team on as he did over those 90 minutes in TJUN-ia. Todor Mihailov, the Revolutionaries star, is his usual partner in midfield, but Heinrich Bahr has been seeing more time in recent years - while Henrik Martin was a break-out star for Di Maozoxe and looked strong during World Cup 87.

Left Wing

LW -- Mario Kogler -- Chromatik (CMT) -- 31y/o -- 82 caps, 14 goals, 18 assists
LW -- Lojze Kokalj -- Olympia Borograd -- 26y/o -- 39 caps, 6 goals

Mario Kogler and Lojze Kokalj are both excellent choices, and this position should be one of the most interesting to watch - with Kogler now past 30, and Kokalj in his prime, many have called for the young Olympia winger to get the starting job full-time. Of course, each will get their chance, and it might just be that by the knockout stage it’s the young Siovanijan in charge on the wing.

Centre Attacking Midfield

CAM -- Leopold Bliznakov -- Zvezda Vlaikograd -- 26y/o -- 34 caps, 5 goals, 14 assists
CAM -- Kurt Witzel -- FC Teussen Stelburg -- 29y/o -- 29 caps, 5 goals, 8 assists

For the first time, the Goldhorns go into tournament football without their talisman, Viktor Dimitrov. The Chernovets midfielder had been overtaken already by Leopold Bliznakov as the number 10, while Kurt Witzel now joins the squad as well. Bliznakov had an injury-plagued season in the Republikaliga last year, and will surely be looking for revenge. While Witzel has been a backup for the national team his whole career, and will now surely be looking at this as his biggest chance yet.

Right Wing

RW -- Lukas Tauscher -- Brinemouth (NPH) -- 27y/o -- 80 caps, 23 goals, 16 assists
RW -- Florian Krukenberg -- FC Felsenkirchen 1879 -- 22y/o -- Uncapped

Lukas Tauscher has become a force of nature for the national team, and he’s hoping that the good times will continue rolling here at AOCAF 63. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t, with him having had an excellent year with Brinemouth and being one of the national team’s top performers in World Cup 87. Florian Krukenberg, the young Felsenkirchen product who was Young Player of the Year in the Republikaliga, was a revelation at World Cup 87, and on home soil here gets another chance.

Centre Forward

CF -- Stanimir Ilev -- CA Paulinthal (PAS) -- 32y/o -- 25 caps, 19 goals, 1 assist
CF -- Michael Ribbeck -- Kingsgrove (BRE) -- 31y/o -- 118 caps, 96 goals, 3 assists
CF -- Denis Dezelac -- Olympia Borograd -- 23y/o -- 4 caps, 1 goal

Quite a collection of talent here - Golden Boot winners in 3 different countries - and as always, it’s going to be a tough choice for Gavin Hughes. At the moment, however, Stanimir Ilev appears to have the advantage - with a great performance at WC87 backing him up. But Michael Ribbeck, of course, has been incredible for the national team throughout his career, and won’t take kindly to being relegated to bench duties. Then there’s Denis Dezelac, who made headlines at World Cup 87 Qualifiers for his goals and, of course, his antics - and who has already told the press that he expects to be the starter by the end of the tournament. An interesting battle, then, shaping up here.

Starting XI: Heuser; Steimle, Jager, Maksimov, Vesele; Kramer, Bahr, Bliznakov; Kogler, Tauscher, Ilev

Set Pieces:

Free Kicks: Lukas Tauscher, Leopold Bliznakov, Thorsten Kramer
Penalties: Stanimir Ilev, Lukas Tauscher, Thorsten Kramer, Mario Kogler, Todor Mihailov

Captains

Captain: Thorsten Kramer
Vice Captains: Karl-Heinz Jager

Kits

The home kit will be gold with black lettering and a black collar. It will feature black shorts as well as gold and black socks. The away kit will be white with gold lettering and a gold collar. It will feature gold shorts as well as white and gold socks. The goalkeeper kit will be green with gold lettering and a gold collar. It will feature green shorts as well as green and gold socks.

RP Permissions

Choose my goalscorers: Y
Choose Scoring Events: Y
Godmod Scoring Events: N
RP injuries to my players: Y, I determine length/severity
Godmod injuries to my players: N
Hand out Yellow cards to my players: Y
Hand out Red cards to my players: Y
Godmod Other Events: N (TG me if you want to discuss something, however)

Schedule

Matchday 1: Oontaz vs Siovanija & Teusland (1912-Stadion, Stelburg)
Matchday 2: Bye
Matchday 3: Siovanija & Teusland vs Aji No Moto (1912-Stadion, Stelburg)
Matchday 4: Freeport vs Siovanija & Teusland (Nationalstadion, Stelburg)
Matchday 5: Siovanija & Teusland vs Busoga Islands (Nationalstadion, Stelburg)

The Goldhorns will open up the tournament against Oontaz at the 1912-Stadion in the opening game of the tournament, which will surely draw plenty of attention at home. Aji No Moto are next up on matchday 3, before a duo at the Nationalstadion that will surely have a massive part in deciding this group’s results: Pot 3 Freeport and, on the final day, Pot 1 Busoga Islands. With 2 teams per group advancing, the hope is the home crowd will give our Goldhorns the boost they need to make it through a tricky Group A. Come on you Goldhorns!

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Stelburger Zeitung - Special Report

Home Game - Part I: A Declining Passion?

”Home Game” is a special report by investigative journalist Paul Stockenhaus. It is an inquiry, if you will, into the status of football in Siovanija & Teusland - the culture of the game, and its future. Coinciding with the hosting of AOCAF 63, a new part will be released each day.

Walking down the streets of Stelburg in the weeks before the beginning of AOCAF 63, you can sense the buzz in the air. The street vendors selling any memorabilia and merchandise they can get their hands on. The celebratory banners, featuring flags of the various competing nations, and the tournament logo, fly on every street. When you cross the Central Bridge across the Drai, downtown, you can see the ‘Welcome visiting fans and teams!’ banners, and in the Teuslandplatz, the fencing off for the fan zone has already begun.

Clearly, there’s an excitement about this tournament - the first major senior football tournament being hosted by Siovanija & Teusland. The Goldhorns have played home games before - but normally, tournament games are viewed in bars and on couches, in odd hours to adjust to the timezones. Not right here in Stelburg. But here they are, our heroes - and competing against some of the top teams in world football at the moment. The dream all across the nation is that home advantage can spur them on to victory.

But is this moment a flash in the pan, or something more? There are concerns within the Siovanija & Teusland Football Association, concerns that might seem… strange on the surface.

On the surface, you would think there’s no reason to worry. Domestic football couldn’t be in a better place at the moment in Siovanija & Teusland. FC Teussen Stelburg became the first club from the country to capture an IFCF trophy, winning the Cup Winners’ Cup. And with each player in the squad being born in the Stelburg city limits, it couldn’t be a prouder moment for the club. Energija Chernovets won the Atlantian Oceania Champions’ League, arguably the second-hardest trophy to win in club football, and while there was more international flavour in that squad, Siovanijan players made key contributions. The Republikaliga is a rising force in club football, attracting some of the world’s top players to our shores. Attendances broke records last season.

Internationally, the national team is doing quite good as well. World Cup 87 saw them reach the Round of 16 for the first time, before losing to Lothas Ludwig - one of many talents who will be on display over the next few weeks - and Valanora. Though the AOCAF 62 performance was disappointing, previous performances in the regional tournament have been strong, and there’s a sense that the national team has a bright future in the short run. One of the biggest names of this generation of football also hails from the nation, Thorsten Kramer.

So, what is there to be worried about? Beneath this surface, there’s a problem - the grassroots level. There are fewer and fewer young kids joining football academies, and more and more young kids are being steered towards other sports - namely, the national sport of ice hockey.

The decline in participation has been a trend over the last few years, but one that does not fit with the overall picture of football in this country - the packed stadiums, cheering on some of the world’s finest players in one of the most competitive leagues in the world. Football youth participation has always lagged behind ice hockey, but the gap is now widening as ice hockey’s numbers continue to go up and up.

What is the STFA’s concern? And how does AOCAF 63 play a role in this? Over the course of this series, we will explore the various factors as to why this phenomenon is taking place, and what the STFA is attempting to do to fix it.

These factors include the history of sport in the country. We will analyze the introduction of both football and hockey to the country, and explore why hockey became the national religion and football a national passion - still strong, but not quite equal. We will analyze recent trends in both sports as well, and take a look at the grassroots system itself. Finally, we’ll look into the future and see what can be done to fix this problem, and speak with STFA officials about their plans. All of this will accompany the Stelburger Zeitung’s coverage of AOCAF 63, arguably the most important tournament the Goldhorns have competed in to date.

Our team has put a great deal of time and effort into this series, interviewing important people from across the sporting world, and we look forward to sharing the results with you. To those who may be picking up our paper for the first time, and those visiting Stelburg: Wilkommen! And to our constant readers, let’s join in together: Come on you Goldhorns!

[Banija]

@AllBanijaSportsMagazine The Kadongo Kamu are expected to name two more selections to the World Cup Hall of Fame during the AOCAFs. With their 8th appearance in the FInals and 14th cycle overall at WC87, they became entitled to two more spots than they have used so far.

@AllBanijaSportsMagazine The question is- who will take those spots? Kuma Bultum, an active player, seems likely to take at least one.. But the second up for grabs. Ilman Jawara is a stud. Namakula Kawesa. Delbin Kasekende is intriguing, but he switched to Busoga when they became independent- wouldn't that be awkward?#HallofFame

@AllBanijaSportsMagazine These spots don't' become available often- we're not projected to get another until World Cup 91 at the earliest. It'll be a huge decision for the RBSA, who do you pick to be immortalized? #HallofFame

@IstriaPost BREAKING- Loyola-Istria grad Namakula Kawesa expected to retire from international duty following the end of AOCAF LXIII. She's third all-time on the NT scoring charts with 59 goals, and was the starting #10 for the team's Eagle's Cup trophy and started all 7 games our World Cup 86 victory campaign. #ThankYouNamakula (1/2)

@IstriaPost She broke the proverbial glass ceiling in Banija, becoming the first woman to ever play for the Kadongo Kamu. A lion of her time and generation, rumor has it she will focus on extending her club career as long as she possibly can in Astograth. #ThankYouNamakula (2/2)

[Independent Athletes from Quebec]

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes/No
Godmod scoring events: Yes/No
RP injuries to my players: Yes/No
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes/No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes/No
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes/No
Godmod other events: Yes (Please TG or contact me on Discord if you have questions)

The Grim Reapers Crest, designed by Kirola of Audioslavia. It is used internationally by all Quebecois national teams with the nickname Grim Reapers.

Quebec and Shingoryeo National Football Team - AOCAF 63

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Basic Facts

Nation Name: Kingdom of Quebec and Shingoryeo
Short Names: Quebec, Q&S
Trigramme: QUE (Q&S will be fine, but please don't use RKQ. Thank you)
Demonyms: Quebecois (I'll be fine with use of Quebecers, but please don't use Quebecians. Thank you)
Colours: Red, Black and Blue
National Anthem: 'Ode to Thee, My Quebec'
Royal Anthem: 'Hymn to the Shingoryeo'
Capital City: Quebec City
Other Major Cities: Montreal, Halifax, Kingston, Chicoutimi, Winnipeg, Val d'Or

FA: Royal Quebecois Football Association
Highest Domestic League: Q-League
Nickname: The Grim Reapers
Home Stadium: The Reneegrad, Quebec City, Capitale-Nationale, is the usual home stadium with top preference. That said, however, the Grim Reapers does have a tradition of hosting World Cup qualifying matches in a set of rotations.
Ultras Group: The Bubonic Plague
Style Modifier: +5
Predicted First XI : 4-2-3-1
Manager: George Wangolo, 50
Captain: Frank Lundrigan, 24
Vice Captain: Benoit-Richard Ukaleq, 22
Third Captain:

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JERSEYS


Home and Away Kits, brought to you by Uni-Q of Qusmo

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NATIONAL TEAM COACHING STAFF

Manager: George Wangolo, 50
Assistant Manager: Federico Rassmussen, 42, Valladares
Goalkeeping Coach: Guillaume Shin, 38
Defensive Coach: Robert McLelland, 48
Midfields Coach: Mark Hailey, 40, Xanneria
Offensive Coach : Hwang Dong-Wook, 53

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GOALKEEPERS (3)

#1, Padraig McGibbon, 21, 1912 Stelburg (Siovanija and Teusland) - STARTER
#29 Jang Hyo-Sook, 22, Eyrods (Chromatika)
#21 Sandra Middleton, 20, Hornchurch (Eura)

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DEFENDERS (7)

Starters (4)
#2 LB/CB Benoit-Richard Ukaleq, 22, St. John's Arsenal
#4 CB Fabrice Manitopeyes, 24, Fontvielle Impact (Valladares)
#3 CB Chewbacca, 21, Hoima Warriors (Banija)
#6 RB/LB Brian Mantha, 23, Usmer (Eura)

Backups (3)
#18 CB An Seung-Mi, 20, Gunclach (Graentfjall)
#24 RB/LB Hendrix Cha, 24, Montreal Koreana
#12 LB/RB Bastien-Luc St-Onge, 19, Nunavut North Stars

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MIDFIELDERS (7)

Key Starters (2)
#8 AM/LW/CM Frank Lundrigan, 24, TSV Marzig (Siovanija and Teusland)
#5 CM/DM Anna Guweddeko, 23, Ibini FC (Valanora)

In Rotation (3)
#25 DM/CM Shim Dong-Woon, 22, Montreal Koreana
#13 AM/ST Eloise Morgan, 22, Farrenton Athletic (EUR)
#19 CM/AM Yi Seung-Yeon, 20, Umnama'kik Iverness 1877

Backups (2)
#77 CM Vegeta, 17, Cazadores Cathair (Audioslavia)
#34 DM/CM Duncan Tshibangu, 22, Northandryun Rovers

FORWARDS (6)

Starters (3)
#7 LW/ST Benoit Djaozandry, 23, Heart of Saguenay
#9 ST Deidre Morgan, 24, FC Kohnface City (Kohnhead)
#14 RW/LW Pierre-Simon Duhamel, 20, Eivora Athletic (Tikariot)

Backups (3)
#10 ST Hong Joon-Yeong, 20, Olympique de Rimouski
#29 RW/LW Eloise Kweon, 22, Sherbrooke Noksaekjeonsa
#97 LW/ST Jean-Christophe Babin, 18, Montreal Koreana

[Busoga Islands]

Alexander Bumba, walking the streets of Cobrio with his wife, sometime between World Cup 87 and AOCAF LXIII

"You know honey, it's such a beautiful day here. We should go to the beach." He told his wife. They were on vacation, on the coast. May as well go the beach, right? It was 70 degrees Farenheit, not a cloud in the sky- why not? Screw it. As they started to walk back towards the hotel to change into their swimsuits, his ringtone started. It was a special ringtone he only had for one person- his agent.

"Shit, I have to take this." His wife simply nodded, as she walked towards an ice cream shop. "Hey man, how's it going?"

"Good, good." His agent said. "Look, we've got to make this quick- I've got an intriguing offer for you."

"What's on your plate?" Bumba replied.

"Look- you know the Busogan national team? Well, they're hiring. They reached out to us. They want you at the helm." The agent said. Alexander Bumba was, naturally, intrigued. He had just finished his fifth season in Cobrio managing Dynapolis United, and was willing to take a sixth. He was in a beautiful country, had reasonable success in a quality league. But after five seasons in the same place, maybe it was time for a change of scenery? And taking over the national team would put him back in a place where he'd want to go- home. Back to Jinja.

He'd managed Jinja City FC in the Banijan Soccer League for the first 9 seasons of the league. 9 consecutive finishes in the top 4. He's a huge reason why Jinja City FC is the only Banijan team to qualify for IFCF/UCIA ever single season that Banija has put clubs forward for those competitions. He had won a league title, and had a stunning five second place finishes in the league. He didn't leave because he didn't like the place. He left because he thought they weren't giving him enough support. All those second place finishes do wear on a team after a while.

Either go back to JInja and prove his doubters wrong, or eventually take over a big club in Banija and prove Jinja wrong that way. Either would be fine. He knew that jobs would open soon. There wasn't a single Banijan manager in the S-FPL- an embarassment that Banijan clubs would soon look to change. And, of course, big jobs would open up. Brian Emerson, the Cosumarite manager of Herzegovina City, was 86 years old. He couldn't coach forever, could he? Jinja City FC and the Hoima Warriors both had extremely disappointing finishes in the most recent season of the S-FPL, as well. And if he was in Busoga, he'd be right in the public eye again of clubs in his home country.

Was he taking a national team job, not to coach a national team, but for the sole purpose of trying to position himself to take a big-time club job in his home country? Yes. But considering his goals, it was a judicious decision to take this job. He'd have an eye out on the Banijan job scene. By coaching a national team involved there, he and his agent would always keep his name up for discussions, start those rumors- who cares how this job went? He was well respected within the country. A top two Banijan manager for sure, with George Wangolo maybe having passed him running the Grim Reapers.

So when he got back to his house, and discussed it with his wife, she was all for it. He called back his agent, and just said one word. "Yes." He'd ask his agent and BISA to hold off on leaking it for three more days. The official announcement would be in a week- who didn't want four days of rumors that he was taking the job? That would just up the anticipation on both sides. He'd call ownership in the morning, get a staff meeting for the afternoon, and a players meeting at night. No need to waste any time.

Cobrio was good to him. He'd miss the city, the fans, the country. But just because things are good, doesn't mean you shouldn't take risks to achieve your goals, right? Dynapolis United was officially behind him. Next stop? Back to the Glorious Southwest.

[Ibixa]

Lliga Ivixe: Gimnàstica Altoro

Gimnàstica are the first team revealed for the new Lliga Ivixe, to take place from next season. Based at the Estadi Sant Lluis, Gimnàstica's colours will be blue and gold.

More details, and those of the remaining teams in the Lliga, are expected to be revealed soon.

[Aji No Moto]

Hideyuki Kikkawa was alone in his hotel room in downtown Stelburg, trying to formulate how he will field his squad in the matches for the AOCAF Cup.

They were given a difficult task of dealing with the hosts in Group A, and having to face Busoga Islands is no joke either. Add in the unpredictable squads of Freeport and Oontaz, and he is already worried that the team will finish bottom of Group A. Last edition has been a back and forth affair with squad change after squad change. The then 11 and under football players were again invited in the squad list for this edition's Cup, and the FA just told him, "You can use these kids whenever you need. We'll take care of the expenses for these children."

It is a problem that he had around forty people who can be selected in the first 11 in their match against Busoga, but he does not plan of making any youngster take part in the first match. After all, he still believes in the current crop of senior players he has, and although he does not expect anything in the first set of matches, he will think that he might need to resort to fielding these 13 year old and under players after all.

He decided to make an experiment in their match against Oontaz in the second matchday, where a mixture of young and senior players will take to the field in the Nationalstadion by then.

[Saltstead]

(NOTE: De Däglik Vriħtheid is a Saltsteadish-language purveyor of patent misinformation and lies. Everything it says should be considered brazenly false unless otherwise known to be true.)

---

A hotel in Borograd
Matchday 1

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DE DÄGLIK VRIĦTHEID
Everything The Elites Do Not Want You To Know

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EXPOSED! The heretical Catholic Church of Teusland RIG the AOCAF Cup draw against Saltstead

The tyrannical organisation known as the Catholic Church of Teusland have deemed the presence of honest, god-fearing monotheistic Saltsteaders an imminent threat to their polytheistic heresy. Fearing that Saltsteaders may expose the LIES the “Church” has been telling the people of Siovanija and Teusland for centuries, the “Church” has concocted a clever plan to get rid of true God-believers as soon as possible: give Saltstead the hardest possible group stage draw.

Saltstead will have four opponents in the group stage, all of whom strike fear into any sentient beings. Savigliane is led by one Tlanx-Nulzk Hal, the greatest coach to ever fail in Saltstead. Nuovo Serone is some kind of colony of Juvencus, who beat us honest believing Saltsteaders in a Cup of Harmony final. Audioslavia exist. And then Baker Park beat out Saltstead to qualify for the World Cup during Tlanx-Nulzk’s tenure.

How could all these teams end up in OUR group by mere random chance? They could not. The “Church” simply do not want us embarrassing them by winning the AOCAF Cup in their Teussian fiefdom and concocted this draw to keep us out of the knockout stage at all costs. While we do not know exactly how the heretics in the “Church” organised this plot, according to De Däglik Vriħtheid’s inside sources, this group was deemed the most difficult draw possible for Saltstead short of pairing us with Banija.

[…show more content…]

Reinhard stared at his mobile screen in utter disbelief. The idea that any human in their right mind would be depraved enough to seriously suggest that the AOCAF draw might be rigged sent shivers down his spine, especially in the wake of misadventures in regions beyond.

Then his attention was briefly diverted by a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” Reinhard yelled.

“It’s Haråud,” his colleague replied.

“Come in.”

“Rosencrants and the rest of the team wanted me to…” Haråud tried to ask before getting a glimpse at Reinhard’s mobile. “The [Orange] mVIII is out?” he asked, pointing at the phone.

“Oh, yes. But I’ve just come across this trash.”

“What have you got yourself into this time?”

“Okay, are you ready?”

“I doubt it, but go on.”

Reinhard cleared his throat before starting to read the last paragraph of the article: “That the Atlantian Oceania Confederation of Association Football would allow a travesty like this to happen is shameful and the Royal Saltsteadish Football Association must condemn this manipulation in the strongest possible terms. We pray that Saltstead may overcome this FRAUD and that the people of Siovanija and Teusland will be delivered from heresy.”

“Jesus Fucking Christ. Where on this godforsaken planet did you find this?”

“Some place called De Däglik Vriħtheid. I don’t know where this site is operating from, but it’s a bloody trip.”

“Why are you reading that trash? It’s all a load of nonsense and lies.”

“I don’t know, to be honest.”

“Get your things ready, the bus is leaving in half an hour.”

Saltstead’s misadventures at AOCAF were about to begin. Day one: a date with their old head coach.

★
The Royal Saltsteadish Football Association
Royal House of Sport, Ashwell

---

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Savigliane : Saltstead
AOCAF LXIII group stage — Matchday 1
Stadion Orlovska Bistrica, Orlovska Bistrica, Siovanija and Teusland
Starting line-up (4–5–1): Kathrinita Äsħes; Micħäl Aurelius, Dijter Ackerdijħ, Johan van Tilborg, Catharine de Vriħt; Natasħa Aħterop, Benni Sħåul, Zacharias van den Slåp, Mina Ratmaker, Thomas Lions; Haråud Haråudssen
Substitute bench: Robert-Jan van Daal, Christijn Sänt-Andreas; Jan-Pijr Åudenberg, Serena van Middelkamp, Yorg Handel, Constantijn Kåler; Violeta Igesleven, Margaretha Wilheumssen, Nico Joxepħssen, Aleksa Pascal; Reinhard Åubreħtssen, Edvard Rothås

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[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Football Association of the Commonwealth of Baker Park

The FAC was founded in 1901 and currently has 128 full member clubs, 304 associate member clubs and approximately 23,000 registered players--male & female--between the ages of 11 to 65+ as well as approximately 3,200 registered officials, both male & female. It sponsors competitions across all age groups, genders and ability levels, including 12 National Championships and 6 domestic cup competitions for men and women.

Major Multiverse Honors

AOCAF LXII Champions

SWC 5 & SWC 9 Under-18 Champions

Baptism of Fire 67 Runners-up

AOCAF LVIII & LX Third Place

World Cup Mriin/Farfadillis 85 Fourth Place

All time match record—382 wins, 228 losses, 117 draws (current through beginning of AOCAF LXIII)
NS Record—203 wins 66 losses 48 draws (317 matches)
AOCAF record—40 wins 10 defeats 5 draws
National Anthem--"Hear Our Voices Commonwealth"
Region—Atlantian Oceania
Nickname--since the end of the 1960's the National Team has been known as "The Bees", a period when the team's uniforms consisted of alternating black and gold hoops. While the bee is an element on the coat of arms of the Commonwealth—a long accepted heraldic symbol of industriousness--the association was actually a reference made in an Italian newspaper game story when the senior team was wearing the hooped shirts, referring to the BP team as il Bombi (the bumblebees) for their perseverance and swarming tactical play.
Colors--Black & Gold (while they are just 2 of the 5 main colors on the flag of Baker Park--Blue, Red and White are the others--black & gold have been closely associated in the nation's consciousness as representative of the country since its founding.)
style--+2.20
Formation--3-4-1-2
AOCAF ranking—29.87 (3rd)

Manager—Jennifer Prescott (33 wins, 10 defeats, 4 draws)
Assistant Mangers—Darren Kirby, Tony Weiss
Coaches—Hailey Reinhart-Zavaros, Elaine King
Physio—Gina Damicone

GK				Age	Club				Caps
1   Zach Johnston#		26	New Bremen FC		        33
23  Kelsey Vickers		26	Jaguar Moreda (VIL)		22 (1)

Def
19  Jerome Brooks#		25	Dalton Town FC		        15 (5)
2   Alan Wiseman		27	Urreheddio (CMT)		26 (6)
20  Julia Edmonds		26	Newmarket Ladies FC		 5 (1)
21  Amy Freeman#		25	Riverside City Ladies FC	 8 (1)
3   Charlotte Bauer#		26	Southend Ladies AC		11 (2)
5   Victor Onikambe#		25	Southend AC			31 (2)
4   Sam Harrison$		28	Ezriquay United FC		33 (7)


Mid
11  Max Rizzo#			25	Bombarralense (AUD)		32 (1)
14  Christa Vuckovic#		25	Tropicorp FC (VIL)		15 (6)
6   Nicole D'Amico#		27	Damogran FC (SRS)		20 (7)
8   Marcus Nolan#		26	Lajuno FC (EUR)		        36 (16)
15  Kelvin Buxton		27	Monmouth Park FC		24 (9)
7   Susana Aguilar#		27	Shirley Metros Ladies FC	29 (5)
16  Paige Eichorn		26	New Capetown Falcons (TAE)       6 (5)
17  Marcus Milton		28	Llewellyn Turnpike FC		12 (3)
18  Amy Reynolds#		26	Clayton City Ladies FC	        16 (4)

Fwd
10  Daniel Pryor#		27	Marketville FC (EUR)		32 (14)
9   Ayana West#	$	        27	Sherwood Forest Ladies FC	40 (13)
13  Desmond Garvey#		27	Blackfields FC (EUR)		19 (9)
12  Alicia Craig#		26	Sherwood Forest Ladies FC	23 (2)
22  Hayley Gibson#		25	Brentford Ladies FC		 6 (7)
24  Tim Cassel		        25	New Bremen FC		        12 (9)

$--Co-Captains
#--returning squad member from AOCAF 62

The Commonwealth of Baker Park National Team enters the 63rd edition of the AOCAF Cup in an unusual position--as the defending champions of a senior tournament for the first time in their history.
Jennifer Prescott's squad coalesced towards the end of the second group stage, then through the knockout rounds--making sure the third time was the charm against Chromatika in the tournament, then to knock off then World Cup holders and arch-rivals Banija, ending with a win over a game Qasden side at the Stadium of the Restoration in Busukuma--to lift the trophy of the multiverse's toughest tournament that's not called the World Cup.

Sixteen members of that squad return, including Zach Johnston, the tournament's Most Outstanding Goalkeeper. All of the players are between 25-28, having began their youth team careers in the shadow of the Under-18 World Championship winning squad at SWC 5; they gained plenty of experience during the last World Cup Qualifiers, most seeing action in Prescott's or Ichi Tuzzio's split squads used during the first 2/3 of the tournament.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes (duration of match only)
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes (TG in advance please)
Godmod other events: TG me with your idea, I'll probably say Yes

Starting Lineup vs Nuova Serone:
Johnston; Bauer, Edmonds, Harrison; Rizzo, D'Amico, Nolan, Aguilar; Craig; Pryor, West (C)

[Independent Athletes from Quebec]

OOC: Season 6's slowly starting...Thanks to Ceni for IC information about Cenial.

Part 1.

The Agent

PART 2 - The Last Man on Earth

The McCarthy Home, Cenial, Ceni

Pierre McCarthy lived in Georgetown, one of the quietest neighbourhoods in all of Cenial. A far cry from the usual high-risers that dominated the rest of the city, the Victorian rowhouses here rather spoke to the times of old money, who still remained and rang firmly on the underbelly of the society, and Pierre happened to be one of few younger peoples who enjoyed those. Georgetown was the very neighbourhood he made sure to get the mortgage as a student fresh out of the University of Ceni, and while his life had changed a lot, this quiet place had remained the same with the endless pile of his daughter Arabella's items from when she was younger.

Any client of his, who had the privilege to visit the super-agent, would not have guessed that he would prefer the comforts of his place. A thirty-seven year old who's travelled to almost every known corner in the Multiverse, he had come to appreciate the various joys and favours life would bring him along. Nobody on his neighbourhood, even those his daughter would go to their places for an occasional dinner or two, knew why- and he liked it that way.

Not everything has to be told, Pierre remembered his old words to Arabella, as he watched the sun set through the gigantic window on the living room. Sometimes...it's better to keep the illusion of something big, when the actual reason for something is nothing like it. About four years had passed since then, and he could feel the sadness in his daughter's expressions, almost as if she could detect every dose of bitterness whenever they (or more commonly, just himself) had to travel to Quebec.

Not that he minded going back home- his mother, Choe Soon-Ja, and Pierre always had great relations, and his father Gilbert was delighted to see him back twice a year. There's something with his hometown of Halifax that always stayed the same after twenty years, but Pierre felt greater comfort in not being faced with every bit of information or memories whenever he came back to Quebec for business- something that didn't necessarily help with his career.

Now, sitting on his work table facing the aforementioned window, Pierre slowly wrote down the details of prospective proposal he had in mind for a couple of Tumbran prospects whom he had signed with earlier (OOC: I guess this would be a solid preview to potential news on transfer window). After carefully reminding himself the specific terms in which he would have to think while facing the Esportivan media, Pierre slowly let the nerves hit him.

Am I already getting too old? He wondered, feeling the weight of time striking him as he rewrote the restructured contract details he was going to forward to any prospective team. No way the thirties are already ending. The Haligonian couldn't help but to feel amazed at how Daniel Galbraith, the thirty-four year old Tumbran legend, was still able to get his career going. Pierre remembered first meeting the Tumbran a decade ago, when Pierre was still getting established an agent in mid-20s, while Galbraith had just come from the Player of the Year honour with Straton FC. Now they were both fathers of teenagers and firmly established, but the client wanted his way out of dissatisfactory situation after such a long time, and now Pierre had to work his way around it.

Feeling his eyes dim once again, Pierre closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let the night slowly unveil its drapes started to brush the Hypnos' ankles. Pierre wasn't worried about the work- but he knew his mind wasn't necessarily in it. It's like the Jazz piece 'Caravan', in which his tempo was dictated around, and he had no other way to put forth. He's going to have to rest for now, and redo the work an hour later.

It was then that his home phone rang.

'Allo?' The screen indicated 'Private Number', and the ringtone he picked wasn't one he usually gave out to clients either. It took Pierre a couple of seconds to think, and wonder who it was- it was probably somewhere in Norrehavn, where he had a couple of businesses lined up, or Cassadaigua, where Theo-Alexandre Pinson and Heo Myeong-Shin were having spectacular debut seasons with Brattleboro Brats and Concord Heights Royals. Right now, Pierre was dressed in a pale dress shirt and trousers, and he smelled perhaps too much whiskey even on seven in the evening.

'Allo?' Pierre said, after drawing a gigantic sigh in hopes that nothing went wrong. 'Pierre McCarthy, how can I help you?'

'Pierre, this is Robert. Robert Han from Mountford,' a voice responded in a rather hurried pace, the high tone in which you got when you had a cold, 'You're in Ceni right?'

'Um...yes,' Pierre responded, the silence between those two words evident enough to show his nerves, 'Well, good to hear from you again! Long time, no hear...how can I help you?'

'You have to come back to Halifax now...Elora wishes to see you. Can't say much, but she doesn't have many days left, and you will have to.'

Was this the matter of chance that he stumbled and nearly fell to the ground while clutching his phone? Sure it didn't take much, but the hammer struck like that last spike on one of many transcontinental railways that crossed between Quebec and Baker Park. The name, Elora, was alone enough to do so, and not necessarily in the way he wished, especially without his daughter present to calm him over. 'Alright...alright...alright...' was all Pierre said. He was trying to pull the right words off his head, but the words weren't coming out.