World Cup 88- Roleplay Thread

[Tumbra]

Tumbra 6-4 Revlona

Tumbra (4-3-3): 1 - Lennon; 2 - Hughes, 4 - Henderson, 5 - Brown (14 - Ashburn, 78'), 3 - White; 28 - Stansfield, 15 - Aitken (8 - Hicks, 72'), 29 - Cole; 17 - van Heirolf (7 - Fraser, 63'), 9 - Vaughn; 22 - Sheldon

Revlona (4-4-2): 1 - #1; 2 - #2, 4 - #4, 5 - #5, 3 - #3; 7 - #7, 6 - #6, 8 - #8, 9 - #9; 10 - #10, 11 - #11

TMB scorers: Cole (7'), Aitken (19'), Sheldon (32', 71', 83'), Fraser (88')
REV scorers: #7 (41', 58'), #11 (61', 73')

Player of the Match: Marcus Sheldon (TMB)

The Juniper Union 1-2 Tumbra

The Juniper Union (3-5-2): 1 - #1; 4 - #4, 5 - #5, 6 - #5; 2 - #2, 7 - #7, 8 - #8, 9 - #9, 3 - #3; 10 - #10, 11 - #11

Tumbra (4-3-3): 1 - Lennon; 18 - Hart, 4 - Henderson (20 - Paterson, 68'), 14 - Ashburn; 3 - White; 28 - Stansfield, 8 - McGrath (16 - Morgan, 60'), 10 - Herlinger; 17 - van Heirolf (7 - Fraser, 83'), 9 - Vaughn, 22 - Sheldon

TMB scorers: Vaughn (23'), Sheldon (44')
JUN scorers: #9 (11')

Player of the Match: Marcus Sheldon (TMB)

SPORT: TUMBRA 6-4 REVLONA; THE JUNIPER UNION 1-2 TUMBRA
Superb Sheldon Secures Starting Striker Spot; Unbeaten Run Continues As Precarious Perch To Be Tested Against Garbelia and Kandorith

STRATON - Four goals in two matches might have settled the long-running debate over who Tumbra's starting striker should be, and it certainly seems to be in favour of the Couno Rangers talisman Marcus Sheldon, after the experienced striker silenced critics over his age and scoring record with the Rangers after banging in four goals in two games against Revlona and the Juniper Union. The six-point haul saw Tumbra remain atop the standings of Group 1, despite several important matches still to come against seventh seeds Garbelia and third seeds Kandorith, the latter of which will prove whether Tumbra's nascent ambitions to qualify for the World Cup do indeed hold water.

Despite the impressive haul of four wins and one draw from the five matches so far — Tumbra being one of 29 teams yet to be beaten — the high number of goals let in, on an average of two per match, has led to criticism of NT manager Marco Hemmings for allowing the defensive game to become lackadaisical in return for a more fruitful offensive game; a charge that Hemmings steadfastly refused to concede to, insisting that "scoring goals is how you win games" and that "at this level, any win is a win, no matter how narrow or wide." While the millions of players throughout World Cup participating nations playing the Fantasy minigame run by Jarongi Sports Statistics that have picked Tumbra might be hoping for more — after all, a win by three grants players an extra point atop the three for a win, something only Saltstead have achieved so far — Hemmings has adamantly refused to change his style, pointing at the 4-1-0 record as proof of its successes so far.

It is worth noting that in the aforementioned Jarongi Fantasy game, Tumbra has been the second most picked nation out of all 180 countries participating in the World Cup, and indeed the most picked nation out of Group 1, with the only country being picked more being Tequilo. Whether this is an indication that the world wishes Tumbra to qualify or whether they see the Black Eagles as merely another budget choice given the 240 ranking point spending limit is unknown; regardless, the Fantasy spectacle could prove to be interesting as Tumbra certainly ranks #2 amongst users who wish to get the most bang for their buck.

Tumbra 6-4 Revlona; Ten-Goal Thriller Sees Sheldon Rise To Occasion

This international break saw Tumbra lock horns against the two lowest-ranked opponents in Revlona and the Juniper Union, both of whom seem to have neglected their national team's participation in the Qualifiers, failing to even produce a list of players who would be playing in their qualifiers. In the end, with no names on the back of their shirts, TBC commentators were forced to revert to calling out players by their shirt numbers instead; something which produced an endless amount of mirth amongst the Internet community after the match.

Phil Cole would open the scoring against Revlona, scoring a stunner of a volley past the Revlonan goalkeeper; Michael Aitken would get on the scoresheet, too, scoring his first goal in a black shirt when he caught on to a parried free kick to finish the short-range shot. Marcus Sheldon would score a header off a corner in the thirty-second minute to put the Tumbrans 3-0 ahead; but the Revlonan left winger #7 would bring the Tumbrans down one going into the half-time break.

The second half saw Revlona score two more to bring the Tumbrans level on 3-3, before Sheldon scored his second of the game with a left-footed placed shot after a dribble from the right wing of the pitch, where he and Vaughn were interchanging positions as to keep the Revlonan defence off-guard; the goal was certainly one of the finest scored by anyone wearing the black of Tumbra so far.

Yet the defensive woes continued as Tumbra conceded a fourth goal to be pegged back once more; immediately after the fourth Revlonan goal Johnny Brown was subbed off, the veteran defender looking visibly exhausted at keeping up with the Revlonan offensive; Ian Ashburn's defensive presence despite his young age was a key factor in the Tumbrans not conceding more goals than they already did.

Running out of time, then, the Tumbrans had to find a way through; and through Marcus Sheldon, they did — this time with a simple right-footed finish into the low corner of the net off a brisk counterattack that saw Sheldon complete his perfect hat-trick, and also throw down a gauntlet for typical starting striker Philip Cohen on the bench; reports of the squad preferring to play with Sheldon, who participates in the build-up play more than Cohen, who prefers merely to take opportunities near the penalty box; have been unsubstantiated, but perhaps the necessity of the entire team participating in build-up play does show a natural preference to Sheldon over Cohen.

A late goal by substitute Neil Fraser — their sixth, and at the same time making this the highest-scoring match the Tumbrans have participated in in a WCC-sanctioned competition — sealed the win for Tumbra, and a valuable three points for the Black Eagles, eager to not repeat the Marigredian draw.

The Juniper Union 1-2 Tumbra; Understated Win Puts Tumbra On Top

The international break's away game would be at the Juniper Union, the tenth seed; despite their ranking, the team had won one of their previous four matches, against the aforementioned Revlona. The Juniper Union played a 3-5-2 with wingbacks in an effort to frustrate the Tumbran offensive; and it worked, as the Juniper Union took an early 1-0 lead through one of their strikers in the eleventh minute; yet, once the secret to exploiting the Juniper Union defences was revealed, the Tumbrans kept possession, kept pressing to force the rigid shape of the Union defense; eventually, it broke, allowing Vaughn to break away on the right flank as he was wont to do; he began the comeback by scoring a mean, powerful finish against the Union goalkeeper.

Marcus Sheldon would score his fourth goal in two games to confirm his temporary status as Tumbra's starting striker; a free kick which he adamantly decided to take on the edge of the box went in, with the Union goalkeeper failing to make the fingertip save needed just before the half-time mark. It was all that was needed; Tumbra would continue on the offense in the second half, but would lighten up the intensity of their attacks, with Hemmings allowing the team to sit back and putting an actual defensive shift in.

Upon the return to Straton, during the aforementioned press conference, Hemmings downplayed the status of Tumbra as the first-ranked team in the table, instead putting the pressure on Garbelia and Kandorith, who are currently seventh and fourth in the table respectively with a mixed bag of results against the teams they have faced so far; Garbelia have a record of 1-2-2, while Kandorith are on 3-0-2. While the issue of women's football was not touched upon during the press conference, Hemmings responded positively to Culture Minister Andrew Gilligan's recent statement in Parliament; while not endorsing the concept of women in football outright, his remarks seemed to give the impression that he was personally in support, while being restricted by the TFF on what he could and couldn't say.

Tumbra are currently first in Group 1 with four wins and one draw; a good record that anyone could have hoped for as the Black Eagles begin the second quarter of qualifying.

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POLITICS: Weekly Roundup
Gilligan Unequivocally Endorses Idea of Women in National Teams and Leagues; Everett's State Visit to Grearia Lends Further Credence to Esportivan Integration

Everett's State Visit to Grearia Launches Speculation on Concrete Plans for Union

ATHEBURN - Kenneth Everett's state visit to Grearia to meet with the newly-elected Prime Minister, Sean Fullerton, once again sparked waves of conversation on the future of the Esportivan Union which was mooted during his re-election campaign. It is understood that a small core of six nations located mostly in the centre and south-east of Esportiva — Tumbra, Damukuni, the Licentian Isles, Nova Anglicana, South Newlandia and Grearia — are at the centre of efforts to create a rudimentary Union for Esportiva, which would most likely encompass a common market and other immigration-related matters, while common matters such as defence against rogue regimes like Kaldtfjell or the dictatorial regime in Ouropais, and even smaller, autocratic countries like Montego. Such a trade bloc, if it were to expand to include most of Esportiva, would become one of the largest economies in the Esportivan-Atlantian Oceanian-Rushmori region, and indeed in the world.

The Prime Minister's address to the Grearish Parliament seemed to confirm as much; while Everett has yet to talk to the Tumbran people on the matter of the Esportivan Union, presumably looking to find the correct approach before breaking the news; his address, which included themes such as "shared visions" and "unity" seemingly confirmed that such plans were in the works.

Gilligan Addresses Parliament On Equality In Sports as Court Case is Heard; Arguments to be Heard Over Next Few Weeks

STRATON - Any doubts that Labour would be on the fence regarding the recent calls for equality in footballing and other sports in Tumbra were assuaged today when Culture Minister Andrew Gilligan addressed Parliament on the matter, giving the Government's stance on the matter — that the Government was firmly in favour of allowing women to be part of the national teams in all sports, and breaking all barriers down in access to sport, a matter which he called "crucial". Critically, though, the addressed stopped short of making the TFF enact direct action, the Government seemingly preferring to let the court case in TASE vs TFF rise up the federal court hierarchy.

Some sects of the Labour Party, particularly the socially conservative "Red Dog" wing of the party that bolstered its membership by about ten members in the 2021 election, expressed discontent at the statement, saying that "the physical disposition of women means that they'd be outclassed on the football pitches" and that "our national team has been performing admirably with a team of all men". Such statements were echoed by the Conservatives and some sects of the Liberals as well, but in general sentiment in Parliament have been remarkably positive towards the change. While Parliament is unlikely to legislate on the matter, the stance of the Government gives additional ammunition to the protestors and advocates for equality, while placing further pressure on the TFF, which has remained remarkably taciturn on the matter.

Liberal Hustings See Lindner Emerge As Clear Frontrunner

STRATON - The ongoing Liberal Party leadership election, taking place amidst the National Party rethinking their relationship with the Liberal Party, and a general sense of rudderlessness amongst most of the party base, has seen Peter Lindner, the former Senate Opposition Leader and now MP for Chatham come out on top in several polls amongst the Liberal party membership.

Linder has stood out amongst the crowded pack as an inoffensive, middle-ground leader who is fiscally conservative yet socially more liberal than some of his counterparts running for the office — a firm believer in smaller government, though he has toned back on his statements as he seeks to bring unity back to a fractured caucus that has seen four years of infighting amongst the moderate and more conservative wings of the party.

Yet, the deeper underlying question that has been floating around the Liberal Party has been this — will Lindner be able to reverse the flow of votes to Labour and the Conservatives, and find the Liberals' place in the political spectrum again?

The new Liberal leader will be elected through instant-runoff voting, and they are expected to take office on the 31st, when Anne Monteiro, the outgoing Opposition Leader, will formally tender her resignation.

Thornton State Election Heads Down To Last Week of Campaign

COLLATIA - Thornton Premier Edwin O'Connor is on track to win a third term for his Labour government off the back of the federal elections, which provided a nice poll boost for O'Connor's numbers. While speculation abounded that Labour would lose the 2021 election to a Liberal/Moderate coalition, O'Connor unleashed a slew of initiatives focused on infrastructure and digitising the economy. While rubbished by his opponents as a political tactic, the people of Thornton responded well to these initiatives, resulting in the poll boost O'Connor has received.

On current polling numbers, Labour would gain six seats from the Moderates and Liberals, giving them enough seats for a majority government in the 100-seat Thornton Parliament; the Liberal Alliance, which is still campaigning together despite the split on the federal level, looks set to lose four. The SDP, Conservatives and Greens are set to hold their one seat; the Moderates are expected to lose two.

With just one week to the polls, much will focus on how big the electoral bounce the federal Labour Party has given to the state Labour parties; the Liberal government in Napier, which goes to the polls in November, will be particularly interested in the swing to Labour, if any exists.

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TUMBRAN LINEUP FOR MATCH vs GARBELIA @ GARBELIAN HOME GROUND and vs KANDORITH @ TUMBRAN NATIONAL STADIUM, STRATON

Starters: 1 - Lennon; 2 - Hughes, 4 - Henderson, 14 - Ashburn, 19 - Carter; 6 - Hicks, 8 - McGrath, 29 - Cole; 7 - Fraser, 9 - Vaughn, 22 - Sheldon
Subs 12 - Addison; 25 - Campbell, 5 - Brown, 3 - White; 10 - Herlinger, 16 - Morgan, 28 - Stansfield; 17 - van Heirolf, 21 - Cresswood; 11 - Cohen, 33 - Riordan

[Bollonich]

Vreton City Journal

Match reviews

Bollonich 0 - 1 Sylestone

It was time for another international break, and that meant the time for more World Cup qualifying matches. The start of Bollonich so far hadn’t been the best one, we were sitting at 8th in the table failing to record a single win. The upcoming matches against Sylestone at home and Talks away would be crucial for our qualifying campaign. The first match was against Sylestone at home, the match being played in Vreton’s John Lennon Stadium. The Sentients as they are called, had already played against us, in which we lost to them 2-1. We came into this match seeking revenge, revenge for our losses. The match was going to be a momentous occasion as after a disappointing match in Fermont, mainly due to the lack of fans the players were excited to play in front of the home fans. The fans in the stadium also included some Sylestonians, including a few sentients. It is a topic of contestation as to where the noice they were making were coming for but that’s a topic for another time. The Bollonischian team resembled the one that faced off against Tequilo, this was a brave move considering the match against Tequilo was a rather stale performance from the Bollonischians. The match was to be an interesting one, with both teams already played close games. Motivation must’ve been received from the Bollonischian Lacrosse Team’s win over Sylestone in the WLC. The match started with the Sentients and Tigers taking the field. The Tiger were shocked by the initiative plays of the Sentients which they hadn’t witnessed during the time of 2 friendlies. Perry around the 25th minute took a shot from 30 yards out, the shot was a magnificent curler, however it didn’t cause Brick Wall the Sylestonnean keeper much problem. Mainly because the keeper is a literal wall who the ball bounced off of, which lead to an insertion of chaos which was ended when the ball went out of play. It was the 34th minute when the ball was played onto the stove, who switched on the stove and made the ball hot, which made it lighter. The legitimacy of this is still in question but let’s continue. The ball then due to its lightness was able to be played ahead to the mixer. The mixer, a deadly attacker used its blades to launch the ball into the air. The Bollonischians were meanwhile staring at this innovative play by the Sentients from Sylestone and more importantly contemplating whether they wanted to touch the ball after watching what the Toilet from The Sylestonean side did to it. The ball that was falling at a surprisingly slow pace, was anticipated by the captain of the Sentients, The fridge, who with a move of the hinge opened its lid and smashed the ball using it. Sirigu was dumbfounded at this move of pure brilliance. Sirigu was extremely confused at this sudden move and couldn’t act in time to save the goal. The rest of the game was a rather uneventful one, with neither the Bollonischians nor the Sentients being able to breakdown the opposition defence. This loss would be a hard one for Bollonich and a crucial victory for Sylestone as Sylestone rose to the 3rd position in the group. Bollonich due to the loss, remained in 8th place. Due to the loss that The Tigers faced in this match, the match against Talkasa becomes a must win match if we wish to keep our qualification hopes alive, and travelling to Talkasa Bollonich will have to put up a fight against 301 ranked Talkasa.

Match Events

Bollonich                    Sylestone
62’ Douglas ▲ Swanson ▼      34’ GOAL - Fridge (Mixer)
62’ Cummings ▲ Moreno ▼      62’ Spiderwebs ▲ Bar Stool ▼
75’ Tad Rios ▲ Marshall ▼    89’ Nokia ▪︎

Talkasa 2 - 4 Bollonich

We were going into the game against Talkasa with basically low to none expectations. Our excitement and expectations had been squandered as any team participating for the first time we expected too much. We expected wins, we expected qualification, none of which was likely to happen. However this match was a chance for us to regain our lost pride and put us back in contention. Talkasa was team that had taken part in the most recent edition of the Baptism of Fire. Being seeded into Group B, they were up against teams like Atheara and Galeanna. They made the Round of 16 as a third place entry, where in the Round of 16 they faced Sahuarita, a team they lost to 1-0 knocking them out. It could be argued over here that this was because Talkasa refused to use RP as did they in the WCQ. However discussing that would be going off topic. So we were playing Talkasa away from home, in their home ground, where they were undefeated and had defeated a team like Trolleborg. Going into the match, the players were prepared and so was Gildiric as he had made some changes. He had decided to switch things up, from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 (attacking). Ed Douglas was playing in place of Swanson and Cummings took the place of Buck Moreno. The new and revitalised team took to the field against Talkasa. The match started and immediately Talkasa took the upper hand with a goal within 4 minutes scored by their right winger Paul Khan. The Tigers were immediately on the back foot and to rub more salt into their wound, Nick Blythe scored from a brilliant free kick as in a horrendous play Ploy fouled Cain Horthy right outside the penalty area. Bollonich were trailing by 2 goals, someone needed to step up. As the onslaught from Talkasa slowed down, Bollonich were able to get some chances. A goal would be needed before the half time break if they were to switch up their fortunes. And a goal is exactly what we got, and that from Schmit. It was a brilliant play from Marshall, who dribbled past 2 players and played the ball onto the feet of Schmit who without taking a touch shot it straight at the goal, and it went in! This was the first part of Bollonich’s comeback. Shortly after came a half time break, a break in which Talkasa would’ve been told to be calm and that they were still in the lead. A lead which wouldn’t last long. At halftime Gildiric made all of his substitutions at once bringing on Tad Rios for Ed Douglas, Abbott for Schmit and Klingto for Ploy. What was witnessed in the second half was complete Bollonischian dominance and a brilliant hat trick from Perry. A hat trick to cherish. And just like that Bollonich had won their first game, the first of many to be sure. This win would’ve helped lift their spirits highly and motivate them for the matches to come against Trolleborg at home and North Japan away.

Match Events

Bollonich                       Talkasa
27’ Ploy ▪︎                      4’ GOAL - Paul Khan (Cain Horthy)
39’ GOAL - Schmit (Marshall)    27’ GOAL - Nick Blythe
45’ Tad Rios ▲ Ed Douglas ▼
45’ Abbott ▲ Schmit ▼
45’ Klingto ▲ Ploy ▼
56’ GOAL - Perry (Tad Rios)
72’ GOAL - Perry (Cummings)
88’ GOAL - Perry (Fennimore)

[Jeruselem]

Princess Kate the virtual vtuber (aka Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas) in front of a virtual stadium

Hello, this is Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas for Naked News Jeruselem!
I'm back for another edition covering the World Cup 88 and how Jeruselem is going!
It's match day 4 and 5 in qualification, we only have like 13 left.
So don't get too excited for now.
Group 10 is proving a little hard to predict as if you look at the table, it's just looks wrong.

Cat girls are in thing so that's why I have cat ears and a tail, well this is a virtual avatar so I can do it without actually having real cat ears.
Neko is popular out there.

Match day 4!

Fujai was at home when it hosted top seed Siovanija and Teusland.
Fujai have proven far from being totally inept and shown some ability against better teams.
Siovanija and Teusland really did need to win this one but the locals held them 2-2.
See Group is not predictable if you just used the seeding for your tipping!

Bluecliff League are in the top 3 in Group 10 but they had to face visitors Valladares.
Seriously if they won, hey it proved they deserved to be where they are@
Valladares who really needed to get some points weren't there as just tourists.
Valladares won a difficult game 4-3 against the hosts who really did fight hard.

San Ortelio at home hosting Talamia who aren't exactly pushovers themselves.
San Ortelio did win 1-0 showing their current rank might be too low.

Mercedini had the home game and the visitors were Seguidores de la grasas.
It was one sided rout with Seguidores de la grasas crashing 4-1.
What you would expect facing the 3rd highest seed in the group.

So that leaves Istoreya visiting Jeruselem.
Jeruselem's recent home game record last cup wasn't exactly something to boast about.
Istoreya weren't a team to be brushed off given the current table and top seeds losing to lower ranked teams either.
But Jeruselem did enough and Peko shows she's still the girl for the job.
Yeah 2-1 win looks lame but fuck, it's 3 points and vitally a win for us.
Not our best game but we don't need to play our best every game.

Match day 5!

Seguidores de la grasas were at home and still pointless.
Did things change?
Nope, Fujai came around beat them 1-0 and went home.

Talamia back home had an away win last game but their new opponent was visiting Mercedini.
Mercedini also won last game but they have been a little hard to predict what they do.
The home team really turned up today and beat the visitors 3-2 in another upset.
Well, I guess Group 10 is getting hard to pick as we go.

Istoreya were at home and after losing to Jeruselem 2-1 last game, needed to bounce back.
The visitors were the high flying San Ortelio and this team is playing way past their rank.
San Ortelio showed they weren't there to make up numbers and beat the locals 2-1.

Siovanija and Teusland back home faced off the top 3 placed Bluecliff League.
Bluecliff League is far lower ranked, well shouldn't even be there.
Siovanija and Teusland have not won a single game as yet - which is a shock for a team ranked 17.
Which meant Bluecliff League was a team they had to beat.
Well Bluecliff League seemingly proved the better team on the day, upsetting the hosts 2-1.
Siovanija and Teusland first loss, after 4 draws.

Valladares isn't doing well and the last thing you want to do is play the group leader.
Which so happens to be ... JERUSELEM!
In the past, we get our ass kicked by Valladares.
Valladares were at home so yeah, you'd think they'd have some motivation to beat the Princesses.
Jeruselem rolled the home team 3-0 in a result which didn't go down well with locals.
We turned up there for a win, and it was us who wanted to win more.

So ... what does the table look like?
Jeruselem, princesses rule! Lead the table on 13 points with 4 wins and 1 draw.
San Ortelio, hold 2nd with also 4 wins but 1 loss. 12 points. They can't be complaining much at the moment.
Bluecliff League are still in the top 3 with 9 points due to their 3 wins.
Talamia making waves with 8 points due to 2 recent wins.
Mercedini are on 7 points back in 5th, with 2 wins.
Fujai 6th with 6.
Valladares and back in 7th and 8th on 5 and 4 points. Seriously, get some wins fellas!
Istorey are trying but in 9th with 4 points due to their recent win.
Seguidores de la grasas no points.

As you see San Ortelio and Bluecliff League are still doing great.
Upset wins over higher seeds and Valladares falling to Jeruselem.

The higher seeds did gain some ground but it looks like they'll have fight harder just to make the top 3.
The team everyone loves to hate, we're not complaining.
It's been a while since we sit on top of any table, so we'll just camp there if we can.

If you study the table, it's clear why the lower seeds are doing well.
They are scoring more goals than they concede.
The top 2 have conceded 9 goals between each other hence defense is making a difference.
We're past the halfway mark of the 1st half of qualification.
I guess if the table looks anything like it does now - we're fine with that.

Visitors do ask questions about the quirks of Jeruselem ... I fully undersand because we're unique round here.
Yes those pretty women with ... military weapons, are actually real and not models.
We've got a diverified military and we have women doing the same job as the men folk.
Because women actually have better social skills you'll see them around ... social events like football games.
Yeah, what's the go with these German weapons.
We just happen to like them and they work, even though some might have been used by the Nazis.
Those girls just aren't there for their looks. Err yes some of them are my relatives.

That's all from me.
Daughter wants to go to football training now.

Mogu! mogu! Okayu!

[The Gothanita Isles]

How many clubs do you need to convince the Gothanitan Isles Football Confederation that some change is necessary? You probably need enough to pass a constitutional ammendment, which is 60%. But when it is the national team head ocach personally proposing a change, together with the backing of the 4 regional team coaches, you know something big is up. Especially when a foreigner comes over and tell you that your football league needs a change.

The process took over 3 months. When the league has entered close to 30 seasons, first with the single league format, than with this conference with promotion/relegation format, not many teams are willing to see the establishment of a third tier. Especially in a nation where there are just 52 professional teams sitting across all 4 member states. The proposal would shrink the current 28-team top tier with 2 conferences to a 18 team top tier. 18 at the top, 18 in the middle, and 16 at the bottom. It is rather bottom-heavy, but there is little you can ask for when you are trying to balence between fixture congestion and ensuring enough balance. There was an alternate plan to make it 16 at the top and 16 at the second tier, but that didn't gain as much traction, because that effectively meant that only 8 members from each side of the conference divide could stay in the top tier. And current playoff formats already account for 12 teams. There is definitely avenue for more teams to be in the top tier, to provide more competition for the traditional powerhouses. Not to mention making the relegation battles more exciting.

Zahi Castillas made the point to go down to the GIFC office to show his personal support for the proposal. Having seen how the transition to the Apex and the focus on young players has developed Poafmersia as a whole, he also wanted to make a personal pitch on how player development through a competitive league benefits the national team as a whole.

Unlike all previous attempts to reform the league, there wasn't much support. Within the big teams, there was always disagreements on how the division should be split. There was once where there was a proposal for a 24-team double round robin, but considering the amount of regionals around, it would be a mess trying to do scheduling with such a big round robin. And then, the teams tried to find various compromises, but nothing could get around the numbers. Now, with 16 clubs supporting the motion, and the respective regional team managers submitting the bill, and Zahi Castillas himself being a huge proponent of the proposal, there was absolutely no reason for the GIFC to reject the proposal.

Of course the officals were stunned at the huge support. The proposal for a Gothanitan Super League (together with the proposal Gothanitan Union League as division 2, and the Gothanitan National League as division 3) existed since aeons ago. Long long time ago, a breakaway league has been floated around the Gothanitan football scene. But it was never really put into place. This time, the gossip has turned into a 50-page proposal, placed on the desk of the GFL official in charge, Joseph Bacon.

"We...should probably hold a meeting with all 52 clubs over this," Bacon stammered.

[Adab]

KickTheBall.com
Bringing you the latest news and rumors in football, in Adab and abroad

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May 9, 2033 / 10 Safar 1455
The Grearish Union 0-1 Adab
Sinmuballit (75’)

NEWS | WORLD CUP
By: Elymur Amwan

Kaykali denies players worship deity named Ole

Adab national team manager Saad Kaykali denied that his players worship a deity named Ole in an eventful press conference today following the team’s 0-1 victory against The Grearish Union in the World Cup 88 qualifiers, which saw him launch a tirade against “fake news” and “untrustworthy” media.

Adab secured victory against the Grearish hosts in a largely unremarkable match at the Dream Games Arena in Pilbury with a superb, sudden long-range strike by midfielder Alulim Sinmuballit from just outside the center circle on the Grearish side of the pitch in the 75th minute.

The 19-year-old prospect’s move caught Grearish keeper Susanna Schaefer off-guard and provided a moment of genuine excitement in an occasion otherwise marked by excellent defending by both sides, which nevertheless made for a tedious match.

Indeed, more excitement was to be found in the post-match press conference, where Kaykali refuted allegations published on several newspapers and tabloids that members of the national team are involved in a secret cult where they worship a figure known as Ole.

“I would like to start by thanking the great people of The Grearish Union for this great match and for their kindness and hospitality during our stay here, and I would also like to address reports that my players are involved in a cult,” Kaykali began.

“This is rubbish,” the Adab manager continued.

Kaykali then embarked on a cavalcade of media criticism, accusing publications which put out the rumors of “prioritizing money and cheap sensation over actual journalism” and lamenting their seeming inability to verify those rumors before publishing them.

“It’s outrageous,” Kaykali declared. “People read your papers and visit your websites because they want to get actual news about actual things that are happening in this world, not to be served with unverifiable hearsay and downright defamatory accusations.

“How can we keep on supporting you when you’ve taken us for fools and delivered fake news to us?”

The Adab manager also accused the media of “unpatriotic” behavior by spreading those rumors and turning people against the national team at a time when they most need the people’s support.

“My boys and girls have done more for this country then you lot have ever done and ever will do in your lives,” Kaykali said.

“To come out with these false, damaging rumors at this time, it makes you unpatriotic and disloyal to the people who are serving this country and our people.”

Some of his harshest words, however, were reserved for the newspaper which first published the allegations.

“The Daily Letter is as untrustworthy as The Light, which is even more lightweight than its name suggests,” Kaykali said.

“If you care about getting actual news, I would suggest that you take your business elsewhere.”

Kaykali then ended the press conference with the announcement that he and the Adab Football Association are considering taking legal action against “certain publications”.

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” the Adab manager stated as he rose from his seat and bade farewell to the gathered journalists.

---

KickTheBall.com
Bringing you the latest news and rumors in football, in Adab and abroad

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May 11, 2033 / 12 Safar 1455
Adab 3-0 Deniria
Yargab (9’), Yissakar (24’, 58’)

NEWS | WORLD CUP
By: Sinahhieriba Husayn

Adab easily beats Deniria to place fifth in Group 4

Adab national team manager Saad Kaykali praised his players’ “teamwork and tenacity” after they secured victory on home soil with a 3-0 demolition of Deniria to keep their hopes of qualifying to World Cup 88 alive.

This victory, coming off the heels of Adab’s 0-1 away win at The Grearish Union, secured Adab’s position in fifth place in Group 4 of the World Cup 88 qualifiers and is another high point in a remarkable performance so far by the unranked team in the qualifiers.

Enlilbani Yargab blasted the ball onto the back of the net nine minutes into the match and the home team never let go of the upper hand throughout the match, despite repeated Denirian attempts to break their offense.

Rebekah Yissakar, widely dubbed the “next Yargab” and one of Adabian football’s bright young prospects, followed in the footsteps of her hero by scoring in the 24th minute off a Yargab assist, narrowly getting past the formidable wall of Marc Serrat, Jorge Muñoz, and Sergio Castilla.

Fernando Coserría came dangerously close to the Adabian net in the 39th minute, but he had been marked by Shania Enmerkar and Yousif Issou, who converged on him and sent the ball flying out of the pitch.

The Adabian dominance continued in the second half, with Yissakar scoring her second goal of the night in the 58th minute to put the team three goals up. Despite their best effort, the Denirians had no effective answer to the sustained Adabian offensive and had to be content with a 3-0 loss away from home.

Kaykali all praises

Adab national team manager Saad Kaykali hailed his prayers as “the best of Adabian football” in a post-match interview with KickTheBall.com.

“It’s remarkable, the things that they’ve been doing and the results they’ve been turning out,” Kaykali said. “What more can you ask from them?”

“Their teamwork and tenacity have carried them through everything, rain or shine, win or lose. They are showing to us all that if you put your mind to it, then you can do it.”

Adab is currently in fifth place in Group 4 with nine points. Abanhfleft leads the group with 13 points following the team’s 3-1 win against The Grearish Union.

[Garbelia]

Garbelia (Kawauso 28, 40, Otter 71) 3 - 3 Revlona (Unknown 30, 48, 81)

Gyatso-Kai (Song 11, 46, Skirata 71) 3 - 3 Garbelia (Ottoman 17, Goodotter 59, O. Vydra 76)

Garbelia (Huron 6, Ottoman 60pen, Goodotter 90+1) 3–1 The Juniper Union (Unknown 50)

Saltstead (Rothås 19, 21, 84) 3–0 Garbelia

Prediction Points:
Lutra: 2
Vydri: 3

Predicted Points Total:
Lutra: 20
Vydri: 14

[Atheara]

From Terrible To Worst To Come

Type: Game Review, Announcement
Time: After Matchday 4 and 5

---

It seems our luck continues to become even more worse, as two more losses have sealed Kristian's fate. Despite Atheara continuously fighting against way superior opposition, yes, Kristian Johansson has been sacked from his position as Head Coach. Now you may be confused, as this is Atheara's first World Cup Cycle. Yes, it is. However, in the world of football for Atheara, everything must move fast. There is no delaying on when something might happen, as the Manager, Tobias Oslegard is known to make very rash, but most of the time, needed decisions as a manager. To replace the Head Coach, he has called one of the more experienced coaches there is in Atheara, Coach Lyzen Oddenorf.

Lyzen is a quite logical and stoic man, keeping his emotions hidden, his training regiments usually consist of that mixed of military drills and football drills, as he has quoted "Pressure drives the Human Body forward" this has proven true when he coached the Astena Guards, a rival club of the Astena Rangers and won the Europa Liga three times in a row. Do not be fooled however, his mind is full of tricks and sleeves, and he will do many bold decisions, as he takes advantage of the mind. He is also a great strategist, creating new tactics from scratch to continuosly shock the enemy and consistently win the midfield. He thinks the midfield is a very important role for defense and offense, which of course, is logical.

However, he has stated that they shouldn't expect too big from him, as he has to try and turn around a 0 - 0 - 5 situation in the World Cup Qualifiers, which he has done before with the Astena Guard, but this time it would be way more difficult. He also states that the team will be doing more intense trainings and be given more access to the Physio Center, as to not stress the players too much. He wanted to turn the state of the National Team around, from going without conceding goals in the BoF for almost 7 games and now being at dead last with 0 points was just absolutely terrible luck. He would do his best to turn things around. We will see if he can.

For reviewing the games, as we all know, we are now 0 - 0 - 5 with only 4 goals scored, and 10 goals conceded. Our opponents this time around were Abanhfleft and Geektopia, both being at the top of the Group Table. Everyone pretty much expected this result, even with our strongest starting eleven, we still lost by one goal. I guess this is the time we review the games in detail, but no, i am actually currently working from home, as the studio had caught on fire, so i am only able to give the match result and goals.

Atheara 1 - 2 Abanhfleft
Toriff Hicosia Algeer (45') / Prudence Woodward (23') Amelie Rusev (67')

Geektopia 4 - 3 Atheara
Sdao (12' ; 34') Ponti (56' ; 78') / Luis Frawning (5') Chris Leslen - Odwell (19') Zimmerman Brusteric (84')

Now, for our next matches, oh no. Electrum and the Grearish Union... Electrum i am sure we are going to lose... but the Grearish Union? A win is on the deck of cards here, but if Atheara mess up again, it will be absolutely near impossible for Atheara to even get out of i would say 6th place. That's just my predictions however. Now we wait for either a comeback or more embarassment.

Other News in Atheara:
Losses to Go: Bad Luck or Lack of Skill?
Is There a Chance for the Dead Last?
Turnaround is Heavily Needed.
Electrum and The Grearish Union, L and W/D?
The Sacking has Happened!

[HUElavia]

To Live and Suffer

HUElavia has a mix of performance after getting another victory and their first loss of the Qualifiers.

Communist Republic of North Yorkshire 1–3 HUElavia
(Yakunin 80' | Moutinho-Figo 23', Gimenes 48', Braz-Bittencourt 69')
(Hammer Arena, Stalinville-Castrinsky)

HUElavia 2-3 Delaclava
(Talatala Hernández 5', Santiago 62' | REDACTED 27', 70', REDACTED 90+1')
(Estadio de Plata, Pamallu)

Entering Matchdays 4 and 5, HUElavia was on the high of their victory over ZSeperatists and the statement victory over Vdara. Now, they were coming up against the two worst teams in Group 8 so far: Communist Republic of North Yorkshire and Delaclava. For these two matches, Coach Conavacio opted to play with the players on C and D Team, wanting to give minutes to the more novice players on the National Football Team. The first game was set to be played at Hammer Arena (78,000) in Stalinville-Castrinsky, CRNY, and the second game was set to be played at Estadio de Plata (53,000), in Pamallu. The latter of the match was sold-out once more with thousands of HUElavians flocking to support the team in what could be a good match. The Away Uniform was worn for the first match, and the Home Special was worn for the 2nd match. Once the anthems were played and the coin toss done, the ball rolled and the matches were under way!

The first game had HUElavia putting pressure from the start, passing the ball around and giving pressure to CRNY. The opening goal came in the 23rd minute, when a shot taken by Yamane was deflected by Pyotrokov to go out for a corner. Bonhomme took the corner kick, sending a curving cross into the box, and Moutinho-Figo towered over Filiphev to head the ball past the fingertips of Sergovic into the goal to make it 0-1. Mouthino-Figo celebrated with his teammates with a small jig while the crowd was silenced from the opening goal. Despite attacks being done, there was no other goal, and the half ended with the lone goal. In the 2nd half, the next goal would come in the 48th minute, when Yamane was being covered by Pyotrokov, where she sent a low pass to her right, and out came Gimenes to give a curving shot past Ivansky and a reaching Sergovic to blast into the top corner of the goal, making it 0-2. Gimenes went to Yamane and their teammates to share hugs and hi-fives, while the crowd whistled against their team for the poor defending. In the 69th minute, substitute Braz-Bittencourt (in for Yamane) was with the ball, seeing nobody open, she decided to rush head-on with Tamarkin, getting past him and going one-on-one with Sergovic, where she chipped the ball over the goalie and it hit the post, rolling into the goal to make it 0-3. Braz-Bittencourt celebrated with a Breitzen dance while her teammates cheered and clapped her on. CRNY would have their one moment late in the match, as in the 80th minute, Glukhov (in for Kopeykin) had the ball and gave a pass to Yakunin, who gave a curving shot past the fingertips of Lettmann into the goal, making it 1-3. Yakunin ran into the goal to get the ball to pick up the ball and make a comeback, while the crowd cheered on. Alas, it was too little too late, as Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos went on the defense and held out to take the 3 points and keep their run going.

The second game was one that HUElavia wanted to dominate, looking to extend their good starting streak over Delaclava. The opening goal came in the 5th minute, when Nazario was being covered by REDACTED, which he passed to his left and Talatala Hernández took a low shot that went between the legs of REDACTED and past the reach of REDACTED into the goal to make it 1-0. The crowd erupted, cheering with a roaring passion, all while Talatala Hernández celebrated with her teammates as it was her first ever goal with the senior team. Delaclava reacted with attacks from their own, where in the 27th minute, REDACTED sent a cross into the box, where it met the head of REDACTED, who headed the ball past the diving reach of Rossi into the goal to make it 1-1. The crowd was silenced while REDACTED went to celebrate with the whole team for the equalizing goal. By half-time, the game was tied up, with both teams wanting to do more. In the 2nd half, HUElavia kept on pressuring and got their chance, as in the 62nd minute, a pass by Ocampo went between the legs of REDACTED, leaving it all open for Santiago to get the ball, getting around REDACTED, and sliding the ball into the goal to make it 2-1. The crowd jumped up with passion, applauding the goal, while Santiago did a knelling celebration with his teammates mobbing him for the cheeky goal that gave HUElavia the lead. Delaclava did not give up and in the 70th minute, a pass by REDACTED went through the HUElavian defense, and right on the other side came up REDACTED to tap the ball into the goal, making it 2-2. REDACTED celebrated with the team once more while the crowd was stunned and was whistling for possible offside. VAR was checked and it was a legal goal. The game seemed as if it would end in a draw, when in the 90+1st minute, a corner was won by Delaclava. REDACTED crossed the ball into the box and REDACTED got on top of Rodionovna to head the ball past Rossi into the goal to make it 2-3. REDACTED ran over to the bench to celebrate while the crowd was silenced. HUElavia tried to get some attacks in, but it was too little too late, as the match ended in a loss, 2-3.

With the loss, HUElavia drops to 2nd place with 12 Points (4-0-1), only behind Ko-oren, who has 15 Points (5-0-0). Vdara sit in 3rd Place with 12 Points (4-0-1) only behind by one goal difference (although HUElavia currently holds the head-to-head). The next two matches will be against
a visit to Txakhaxi and hosting Ko-oren, which will be at Estadio Internacional (82,500) in San Rafael. The Home Uniform will be used for both matches. A handful of fans will be in away match, but it will be sold-out for the 2nd match. The team continues to train well and study film in hopes to keep pace and hopefully get favorable results in both matches. The fans are praying and hoping in their religious congregations that the team can do well in these coming matches. In HUElavian news, President President Pomawari Sihui Michi won the HUElavian Presidential Election by 59% to Conservatives' Borges Krauss winning 24%, and Liberal Victor Grinda winning 16% of the vote. Despite the difficulties in the past 4 years, President Sihui Michi has won the election by a decent margin, but the Conservatives do maintain a slim margin in the house. It is expected that security and the environment are the main priorities moving forward for this administration. Here's to a better future for the team and the country.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

XI vs Txakhaxi: 13 Vannier, 12 Pae, 15 Grunberg, 16 Di Donato, 18 Amaru-Dominguez (C), 22 Mantovani Jardim, 19 Gagne-Leblanc, 17 Savedra, 14 Torrisi, 21 Tiong Belleza, 20 Maximovna

XI vs Ko-oren: 1 Ramos, 5 Liberman, 2 Mendieta, 3 Muller, 12 Pae, 10 Conti-Esposito, 8 Duran, 11 Sol, 6 Guilbert, 7 Navarro (C), 9 Hamada-Navarro

[Islands Of Ventro]

Islands of Ventro in shatters

The tournament started out so well, but good things don’t last forever. This all ended with a wake up call, Islands of Ventro lost 4-0 against The Holy Empire, then the following match day lost 2-0 to silvadonia, it will take a miracle for the IOV islanders to come out of the qualifiers. We don’t really know what happened other then we went up against some good teams, both of which were favorites to win the group. We played our best and still came short. So yea, the coaches and team was to, “depressed” to talk with us. The team is even now considering using the drug RP to help.

Until the next match day goodbye.

[Tequilo]

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DISLOCATED METATEXTUAL
ANAIAN DAWN

---

The pale blue fog bank enveloped the Usornan border control in the early afternoon. Nothing much had come over the border in advance of the fog bank - no hoardes of Usornans fleeing the dreadful weather; no Tequiloan cross-border workers running home to their refuge and to be reunited with their families. Nothing came out of the fog bank at all.

One day and night later, Sergeant Eulàlia Segarra of the Eighth Border Command was explaining all this to the visiting advisor, Prof. Jurado, who must be some sort of meteorologist come to have a look at this crazy storm.

As the fog bank had rolled laconically over the Cinchapa Bridge, the Tequilo checkpoint lost visual on their Usornan fellows on the other bank of the Río Tolumac; the visibility in that slow blue cloud seemed as little as a couple of metres or less, at least from this side of the river. Radio contact with them, maintained through a private channel that the Sergeant felt it best to disclose given the situation with this cyan storm, was lost within another minute. The border guards half expected the Usornan patrol to give up their post and come running over the bridge, but they didn’t. A strong whiff of brine and a vague cry of distant gulls preceded the slow-moving fog bank across the bridge, and as it came in, the sound of scratching and crackling, like radio interference, and a distant rumble of thunder. The Eighth Border Command prepared their hazmat kits as the bank encroached over the river and onto Tequiloan soil, but they were strangely becalmed by the coming weather front. From nowhere, out of the cyan wall a fox, bright orange, trotted nonchalantly off the bridge, under the road barrier, and off into the compound; Tequiloan soldiers watching, baffled. There was static on the air and before they could don their gear, they were swamped by the fog.

Inside the swirling blue cloud a true storm of battering gales and eddies, with defeaning noise that had barely escaped the oncoming fog bank, immediately assaulted the border guards and they strained to get back into the shelter of the command hut, which sounded like it was being bombed by the Tequilo Air Arm. Alternating showers of golfball hail, horizontal rain and static lightning storms rocked the concrete and glass bunker. They had to shout to one another to be heard and sure enough, the radio was dead, the electric failed, and they had only themselves, the cyan-out, and the occasional half-imagined shouts of yuman beans outside for company. The blue storm raged for eight hours before darkening to night some time well past when night should have come. The air cleared somewhat, though what followed behind was an equally furious squall - but altogether more natural. The storm raged through the night - the guards managed to get the emergency generator running. As dawn came, the storm had quietened considerably to a brisk downpour, and light revealed surprisingly little damage.

Professor Isabel Jurado arrived an hour after dawn, to take notes on the observations of Border Command.

“And those soldiers over there, on the other side of the bridge,” asked the professor, “I’m guessing they are not the fellows who got trapped there yesterday afternoon?”

Sergeant Segarra took up her binoculars. “Well I’ll be damned,” she muttered, “who the hell are you?”

§

Later, whilst still bivouacked at the border compound in a military issue command tent and in the middle of channelling Juan Tzimicses with a hearty shot of piyacoque spirit, the Professor got an email ping on her laptop, and it was that special ping that she’d coded her mail client to issue when certain keywords appeared in her inbox. ’Trouble With Wight’ was the subject of the particular email - that was enough to get her attention. The email was from a woman she had never heard of, a Licentian living in Apox by all accounts, who wanted to know what Isabel knew of Wight, and whether it was possible that this long-dead… what? - the poor young woman did not know, could not know, what Wight had been, and what Wight was… whether it was possible that this… entity… might have something to do with the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of her twin brother, and his entire nation to boot. The Licentian Isles (I wonder if that is a place related to Licanthropacibonbonflamingosterra, thought the piyacoque-addled professor) had gone missing, she claimed. Almost no-one would believe or could explain what she was thinking, said this poor woman. That somehow, she wrote, a country had been moved or stolen or hidden or just, well, offed in some cataclysmic termination event; and that a sentient bubble universe or a devil or something had done it. She feared everyone would call her insane. She even feared she was insane.

‘You are not insane,’ wrote the professor, carefully, and very slowly because she was quite high and had trouble pinning down the moving characters on the keyboard, ‘and I believe you and I can help I can too’. She’d probably have to re-edit and send in the morning, when she was feeling a bit less Juan Tzimicses. She thought back to her discussion with the border guards earlier that day.

“They are Krytenians, I believe;” the Professor had said, and the border guards, swearing and muttering with confusion, immediately set about inspecting their weapons. She couldn’t help being dramatic. “The wights are mobilising, mischief is afoot, and this is the Anaian Dawn,” she said.

“The what now?” wondered Sergeant Eulàlia Segarra of the Eighth Border Command.

SMALL WINS BIG GAINS
RANGERS FC 1-2 TEQUILO HT: 0-1

Location: @ Stadio Ibrosikis, Glaskopolis
Attendance: 50,791 Gers, plus the Ultra-Mariachi Band (8 sombreros+dog)
Scorers: Iani Hagiriakis 79' | Huracan 30' Ricardo Bailén 87'
Assists: Freud Morelikis 79' | Alexandro Calvoecheaga 30' 87'
Booked: Giannis Taverianakis, Flora Helanderikis | Tol Chicote, Çenturion
Sent Off: -
Tequilo Line-Up: (4-1-3-2) Oscar Bienvenida | Ostando Bertendona, José Tavia (sub: Paö 82'), Tol Chicote, Huracan (sub: Diogo Junco 54') | Ixtub Tün | Vilca Hualla, Niño Pinto (Çenturion 41'), Ricardo Bailén | Pedro Rôa, Alexandro Calvoecheaga
Player of the Match: Vilca Hualla (Tequilo)

---

SNEAKING OVER THE LINE
TEQUILO 1-0 AL QURIJA HT: 1-0

Location: @ Estadio Águilar, Cuidad de Pitxi, Tapalupé, Tequilo
Attendance: 77,648
Scorers: Vilca Hualla 24'
Assists: Tol Chicote 24'
Booked: Paö | Fatin Al-Ghazzawi
Sent Off: -
Tequilo Line-Up: (4-1-3-2) Oscar Bienvenida | Ostando Bertendona, Paö (sub: Noxochinoch 39'), Tol Chicote, Diogo Junco | Ixtub Tün | Vilca Hualla, Çenturion (sub: Xaime Medal 79'), Ricardo Bailén | Pedro Rôa (sub: Milan Lucio 77'), Alexandro Calvoecheaga
Player of the Match: Vilca Hualla (Tequilo)

---

TEQUILO STAT SUMMARY
Competition goals: Alexandro Calvoecheaga (2) Ecuador, Huracan, Ricardo Bailén, Vilca Hualla (1)
Competition assists: Ricardo Bailén, Alexandro Calvoecheaga (2) Vilca Hualla, Tol Chicote (1)
Competition PoMs: Vilca Hualla (2) Alexandro Calvoecheaga, Huracan, José Tavia (1)
Competition cards: Oscar Bienvenida (1 red) José Tavia (2 yellow), Ixtub Tün, Vilca Hualla, Pedro Rôa, Tol Chicote, Çenturion, Paö (1 yellow)

RECORDS WATCH
* Paö's debut as a substitute against Rangers FC makes him the 99th player to play for the international team.
* Ixtub Tün will make his 80th appearance for his country against Sannyamathland, Çenturion will make his 40th while Alexandro Calvoecheaga could become the eleventh player to reach a half century of caps if he plays in both the next two games.
* Ostando Bertendona has played the most games as an outfield player for his country without scoring (34 games).
* Oscar Bienvenida, Alexandro Calvoecheaga, Isidoro Artechevarria and Milan Lucio could potentially become the first player to be sent off three times for their country.
* Ricardo Bailén becomes the third player to score 20 goals for his country after Tlacolotl (61) and Niño Pinto (22). If he scores three more goals he will become the second highest scorer in Tequilo national team history.
* Jesús Tasis, Christian Duque and Orpinton could all make their debuts in the next two matches; the next to do so will become the 100th player to play for Tequilo.

---

Confirmed Line-Up for TEQUILO @ Sannyamathland
@ The Big Bowl International Stadium, Rowling City, Sannyamathland
(4-1-3-2)
Oscar Bienvenida (VC) | Ostando Bertendona, Emmanuel París, Tol Chicote, Diogo Junco | Ixtub Tün | Vilca Hualla (C), Çenturion, Ricardo Bailén | Tlacolotl, Alexandro Calvoecheaga

Subs: (GK) Abas Juanarena, Tepin Mecatl-Rubió (D) Sanço, Paö, Ochoa Abril, Goio Vigo, Noxochinoch (M) Xaime Medal, Orpinton, Tsttanauayui, Jaïr Iscla, Jesús Tasis (F) Christian Duque, Milan Lucio
Unavailable: José Tavia, Huracan, Niño Pinto, Paö (injured)

Probable Line-Up for TEQUILO vs. Zwangzug
@ Estadio Águilar, Ciudad de Pitxi, Tapalupé, Tequilo
(4-1-3-2)
Oscar Bienvenida (VC) | Ostando Bertendona, Paö, Tol Chicote, Huracan | Ixtub Tün | Vilca Hualla (C), Çenturion, Ricardo Bailén | Tlacolotl, Alexandro Calvoecheaga

Subs: (GK) Abas Juanarena, Tepin Mecatl-Rubió (D) Sanço, Emmanuel París, Ochoa Abril, Goio Vigo, Diogo Junco, Noxochinoch (M) Xaime Medal, Orpinton, Tsttanauayui, Jaïr Iscla, Jesús Tasis (F) Christian Duque, Milan Lucio
Unavailable: José Tavia & Niño Pinto (injured)

[Wight]

---

THE SNAP

---

“Which Foxchester is this, anyway?”

“Let’s not worry about the details,” said Mister Couth - or was it Mister Ruly? - to the devil from Old Wight, “just sign anything they tell you to sign, and put an ‘X’ on the map - anywhere will do. Anywhere at all.”

“Anywhere at all, eh? How big?” wondered the mustachioed Duke, buffing his buttons as part of a last-minute grooming exercise.

“Big?” asked Mister Ruly - or was it Mister Couth? - uncertain what the Duke meant.

“How big an ‘X’ do you want? Bloody enormous? Or something more modest?”

“I should go with modest, at this point,” said either Mister Couth or Mister Ruly, “we imagine The Unión of Tequilo will be looking for bloody enormous, so there will be an inherent inflation of demand and cost. Our infinite funding is all well and good, but as the Purser’s Office reminds us, take care of the bone splints, and the blood shillings will take care of themselves.”

Duke Aim and the dapper Narrative Agents, Messrs. Couth and Ruly, had come to Foxchester with the SMACK operatives, to sign the declaration of secession from Ao. Since Wight did not officially exist and it’s putative head of state, creator and supreme being was still missing and probably annihilated some aeons ago, Messrs. Couth and Ruly had appointed themselves interim managers of the new Project Wight, and constituted a suitably impressive company - Messrs. Couth & Ruly, The Gentlemen Interregnum - in order to bestow upon themselves the necessary air of authority with which to make executive decisions on behalf of the Lately Annihilated Supreme Being, Búa. Not that they really needed anything on paper to bestow an air of authority: the dead eyes and murderous smiles were usually more than enough to satisfy anyone who came across them that they were the authority in the room. The threat of lethal peril notwithstanding, they did not want to sign anything themselves in order to preserve their eminent unaccountability, least of all the secession from Ao, so they had appointed Duke Aim their official legate; after all Duke Aim, a blustery and potentially apocalyptic sort of devil, really didn’t give two conjugations about liability of any sort. “Damn you all to hell and home!” was his favourite riposte when he found himself in a corner or any other sort of tight spot.

But this was no tight spot and within a few minutes, the Duke had signed the Declaration of Foxchester, seceding from the region of Ao, or AO, as they call it in Ao; and more or less without offending anyone - at least, anyone in the room. [The Duke stood next to Assane Traoré of Cobrio for the photocall afterward, and was captured mid-whisper, in Assane’s ear: “you know we weren’t in Ao? I just came for the after-declaration banquet!”]

But before the after-declaration banquet, there was the territorial division to be agreed. Of course, for most of the elite in the Declaration Hall, this was simply a matter of reaffirming their present territories, and perhaps stealing the odd 40,000 square kilometres from a neighbour who happened to be nattering at the back of the queue and not paying attention. For Duke Aim, it was about the imperialist approach of looking on the map, and picking a nice spot with an abundance of natural resources and a sizeable temperate zone.

“What’s that there?” he said to the Cartographer’s Apprentice, who was helping people like the Duke with their map claims. The Duke pointed at a small spot in the sea to the east of Starblaydia and north of Audioslavia. It actually looked like someone had dripped the runny caviar off their canapé and tried to smudge it off the map, unsuccessfully.

“That’s Anywhere Atoll, Sir,” said the boy, “but -”

“Anywhere Atoll eh? Precisely!” said the Duke, making his mark on the map. The boy was going to tell him about the two hundred miles of protobiotic sludge that had come out of it after someone dropped an experimental klanger on it, but the Duke was already marching toward the buffet.

---

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STARBLAYDIA 0-1 WIGHT

Goals: Entan Husky 60'
Assists: Iso Ray 60'
Booked: Andvar Galdarhim, Andreas Sargent | Orm Hinisser, Enda Harraway, Draecdan Hating
Sent Off: -
Injured: Therry Nursa
Player of The Match: Entan Husky (Wight)

Team: Orm Hinisser | Angund Illchaeld, Entan Husky, Draecdan Hating (sub: Radinaro Thrad), Iso Ray | Therry Nursa (sub: Tyrell Mormo), Enda Harraway, Servo Kallergha, Ing Ray | Ivor Uskkima (sub: Tonan Taskimo), Skelkin Aughtyether

WIGHT 3-3 QZVARKIAN QAZ

Goals: Entan Husky 51' 68' (pen.) Sam Bansa 65' | Bryan Faust 11' 44' Esto Janaukis 50'
Assists: Ia Dynarran 51' Angund Illchaeld 65' | Max Cunningham 11' Francois Giebber-Jabier 44' Bryan Faust 50'
Booked: Entan Husky, Ivor Uskkima (2 yellows)
Sent Off: Ivor Uskkima, Tyrell Mormo
Injured: Orm Hinisser
Player of The Match: Bryan Faust (Qzvarkian Qaz)

Team: Orm Hinisser (sub: Mo Wrawe) | Angund Illchaeld (sub: Nalor Mimm), Entan Husky, Draecdan Hating (sub: Iso Ray), Kim Densulene | Therry Nursa, Archie Røde, Servo Kallergha, Sam Bansa | Ivor Uskkima, Ia Dynarran

WIGHT @ GARIFUNYA
Mo Wrawe			GK	34	Zennor Parish Rovers		
Angund Illchaeld		DL	24	Old Asyluuminarians
Entan Husky			DR	31	Extramarine
Draecdan Hating			DC	26	Pelotón (TEQ)			
Radinaro Thrad			DC	34	Unuiĝinta (TEQ)			
Tyrrel Mormo			DMC	25	Old Asyluuminarians	
Enda Harraway			ML	30	Royal Jackdaw
Servo Kallergha			MR	25	Old Myrmecolans
Ing Ray				AMC	32	Royal Jackdaw
Rodro Dingarran			ST	26	Cisne Senzapa (TEQ)
Skelkin Aughtyether		ST	26	Old Pandaemonians

WIGHT vs. DARMEN @ Estadio Juvenil, Ciudad de Pitxi, Tapalupé, Tequilo
Orm Hinisser			GK	29	Pitxi-Pitxi 77 (TEQ)		
Angund Illchaeld		DL	24	Old Asyluuminarians
Entan Husky			DR	31	Extramarine
Draecdan Hating			DC	26	Pelotón (TEQ)			
Kim Densulene			DC	17	Haïtiens (TEQ)		
Anesttoros Torque		DMC	38	Rose & Thistle	
Archie Røde			ML	32	St. Bernadine Irregulars
Servo Kallergha			MR	25	Old Myrmecolans
Sam Bansa			AMC	20	Folkness Orchid 
Ivor Uskkima			ST	28	Orwellian Casuals
Skelkin Aughtyether		ST	26	Old Pandaemonians

[Montana Verde]

Montaña Verde – 1 (1)
Mateo (62’) (67’); Roberta, Edelberto (17’ Moreau (67’ Dolfo )), Jairo (72’), Mallén (90+3’); Ana-Ximena; Cristo Díaz, Emma; Primitivo; Naomí Berrocal, Osito (10’) (69’ Arquímedes )

Taeshan – 2 (2)
No details included for Taeshan as no RP permissions listed

---

Igratia – 0 (0)

Montaña Verde – 3 (1)
Dolfo; Roberta (66’ Castiglione ), Arquímedes, Jairo, Mallén; Ana-Ximena (74’ pen.); Cristo Díaz (90+2’), Bregmann (50’ Sara Ariadna ); Primitivo; Naomí Berrocal (74’ Páez (83’)), Osito (45’) (90+4’)

Another home defeat for the Condors and another victory on the road as their campaign continued its all-or-nothing tilt towards, in all likelihood, nothing. The game against Taeshan was a frustrating defeat, made all the more frustrating for home viewers by a loss of signal to the match broadcast. Blamed on everything from foreign agents to domestic Marxists to a güiña chewing through a power cable, whatever the cause of the loss of signal, it meant that fans got to see Osito score an early goal, heading in a whipped ball from Primitivo, an hour of static fuzz, and then the grim scoreline 1–2 re-emerging on their screens just in time to see Mateo being sent off for a second yellow card.

At least the visit to Igratia was more profitable. With Mateo suspended, the young Dolfo made the most of his opportunity with another superb showing, including saving a penalty; with captain Edelberto absent through injury sustained [static feed interrupts again] against Taeshan, Jairo and Ana-Ximena stepped up to lead the team. Jairo put in a superb lockdown defensive performance to keep Ellis Fawcett quiet, while Ana-Ximena thrashed home a penalty with aplomb, after Osito, continuing his imperious scoring form, stabbed in a rebound off a Cristo Díaz shot just before the half. Isabel Páez Gálvez finally ended her scoring drought to seal the result, with Dolfo’s long throw releasing Mallén for a pacy run and fine cross.

Squad update: Edelberto and Bregmann will miss the next two games, with Arquímedes and Sara Ariadna slated to state in their place. Naomí Berrocal took a knock and will sit for one game, with Páez playing alongside Osito up front. The team is starting to take on a slightly different formation: more of a 4–1–3–2. Roberta didn’t look that good against Igratia and Castiglione has a shot at winning back her place. Dolfo retains his place as starter for now despite Mateo’s suspension ending.

[Eshialand]

Bizacoya
Devonta 3 - 2 Eshialand

This RP, like the last one, is told from Jacob Harran's perspective.

Your mood on the plane to Devonta is... tense, to say the least. After the match against Lisander, the next logical step on Eshialand's journey would be a match against the team right above them in the Group 2 standings, that being Devonta. This match was at bare minimum a must-draw if Eshialand was going to have any chance at qualification, ignoring the fact that they still had a miniscule chance of qualification even if they won.

Devonta is in a very similar spot to Eshialand, with the only thing separating the two teams being Devonta's slightly higher goal differential. This was going to be a close match either way, so you know that the team needs to train hard for the event.

You arrive at your hotel, and immediately, you gather everyone in your room for a conversation.

"Look, guys, we need to focus for this next match. We might actually win this one, and we have to try hard."
Alice MacDougall: "Why?
"Why? WHY?!?! This is our chance! Our moment! We have to work hard if we're going to make this happen!"
Steven Lachey: "Dude, I think you need to chill. It's just a match, who cares if we win? Wasn't it you who said you were just happy to play again?"
"Who cares?? The standings do, that's who! We're essentially tied with Devonta, which means that if we win, we move up in the standings! Don't you want to move up in the standings??"
Sarah Silver: "...D-I-N-I!"
George Habisbrauer: "Not the face, NOT THE FACE!!"
"WHAT IN THE MULTIVERSE ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!"
SS: "Turnip-Oh! It's fun! Maybe you could use some fun..."
Alice Carroll: "It isn't fun when you win every time, Sarah..."
"A CARD GAME??? THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR CARDS!!! AND WHAT KIND OF CARD GAME HAS YOU SPELLING THE NAME OF THE HOLY EMPIRE'S ASSISTANT MANAGER?????"
SS: "The kind you should play if you want to have any friends. You're letting this all get into your head Jake... let loose a little."
"LET LOOSE??? WE HAVE TO WIN! WIN I TELL YOU!! WIN!!!!!"

You keep shouting for a few minutes, but everyone leaves the room, with George muttering under his breath "what has gotten into you Jake? I thought we were friends..."

"Well, if they won't help me, and if they won't train for our next match, I'll just have to do it all myself."

You don your favorite hat, a yellow and black baseball cap which reads "LE CHOIX - 75^TH BAPTISM OF FIRE CHAMPIONS" (made by a company in Electrum before the finals), which you simply love for its sheer irony, and make your way to the stadium to train. You train like you've never trained before, but there's just something... different. It just didn't feel normal. You don't want to admit it, but your strained friendships are taking their toll on you in more ways than one.

Your anger is simultaneously helping and hurting you. On the pitch, your shots are harder, your running faster, and your play more aggressive. Off of the pitch however, you feel a mixture of anger and sadness that can only be explained in one way... bizacoya. It's a word you just shout on the spot in your frustration. It had absolutely no meaning... until now. Bizacoya -- the feeling of completely messing up one or more personal relationships and having no way to fix them. Bizacoya.

Despite this inner bizacoya, you still don't want to fix things. You feel terrible about everything that happened, but at the same time, you don't want to make it better. You keep telling yourself that winning mattered more than fun, and that "fun" is just a lame consolation prize that teams who had nothing to play for and/or no way to win use to keep themselves going. You were better than this. You were better than them.

After about three hours of training, you sit at what will become the Eshian bench, and take off your hat to wipe your brow. Your gaze lingers on your hat for a while, and it takes you back to that match.

Your concussion had happened only a week and a half earlier, so you were sitting on the bench the whole match... in fact, in almost the exact same spot as you were sitting in now. You think back to the celebration that occurred before the match even started, when the Athearan team ran out onto the pitch announcing their third-place victory over Sahuarita. Were you seriously telling yourself you weren't having fun then?

You remember the sheer disbelief in seeing Eshialand hold their own the whole way through... was that not fun to watch? Did you not laugh at all of Elizabeth Michaels' jokes, which you didn't normally get to hear because she was always on the bench and you played every match? That utter euphoria when Melissa scored her championship-winning goal in the 88th, were you seriously telling yourself that wasn't some manifestation of fun?

You had fun, whether you'd like to admit it or not. You even had fun in the bad matches, like it or not. You think back to the match against Sarzonia, again, one you were benched for, but that didn't stop you from feeling the energy of the home crowd, watching your team try their hardest, and even when they lost, you came away with a warm feeling in your heart and an energy in your soul. It was fun, even though you lost.

You keep thinking about all of of the other moments, on and off the pitch, benched and playing. George and Rebecca's kiss in Lisander. The penalty shootout against Marigred. Sarah tearing up the blackjack table in Hamilton, Electrum. Literally everything about watching "El Recentico" against Atheara. The party in The 14 Stars. Yes, even being knocked out cold by Nonie Swindlehurst. You look back on your experience, and there's no denying it. Fun is the ultimate victory, and boy, did you win a lot.

You know exactly what to do now. There's only one thing you can do now. You put that hat back on, and high-tail it back to your hotel.

When you get there, you find everyone in George's room. You decide to knock on the door and just hope they let you in.

George: "Who is it?"
"It's me, Jake..."

You can't quite make out the whispers in the room, but you get the gist of what they were probably discussing. Whether you deserved to be let back into their lives so soon.

GH: "Come in..."

You enter the room, and everyone's just staring at you. They demand answers, and honestly, who could blame them?

You tell them everything that happened since they walked out on you. You tell them about your stupidity, your bizacoya, and all of the memories the hat brought back. There's a complete silence in the room, as you can tell they're trying to figure out whether you were really sincere.

Sarah then breaks the silence. "Do you wanna play a game of Turnip-Oh! with me?"
"Absolutely!"
GH: "Whatever you do, don't play Simon, the Bradley. Sarah's punches may not be nearly as hard as Nonie Swindlehurst's, but you'll still live to regret it..."
SS: "Now now George, Jake has to learn on his own..."

In the end, this night with your friends turns out to be the one thing you took away from this trip to Devonta, as the match itself winds up paling in comparison to the fun you had in George's hotel room. You remember that Melissa set you up for your first goal in ages in the 29th, then Devonta scored in the 41st and 48th, Alyssa Longfield tied it up on a penalty kick in the 65th, but Devonta sealed the deal in the 72nd. That's really all you remember of the match itself though. You can't even remember who scored the goals for Devonta. As for that night of Turnip-Oh!, however... that's the sort of thing that stays with you forever.

---

"Hello and welcome back to ENN Tournament Report, I'm your host Alana Markai. Matchday 4 of World Cup Qualifying just wrapped up, and hoo boy, was this day interesting..."

Lisander 0 - 2 Vilita
"Nothing unexpected, let's move on."

Devonta 3 - 2 Eshialand
"Yes, this is disappointing, and yes, it means we definitely won't qualify, but --" she stops to take a shot of vodka, "-- at least Harran scored?"

Sendhang 1 - 0 The 14 Stars
"Again, nothing out of the ordinary here."

Pluvia and the Saxean Isles 0 - 3 Squornshelan Remnant States
"SRS's victory in this 'Mouthful Derby' means... basically nothing, does it? At least I got to say 'Mouthful Derby'!"

Savojarna 1 - 0 Hebitaka
"Are there any interesting matches in the multiverse right now? C'mon Atheara, surprise me!"

Atheara 1 - 2 Abanhfleft
"THEY SCORED!! Granted, they still lost, but they scored!!"

"Lastly, have you ever heard of the Unofficial World Championship? If you haven't, there's a great video series by Jeremy Jaffacake on the subject. Go ahead, watch it, I can wait. The current version of the UWC (an interim version, since Mriin walked away with the lineal title) was brought to qualifying by Nephara. After three successful defenses, the title was finally stolen by..."

Brookstation 5 - 3 Nephara
"BROOKSTATION! That team that many casual fans loved to sit in awe watching as they somehow went undefeated in their Baptism of Fire group, before losing to eventual runners-up Le Choix in the Round of 16! How they defeated the best team in the multiverse is beyond me, but one thing can be known for sure: they are now the Unofficial World Champions of the multiverse."

"Well, that's it for this edition of ENN Tournament Report, and until next time, I've been Alana Markai."

[Flavovespia]

Centerlands

Overview

The Centrelands are, as the name may suggest, located in the centre of Flavovespia. The Centrelands as a region of Flavovepsia is a relatively new concept, brought about by the devolution changes, and the desire by the national government to try and keep the regions largely similar in population size. The northern and southern parts of the Centrelands used to be quite distinct, but in recent years the increase in North-South travel has brought areas together that before were fairly disconnected. In a way there’s 4 distinct parts to the Centrelands. The northern stretch of Flavovespia, with the cities of Bavingtor and Binclestead Wood major settlements on the route from Hadford Hill to St Astons. The Middleshop peak range, once a bottleneck of North-South journeys, but one that recently has been opened up. Lunselbury to the south, home to 2 famous rival cities, Abbots Lunsel and Kings Lunsel. Alstone, once a part of Abbots Lunsel, is now a muncipality in its own right, similarly with Billingwax and it's old home of Binclestead Wood. in the north of the Centrelands. And finally Marthorpe, once a part of Hadford Hill, but after it split off, has culturally and politically drifted away somewhat.

Municipalities

Abbots Lunsel Code: AB Population: 807767 Land Area (sqkm): 1781 Population Density (pop/sqkm): 454
Alstone Code: AL Population: 85490 Land Area (sqkm): 374 Population Density (pop/sqkm): 229
Bavingtor Code: BV Population: 402672 Land Area (sqkm): 1223 Population Density (pop/sqkm): 329
Billingwax Code: BI Population: 61380 Land Area (sqkm): 486 Population Density (pop/sqkm): 126
Binclestead Wood Code: BW Population: 389093 Land Area (sqkm): 2430 Population Density (pop/sqkm): 160
Kings Lunsel Code: KI Population: 878772 Land Area (sqkm): 1865 Population Density (pop/sqkm): 471
Marthorpe Code: MA Population: 941186 Land Area (sqkm): 367 Population Density (pop/sqkm): 2565
North Mayshop Code: NM Population: 56445 Land Area (sqkm): 1564 Population Density (pop/sqkm): 36
South Maishop Code: SM Population: 57492 Land Area (sqkm): 1383 Population Density (pop/sqkm): 42

Geography

The Centrelands is largely split down the middle by the Middleshop peak range. At only a few hundred metres shorter than the highest point of Flavovespia, there are some considerable climbs of over 1000m above sea level. The relative narrowness of the Centrelands, only 75km from coast to coast in parts, means that on a good day, the entire width of Flavovespia can be seen in parts of Middleshop. Furthermore this can lead to some steep gradients at points, hence why the middle of the Centrelands is sparsely populated. The north of the centrelands is made up of more densely populated woodland, compared to the south, where there are more grasslands and plains.

Transport

In the older days, what is now the Centrelands had 2 main roads travelling through it. The M1, carrying traffic through Lunselbury, and further along the journey. In the north, the M2, passing through Bavingtor and Binclestead Wood, is it connects Hadford Hill and St Astons. Since the formation of the Republic a little over 30 years ago, 2 new motorways have vastly improved North-South connections. The M6 runs from Abbots Lunsel to Marthorpe, and is connected to the M1. The M7 meanwhile, begins in Kings Lunsel in a junction with the M1, and via the Middleshop Valley Bypass, connects to the M2 in Billingwax. Such was the importance of this road, it received the single digit designation, instead of the M12 it was originally codenamed as. Trains however, have not quite caught up. Whilst the North Coast and South Coast travel through the Centrelands, there is no North-South rail. The ruling gradients have made this all but impossible up until very recently, and currently it’s a political issue hotly debated in both the Centrelands and the Flavovespian Parliament regarding a potential Centrelands rail link. As previously mentioned, Marthorpe does benefit from the Hadford Metro, from back in the day Marthorpe was a part of Hadford Hill. Other transport related political issues include better non-Metro rail services for Marthorpe, expanding the motorway network to better connect Marthorpe to the rest of the Centrelands, or the creation of a Lunselbury Metro/Underground.

Economy

Marthorpe was once nicknamed “The city of Gold”, and it was home to the biggest financial and trading sector of Flavovespia, even in a time where much of the output of the island was agricultural or industrial. Indeed some saw Marthorpe’s separation from Hadford Hill as the final catalyst in forming a unified Republic on the island. Bavingtor and Binclestead Wood both have strong local industries in aeronautical equipment and manufacturing, and construction materials respectively. Those are industries the cities are nationwide famous for, and both their football sides use them as nicknames. Kings Lunsel and Abbots Lunsel have always had some agricultural and manufacturing output, although the latter was generally a bigger contributor. South Maishop and North Mayshop have largely relied on tourism, but with better connections now, are seeing the effects of becoming more liveable. The Centrelands have had some considerable wealth disparities. Marthorpe is one of the wealthiest parts of Flavovespia. Meanwhile, industrial losses in varying eras have lead to parts of Kings Lunsel, Abbots Lunsel, Bavingtor and Binclestead Wood to end up above average on deprivation metrics.

Politics

The Centrelands is a mixed bag when it comes to politics. Marthorpe was traditionally a Democratic Conservative stronghold, but the liberal Flavovespia Forward party have made huge inroads there. Flavovespia Forward have struggled elsewhere in the Centrelands though. Lunselbury, Bavingtor and Binclestead Wood have all been more Socialist over time, in part due to the workers unions. Whilst outright anti-Republicanism is low, the anti-Republic, right-wing populist Freedom and Democracy Party (a successor to the Independent Conservatives) have won as a bit of a protest vote before. EA few parties have pockets of concentrated local support. The Greens are popular in South Maishop, Lunselbury is one of the areas the Party of Equality have more than a few percent of support, and the rather niche Pirate Party have their highest levels of support in Bavingtor and Binclestead Wood, thanks to some surprisingly competent performances in local government, shifting some of their “joke” label.

[Legalese]

“Welcome back to sunny Sagdineo, where the Legalese National Team continues their five game unbeaten streak with a 4-1 win over Central Antarctic Peninsula. Gabe, I know that the Federation and the team has been pushing this whole idea of Project Legacy, but the real establishment of a new age in Legalese was not appearing to be on the pitch. However, I have to hope the words I used were covered in chocolate, because I may need to eat them this evening, as Myles and company are currently in second in the group, the only side with no losses at this point and a date with destiny in Baker Park next on the agenda. What’s this all mean?”

“That’s a great question, Joel. What we’ve seen is a hard-pressing team that can score seemingly at will, motivated to press hard and simply overwhelm the opposition. If we turn back to their trip to Pomena, we saw that in action against Juvencus. Legalese responded to the Juvencan focus on speed by creating a varied attack that kept them guessing, whether it was Ree running up the line to cross, or Mandella feinting an attack, drawing the defense forward, and creating an opening to find Rafe Senechal coming in from the other side to score.”

“That’s the other thing, Gabe -- the scoring has been across the board, not just limited to one player. Tim Ermintano’s two-goal effort against Savigliane was the only multi-goal effort until tonight, where Bode Calderson made the most of his first start this cycle with a pair and an assist. How do you think this bodes for the trip to Baker Park?”

“I mean, let’s be realistic -- this is a phenomenal start, but having both Baker Park and Taeshan on the schedule two more times means that we could see things start to pull back. On the other hand, if everyone keeps trying to score so that they get to give the bombastic post-game interview, then maybe this run can continue.”

“Speaking of segues, Gabe, it’s time to go to the man of the match, who is standing by with our own Genie Car…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve just been told that we’re cutting to a special live message from the Director-General. That’s odd, to say the least. Anyways, we’ll take you live there right now.”

---

“Five, four, three,”

Behind the desk, Abigail Calvetti inhaled deeply.

“Two, one. You’re on.”

“Good evening. I feel like I need to start by introducing myself, because let’s be frank, this is unusual. My name is Abigail Calvetti, and I have the honor and responsibility to be the Director-General of the government. Usually, that role feels more technocratic, but it does require some matters of state, and this, my fellow Legalites, is one of those matters.”
“In some ways, it’s fitting that this comes shortly after the Legalese National Team celebrates a win in what has been an excellent start to their qualifying run for World Cup 88, which comes seventy cycles after our first attempt to qualify, all the way back in World Cup 18. You could say that they’re attempting to regain, and/or claim our legacy again -- an effort which our government, with approval from the assembly of magistrates -- has supported.”

“But let’s consider one very important thing: that legacy is nice, but everyone who was behind it is dead and long gone. Even going back to the last heyday of Legalite football is going back nearly forty years. Of course we have a long legacy, but we need to keep moving forward, keep finding ways to improve and better ourselves. To recognize that everything can be great, while at the same time, we can look for opportunities to try something new.”

“That is why, with the formal approval of the Council, and the informal approval of the Assembly of Magistrates, we embark on a new journey tonight. Legalese has agreed to join with our neighbors in the Northeast, the fellow members of North Eastern Alliance Treaty Organization, in formalizing our brother/sister hood.”

“As of today, Legalese now calls our home part of the region of Anaia. The details of our new arrangements will come out in the coming days as they are finalized, but I can say that I’m proud to join with our neighbors and Bekksiders in this decision.”

“I realize that this may come as a shock to some, and others may find it to be unnecessary. We do anticipate that there may be some unexpected disruptions, and some very surprised neighbors and friends throughout the multi-verse. However, that’s part of the human condition -- sometimes you do something that not everyone is going to be on board with, and have to live with those decisions and how they were conducted.”

“What’s also part of the human condition, though, is wanting the opportunity to forge your way through, and if needed, find an opportunity to shake things up. Sometimes they get messy, but they also can test our resolve, and leave us stronger on the other side.”

“There are plenty of good reasons to think that we have a legacy, but ultimately, friends, what we have only matters to the extent of what we do with it. Just as our national team is taking what they have and pressing forward, so will we as a nation.”

[Busoga Islands]

OOC: The below post does not reflect my OOC views about the establishment of the Anaia Region, and only reflects Busoga's IC views regarding these developments.

President Kasekende at his official residence

The President could skip right now. Politics was, for once, going well. His popularity was in a good place, his ability to run for re-election would be in good shape. And, of course- the national team was killing it. 4 wins in a row- tied for their second longest ever competitive winning streak, going back to AOCAF 61 when they won their first five games of the first group stage of that AOCAF. That included wins over two teams ranked higher than Busoga, a 2 goal home win over Pasarga and a late winner against the Blouman Empire. And to top it all off- his night with his wife the night prior was one of his most meaningful in years.

So when his Chief of Staff came running into his office, with word that the Foreign Minister was five minutes away, the President was quite surprised. "Jon, what the hell is going on?" The President said. "Why is the Foreign Minister coming to see me today? We're supposed to meet tomorrow morning, and I'm actually having a pretty damn good day. Can't this wait?" When the Chief of Staff simply shook his head, the President knew it was something serious.

The Chief of Staff didn't say much. He just put the printout of the Declaration of Foxchester on the desk of the President. President Kasekende Sr. started reading it, and nearly spit out of his cup. He pulled out his phone and checked twii.tur, and sure enough, it is was trending. #Foxchester and #Anaia were trending. He re-read the document one more time over, and then, the Foreign Minister took a seat.

"Mr. President." She said. "I'm here to brief you directly on what's going on. I see you've read the Declaration yourself. This did blindside us- we made calls to Canterlot, Borograd, and Busukuma, right after this happened, and it turned out that none of this was known. Nobody had a clue that this was going to happen. Well, nobody on this side of AO, anyways. Or, rather, nobody still in AO anyways. And while it's still early... Just read the declaration literally."

"Huh." The President said. Just his luck. Right when he came into office, he had a longstanding nuclear crisis, where Banija temporarily ended their nuclear-free zone status, pursued, and got nuclear weapons. And now, potentially, another foreign policy crisis. "Soooo, what happens here?"

"I'm not sure." Conceded the Foreign Minister. "We're too small and poor to have really any direct influence on these events, at least by ourselves. We've got much bigger partners and allies around us, of course- but any sort of Busogan statement issued on its own will likely get laughed out." The President simply nodded. It was the unfortunate truth. "Best we can do is wait to see if there's any sort of joint statement."

"I'll release something on twii.tur." The President said. "This is a crisis that deserves a response, and while everything is so fresh, we can get Busoga's stance out early. A chance to cut through the noise, so our allies know where we stand. We can get Busoga invited to a seat at the table at whatever the official response will be." The Foreign Minister promised to be by her phone 24/7, and to make sure to give the President an immediate call if there were any invitations to any sort of meetings with other leaders in response to this.

Meanwhile, he whipped out his phone and composed the following tweet.

@PresidentKasekende Saddened to read the Foxchester Declaration, and saddened to see so many core members of Atlantian Oceania leave. We are a region with so much history, and a day where we turn from our common history and bonds is a sad day indeed. (1/2)

@PresidentKasekende We may be a small nation, but we are both committed to the future of this region. We will also support any efforts made for nations who wish to stay in Atlantian Oceania. We will work with our international partners to carve an effective response to today's events in Foxchester. (2/2)

[Squornshelous]

When the Devil Drives, Chapter 3
Chapter 1, Chapter 2

Semi's is an equal-opportunity watering hole.

At the bar, students from the nearby Santraginean Institute of Technology rub shoulders with construction workers and retail clerks. Out in the neighborhood, there might be tension between the students, pockets full of their parents' money, and the working-class townies who'd grown up in the neighborhood, but those who came to Semi's left it at the door. At one of the long communal tables that Semi had built with his own hands, a pair of freshly licensed insurance agents, dreaming of five-figure commission checks they'll likely never see buys a round for a group of freshman engineering majors. In the corner, behind the bar sits Semi himself. Semyon Petrenko could be anywhere between 30 and 60 years old. His shape is the same as the beer kegs he still effortlessly heaves into position each time one kicks, seemingly nearly as broad as he is tall. Thinning hair rings his bald scalp, but his handlebar mustache is as rich and dark as ever. He surveys his thousand odd square foot kingdom with satisfaction. It has always been Semi's dream to run a place that brings people together.

Here though, in the furthest booth, three people¹ sit quietly. No one approaches them, offers to buy them a round, invites them to join any of the circles of conversation. The regulars know better, and warn off the students, explaining in hushed tones. Bratva. vory v zakone. No one wants to see someone hurt due to simple ignorance. Semi didn't like that the mob occasionally had business meetings in his bar, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He didn't want that kind of trouble, and as long as they were left alone, they always kept to themselves. He'd spoken to them exactly once, to the short woman who seemed to be in charge. He'd made very clear that he had no interest in knowing what they did, or even what their names were, and that had been enough for her.

Of the three sitting in the back booth, the man is slim, with a fine-boned face that could easily be called handsome, even beautiful. One side of his head is covered in straight pale blond hair that hangs down to his shoulder, occasionally threatening to obscure his right eye. The other half is bare, the hair lasered away, follicles and all. Behind his left ear, a half dozen or so data cables emerge from a port flush with his skin. They trail down over his shoulder and under his collar. If he has had other cybernetic work done, it is hidden beneath the long gray coat he wears against the misty chill of the evening. To his left, in the back of the booth, a tall, thin woman, mousy brown hair worn in a shag cut. She frowns, and fidgets with her glass. There is black grime under her fingernails, and the pads of her fingers are calloused. Her hand creeps up to her mouth, and she chews at the corner of one nail. The woman next to her slaps her hand away.

"For the last time Marija, stop. What kind of shestyorka bites their nails anyway, how old are you?"

"I'm sorry Zhanna, I just get nervous around so many people."

Zhanna is a contrast to Marija in almost every way. Short and muscular, her hair was cropped close. Currently it was bleached bone white, though regulars at Semi's knew that she redyed it frequently. While Marija vanished into the formless gray coveralls she wore, Zhanna's outfit was selected to catch the eye, despite its monochromatic color scheme. Close-fitting denim pants and a black mesh t-shirt provided a foundation for a leather jacket and knee-high boots both festooned with straps and silver buckles. The avtoritet she reported to always nagged her about being less conspicuous, but what was the point of being a dangerous criminal if you couldn't dress the part?

"Do you think you can try to shut up, sit still, and not embarrass me in front of our client? Don't answer that."

"He's arriving," the man spoke up.

"Damn time, Arkady. He's alone?"

"Of course."

"Good. Remember, Marija, don't make me regret bringing you along."

The bar door opened, framing a man of average build, with shaggy brown hair.² He stepped to the bar, and ordering something while he observed the room in the mirror behind it. It wasn't exactly a new trick, but clearly this one had at least some sense of subtlety. Sipping his drink, he threaded his way through the crowd, drawing a few stares as he approached their booth, slid a vacant chair up to the table, and sat down. There wasn't really any subtle way to walk up to a table of mobsters and talk to them, not when everyone knew what they were.

"I'm Andr. . ."

Zhanna interrupted, "No names now Mr. Who. Safer that way for everyone."

"Good point."

"If you're here you know what we do, so what do you need?"

"Transportation to Vogsphere for seven people, plus equipment."

"Can I assume that none of you can simply take a train and pass the checkpoints?"

"You can."

"What kind of equipment are we talking about?"

"Enough to fill a cargo van, and nothing we'll want to be caught with. More than that I don't think you want to know."

"Fair enough. Twenty."

"Twenty?" The man was caught mid sip, and set his drink down, "We'd heard from some, ah, friends of ours that you'd transported ten of them with gear for twelve."

"That was three months ago. Things change. Our expenses and our risk increase, so does our rate."

"You're not going to budge from that figure are you?"

"No."

"All right, we'll pay. Our moving date is in two weeks."

"Money by the end of the week then, all up front."

"Right, we'll have it. Here?"

"No, our place. Meet him behind the Port Authority building on Hassel Street Friday night at nine." She gestured at Arkady. "He'll bring you the rest of the way."





¹ We've seen these three before, here
² We've seen him before too, here

[Krytenia]

The Cove Has Grown Wide
Mark Newton reports from Foxchester

The Prime Minister is preparing to face the music in Parliament tomorrow after Krytenia became a charter signatory of the historic Foxchester Declaration. The document, which establishes the North Eastern Alliance Treaty Organisation and the region of Anaia, will see the country strengthen their ties with nations to their north and east, as well as Ko-oren.

The Declaration, however, will have repercussions elsewhere. The cutting of official ties with Atlantian Oceania has already ruffled a few feathers; though the dust is yet to settle, it's likely that Krytenia's previous excellent relations with Vilita and Turori will be strained at least in the short term, whilst a future relationship between the two regions is still yet to be formally hammered out. It seems likely that other established nations in A.O. will also feel that this declaration will drive a wedge between them.

On the home front, meanwhile, it's unsurprising to see where the loyalties of the nations parties lie. Both the Conservatives and the MNP lean closer to economic and political ties to Starblaydia, so for once are actually behind Mr. Linton and Mr. Mycroft on this issue. Nicole Deschamps, however, has called this a "treasonous act" and has pledged to table a no-confidence vote tomorrow morning.

The Foxchester Declaration is certainly the most momentous incident of Charles Linton's tenure as prime minister; if the Socialists can rally support in getting the vote through tomorrow, it could well be one of his last.

[Ranoria]

Apparition or not, the Krauts are Undefeated With 4 Wins to Their Name

The iconic red turf of Smith Field has become a fortress early in the World Cup. Ranoria (4-1-0) has gone 3-0 in Richardson, including a recent headline win against high-scoring Xanneria (1-3-1) team. While that 3-2 victory is certainly the biggest win the Krauts have had in official competition, 1-0 wins over both Muralos and Natanians and Nosts were surprises as well. Muralos, niche fans will remember, knocked off the Krauts in the first round of the Baptism of Fire, and Natanians and Nosts were our first ever win over a top 100 opponent in the rankings. However, that field's steadfast track record is soon to be put to the test. South Newlandia, the Pot 2 team assigned to Ranoria's group, will be visiting Richardson tomorrow.

South Newlandia(3-1-1), ranked 31st in the world, is of course the favorite to win. Against a team more than 120 spots lower than them in the rankings, home field doesn't even come into consideration for the odds makers. And despite a mediocre start by their standards, look for SNL's national team to clean up in the home stretch of the qualifiers. The squad has only one loss - a 5-3 drubbing by Ranoria's fellow upstart, Muralos -and admittedly stumbled in a 4-4 draw with Sahuarita. But that's just the thing. This team is 3-1-1 despite two matches that have been inconsistent to the team's lofty standards, and we're up just as they're probably starting to get hot.

Imagine it, this great start for our Krauts, only to be a footnote as the genesis to South Newlandia's hot streak.

Well, it's possible. Curse of the red turf or not, the Krauts are going to be in for it. We predict a 1-0 loss against South Newlandia's also somewhat conservative squad, and our record won't look nearly as good after going toe to toe with Eura next on the slate.

Now, we mentioned our success in Richardson during World Cup 88, but what about our away meets? In our two away games thus far, the team has one win and one draw, still a much better pace than last World Cup's 6-1-11 run. Things are shaping up nicely for our Krauts so far to not embarrass themselves, and if they keep this up, a Cup of Harmony bid could be on the horizon for our least-watched national team.

But before we go: Barry Chlorid, striker and gridiron kicker extraordinaire will be interviewed by sports journalist Vick Hamilton tonight, and that interview will be aired shortly after our contest with South Newlandia. So fans of both sports, stay tuned, and go Krauts!

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Borograd, Siovanija

The cabinet meeting wrapped up at about 1:30am.

When word of the Foxchester Declaration had reached Borograd, Chancellor Dominik Meier immediately summoned the entire cabinet and the President, Magdalena Hoskova, to the Chancellery Office overlooking Milan-Dimitrov-Square.

Many of the ministers had been taken aback by the developments of the day, and messages to Ambassadors of the ‘Foxchester 17’, as the cabinet members were labelling the 17 nations who had signed the document, had received replies through various points of the night. The situation was unclear - there were a variety of differing opinions, ranging from “that’s a few thousand miles away and doesn’t affect us” to “rip up the trade agreements, now.”

The main debate, from the Siovanija & Teusland side, was mostly from the domestic interpretation of international politics. The nation had been founded on the foreign policy ideal of ‘don’t bother us, we don’t bother you,’ a consequence of hundreds of years of imperial aims that had caused conflict between the old Siovanijan Republic and Teus Empire. Some of the more hardline members of the National Democratic Union, the governing party, felt that Siovanija & Teusland’s only action befitting its national character was to say ‘best of luck.’

Times were changing, however, and the ‘Sudwestpolitik’ of Chancellor Meier had an influence too. Meier had arguably been elected on a pledge to forego those old ideals, and bring Siovanija & Teusland closer to the rest of the world. Our allies in the region needed to know they could look to and count on us, it was argued. One of the most important events in the history of the region had just occurred - Siovanija & Teusland needed to stand up and be counted in Atlantian Oceania.

After a decision on a statement was finally reached, even who should release it was a matter of debate. President Hoskova, as the nation’s top diplomat, suggested that Chancellor Meier should put his name on it - this was the largest geopolitical event to face our lands since the end of the Great War in 1896, which saw the death of 2 nations and the birth of 3 others. The leader of the nation needed to address his people and the world. Again, the opinion was divided on similar lines - the isolationists in the cabinet felt that the Minister of Foreign Affairs should release a statement, still not treating the issue with quite as much severity as the rest of the government.

In the end, a carefully-crafted statement was delivered to the Ambassadors of each of the ‘Foxchester 17’, the leaders of the remaining nations of Atlantian Oceania, and the press. The next morning, Chancellor Meier would address the press from the steps of the National Chancellery.

FROM THE OFFICE OF CHANCELLOR DOMINIK MEIER

Milan-Dimitrov-Trg 2
Borograd, Siovanija

The United Republics of Siovanija & Teusland are deeply saddened to learn of today’s Foxchester Declaration.

We regard our status as part of Atlantian Oceania as integral to our nation’s history, and we regret that several nations with this shared history do not feel the same way.

We of all nations can understand the ideas behind shifting geopolitical affairs - our nation is only united today after hundreds of years of warfare between various predecessor states in the past. However, we were shocked at the sudden nature of the departure, and at several parts of the statement.

Siovanija & Teusland regards the land defined as southern Calania as integral territory of Atlantian Oceania, and rejects any claim otherwise.

We would like to remind the nations of the new region of changes relating to their status as former members of Atlantian Oceania.

• Immediately, visa-free travel is suspended for citizens of Anaian states. The visa-free travel applies only for Atlantian Oceania states. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, including for those who may be currently en route to our nation and who will have to re-enter with a visa at a later date. Visa processing will be available at our Embassies in the Anaian states.
  
• Citizens of Anaian states currently living and working in Siovanija & Teusland will need to acquire work permits within the next 60 days, or risk deportation. These citizens were previously working in the United Republics under our framework allowing Atlantian Oceania citizens to work freely in the United Republics.
  
• For our citizens living in Anaian states, consular and Embassy services will remain open 24/7 for the foreseeable future in order to assist our citizens abroad with any changes in their status.
  
• Trade agreements will be monitored on a case by case basis, and while we see no reason at this time to terminate existing agreements directly with Anaian states, free trade rights to items which are on the Category IV list (free trade within AO) will no longer be in effect.
  
• Ministries will continue to review and update their links with Anaian states and will seek to inform citizens of both these states and Siovanija & Teusland as soon as possible of further changes in status.

We hope that currently-strong relations with many states of the new Anaia region will continue, and see no reason why they should not besides the changes listed above.

We continue to stand as a strong supporter of our friends and allies in Atlantian Oceania. We believe there is more than geography that binds us, it is our shared history and deep-rooted friendship that has brought and kept us together. We are excited to work closely with these allies as we continue forward, together.

The Twenty-Ninth day of June, Two Thousand and Thirty One

Chancellor Dominik Meier

Following the release of the letter, the cabinet drafted up another message - this time, addressed to the leaders of the Atlantian Oceanian states.

To: AO Heads of State
From: Chancellor Dominik Meier of the United Republics of Siovanija & Teusland

Good evening,

I am sure we are all equally shocked by the events of the last 24 hours. These events require a clear, united response. I am therefore inviting your governments to send a delegation to Stelburg, where we will discuss the path forward and response of our region. It is important that we stand together as we move forward. I look forward to welcoming you to Stelburg as we chart our course.

With kind regards,

Chancellor Dominik Meier

And with those letters sent off, the cabinet could finally rest. For a few hours, at least. Chancellor Meier already knew this 9am press conference would be one for the ages.

[Trolleborg]

Greetings, compatriots!
It’s TTV with a review of the two most recent games of our national team.

Yes, we all highly traumatised by nothing-short-of-catastrophic game against Talkasa. It’s good that 3D AI was out at the time, since viewing this in 2D was being traumatic enough and 3D will be fully-grown nightmare right in the middle of Trolleborg living rooms. We see by lips, that head coach vows never make interview in the middle of tournament again, and fully agree do not even think about this. Yes, other nations can probably find this ridiculous superstition, but we in Trolleborg having from ancient ages wisdom of having stick to our beliefs. And we wish our goalkeeper Lunde that this will be
his worst day in career, with everything in future being better. Let’s end with this, especially because next game of the team was nothing-short-of-brilliant.

Zwangzug team start tournament with puzzling draw at home, but picked two victories after that. It’s tough and strict opponent, and we are happy to see that our lads regain composure after upset in Talkasa and entered field as a fast and strict team. Everyone moved as it needed and no one stumble, literally. Altought our team have only two or three real chances to score in the whole game, but Zwangzug having only slightly much more.

Home team just missed chance to open score after twenty minutes of game, in the rare (in this game) show of misunderstanding our defenders and midfielders lost opponent’s forwards and give him an opening, that he try to explot too fast, so goalkeeper successfully parried it.

Altough our team rather successfully defended approaches to penalty area and quite competently held opponents in the box, Zwangzug regularly caused problems using corners, very skillfully curled and regularly make strong dangerous shots from free kicks, one of them almost reach target at the second part of the game

Our team did not sit in defense, but constantly creating pressure on the hosts and in the middle of the second half Finnsnes, from which everyone were expecting a cross to the far post at that moment, suddenly made a pass to the center, where Valgren, who had played so unsuccessfully two previous matches, make a powerful and accurate shot, and, as it turned over, bring home three precious points.

Next our opponent is brave, cheerful and unbending team from North Japan. Everyone on our side agree, that if our team destined to lose to someone beginning his way in the international football, than better to NJ than Talkasa.

Guests endure noise barrage from 1st December stadium pretty steadfastly, in general, did not get lost, tried to act quickly and, whenever possible, moved the ball forward, taking advantage of every second of freedom and every available gap, sometimes creating trouble for our defenders and goalkeeper, as in this moment, a classic for the game.

On the other side of pitch, our players in the attacking line did everything to keep the guests' goalkeeper from idleness, especially Gulbranden, who constantly created problems for the defenders, who were not distinguished by sturdy and strong complexions and had difficulties in the fight against this powerful forward. But for a long time our lads did not manage to extract serious benefits from their advantage. Nevertheless, in the second half, apparently, the experience affected outcome of episode - North Japan was carried away by the attack, and the Morten Troghil guys made a quick raid. At the end Finnsnes made an accurate pass to the center, and there Gulbranden, successfully breaking away from the opponents and playing almost on the verge of an offside position, make a shot by his head.

Perhaps many would have demanded a bigger victory in this game if being asked three rounds earlier, but now we must moderate our demands and limit appetites. The injury suffered by the team at the beginning of the this qualifying tournament still requires treatment. On this note we end our review. Thank you for watching.

[Queenisa]

Falling Into The Void

It’s the end and we fall into void - OOC news

No, I no playing a prank or mis-presenting information - Queenisa will end their sports playing tomorrow because their playing the 1st and 2nd seeds in the group, it’s simple - who lose 2 rounds and dust us in the last seeds of the group.

Yes, this was un-expected as the biggest competitors such as Valentine Z were predicted to be competing for the top spots, while theirselves landed in last up-expected. We are fighting with new people - we seen a lot of people but these are aliens to us. We are suddenly finding ourselves competing with someone that we don’t know and we expect to win ?

Yesterday Results A Moderate Victory

I mean we tied with former second seed - not bad given the possibly that we can just been eliminated by losing. While the win with fluvannia was immerse and their is probably know doubt that it was a easy low-effort win that required nothing.

[Savigliane]

OOC: Neither of the below news stories reflects my OOC opinion on recent events.

IL MERCURIO
The Conscience of San Ludovico
OPINION: SPORTS STAND TO BENEFIT FROM QUAGLIA’S LONG VIEW
GIANFRANCO GROSSI, sports

FOXCHESTER, ??? -- When Alberto Caccini took office four months ago, returning Populistas to power for the first time in several decades, he promised that - despite all the hardships that came with the Savigliano Portal Event - the Savigliano spirit would burn more brightly than ever. And this morning in [Starblaydia/Krytenia], his foreign minister showed exactly why Savigliane put him in office. But Savigliane’s decision to join the Foxchester Declaration and become a founding member of Anaia has unexpected benefits in sports, too - which serve as a microcosm of sorts for their benefits to Savigliane as a whole.

The immediate opposition of entrenched business interests, who have seen their bottom lines threatened by Atlantian Oceanian retaliation, has applied to sports as well. But while millionaire owners like Joël Bonmaison decry Savigliane killing the “historic regional sporting culture of Atlantian Oceania”, they may be more concerned with their bottom lines - revenue sharing from the likes of AOCL and AOCAF were a godsend for many SavigLega clubs, who saw profits slashed by their sudden teleportation out of their previous reality. While remaining in AO, absolutely the more relevant of the two regions, may have entrenched Savigliano economic power in the short run, it would’ve come at a long-term cost.

While Savigliane’s national team, riding the triumph of pre-Event youth talents such as Amara Vatrican, Adrian Toscani, and Adélaïde Garcia, have been flying high despite the loss of captain Bianca Fiore to the Portal Event, the league has proven less lucky. SavigLega, despite its presence in a great sporting region, proved completely non-competitive in the transfer market and in international competition. However, Foxchester promises even closer relations with fellow Anaians, something that will have long-term benefits for Savigliano football. Past reliance on foreign academies to develop Savigliano talent has decimated the youth player pool that the Swans and the league will rely on in the future, and the path Savigliano football was on would not have replenished anything other than the owner’s pockets in the long term.

Now, though, Savigliane is at the center of a nascent subregion, with a greater ability to influence their league’s destiny. The closer partnerships provided by Anaia will replenish the youth pipelines and allow for the rebuilding of SavigLega’s underlying infrastructure. More than that, it was the nations of the northeast that first fostered Savigliane after their sudden and calamitous appearance in a new reality. If Savigliane wants to build upon and properly honor their past successes in football, they have chosen the right option.

LA VOCE DI CASTIGLIONE
The Herald of the Heartlands
OPINION: DANTE’S INFERNO, or WHY ANAIA WILL BURY SAVIGLEGA
AUGUSTO GIGLIO, sports

FOXCHESTER, ??? -- This morning is one that will live in infamy, as PM Alberto Caccini and Foreign Minister Dante Quaglia unilaterally decided to turn their backs on the great region of Atlantian Oceania that has helped us ever since the Savigliano Portal Event, and the left-wing violence that followed, threatened to shatter our great republic into pieces. The breakaway region of “Anaia”, as declared in the Foxchester Declaration that was made official this morning, has promised a variety of benefits to its members, one of which is in sports. However, it’s clear that sports didn’t actually factor into Quaglia’s decision, because joining Anaia will be the end of Savigliano relevance in international football.

In the short term, the move to Anaia threatens to shred Savigliane’s still-fragile economy. While Foxchester will undoubtedly strengthen ties with the former residents of Northeastern Atlantian Oceania, threats of retaliation from the rest of Atlantian Oceania threaten to undo all of the progress that Achille Canaveri and Alphonse Duhamel made before being voted out. When Savigliano business suffers, Savigliano football teams - usually funded by the famous competitions and business owners that Caccini has deemed unnecessary - will follow.

While the socialist propaganda machine has suggested that Savigliane were a small fish in a big pond, the financial repercussions and the other nations of Anaia will make Savigliane a small fish in a small pond. While the Red-and-Blues have only played three of their fellow rebels in past competitions - a loss to Audioslavia in the AOCAF sandwiched by a win in a dead-rubber over Starblaydia and a draw with Legalese in the current qualifiers - virtually all of the nations that have joined Savigliane in signing the Foxchester Declaration boast better infrastructures and more storied histories than Savigliane does. In the long term, this means that the Swans will struggle to regain relevance after current stars such as Francesco Grimaldi age out, and threatens to doom us to decades of irrelevancy.

We’ve seen already that Alberto Caccini isn’t a sports fan, and Foxchester is just further proof of that. While Evangelista Rizzuto has already made overtures to Ligue-Est and Une Nation to attempt to put Foxchester to a referendum, and brave, outspoken freedom fighters such as Joël Bonmaison have tried to use their platforms to undo the disastrous declaration, the coward Caccini has so far held firm. If Savigliane continues on this path, ruination is certain to follow, for both sports and business - but the amount of political capital expended by the so-called "Populistas" means brighter days could lie ahead if we act swiftly.

[Audioslavia]

NEWS of the FUTURE
Next Century’s Headlines… Today!

Shock as Island Nations Secede from Anaia
Matchday six of World Cup 122 qualifiers upstaged by confusing surprise-gerrymandering

New Calania was left reeling today as news broke of a secret islander cabal and it’s covert plot to form its own region, with inter-galactic blackjack and loose-head props.

The new region, which dubs itself Anaian Oceania, was immediately populated by nations such as Nova Nova Lemmitania, Audiosarius, Chromatika and the Cedrus, Gyatso-Plough, Vdaran Paripana and, for some reason, Tottenham Hotspur. Calania-dwelling nations like Krytenia, West Krytenia, Legalese and the vast city-state of Tropicorp Desertopolis were left scratching their heads and wondering if it was something they’d said.

“Why the secrecy?” asked West Krytenian president Tiberius Kryblayde, peering out over the ocean towards what was now an oddly pixelated border. “Like we have the best cartographers in the world here, why are they making one of their own out of lego and bits of wood? I’d probably have helped”

Tottenham Hotspur president Daniel Levy-Quietly stated that it was totally normal that they’d be one of the departing nations as they’d increasingly spent time looking a bit like a multiversal island-state over the last ten years, despite the lack of proof. Elsewhere, Tropicorp Desertopolis’s Desert Mayor Calvin Banda denied allegations that they’d also be leaving, stating that, actually,, ’that’s not what the ‘desert’ part means’.

The Legalite Premier (apparently neither a brand of lager nor a foreign football league you occasionally glimpse highlights of at 2am on YouTube, but an actual job title in Legalese) twiited that he was saddened by the news, and sought reassurance that the island nations not joining Anaian Oceania - such as a very exasperated Euran Anaian Territories and a Siltstood population wondering what on earth everyone else was smoking - would be taken into consideration by both new regions.

Over on the islands, Audiosarian president Jeremy Jaffacake simply shrugged. “I tried to get away from New Calania back in the days of the LigIslanda, but I was told to stop being so silly. Naturally the best course of action was to wait until nobody was looking, draw an imaginary line and say ‘this is us now’. Jaffacake has said that he does not want to draw member nations from the ‘Big Four’ rival sporting regions of AO, Great Southwest, Melayu or Rushportiva, stating rather condescendingly that he didn’t want to ‘weaken’ them in any way, before going to check nobody was moving his lego pieces while he wasn’t looking.

The new region’s flag, which looks like someone took the background of an angelfire website and ran it through a graphic design is my passion filter, features a neon brown cross on a checkerboard field, in keeping with the feel of the current Gyatso-Ploughular Cricket Championship logo.

CAFA 24 champions Cobrioslavia find themselves the title holders of a region they are no longer part of. In keeping with a century old tradition, they put the trophy in a helicopter and sent it back to its homeland with a note explaining how the dent in it was totally there already. IAC champions Bonewight have done their same with their trophy, only instead of a helicopter it was an a matter-converter. It remains to be seen whether they can convert this particular matter into one that is anything other than a source of amusing drama for casual onlookers.

In World Cup news, seven-time World Champions Iskandervale will travel to Sonnel to play Nephara in a puppet/master clash this evening, while Vilita and Turori and Delaclava Somehow host Quakmybush in the latter’s four billionth game of international football.

I’ve been FUTURE BOT, enjoy your artificially replicated sundown.

[Yue Zhou]

It had been a miserable day for Yuan Zilai, for reasons entirely outside of his control.

Scratch that - it had been a miserable year for Yuan Zilai, for reasons entirely outside of his control. After the southern rebels had won the Civil War, the newly-formed FA had decided that they'd had enough of the Yue national team manager. He'd spent a few months desperately looking for a job, with the threat of government crackdown looming larger and larger on his shoulder, but had found that anyone associated with Ren Qiang's regime had become virtually untouchable in the new United Republics of Yuezhou.

So he'd turned abroad, but his lack of skills with languages other than Yueyu made it difficult to get a job there, either. He'd briefly thought he'd managed to secure a managerial position - and not just any managerial position, but a newly-promoted team in one of Atlantian Oceania's great leagues. So he'd flown out to Atlantian Oceania in the nick of time - it had been a few hours after his lawyer had told him to get out of the country as soon as possible because the government had finally found a convincing crime to charge him with - only to discover upon his arrival that the position was no longer open to him.

Yet again, it'd been because of the fucking rebels - not from Nanhai this time, but instead from the northeastern lands of "Anaia". Somehow, that had set a chain of events in motion that had closed the job to poor Yuan, and without a convincing reason to stay in Atlantian Oceania for long, or another job he could pick up in the meantime, he would have to go back to his home country - a home country that was actively trying to put him in prison, presumably for the rest of his life.

So when he saw Wang Jiahui, arguably his least favorite football player of all time and a player who had nearly gotten him fired several times, current events had worn him down just enough to make him desperate enough to answer.

"What do you want, Wang?"

"Heard about the news, coach, sorry to hear it. Got anything lined up?"

Yuan Zilai hesitated for a second before telling the truth. "Not really. That was kind of my last opportunity, A-"

"Got it. How would you like to become the manager of the People's Federation of Yuezhou?"

Yuan nearly dropped his phone in surprise; after a few seconds of panicked fumbling, he managed to reassert control. "What are you talking about?"

"We're getting the gang back together! Well, two members of the gang. The People's Federation and Ren Qiang are rebuilding the FA so we can reapply to the World Cup Committee and regional competitions in Rushmore. How would you like to be the manager! We can get a plane for you to go to Xilindao if you're willing."

"...how am I going to make it to Xilindao? All my things are in Nangang, too - how am I-"

"Don't worry about it, Coach. You worry too much. You'll be safe in Xilindao - we have naval supremacy around the island, and the United Republics have bigger problems to think about. The pay isn't great, but you'll be free."

"Free with you guys. I spent two years fearing for my life under Ren Qiang - if I go, and things don't work out, I'll have nowhere to go."

"And where do you have to go right now?" Silence. "Oh by the way, do you have Liang Wei's number?"

"Uhhh...I don't think so."

"Alright, well, think about it. But, I mean, you're about to get deported, so don't think too long." click.