World Cup 88- Roleplay Thread

[Tumbra]

Tumbra 1-0 Marigred

Tumbra (4-3-3): 1 - Lennon; 25 - Campbell (2 - Hughes, 81'), 4 - Henderson, 14 - Ashburn, 3 - White; 6 - Hicks (15 - Aitken, 63'), 8 - McGrath, 10 - Herlinger; 31 - Hilton, 9 - Vaughn, 33 - Riordan (22 - Sheldon, 75')

Marigred (4-1-4-1): 1 - Calhoun; 2 - Bailey, 3 - Mcdowell, 4 - Brown, 5 - Reese (15 - Jackson, 68'); 6 - Tucker; 9 - Baldwin, 7 - Tucker, 8 - Bush (17 - Powells, 74'), 10 - Hill; 11 - King (21 - Banks, 64')

TMB scorers: Vaughn (64')
MRG scorers: Nil

Player of the Match: Robin Vaughn (TMB)

Revlona 1-1 Tumbra

Tumbra (4-3-3): 1 - Lennon; 25 - Campbell, 4 - Henderson, 14 - Ashburn, 3 - White; 6 - Hicks, 8 - McGrath, 10 - Herlinger (29 - Cole, 63'); 31 - Hilton (17 - van Heirolf, 68'), 9 - Vaughn, 33 - Riordan (22 - Sheldon, 74')

Revlona (4-2-3-1): no lineup provided

TMB scorers: McGrath (18')
REV scorers: Revlonan Striker (73' - pen)

Player of the Match: Craig McGrath (TMB)

SPORT: TUMBRA 1-0 MARIGRED; REVLONA 1-1 TUMBRA
Six Points Off Top With Five Matches To Go; "Difficult But Not Impossible" Task, Even As More Points Dropped Against Minnows

STRATON - Tumbra's hopes of a top five finish in Group 1 increased even as the Black Eagles dropped two points in a frustrating match against Revlona, even as the team made amends by beating Marigred by a single goal. The results leave Tumbra fourth in the group once again, three points behind Kandorith but five ahead of a resurgent Gyatso-kai team, the Bisons beating Saltstead by three goals to nil to move into fifth in Group 1. With every team above Tumbra dropping points ahead of the crucial run-in towards Matchday 18, Tumbra currently stands an outside — but not guaranteed chance to qualify.

Interim manager Peter Gabriel mentioned after the results that "it was pleasing to see such a good defensive display from the Black Eagles, and I am confident that when Hemmings returns, the defensive lessons will help in Tumbra keeping more goals out of our own net for this and future campaigns." The Black Eagles, with their shutout against Marigred, have now kept three clean sheets in thirteen matches — an ignoble record, but one that certainly looks set to be improved on in the future.

Other topics mentioned in the post-international break press conference included whether the team would accept a hypothetical Cup of Harmony berth, if it were to be offered; Gabriel confirmed that the team would be accepting a berth. When pressed to reveal which of the two competing bids he supported, he was considerably more coy — but in the end revealed that playing in South Newlandia and the Grearish Union would be his preference, given both nations' proximity to Tumbra. The aim, of course, still remained to "play in Chromatika and Cassadaigua". Tumbra currently does not have a vote on the World Cup Committee, given its newness to the entire organisation. It is set to be given one at the conclusion of this cycle; only then will it be able to vote on World Cup and Cup of Harmony hosts.

Tumbra 1-0 Marigred; Solid If Uninspiring Display Makes Up For Early Draw

Welcoming 272nd-ranked and eighth seed Marigred to Tumbra, the Black Eagles were out for revenge — after all, out of the six dropped points Tumbra has suffered this cycle to draws, the Marigred draw stood out as a draw against a lower-ranked opponent; meaning that they should have gotten a better run on them and taken the three points, but did not manage to seize the opportunity in the end. A first-choice Marigredian lineup went up against a perhaps off-kilter Tumbran lineup, what with third-choice striker Nick Riordan up front; in the end, however, with Ian Ashburn's return to the team, Tumbra kept a clean sheet and kept things tight at the Tumbran end, while the offense came close several times to scoring — but Marigredian goalkeeper Calhoun managed to keep most shots away, too.

Despite the first half ending 0-0, there was a sense that the Tumbran goal was coming sooner rather than later; they would be proved right on the hour mark when Robin Vaughn hit a neat ball into the far post, once again cutting in — a trademark of the 26 year-old talismanic figure for both the Tumbran national team and that of league leaders Lakewood City, who look set to romp home to a sixth title in seven years.

A steady defensive performance at home, then, gave Tumbra the the three points and ended their winless streak; despite the offensive performance being less than satisfactory, Gabriel acknowledged after the match that "offensive coaching was not his strong suit", and that he requested "patience from the Tumbran supporters" as he continued to try and bring Tumbra closer to the top of the table.

Revlona 1-1 Tumbra; In Unfamilar Territory, A Late Penalty Means Two More Dropped Points

Minnows and ninth seeds Revlona would have, once again, not provided any match information before the match against Tumbra; they and compatriots the Juniper Union, who also have yet to provide any such roster information, remain rooted to the bottom of the table. An easy win was expected, then, and Tumbra did take an early lead through a Craig McGrath header; and the defensive performance again looked as if Tumbra were to cruise towards a 1-0 win. Gabriel looked content sitting back and soaking up attacks; the defense responded in kind, ably dispatching most Revlonan attempts to take initiative and attack.

While defensive football has often been given an unfair reputation of being boring, Gabriel managed to strike a balance; the defensive display was satisfying to watch, as a revitalised Ian Ashburn mopped up much of the Tumbran attack. With rumours abounding that Johnny Brown is set to retire from international football at the end of this football cycle, the defensive performance by Ashburn seemed to allay fears about the question of succession.

Yet, the Revlonan striker decided to take a tumble in the penalty box — whether left-back Michael Campbell was at fault for the incident or whether he decided to take a fall was a large point of contention — and said striker handily put away the penalty past John Lennon, pegging the team back. Late offensive substitutions failed to revitalise the team, and Tumbra ended up having to share the spoils with Revlona; the mood afterwards was one of anger, frustration, but most importantly, determination.

Moving Forward

In the post-Revlonan press conference, Gabriel reflected on the result, calling it "immensely frustrating", stopping short of calling out the referee for the decision — instead, Gabriel focused on moving forward with the next two matches, against tenth-seed Juniper Union and seventh-seed Garbelia — again two must-win matches before a tough end to the qualification campaign.

The odds on Tumbra qualifying following the Revlonan draw lengthened massively; perhaps a reflection of the lack of confidence in the Black Eagles, who are yet to find their feet on the international stage; while finishing fifth and potentially fourth this cycle is an impressive result for a team making its debut on the world stage, all things considered; the real questions now to be answered are where Tumbra will go from here. A breakthrough cycle is required for Tumbra to truly punch through to secure a World Cup berth, lest it fall into the purgatory of constantly being a Cup of Harmony entrant; the focus, however, for the upcoming few cycles will be to knuckle down and properly fit international football into the crowded Tumbran domestic schedule.

Already, to reduce the burden on top-flight teams having to throw their players into three competitions — domestic club competitions, international club competitions, and international football — the Tumbran top division is planning to reduce the number of clubs from twenty to eighteen. Some have called for a further reduction, seeing Chromatika's sixteen-team top flight; yet, with a population merely a sixth of Tumbra's, Chromatika can afford to do it, while maintaining geographical parity. For football, where regions like the West are already heavily underrepresented, perhaps Tumbra cannot afford to further do so.

TUMBRAN SQUAD FOR MATCHES vs. THE JUNIPER UNION AND vs. GARBELIA @ TUMBRAN NATIONAL STADIUM, STRATON
Starters: 1 - Lennon; 2 - Hughes, 5 - Brown, 14 - Ashburn, 3 - White; 6 - Hicks, 28 - Stansfield, 29 - Cole; 7 - Fraser, 9 - Vaughn, 22 - Sheldon
Bench: 24 - Hancy; 25 - Campbell, 4 - Henderson, 20 - Paterson, 19 - Carter; 15 - Aitken, 8 - McGrath, 16 - Morgan, 10 - Herlinger; 17 - van Heirolf, 32 - Anderson, 11 - Cohen

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POLITICS: Weekly Roundup
Straton Summit Ends, Providing Framework For Future Co-Operation; Thornton Premier Re-Elected In Landslide; TASE v TFF Picked Up By Federal Constitutional Court

Straton Summit; Four-Way Summit Provides "Basis On Which Esportiva Can Move Forward"

Straton - The Straton Summit, attended by representatives of Tumbra, the Grearish Union, the Licentian Isles and South Newlandia, finished yesterday. Foreign Minister Natalie Stern, flanked by the other attendees of the summit — Foreign Minister Glyn Ellsmore from Grearia, St. Bart's Councillor Annelise Boskamp from the Licentian Isles and Petra Stark and Tanya Bell from South Newlandia, together announced the basis on which Esportivan unity would be conducted from here on out — possibly marking the start of the long-awaited Esportivan Union project. The highlights of the speech made it to prime-time television across Esportiva; the Herald has summarised the key points of the major address. While representatives from the other invited nations of Damukuni and Nova Anglicana did not attend, it is understood that both are relatively split on the issue, and thus did not a send a representative at this time.

The next such summit is expected to be held somewhere else in Esportiva; possibly closer to the next edition of the Campionato Esportiva. It is thought that either Damukuni or the Licentian Isles would host said summit; where more details over future Esportivan co-operation would be thoroughly pieced together and put together for public viewing.

Principles

Any theoretical union will, as far as possible, be built on a basis of principles which include "democracy, liberty, justice, the rule of law and a shared respect of the regional heritage and to work together for the future." Sovereignty of individual countries will, of course, be respected — and countries will be given the option to participate in various agreements as and how they see fit.

Membership

Membership of the bloc will theoretically be open to any nation residing within Esportiva; it is expected that a formal ascension mechanism will require the nation's legislative body to ratify the potential treaty that will be drawn up sometime in the future. Whether or not existing members will be given a veto on new members joining is not known; it is understood that Tumbra would be in favour of such a measure. It is understood that there would be a mechanism to withdraw will be included, but with the caveat that a withdrawal agreement must be properly negotiated and approved by both parties before the withdrawal process may go ahead.

Economics And Trade

Free trade is a "key priority" of any regional bloc — it is expected that member nations will reduce tariff rates on each other to near nil, in effect creating a common market between participating nations. Tariff rates on non-participating yet Esportivan nations are expected to be standardised, yet still at a lower rate than those nations outside Esportiva. A common rate will be set for countries outside of Esportiva; yet this rate may be lowered through the negotiation of free trade agreements. It is thought that this will spur growth within the internal economy of Esportiva, yet this will be expected to be a longer-term plan of the Union, given certain misgivings about jumping directly into such an agreement. It is expected that smaller-scale treaties will be signed, which nations may ascend to.

No comments were made on a regional currency.

Structure

Not much was mentioned vis-à-vis the structure of the Union; presumably this will be revisited in the next summit.

Defence And Foreign Aid

A common defence policy has been mooted previously, especially during the days of the Gregoryisgodistani regime in South Covello; such a reference was made by Kenneth Everett when he tried to argue for its creation during the federal election campaign. Defence, however, was not mentioned; presumably a topic for another time. Nor was foreign aid a topic of discussion; though Tumbra is reportedly in favour of a Foreign Aid Commission, to pool resources together and aid countries in need, such as when regional aid was extended to the Riennic Isles following the earthquake in their country.

Immigration

A potential hot-topic discussion, Stern attempted to play up the angle that "we are all Esportivans"; possibly hinting at a common, relaxed immigration policy within nations. Similarly, however, with only four member states attending, not much progress was reportedly made on this front. Immigration could be a potential hot-button topic within member states, and the consensus reached here could be key for the regional bloc succeeding or failing on its own merits.

The Environment

With green parties in power in both South Newlandia and the Licentian Isles, the environment turned out to be a key topic of discussion; it is expected that the bloc as a whole will commit to green energy and stress the need for eco-friendly solutions to infrastructural problems.

Conclusions

The Straton Summit had six invitees; four attended. While there were no major policy announcements, it is still early days — and the four nations represent merely a small part of the Esportivan region. It is expected that as more countries join in for talks or ascend to the Union, a certain critical mass will be achieved that will allow for the bloc to become alive. Until the next summit, the Union remains but a long-term foreign policy goal for these nations.

Thornton Premier Edwin O'Connor Re-Elected; To Form Majority Government In Own Right

Collatia - Thornton Premier Edwin O'Connor's Labour government was re-elected to a third term on Friday night, with his Labour party projected to pick up six seats to end on 54 seats — a comfortable majority in the 100-seat Thornton Assembly. While thought to have been boosted by the recent Federal Election, O'Connor now embarks on a third term for himself — and a fifth term in office for Labour, who have held the levers of government since 2007.

THORNTON ELECTION RESULT

Labour - 54 ▲6
Liberal - 41 ▼3
Moderate - 3 ▼2
Green - 1 -0
SDP - 1 -0
Conservative - 0 ▼1

It is expected that O'Connor will go it alone, ending the coalition government with the Moderate caucus; the Moderates saw their numbers reduced from five seats to just three. The Liberals, who competed in this election as a united front, lost three seats; the Leader of the Opposition, Tom Cantwell, is expected to resign soon. Whether this election result impacts the soon-to-be-held Liberal leadership election is yet to be seen; already the federal Nationals have called for the Thornton National Party, which won two seats at the election, to split from the Liberal Alliance.

In his victory speech, O'Connor said that "Thornton has made a choice to continue with strong and steady Government," and that he would "repay the voters' faith in kind." He is expected to name his Cabinet soon, and be sworn in shortly thereafter. Most analysts expect there to be no major shakeups in O'Connor's fourth government.

TASE v TFF To Be Heard By Federal Constitutional Court; Understood To Have Judgement Delivered After End Of Football League Season To Avoid Disruption

TASE v TFF, or which has widely become known in parlance as the Equality Case, has been chosen by the Federal Constitutional Court to be heard. It is expected that arguments will be heard soon; while the final decision will be heard after the regular football league season, as to give clubs ample time to prepare for the next season. While not a matter of constitutional importance, the Court in a statement decided to exercise its prerogative to hear "any case, but in this one, one that has gained significant public attention and has major impacts on the culture of Tumbra as a whole."

The TFF has remained resolutely tight-lipped on the case since Culture Minister Gilligan's statement a while back; it offered no further comment. A statement from TASE praised the Court for "taking the decision to the highest echelon of Tumbra's justice system; true justice will definitely be dealt, and we are prepared to accept the result, whatever it is."

A public survey revealed more than two-thirds of people were in favour of letting women play in men's leagues; if such a significant number holds this opinion, then surely the court of public opinion has made a judgement quicker than the actual courts of justice.

[Electrum]

The Turnip: A Metatextual Analysis Reveals We Have Been In This Situation Before
by Billiam Maskey, chief-editor-in-chief

It has recently come to our attention that our call for a multiversal multijurisdictional massively multiplayer online ripperonin grilling are reminiscent of the time those weird Holy Empire monks wanted to ban cocoa-bo, the multiverse's favourite brown goop soup made from one hundred percent certified organic crushed up cocoabo feathers. As one prominent journalist, Billiam Maskey, calls it, "The Turnip's investigation into ripperonin has been rather derivative."

We did not realise that in our fervour we had become the very people that we had always railed against. And for that, we are truly sorry. This whole time we trumped up charges against ripperonin, whipped up angry sentiment against it, and then called for an inquiry into it. It seemed like we were ripping the story straight out of the 'Vilify Cocoa-bo' playbook, a play that sold rather poorly and whose season got shut a month early due to a lack of demand. As a serious news organisation, we did not mean to satirise the Orthodox monks, and we are sure that they did not mean to satirise the ordinary reality that we are currently living in right now.

It turns out that ripperonin has absolutely no effect whatsoever on player's performance. We admit that the Electrumite national team are the some of the biggest, most yugest abusers of the drug, and yet somehow they are still in forth place even though all three teams above and all six teams below are all rather meh in comparison. There truly is no point to even using ripperonin if these are the effects we expect to see in the long run. One wonders what is the point of ripperonin if it doesn't even do anything at all? And for that we say, it's just really fun to inject something into your veins, even if it does nothing at all. At the end of the day, more injections means being less scared of injections, and being more scared of incurring the wrath of God. And there's nothing like a healthy fear of hell to keep yourself in check.

As we sit here writing down this apology, we cannot do anything but to cry deliriously, take off our pants and shit on the floor. The whole floor smells now, and we are not sorry for making it stinky. We endeavour to not let it happen again, and we will make sure that we have proper processes so that we never copy anything from anyone ever again.

[Abanhfleft]

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independents sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

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Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Football Fallacies
with The Man from Markovsky

THIS WHOLE WORLD CUP HAS GONE COMPLETELY CRAZY

Hello and welcome to The Football Fallacies. Right, so that's yet another round of World Cup qualification games done and dusted and into the history books. Now let's take a look at the four things that we've learned during these particular two games. Let's go.

1. We really should have won against Electrum
Well, it's yet another case of us just being unable to convert our chances yet again. Yeah yeah yeah, once again The Turnip is blaming the draw on that PED Ripperidone. And you know what? I'm getting bloody sick and tired of this bastard Turnip being seemingly our only source of news out of Electrum. I mean, surely they've got actual news outlets out there actually reporting on news that best fits their current narrative and not just a single bastard satirical publication, yes?! And there is also a time and place where satire just becomes pure plain old lies. The Turnip can claim that Electrum are Ripperidone-free all they like, but I'm pretty sure their team is just as pumped full of drugs as our team apparently is. Those fat and stumpy bodies of theirs won't fool me! I know a lad in my Sunday league pub team who looks just like one of those Electrumite blobs, and he's just admitted to being on Ripperidone for the better part of a bastard decade! Anyway, to get back to the actual qualifier, Abanhfleft actually created the lion's share of the chances created, but as far as chances actually converted go though, well, we're fucking naff! We really should have been at least 3-0 up by the end of the first half, but in the end only Hiroko Kellerman found the back of the net. Kelly McGinnis is out ill so that's why Kellerman is starting for us in probably one of our most important games this qualifying cycle. Don't get me wrong, Abanhfleft's women actually have great attacking prowess up front; it's just that on this day, the girls ended up hitting the bastard woodwork more times than I care to count. Well, I stopped caring after about the tenth successful crossbar challenge. There's always a fucking time and place for everything, lasses! And a fucking World Cup qualifier against Electrum at home is neither the time nor place for a crossbar challenge!

2. Eastfield Lodge may not be as far gone as I originally thought
Remember that time quite a lot of qualifiers ago when I said that Eastfield Lodge are done? Well, turns out they're not done with anything just yet! I know that the words "end to end football" tend to get overused a lot, but for once that was literally the best thing to describe what I had just witnessed! It was just like that meme that's making the rounds recently of this curly-haired man with a thick mustache who claims that his neighbor must have everything that he has. Abanhfleft scores two goals, Eastfield Lodge must score two goals. Abanhfleft scores a third goal, Eastfield Lodge must score a third of their own. Abanhfleft scores a fourth goal, Eastfield Lodge cannot. Great success! Look, I don't really know where Eastfield Lodge stands when it comes to them reclaiming their former glory, but if they could just do it when they're not playing us then it would be completely and totally appreciated! And the topic of Eastfield Lodge almost managing to nick a point off of us allows me to segue neatly into my next point, which is…

3. Abanhfleft is getting vulnerable in the second half of the qualifiers again
Ah, it's always typical of Abanhfleft to do well at the start of the qualifiers and then undo all that good work in the back end. I mean, if we always did well in a cycle from start to finish then that doesn't make us Abanhfleft anymore, does it? Familiarity breeds contempt and all that. And it seems our familiarity with our own mediocrity has made us all contemptful of our own successes. We never cruise to anything easily and by a comfortable margin. We always love to leave our fate on the balance and down to the final day. Sometimes we make it, but oftentimes we don't. And on the rare occasions where we do make it, we always cock it up at a later date. I just don't know why we choose to do this. Has it become ingrained in our culture or what? Look, SFA, Ginny Katesmar, anyone on the bastard national team during our qualifiers who happens to be reading, I just want a nice and easy calm cruise towards the World Cup. I'm not asking for much, you know. I'm not asking us to win the bastard group over the likes of bloody Valanora. I just want us to confirm qualification with a few games to spare. Surely that isn't too much to ask, would it?

4. Deniria are a bunch of lying cheating cunts who deserve every single bit of punishment they're about to get
Oh boy, Deniria. Where do we even bloody start with these bastards? I have no idea just what exactly it is that they did, but if even the bloody NSWC, possibly one of the most corrupt organizations the multiverse has ever seen, said "fuck this shit" and slapped them with a bunch of fines and points deductions and forfeitures, then it must have been something truly horrible, and Deniria deserve every single bit of it. When even bloody psychotic and bloodthirsty regimes like the likes of Gregoryisgodistan and Saintland don't even get a second glance from the NSWC but your team gets slapped with the whole nine yards then you know you done messed up. Might as well just pack it up and go home, lads, which is pretty much exactly what is going to happen to Deniria after all that supposed sanction that they were supposed to go through. No word though on whether it's actually going to be imposed, but as long as they don't touch that beautiful 8-2 scoreline then I'm down for whatever.

Anyway, that's all that there is from me now. If you've got comments or observations of your own about the previous two qualifiers then feel free to leave them in the comments down below. Until then, I've been the Man from Markovsky, afraid that I'm about to get disappointed with our country once again.

     ABANHFLEFT 1 - 1 ELECTRUM
KELLERMAN (28')       SEB (79')

██EASTFIELD LODGE 3 - 4 ABANHFLEFT
PATTON (31', 59')       MAGOMEDOVA (16')
      FOLEY (42')       KELLERMAN (25')
                        WOODWARD (50')
                        ROOS (70')

[Sarzonia]

The final go around for midfielder Brady Reynolds wasn't anything close to what he imagined.

The struggles to earn points in the table? That went without saying. You don't play the likes of world No.1 and defending World Cup champions Nephara or No. 37 Hampton Island twice and realistically expect to steal more than the two points in the Group 12 tables the Sarzonian national team earned from the two highest-ranked sides among this collection of 10 sides.

The team's struggles to adapt to the more attack-oriented scheme Megistos native Stars manager Nicola Mentes implemented, even though they'd already played two AOCAFs under the same scheme? That may have been more surprising, but it still wasn't necessarily a shock because Sarzonia hadn't used its new offensive system against countries outside of Atlantian Oceania, so there was bound to be some learning curve involved.

But the character and make-up of Atlantian Oceania itself was what was really surprising to Reynolds. He'd considered a contract to play in the Starblaydi first division, but balked at the notion that he would have to compete for his place in the starting 11 when he already had one locked up with Portland Timbers. He was negotiating a potential contract and was talking team tactics and the likelihood that he might earn a place in the starting 11 for that country when the Foxchester Declaration became public news. Then, the directive from the Incorporated Football Federation that any Sarzonian player seeking to play in an Anaian nation would have to show just cause took all the wind out of Reynolds's and his agent's sails.

The prospect of playing in Starblaydia, and possibly other countries that were part of the breakaway subregion was now dead in the water. He talked with Clayton Wilson, Sarzonia team captain and the son of Incorporated Football Federation chairman Zack Wilson. Clayton knew the sentiment behind the legalese. You better have a Goddamn good reason if you want to betray Sarzonia and go play in an Anaian nation. Any players who chose to ignore IFF stipulations that their contracts were declared null and void would be treated with the same level of scorn of someone who actively chose to commit treason against Sarzonia itself.

He'd read The Woodstock Daily Mail and saw no mention of his comments, other than an oblique reference to Wilson's publicly stated stance not being unanimous among Sarzonia's national team players. He took a day trip to visit his parents in downtown Portland. The visit was pleasant enough, but Reynolds noticed an air of sadness in his parents and his younger brother Coy.

They weren't necessarily Anaiaphiles, but they also found the rhetoric of "traitors" harmful. They noticed with dismay the anger among other Portlanders. Their friends in Woodstock also noticed that tensions between Sarzonian citizens and Anaian citizens who hadn't yet left the country had built to intolerable levels. Woodstock Police Chief John Harlan, Jr. took the unusual step of pre-emptively addressing the citizens of the city to call for calm.

"We don't want those people who are unable to depart from Sarzonia in a timely fashion to be treated with hostility," he said. "Any hate crimes or hate crime-adjacent activity will be dealt with accordingly," he said. Harlan remembered how much of his department's budget he'd earmarked toward preventing his officers from racial profiling and from disproportionate responses to crimes based on the colour of a perpetrator's skin. Fortunately, he'd watched the already low crime rate in Woodstock disappear almost completely as thousands of people who'd otherwise shoplift to get a loaf of bread or a meal for a day now had $2,500 per month in universal basic income. A still-robust food stamp programme and the federal and city government expenditures on education and mental health resources frankly made some police officers feel like this guy.

The newly-implemented 211 emergency line for mental health also greatly reduced Harlan's caseload. Seeing people in neutral colours armed with patience and a willingness to listen rather than a gun or a baton went a long way toward diffusing a mental health crisis that might worsen if the person saw someone clad in a police uniform brandishing either of the aforementioned items. Harlan in fact gave back $35 million because his officers didn't have to work overtime, and he'd allowed the police force to shrink by 80 officers through attrition when some decided to retire.

But now, he and his officers were on high alert. They needed to be ready in the event they were called upon to diffuse the hostility building between Sarzonians and a majority of the Anaian citizens who were trying to leave the country.

As for Reynolds and his family, the tension within the family centred on Reynolds revealing his anger toward the Anaian populace and his parents' more conciliatory approach. His return to the team didn't come accompanied with nearly as much relaxation as he'd wanted. The tensions building within the entire country were far too great, and they were naturally getting to the Stars dressing room.

[Savojarna]

SavojarSports.sj - inside reports from all Savojarna
Strauss finally hits her stride against Lisander and Hebitaka

By Jaukka Halanen

Daniella Strauss has been Savojarna’s first national coach to have her debut in the Nationalstadion Carl Gustaf Bjurman - but clearly, it was not a good omen as her revamped Northlights lost their home match against Vilita 1-2, the first loss under a new coach since Rune Zackrisson’s 0-1 in Taeshan during WCQ84. As the loss was followed by a 2-2 away against Devonta and a 2-4 loss in Sendhang, Strauss’ appointment risked to turn catastrophic early on, but the Nepharan turned it around against Pluvia and the Saxean Isles with her first win - and followed up accordingly on the last two games, still keeping Savojarna’s fate in the Northlights’ hands.

Savojarna’s WCQ88 campaign

October: Savojarna (29) 3-2 Sendhang (322)
November: Pluvia and the Saxean Isles (146) 1-2 Savojarna (29) / Savojarna (29) 4-2 Lisander (95)
February: Savojarna (29) 1-0 Hebitaka (127) / Squornshelan Remnant States (60) 3-3 Savojarna (29)
April: Savojarna (29) 0-0 The 14 Stars (UR) / Eshialand (203) 0-1 Savojarna (29)
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Summer: Copa Rushmori 37
[OOC: From here onwards, Mikaela Rangren will be replaced as head coach by Daniella Strauss (NPH)]
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September: Savojarna (29) 1-2 Vilita (14) / Devonta (75) 2-2 Savojarna (29)
October: Sendhang (322) 4-2 Savojarna (29) / Savojarna (29) 1-0 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles (146)
November: Lisander (95) 0-1 Savojarna (29) / Hebitaka (127) 1-3 Savojarna (29)
February: Savojarna (29) vs Squornshelan Remnant States (60) / The 14 Stars (UR) vs Savojarna (29)
March: Savojarna (29) vs Eshialand (203) / Vilita (14) vs Savojarna (29)
May: Savojarna (29) vs Devonta (75) / play-offs

Savojarna’s start after the Copa Rushmori was rough, taking a perhaps expected loss to Vilita and an unfortunate draw away to Devonta. But the real calamity threat came in October when the Northlights lost to Sendhang, ranked 322nd, marking the third game without a win for Strauss - a negative record for a new Savojarna coach. Thankfully for her, the critics were quieted down with the win over Pluvia and the Saxean Isles, and properly silenced as Savojarna got their second six-point-week of the campaign yesterday night, beating first Lisander and then Hebitaka both away from home. The team seemed to play with a new energy that has probably stemmed from having something to prove, and perhaps the motivation skills of Daniella Strauss as well. The system finally started to click more, and the winning goal against Pluvia and the Saxean Isles could have stemmed straight from a Nephara game with its physical duel at the beginning of the play, the long ball by Zirkova to send off Jashkin, the swift change of sides through the central four, and the deadly conversion of Sergey Nweke following the striker powering through a shoulder charge.

Perhaps more importantly, however, Savojarna knew how to back up their win. The game in Lisander might have had its shaky moments as it can be expected against a fifth seed that is increasingly desperate and knows to defend itself, and for a moment fans might have started to lose their cool as Lisander’s first goal was disallowed for offside narrowly. The second half, however, was clearly Savojar-dominated, and even against a massive defence this team has the quality to eventually score. It was, fittingly, Krister Voynov who resolved the deadlock with an aggressive solo to get past the defensive line and the oversight to pass sideways to Smolov. Their defensive solidity is finally coming together, and we didn’t see any unnecessary fouls like against Sendhang or dumb mistakes in the last minutes like against Devonta, when Vidkun Nymark passed the ball into the void instead of simply sending it long into the central midfield. Now, they were no longer as vulnerable to these issues and instead played down the 1-0 calmly and collected, not fretting when the last minutes saw Poulsen fire the ball wide over the bar or Ehlers was brought down in what many saw as a foul worthy of a penalty, but the referees let slip. In the end, it was a well-deserved, albeit unglamorous, victory.

The second match in Hebitaka would be a slightly more powerful demonstration of how deadly Savojarna can be if they wish. They did no faffing around this time, no missed chances either - just Jashkin finding a gap with a laser-like pass, and a re-direction by Simon Jacobsen to score the first goal of the game after nine minutes. Twenty minutes into the game, Lovisa Tedenby forced her opponent off the game to launch another fast counter via Aarsoy; he perfectly found his old teammate Jacobsen with a long diagonal ball, and Jacobsen laid it up for Smolov’s 2-0. The lead thus secured, the Savojars built on their solid blocks in the midfield to choke out Hebitaka’s game. The slow pace seemed to clearly favour the physical side of Savojarna, and with Lundell replaced by Markko Niskanen in the second half, Strauss made clear she had no intentions of running up the score. This pragmatism was previously rare for Savojarna, leading to some unnecessarily risky and difficult games; it certainly makes for an interesting change to a side that is well-suited to Strauss’ disciplined, quick play.

Hebitaka’s struggle was made clear by the statistics, showing that while possession wasn’t too uneven at 58 to 42 percent, Hebitaka’s possession outside their own third came down to only 17% - testament to Savojarna’s ability to lock down their opposition with a high line even when turning more defensively. The defence also showed a great ability to sweep out straggling long balls, with only one lapse when Tedenby let herself be beaten to a second ball and Viipuri was caught a tad out of position, allowing for a counter that got past Pakanen. It was nothing but a little bump though, as Savojarna had already been up 3-0 by then after Dmitriev’s header off a corner in the 73rd minute. The dominant performance of the Northlights had enthused fans, and given back confidence in the team ahead of a crucial double header that could make for an important prediction for the race for the World Cup.

First up is the home game against the Squornshelan Remnant States, the away version of which was an enthusiastic and exciting game that ended 3-3. While the current version of the Northlights doesn’t seem likely to go for another 3-3, we have seen them score and be scored on, and there is always a chance tactics go out of the window. It will in either case be an extremely important match, as the Remnant States currently lead the group just one point ahead of Savojarna - a win could bring them a big step closer to the playoffs, whereas a loss might jeopardise their chances to make it through their own power. Then comes a difficult away game against the unranked surprise team of 14 Stars. Although the Stars sit only in ninth place, they are hard to score on - 12 goals conceded are the fewest of the group - and have managed to hold Savojarna to a contentious 0-0 at home thanks to their relentless targeting of Victoria Maersk, ultimately leading to an injury that let the Northlights captain miss the match in Eshialand. It remains to be seen how the return game will play out, but the 14 Stars are probably happy to know they will not have to visit Savojarna anymore.

Lineup vs. Squornshelan Remnant States (4-4-2):
Starting XI: Pakanen - Pedersen, Zirkova, Forsberg, Skov - Voynov, Maersk © , Lundell, Jashkin - Nweke, Jacobsen
Bench: Virulainen, Kiivälä, Dmitriev, Nymark, Viipuri, Ilkkanen, V. Loeseth, Poulsen, Aarsoy, Kuznetsov, Smolov, Ehlers
Lineup vs. 14 Stars (4-4-2):
Pakanen - Viipuri, Dmitriev, Forsberg, Skov - Aarsoy, V. Loeseth, Poulsen © , Jashkin - Smolov, Ehlers
[b]Bench: Virulainen, Kiivälä, Zirkova, Nymark, Pedersen, Ilkkanen, Tedenby, Lundell, Aarsoy, Midtjaer, Smolov, Jacobsen

[Sendhang]

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DAY 9 - MONTH 10 - YEAR 6

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The Squornshelan Remnant States top of Group 2 after victory at Kambang

Kambang: The Squornshelan Remnant States moved to the top of the group after beating Sendhang 1-0 at the Federal Stadium, here in the Group 2 World Cup qualifier last night.

The victory allowed The Squornshelan Remnant States to overtake Vilita who drew with Eshialand after collecting 25 points after 12 matches, a point ahead of Vilita on the group table.

Sendhang's attacking machinery led by Gusti Sing Nggawe was seen blunt in the first half when no dangerous attempts were launched towards the opponent's goal, all the attempts were right into the arms of goalkeeper Hekima Drennel.

The Black and Reds' counter-attack surprised the home side when Kaalia Gerstlauer almost scored but his shot just shook the goal post in the last minute of the first half.

The team coached by Anne-Sophie Groothuis finally managed to break the deadlock in the 60th minute through a goal by Gerstlauer.

Gerstlauer stole the opportunity as a result of a mistake by defender, Teuku Muhammad Bari who failed to clear the ball from the danger zone.

Teuku Salahuddin, Ramon Kalbasi and Cezar Nowela were brought in by Teuku Syarkawi to strengthen the attack but were unable to change the score and the match ended with Sendhang losing for the seventh time this campaign.

Sendhang will travel to The 14 Stars for its next match this weekend.

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DAY 13 - MONTH 10 - YEAR 6

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Sendhang squandered chance to win against The 14 Stars

Oss: The Sendhang national football team drew 0-0 against The 14 Stars in the 13th match of Group 2 of the World Cup qualifiers tonight at the Holy Road Stadium.

With the result, the team under the guidance of Teuku Syarkawi sits at 6th place in Group 2 with 14 points, 2 points ahead of The 14 Stars who sits at 9th place.

Sendhang squandered some golden opportunities to record a win.

Gusti Sing Nggawe's shot from outside the box opened the action in the first half and was just inches wide.

In the second half, Nanang Wirajuda's free kick in the 55th minute was on its way to the top corner but the shot was superbly blocked by Starsian goalkeeper Dave Carlsson.

Another chance five minutes later was wasted when Gusti's shot went wide again.

The 0-0 result remained until the final whistle.

Sendhang head coach, Teuku Syarkawi, considered the 0-0 draw against The 14 Stars to be a fair result while considering that both teams have shown a good quality game.

Syarkawi praised the ability of his defensive line which showed excellent discipline.

“The frustration is that we can’t convert our chances.

“The 14 Stars is a good team and they proved it when they beat Lisander and Vilita and the 0-0 result was a fair result for both teams.

“I don’t like to talk about individuals but I think our defense is once again performing very well but there is still some room for improvement,” he said.

Sendhang will face Eshialand at the Federal Stadium next.

[Ranoria]

Ranoria Holding On For Dear Life -
South Newlandia, Qasden Prepare for Playoff Push

We've beaten this narrative like a dead horse so far this season, but we're going to keep doing just that, because it's true - we have no idea what's going on!

In World Cup 87, Ranoria went 6-1-11, a far cry from being memorable and even further from being relevant. But somehow, the team got itself into position to be holding on for dear life at the second spot in the group at 8-2-3. We've already clinched a .500 or better record with plenty of matches left in this tournament. That alone is probably more than anyone expected Ranoria to do well, ever in the World Cup.

The first six games were what kicked this whole thing off. The Krauts stormed out to a 5-1-0 mark, with a 4 point lead early on third place - and fellow member of BoF 74 - Muralos(7-0-6). Ranoria had a nice +5 goal differential and was still undefeated going into a showdown with Eura, if you can call it that. We managed to be competitive with the juggernaut in a 3-2 shootout, but it wasn't quite enough.

It seems, however, that we lost a bit of the wind in our sails following that defeat. Including the defeat against Eura, Ranoria is 3-1-3 in its last 7 matches, including a loss to Muralos (who also knocked us off in the aforementioned Baptism of Fire 74) and Qasden (7-2-4), who now sits tied for third with South Newlandia's(7-2-4) hopeful comeback crew.

No matter what, we've done one hell of a lot better than our initial World Cup entry, and even our five hundred pace in the last 7 games would have been an improvement on that disaster of a campaign.

But now, with South Newlandia and Qasden each vying for a potential shot at qualifying by taking our #2 spot in the group, we're going to have to get back to winning some damn games. Xanneria(3-3-7) is up next, no easy task. You'll recall how most media, domestic or international, had completely written us off against the more established unit. Somehow or another, we managed a 3-2 upset at home on the a heavily offensive squad. The Maroons would have the title of the highest ranked opponent the Krauts had beaten for a little less than a week, as we defeated South Newlandia at home as well on our red turf field.

Regardless of the success, the concern was warranted. Xanneria has underperformed this cycle with just a trio of wins, but it's notable that not only are they tied for the 2nd best offense in the group with 33 scores, but their goal differential is a surprising -1 despite several losses. Point being: if they get a lead, they're likely to run with it. The Maroons appear to be able and even more willing to take every possible shot they can. Sometimes that opportunity isn't there, but the live and die by the sword mentality makes them likely impossible to catch up to if they get a lead, and difficult to keep up with in any situation.

Ranoria will have to play as good defense as they have all tournament to escape Xanneria with a win, but what comes next will be even more important.

South Newlandia is one of the two squads that's one match away from drawing us for points. Eura may have put themselves well out of reach for the lead, but that just means everyone is now gunning for the runner up Ranorian squad. Like with Xanneria, we were massive underdogs at home but managed to pull the upset in Richardson. Unfortunately, we won't have the luxury of that this go round when we head to Newport.

Expect South Newlandian fans to show up sixteen thousand strong in Jecken Arena for this important bout, where South Newlandia also hosted Muralos and sent them home with a 2-1 defeat. In the second largest stadium in the country, expect as strong a homefield advantage as our Krauts' nightmares could produce, and very little chance of coming away with a victory. There's a chance that our impressive run in this second entry into the World Cup ends here, with a two game skid against South Newlandia and Xanneria, and the more traditional powerhouses like the former go ahead and take up their mantle.

Our best bet is for South Newlandia's Elephants to shoot themselves in the foot. 25 year old stud Brandon Irving is more than talented enough to out-do our best players, but his inconsistency is a thorn in his side. With his youth, it's perhaps expected, but we'll need him to have an off day first off. And, of course, there's veteran goalkeeper and captain Mikhail Trischuk. Trischuk's team conceded a pair of goals to Ranoria in Richardson. Certainly no embarrassment, but a player of his caliber would have certainly been looking to keep our offense off balance and frustrated throughout this next match. With the team captain still out with an injury, the Krauts will have one less star to deal with, but the defense will still be looking to keep us from a rare multi-goal outing.

Of course, that could be easier than one would expect. While only allowing 10 goals, the Krauts have only scored 17 of their own. Barry Chlorid, our resident gridiron homer, has led the team with 6 of those goals, including a few highlight reel shots that made their way onto mainstream sports news. Felix Graf has also chipped in with four goals, good for second on the squad. He's done well as Chlorid's running mate, and the big man has impressed with his game. And of course, Rayko Grossman has chipped in a couple for himself. The veteran midfielder may be slowing down with age, but he's still the glue that holds this whole operation together.

A solid season for Chlorid sure, and we can't our offensive core for doing what they've done, but the fact is that the team performs better as a defensive unit than trying to initiate a shootout. And with that being the case they'll have to work to slip another shot past Trischuk.

Biting our nails much more than we anticipated coming into the Cup or not, we're still contractually obliged to say it: Go Krauts!

[Darmen]

Candidates Vie For Leadership Of Republican Party
Party Convention To Decide Leadership This Weekend

Alexander Woodrow (l) and Alex Quinn (r) are the two favorites to replace Donald O'Donahaue

BRHAM - Republican Party members of parliament, municipal councilors and other politicians and leaders are preparing to meet this weekend in Brham to decide the next leader of the party. Interim party leader Donald O'Donahaue, who has led the party temporarily since former President Tor Tong Lee stepped down in 2049, is not running in the leadership election to retain his current position.

In what is now being called the "Battle of the Two Alexes", two frontrunners have emerged heading into the Convention, each of them sharing the same given name (albeit different variations). Former Speaker of Parliament Alex Quinn is representing the party's "old guard" while young MP Alexander Woodrow is hoping to inspire a new generation of Republican leaders.

Quinn is hoping that his past experience as Speaker will see him through the leadership election, claiming that his past experience has taught him how to deal with various political situations and achieve policy objectives. "This party can't afford to chase after the newest ideas and theories and whatnot with reckless abandon," stated Quinn as he spoke to the press last weekend. "This party needs strong, principled leadership, with clear objectives and a clear message."

Quinn is backed by the traditional Leeist faction of the Republican Party, those who strongly supported Tor Tong Lee's leadership philosophy during the former President's twelve year term in office. Quinn's opponent meanwhile, the younger, good looking and charismatic Woodrow; while claiming to also be within the Leeist tradition, has proposed new routes for the Republican Party to take as it tries to take back its position as the preeminent political party in Darmen.

"Our party has grown stale," said Woodrow in a recent television interview, "our campaign in 2049 was a dismal disaster. We simply gave up, rolled over and let the opposition walk over us. I'm not convinced that Quinn or any other candidate for the leadership is capable of giving this party life."

Woodrow has called for the party to at least partially reinvent itself to set it apart from the other main parties. He has called for increased economic liberalization and an end to the dirigisme policies that were common during the years immediately after reunification. Woodrow has also brought immigration back into the fold of Darmeni politics; with an increasingly good economy, the prospect of foreigners taking residence in Darmen is becoming a real possibility and Woodrow is looking to address that head on.

"Unemployment continues to fall and its time we consider what welcoming foreigners to contribute to our economy might look like," commented Woodrow, who has at least partially outlined an immigration policy for the party to accept moving forward. Presently, only the Liberal Party and Fascist & Ultranationalist Union have considerable immigration policies. Woodrow has outlined a plan where 150,000 foreigners would be accepted into Darmen each year, with at least 50 percent of that number being reserved for Darmenis living overseas to return to Darmen.

Several other candidates, including Esportivan Darmen's Regional President Aston West and the conservative mayor of Berbari, Caleb Morris are also hoping to earn support of those gathered at the convention, but their chances of topping either Quinn or Woodrow appear few and far between.

The convention will begin this Saturday, with the first ballot of the leadership election scheduled for 4:00pm. Live coverage of the convention can be seen on the DBC Parliament channel.

Edit: Somehow Woodrow became Woodward half way through the article, but such is the life of a newly conceived character. Name has been corrected.

[Srednjaci]

IVAN BOŽIĆ : It’s amazing that our footballers fail to put together two wins and we’re already getting further and further away from WC88. It could have been worse, they say, but it could have been better. Spilling points easily, cost us not only the position but also the goal difference. Banija and TJUN-ia have already made a big difference and are already unreachable.
Malandrin on 7th, Bongo Johnson on 8th, Ibixa on 9th and Shreekaristan on last place in group doesn't have any chance to see World Cup.

* Group 13 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Banija 13 10 3 0 44 19 +25 33
2 TJUN-ia 13 10 0 3 36 26 +10 30
3 Oberour Ar Moro 13 7 3 3 26 21 +5 24
4 Euran Oceania Territories 13 6 2 5 28 22 +6 20
5 Srednjaci 13 6 1 6 25 28 −3 19
6 Astograth 13 5 2 6 21 14 +7 17
7 Malandrin 13 3 5 5 18 29 −11 14 E
8 Bongo Johnson 13 2 4 7 24 35 −11 10 E
9 Ibixa 13 1 6 6 22 35 −13 9 E
10 Shreekaristan 13 2 0 11 24 39 −15 6 E

Oberour Ar Moro vs Srednjaci -0:1

The first meeting of these two teams ended with the victory of Oberour Ar Moro with 3: 2. A great match with 5 goals left no one indifferent. However, today's match was extremely tough, without many opportunities on both sides. Most of the game took place in the middle of the field. In the 78th minute, Takanobu Tavano's shot stopped the frame of the goal, but Matković reacted brilliantly to the blocked ball and scored the only and winning goal. Although we managed to win, the general and general impression is not good. The fluttering game of our players was missing. There was a lack of rapid penetration from the wing and therefore it was not a recognizable game of player Hrvoje Vazmar.

Srednjaci vs TJUN-ia 2:3

Despite the support our players had in this match as it was played at a crowded stadium in Katanija, a defeat was recorded. TJUN-ia, our old connoisseur retaliated for the defeat with the same result away. A beautiful match with a handful of great moves from both sides. A combination of amazing players with extraordinary skills on one field. TJUN-ia scored the winning goal in the 88th minute. And then in the 91st minute Li Peng shot with his head and the ball hit the crossbar and went into the goal out. Isidor Matković scored for the home goals in the 23rd minute and Li Peng in the 54th minute. We can be happy despite the defeat because this is in line with the game we expect from our players.

Euran Oceania Territories

To stay in any combination this match must be won.
Euran Oceania Territories is a team ahead of us and the imperative of victory is upon us.
They overcame us in the first game and time to fight back with the same measure.

Shreekaristan

The last-placed team in our group should not be a problem for our players.
Considering that we don't even know who will run to them this time, I believe that we will be ready for any challenge they put in front of us.
We’ve never seen their rooster before. Players without names and numbers.
We still have to play like it’s the final. There is no more correction if you stumble upon them. Therefore, the match must be taken very seriously.

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[Adab]

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

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May 25, 2033 / 25 Safar 1455
Abanhfleft 2-0 Adab
Woodward (27’), Rusev (59’)

NEWS | WORLD CUP
By: Yakub Baladi

Adab fall to Abanhfleft to end four-draw streak

Adab’s latest World Cup 88 qualifiers match ended in an unremarkable 2-0 defeat to Abanhfleft, ending the team’s astonishing four-draw run against superior competition in Group 4.

Adab had lost 2-4 in their previous meeting with the Fleftic team in the qualifiers, but nevertheless went into the match hoping that they could avenge the defeat or at least hold back their opponents to produce a fifth draw in a row.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

A match between two teams known for their attacking tactics is bound to cause fireworks, and this one certainly lived up to its promise. Attacking midfielder Prudence Woodward spearheaded the Fleftic attack, routinely running circles around Adab’s Alulim Sinmuballit and Emma Arthur who had been instructed by manager Saad Kaykali to stop her from running away with the ball.

Nevertheless, the wall of Adabian defenders proved much harder for Woodward and her teammates to overcome, with keeper Mohammed Marramzi and defender Taymour Frangieh directing the action on the back and employing close-quarters physical play to force their opponents, particularly Woodward and Kelly McGinnis, off the ball.

Adab’s ventures to the other side were not successful either, however, with the brilliant Trinidad Kleist and Cecily Segovia unafraid to go toe-to-toe with Sinmuballit and Arthur in the middle of the pitch, effectively disabling the engine of Adab’s offense as the older midfielder Ephraim Orlev found himself without the support needed to drive the attack forward.

Woodward finally struck gold in the 27th minute, sprinting towards Adab’s penalty area and receiving the ball from Amelie Rusev. Yousif Issou and Shania Enmerkar rushed to stop Kelly McGinnis, standing on the penalty arc in front of Woodward, but were unable to prevent Woodward herself from slipping past them and firing the ball onto the inner roof of the net before Marramzi could catch her.

Adab nearly narrowed the gap in the 40th minute, as Sinmuballit broke away from Kleist and found himself with an open path right towards Fleftic keeper Bronwyn Churchill, however Christy Shepley rushed in at the right time to stop Sinmuballit from connecting with Yargab and the other forwards, overpowering the younger midfielder and turning the ball back towards the Adabian side of the pitch.

The second half began with the Fleftic players on cloud nine, as it became increasingly clear that they held superiority in terms of not just goals but also energy over the visibly tiring Adabian side. Amelia Rusev reinforced this superiority in the 59th minute, dribbling past Ephraim Orlev and Frangieh before blasting the ball past Marramzi’s right side for the goal.

Abanhfleft now found themselves 2-0 up, and this time the Adabians were unable to overcome the deficit as they had done before with Mytanija and Eastfield Lodge during these qualifiers. Rebekah Yissakar threatened the Fleftic net in the 84th minute, entering the penalty box with the ball after sneaking past Georgine Baum, but Churchill acted quickly and wrested the ball away from her and towards Miranda Sullins. The score remained unchanged, ending Adab’s four-draw streak.

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

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May 27, 2033 / 27 Safar 1455
Adab 1-0 The Grearish Union
Yargab (75')

NEWS | WORLD CUP
By: Elymur Amwan

”Boss, my legs are gone”: Yargab butt of jokes after scoring with fastest shot in Adabian football history at 190 km/h despite claiming exhaustion

Veteran Adab striker Enlilbani Yargab secured victory for the hosts against the Grearish Union in their latest World Cup 88 qualifiers match, with his 75th-minute goal a high point in an otherwise largely unremarkable performance by the hosts, after claiming that his legs were "gone".

Playing before a full house at the Adab City Stadium, the home team was eager to gain their first victory in six matches, but throughout the first half that prospect seemed unreachable, with the Grearish players displaying exquisite defending combined with counterattacks which more often than not kept the Adabians on the back foot.

Several key players seemed to have lost a step compared to previous matches, with the effort required to hold superior and more experienced sides throughout the qualifiers seemingly having taken a toll on their energy. Of particular concern were midfielders Alulim Sinmuballit and Emma Arthur and striker Yargab, all widely regarded as the motor of the Adabian offense, who were regularly outmaneuvered by the Grearish players and found themselves losing the ball more often than they were comfortable with.

In the 44th minute, Avery McAuley nearly scored for the away team off a cross from Janet Daly, however the ball went too wide, hitting the crossbar and bouncing back to the pitch, to be taken by Shania Enmerkar away from the encroaching Grearish players and back to the midfield.

The second half began with neither side unable to make major inroads into each other’s defense. The match was largely played out by the midfielders, with Adab’s Ephraim Orlev showing that he could still put out a good performance compared to his younger partners Sinmuballit and Arthur, escaping the grasp of Chance Benton and Layla-Mae Potts to carry the ball to the forwards, who unfortunately were unable to deliver a goal and found themselves turned back by the tightening Grearish defense.

In the 57th minute, after a quick move by Joanna Rodrigues resulted in his losing the ball yet again as he approached the penalty box, Yargab went to the sidelines to talk to manager Saad Kaykali. The 34-year-old veteran striker could be heard complaining of exhaustion and telling the manager, “Boss, my legs are gone.”

The Adab Football Association had not provided the team with any substitutes for their return to the World Cup qualifiers after 14 years, and so substitution was out of question. Yargab showed no signs of wanting to leave the match anyway and quickly returned to play.

In fact, the last thirty minutes or so of the match would witness a sudden renewal of energy on Yargab’s part. Having been on the attack for much of the match and yet having no goals to show for it, the Grearish players themselves were tiring, with Sinmuballit, Arthur, and Orlev increasingly asserting their presence around the center of the pitch, delivering the ball to the forwards at an increasing rate.

In the 75th minute, having received the ball from Orlev, Yargab charged straight for the penalty area, zooming past Lydia Radcliffe and Mateo Elliott. As the Grearish defenders scrambled towards the penalty area line to block Yargab’s path, Yargab spotted a gap in the forming wall and fired the ball from just outside the penalty arc.

Bronwyn Churchill had barely moved when the ball hit the back of the net. The speed of Yargab’s winning shot was recorded at 190 km/h (118 mi), the fastest shot ever scored by an Adabian.

Eventually, Yargab’s goal proved the only one of the match. Realizing that his players were becoming increasingly exhausted, manager Kaykali instructed them to pull back and hold on to the lead, but not to aggressively seek out a second goal. Clearly one goal was enough for the day.

The Grearish players pounded on them well into extra time, but the hosts held on to achieve their first win in six matches to the polite cheers of the home crowd who, truth be told, on the whole had seemed rather unimpressed by their team’s performance.

Yargab praised, mocked for goal

Yargab’s stunning winner quickly made the rounds on social media, with users largely praising the striker for the goal, but also joking about his success in scoring after complaining of exhaustion.

The Football Association posted a video of the goal on its social media accounts with only one word: “LEGEND”.

It later followed up with a post congratulating the striker on scoring with the fastest shot in Adabian football history, as well as noting the speed of the shot.

Nevertheless, comedian Jay Yay Pay expressed the sentiments of many in the country when he posted the video of the goal on Instabook Story with the caption: “Yargab: My legs are gone! Also Yargab: Scores fastest goal in Adabian history.”

Assur Shahid, host of the popular podcast “I Wanna Play Football in Adab”, posted a video on MyTube consisting of footage of various Yargab goals to the voice of an unknown narrator repeating, “My legs are gone.”

As for manager Kaykali, he was all praises for his striker.

“That’s Eni for you,” he said at the post-match press conference. “When the going gets tough, he keeps getting better.”

[Garifunya]

Badenburg era off to uneven start

Gabriel Vermeer, De Frederykvil Dagblad

When de Dolfijnen, the Garifunyan national football team, finished the first half of their World Cup 88 qualifying campaign on seven points, with a record of 2-1-6, the Garifunyan Football Association dismissed head coach Ton Olofsen. They appointed Gudo Badenburg, head coach of the VLvG (Voetbal Lig van Garifunya)'s Zeerovers Vrijport. Badenburg had led his swashbuckling team to high goals scored totals and the IFCF Challengers Cup the last few seasons and was widely viewed as someone who would inject some energy into a moribund Dolfijnen side. So how has he done so far?

MD10: Pratapgadh 2-2 Garifunya

Visiting the surprising Pratapgadh side proved an interesting challenge for Badenburg's first game in charge. The red-and-yellow side had demolished de Dolfijnen in their first matchup, winning a 3-1 victory in Frederykvil that set the tone for Olofsen's poor qualifying start. In this matchup, the two teams played cagier, with Pratapgadh's midfield triangle tangling with the five midfielders of Garifunya, including new additions Osmand den Hoek and Nanko Krull. At first, de Dolfijnen seemed to have the advantage, going up 1-0 on Sonel Agustin's finish of a deft Roosevelt Ozinga pass. But the Pratapgadh side equalized in the 42nd minute on a goal from the captain Sakarkar and took the lead in the 61st when Tijl den Dekker lost Sakarkar again and he was easily able to find Dandekar when the other defenders tried to cover the breach. Fortunately, Sijbrand Gerrits Hondebrink, the substitute striker from VK Konduktor brought on for Boudewijn van der Weide, made a high-effort play to score in the 74th minute and bring de Dolfijnen level. Not a bad start, especially on the road and given that Pratapgadh didn't deserve their unranked rating.

MD11: Garifunya 0-1 Kohnhead

Here's where things looked a little rocky; Olofsen hadn't done much in his nine games, but he did come away with a strong 5-2 away victory against 69th-ranked Kohnhead. The offense ran rampant that day, with Agustin scoring twice and van der Weide picking up a goal and an assist, and it seemed like the qualifying campaign might turn out all right after all, but it was not to continue. Here, the Kohnhead side shored up their defense in Vrijport, keeping their flat 4-4-2 and "two banks of four" defensive strategy at all times, frustrating de Dolfijnen's attack. Although Garifunya took 56% of the possession on the day and ended up with 11 shots, only three of them were on goal and none of them ended up in the net. The Brains took a more measured approach, and although they only managed six shots, nearly all were on target and Erin Maltos struck in the 67th minute, beating Stijn Kruit and putting Kohnhead up 1-0. The game would finish that way and Badenburg's side were booed off the pitch.

MD12: Starblaydia 3-1 Garifunya

It might be said that Badenburg's side conceded fewer goals on the road than Olofsen's squad did at home; but it might also be said that they scored fewer goals. In the end, both men's teams took a two-goal loss to Starblaydia. There isn't much to say about this match; Ázëwyn Fëanáro's side were clearly better, with Lucian Damocles showing off his speed as well as his strength in scoring a goal with each of his respective talents. He beat out Westkamp for a ball, then muscled his way past Memmants to score another, making it 2-0 at the half. After that, de Dolfijnen didn't really have a chance. Substitute Terry Stamper found captain Jewel Maddison with a nice cross in the 61st minute, making it 3-0 and sending the purple and white to an easy victory. Sulaymun van der Sluis did score his first international goal late in the game, so that was a nice personal achievement for him even if it made little difference to the final score.

MD13: Garifunya 3-1 Qzvarkian Qaz

Finally, Badenburg's team looked like the exciting group we were promised when he took over. The 3-1-4-2 lived up to its billing, with Niuewaal and the three defenders mostly easily handling the Qzvarkian attack, with only a late goal by Fasul Mohqzasid to spoil the shutout. Otherwise, strong passing, precise cuts, and excellent on the ball footwork saw de Dolfijnen rack up fourteen shots, including seven on goal, and score three times. Osmand den Hoek opened the scoring in the 17th minute with some nifty dribbling before beating keeper Ashar Yumringuci to the near post. Only eight minutes later, van der Weide joined in, slashing past Max Cunningham on the edge of the box and shooting it past a diving Yumringuci for the second goal of the game. Later, Nanko Krull scored his second goal of the qualifying campaign, heading home a corner kick by Arboleda to make it 3-0. This was a strong win for Badenburg, even if it did come against a rather weak side.

Overall, it's been a shaky start for the new-look Dolfijnen under Badenburg. By the numbers, they are 1-1-2, good for four points, and they sport a goal differential of -1 (6 GF, 7 GA) in these four games. Compared to Olofsen's nine games in charge, that's a marginal improvement in points per match (1.0 vs 0.78) and in goal differential per game (-0.25 vs. -0.89). So while we can't say that Gudo Badenburg is the ideal choice for manager yet, he's certainly shown some improvement. It will take the results of the last five games to really determine whether Mr. Badenburg is long for this job.

[Squidroidia]

Striking Distance - Revena, Quakmybush

The Squidroidian national team have never been closer to qualifying for the World Cup in their lives.

There they were as the tables scrolled down, 3rd in their group and 1 point behind Hampton Island with 5 games to go. However, these 5 remaining games might have been the toughest group of games. There first was a trip up to the Great North, playing a Quakmybush side that drew with them at home. Then, the highly anticipated rematch against Nephara at the Guantlet, a potential top of the table clash which could decide who leads the group if Squidroidia were lucky in Revena. Then it was back home against Togonistan, a trip to Stafford City to take on the Golden Bears of Hampton Island, and then the final game against Sarzonia, which if everything went according to plan, could be the game where Squidroidia qualify for the World Cup.

50,000 fans eagerly watching the Inklings on to make history... The players wanted that day to come so bad. But truth be told there was a lot more to go. It can't just be Matchday 18 already, the squad were on Matchday 14. So close but oh so far from the date with destiny in Inkopolis. Being a manager who guided his country to the World Cup time and time again, Adam Johnson knew the stakes and stress that come with fighting for the trip to take on the world. Quakmybush were a side to be threatened with at times, and although they haven't been anywhere in a while, the threat of a team lingering below the top 100 stealing points away from a team ready to punch their ticket at any moment is real - After all, this was the same Quakmybush team which drew with them in the return fixture. If Quakmybush actually lost, Squidroidia would be tied on points with Nephara, a sentence which nobody thought could be said so soon.

But this match meant more than just potentially topping the group if things went south for the Golden Bears and the Cormorants. Remember that Unofficial World Championship? The one with the long history that dates back to the days of Crosshill? With Quakmybush taking all 3 points from their encounter away from home against the Sarzonia Stars, they now had the Unofficial World Championship. This was Squidroidia's 2nd chance to take the belt in this cycle, and one that could inspire this team, a team that were the almost maybes of the IAC when they lost to now-Anaian Tequilo in the final, to the pinnacle of international football, even if they just lose all 3 games in the group stage or walk away with an 11-0 defeat to Valanora. An achievement that perhaps would top the Cup of Harmony final he took Barunia to in his book.

But it was a cold setting in the aptly named Great North. Even for a team of their strength, they were sitting right behind Squidroidia waiting to pounce on them and take them out of the conversation for teams that could qualify for the big show. Unlike Sonindia, where Hideo was the only goalscorer, they were a proven commodity. They knew how to get things done when it mattered, and as the spoiler with the belt, hey, anything could happen. This was the World Cup they are fighting for, anybody could pull on their leg and make qualification that much more trickier.

There was only 3 words that Squidroidians didn't want to hear more than "Quakmybush have scored". Those words are as followed:

Queen.

Of.

Despair.

[Squornshelous]

When the Devil Drives, Chapter 6
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Bjarni Riihijarvi had been summoned, earlier than he usually even took his morning coffee, to the Imperial Palace. Quickly ushered into the Emperor's presence he had found Sweyn Petrov seated in an aggressively blocky gray armchair, frowning in between sips of cognac from a snifter he placed on a glass and marble side table. Beside the snifter sat a mostly empty crystal decanter.

Even before seating himself in an identical chair opposite the Emperor and accepting a drink of his own, (whiskey, neat) from a servant who vanished into an antechamber, Riihijarvi was subjected to a torrent of words from Petrov.

"Can you believe the sheer, poisonous gall of that woman? Harboring a pair of malcontent refugees is bad enough without tossing accusations about based on their lies."

"You're talking about the statement from that Koirala woman I assume?"

"Yes! What else could I be talking about Bjarni, honestly."

"It's a serious insult, I agree, but I doubt too many people are going to pay much heed to the president of a second-rate football association. . ."

"Second-rate? Third-rate is more like it, fourth even."

"In any case, she was already facing calls for her resignation at the beginning of qualifying. It seems clear to me she's simply trying to distract from her other problems."

"Problems? They're topping their group at the moment Bjarni. Sometimes I think I put too much faith in you."

"For the moment Lord Emperor, but they have to travel to Savojarna for their next match, and the most likely result seems to be them dropping back to third."

"Those thrice damned Vilitans and Savojars can't string a couple of wins together to save their skins right now," Petrov gestured broadly to reinforce his point, sloshing cognac dangerously close to the rim of his glass. "At least Lagerkron finally has our team playing decently."

"Yes, the past two matches were quite entertaining, and the one upcoming against Brenecia should be a real treat."

"If they don't put up a good showing . . ."

Petrov was interrupted by the arrival of a servant, "I beg your pardon Lord Emperor, an urgent missive from Minister Shevchuk. Dissident forces have launched attacks on military and government installations around the capital. Similar reports are coming in from across the Imperium. She urges you to move to your bunker immediately for your safety, Lord Emperor."

"Cower in a hole over a handful of malcontents? I think not. Send a return message to Minister Shevchuk that my patience, my patience, you understand, with her inability to quash this petty rebellion is wearing dangerously thin." The servant gave a curt nod and fled. "Retreat to my bunker indeed, such alarmism Bjarni. What are we coming to when even the council of ministers is filled with incompetence and cowardice?"

"Surely not filled, Lord Emperor. Perhaps we were mistaken to retain Minister Shevchuk after your coronation, but I am confident we can find a replacement who is more than capable."

"Yes, yes I'm sure you are Bjarni, confidence was always your strong suit wasn't it?" Petrov slumped to the side and glanced unhappily at the now empty decanter. "Yakovlev."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Yakovlev, get Yakolev here, I need him. And Solberg."

"The Foreign and Defense Ministers? I'm not sure where they is now. I can call them in, but what do you want with those two?"

"We need a rebuttal, no repudiation!" Petro pronounced the word carefully, as if handling a fragile work of art. "The strongest possible terms, you hear me? I will not have this nation and its football team insulted. Belittled! Yakovlev must draft a devastating counter statement immediately, and as for Solberg," a sly smile crept across his face. "In the long run this requires a more permanent solution. Solberg's agents will make it look natural, plausible deniability of course, but that woman will not be permitted to get away with insulting me like this."

"Must we really summon Yakovlev and Solberg at," Riihijarvi checked the time, "four twenty-one in the morning to begin work on a response to what we've agreed is at best the president of a third-rate football association? And do you really think it's wise to kill Koirala? Won't that only draw more attention?"

"What use have I for Ministers if I may not assign them whatever tasks I wish whenever I wish? We are old associates Bjarni, but do not forget yourself and presume to instruct me."

"Of course not Lord Emperor, I was only . . ."

"What on Earth is that dreadful racket?"

From outside, distant enough that Riihijarvi had not noticed until Petrov drew attention to it, came an arrhythmic series of pops and cracks. Riihijarvi set down his glass and walked to the window.

"Lord Emperor, I don't have much experience, but I think that might be gunfire."

"Gunfire? In the heart of the Imperial district? Are you sure?"

The noise continued, and began to increase in frequency.

"I can't imagine what else it might be," Riihijarvi drew a deep breath, "and judging by the direction, I think it must be coming from somewhere near the Council Building."

"Am I truly surrounded by such incompetence as this?" Petrov rose unsteadily and staggered across the room, stabbing his fingers at the phone built into a desk. "Shevchuk!" he shouted, "Yes the Minister of Security, imbecile, get her for me, now!" Riihijarvi continued to stare out the window, as if his gaze could somehow pierce through the walls surrounding the palace, through the intervening buildings to see what was happening at the Council Building. Behind him, Petrov hammered his fist down onto the phone, disengaging it. "No one is answering at MinSec. Their Emperor is calling and they don't answer!"

"They may also be under attack," Riihijarvi had an uncomfortable thought, "they may have had to evacuate."

"Evacuate! Bah! You're becoming an old woman Bjarni. I knew you never had much in the way of brains but at least you had some spirit once. If all you're going to do is stare out my window and be pessimistic then you may as well leave. I'll accept your resignation this evening."

Almost as Petrov finished his sentence, the room shook and a deafening roar washed over them. The windows, built of thick armorglass, spiderwebbed but held in their frames as the concussion battered them. The room went black.

"What in all hell is this?"

"An explosion I think."

"Perceptive as ever Bjarni. Do me a kindness and shut up for a while."

After a moment, the lights came back up, dimmer than before, as emergency generators came online. Six men in the black and red body armor of the Palace Guard entered, flashlights fixed to the ends of their rifles danced across the dim room, catching motes of dust that drifted, shaken down from the ceiling by the force of the blast. Their leader, a sergeant by his insignia, stepped forward and sketched a quick bow.

"Lord Emperor, High Minister, dissidents have breached the main gate, the palace guard is holding them off, but we are outnumbered. MinDef reports no reinforcement is possible, nearly all military installations in Vogsphere are also under attack, and they are also reporting wide scale defection of our soldiers to the enemy. Minister of Defense Solberg is dead, he refused to evacuate and joined the fight instead. My Lord Emperor we must make for your bunker immediately."

[Eastfield Lodge]

The Lodger Online

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Study shows Ripperonin has no effect on Eastfielders

A groundbreaking study reveals Eastfielders are genetically immune to the effects of Ripperonin, a drug recently alleged to be widely used by professional sportspeople, and also raises questions about the relationship between humans and non-humans in the Imperial Commonwealth.

A study led by scientists at the Xilon Institute of Sports Sciences looked at the effects of the supposedly performance enhancing drug Ripperonin, originally outed by satirical Electrumite newspaper The Turnip as being used by the Fleftic national team during their match in the first half of qualifying for the 88th World Cup, and subsequently picked up and investigated by various media outlets around the multiverse. The study, published in International Sport Science Journal, was originally initiated some years ago in order to examine other drugs with similar reputations, including Verbosita, and the widely recognised RPinin, but included Ripperonin following its discovery alongside the above drugs in the blood samples of foreign athletes in the Imperial Commonwealth.

Previous studies have shown that Ripperonin, as well as RPinin and Verbosita and a few other rarer drugs, all act on a class of receptors expressed in both nerve and muscles called the SKIL (Sarcolemma Kinase-Inhibiting Ligand) receptor, which when stimulated provided a boost in both nerve conduction speed and muscle contraction, and therefore increasing reflexes and strength. This latest study, in part jointly funded by the Departments of Health and of Culture, has shown that most humans of Eastfielder ethnicity have mutant SKIL receptors that most versions of these drugs do not bind to, and therefore provide no effect, either beneficial or detrimental.

What is interest to the scientific community is that further investigation of the Eastfielder variants of the SKIL receptors show that the mutations also function less well compared to other variants around the multiverse - the paper includes some commentary as to whether this is a contributory factor to the reduced sporting ability of native Eastfielders compared to humans from other nations. Another interesting finding from the study concerns the remaining non-humans in the Imperial Commonwealth - similar mutations of the SKIL receptor have been found across various other species that also possess them, and with seemingly the same reduced efficacy seen in Eastfielder humans.

This raises questions regarding the origin of these mutations, as interspecies relationships were few and far between during the few decades of mingling in the Imperial Commonwealth, and with very few interspecies children produced as well. The remaining non-humans and mixed species have all left the Imperial Commonwealth, either returning to the original dimension that merged with the bubble universe, or living in self-contained and self-governed countries within the bubble universe. Many theories have been raised by the authors of the study, including the existence of an ancient virus that has rewritten these genes but was wiped out before contact with the rest of the multiverse was re-established.

The results of this study have also proven to be of interest to the ICADA, the anti-doping agency saying that it would look further into the results and review the legality of these supposedly performance enhancing drugs as part of its next review of banned substances - RPinin is already on the list. An anonymous survey carried out by The Lodger has found that approximately 5% of sportspeople in the Imperial Commonwealth have taken these drugs, mostly Ripperonin, in the past year, with a larger than average proportion being those of foreign nationality - whilst it seems to be a relatively harmless drug, ICADA will certainly be interested in further examining the performancing enhancing potential of Ripperonin and then tracking down the athletes misusing it.

---

MD10: Adab 3–3 Eastfield Lodge
Line-up (3-3-3-1): Sadiq - Gower, Hargreaves, Soriano - Black, Farmer (<> Elbaz 68’), Smith - Jewell (<> Accardi 79’), Girard-Vaillancourt, Nasser - Patton (<> Paree 74’)
Goals (Assists): Patton (21’ - Black), Girard-Vaillancourt (39’), Smith (60’ - Black)

MD11: Eastfield Lodge 3–4 Abanhfleft
Line-up (3-3-3-1): Sadiq - Gower (<> Whitfield 61’), Harding, Soriano - Black, Farmer, Smith - Foley, Girard-Vaillancourt (<> Brewer 78’), Nasser (<> Accardi 73’) - Patton
Goals (Assists): Patton (31' - Farmer, 59'), Foley (42’ - Girard-Vaillancourt)

MD12: The Grearish Union 3–2 Eastfield Lodge
Line-up (3-3-3-1): Foster - Whitfield, Harding, Soriano - Black, Elbaz, Smith (<> Dad 62’) - Foley (<> Wright 79’), Jewell, Accardi - Patton (<> Pryor-Sandoval 73’)
Goals (Assists): Soriano (12’ - Patton), Jewell (67’)

MD13: Eastfield Lodge 4–1 Deniria
Line-up (3-3-3-1): Cammers - Harding, Fahs, Soriano - al Din Latif, Elbaz, Dad (<> Smith 78’) - Foley, Jewell (<> Girard-Vaillancourt 69’), Accardi - Patton (<> Paree 83’)
Goals (Assists): Foley (2’ - Patton), al Din Latif (45+2’ - Dad), Patton (69’ pen), Accardi (85’ - Cammers)

Line-up to play Valanora (3-3-3-1)
Cammers - Harding, Fahs, Soriano - al Din Latif, Elbaz, Dad - Foley, Girard-Vaillancourt, Accardi - Patton
Suspended: N/A
Injured: Jewell (2 games)

[Krytenia]

Many thanks to Sarzonia, who gave me the go-ahead for the portions based in their nation, as well as suggesting Wilmington as the location.

Penelope Baker had lost count of how many times she'd watched the news footage. Krytenia's military presence in Sarzonia numbered barely two hundred, training alongside the Sarzonians at a base near Wilmington as part of an AORDO initiative. It was well-known that these troops had been immediately sequestered to their quarters once news of the Foxchester Declaration dropped; regardless of whether the Incorporated Government recognised the document in question, it was clear that having Anaian soldiers on AORDO manoeuvres was a complete non-starter.

The denouement of that, though, was not an easy watch. The sight of the Krytenians being essentially heckled out of town as they were bussed through downtown Wilmington was painful to anyone from the Federal Kingdom. The Sarzonians were supposed to be their friends; to see their faces twisted in anger, screaming at the Krytenians, holding placards saying things like "KRYTIES GO HOME" and "GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH"? That was painful. Thankfully, none of the protests had turned violent, but it was still and uncomfortable trip to the airport.

Not air base, notably; airport. The Krytenian government had decided it would be far less provocative to fly the soldiers home in a civilian aircraft; those expecting the lap of luxury, though, would be sorely disappointed, as the plane in question was provided by budget airline Avidair.

Given the manner in which they left Sarzonia, the media frenzy when the troops landed in Avidia was inevitable. Even the army had realised as such; commanding officer Col. Nathaniel Abraham had spent most of the flight briefing his men on what to do upon reaching their destination, which mainly consisted of them keeping their heads down, not engaging with any journalists or reporters, and letting the army's press officer, Sarah Vilina, do the talking. Ms Vilina herself, meanwhile, was deep in conversation with a representative from the Ministry of Defence, trying to work out exactly what they were going to say.

---

Sarah Vilina stepped down from the plane and took the hastily-erected podium, Col. Abraham behind one shoulder, the Defence representative behind the other. The planned speech was as succinct and uncontroversial as possible, giving gratitude to Sarzonian military officials for their professional and amicable treatment. As she went to conclude, however, she felt an arm on her shoulder. She turned behind, and saw the colonel with a pleading look in his eyes. She nodded, introduced Col. Abraham to the waiting press, and stepped aside to allow him to speak.

The colonel took to the podium and addressed the crowd.

"As a military man, I understand that the life of soldier is not an easy one. We will quite often find ourselves in hostile environments, looking eye to eye with those who consider us to be the enemy. I never in my life thought I would see that look, those eyes, belonging to Sarzonian faces.

That look, though, wasn't borne simply of hatred, but of pain. The people of Sarzonia see the Foxchester Declaration as us turning our backs on them. We were supposed to be family, brothers in arms, and we've just packed our things and gone without so much as a by-your-leave. It's always the ones closest to you that get hurt the hardest."

Col. Abraham stepped back aside, and allowed Ms. Vilina to finish her speech. The press officer looked at the conclusion on the piece of paper in front of her, and tossed it aside.

"I say to the people of Sarzonia...the word Anaia, it means "brother". We may not be your favourite people in the world, but Emberton and Woodstock will always be brethren. Our door is never closed to you, our phone will always be answered if you call. We hope, one day, you will find it in your hearts to forgive us, and come break bread with us once more. Let us find peace and solace in the common ground we still share. After all...blue is blue, no matter the shade."

---

There. That was Penelope's opening. She looked around at her office, at the selection of posters and propaganda drenched in Conservative Party blue. Negotiations with the Sarzonians would come soon enough. First, though, she had an election to win.

[HUElavia]

Like this, We Won't Go Anywhere

Another set of mixed results has HUElavia still in contention, but needing miracles moving forward.

Vdara 1-0 HUElavia
(Petras 90' (P))
(VdarArena, Chania)

HUElavia 2-0 Communist Republic of North Yorkshire
(Moutinho-Figo 23', Gimenes 70')
(Estadio Municipal, Careital)

Entering Matchdays 12 and 13, HUElavia was now facing another opportunity to go for possible sweeps against Vdara and Communist Republic of North Yorkshire. The first match was a visit to Vdara, playing at VdarArena (52,500) in Chania, and the second match was a home match against CRNY at Estadio Municipal (33,000), in Careital. The Home Alternative was worn for the first match, while the Home Special was worn for the second match. The A-Team was playing the first game, while the second was a mix of the backups. Once the anthems played, and the coin toss done, the matches were under way!

The first match had HUElavia and Vdara going at each other with solid attacks and passes that surprised each other. Navarro, Hamada-Navarro, and Sol made shots whenever possible, but Frangoglou made blocks and deflections that had him getting praise from his teammates and the crowd alike. The duo of Lazelis and Petras also gave their shots, but Ramos also made her saves and deflections to keep the game scoreless. The match seemed like it was on it's way to end in a dull, scoreless draw, when in the 90th minute, Lazelis was being covered by Pae, where he tried to make a cross, and the ball hit the hand of Pae in a very obvious position. The referee instantly called for a penalty kick, with a lack of protest for Pae, who was yellow carded, and Petras stepped up to blast the ball past the fingertips of Ramos into the goal, making it 1-0, with Petras being mobbed by his teammates while the crowd jumped and celebrated with joy. Shortly after, the match ended, with the series split, but HUElavia holding advantage on goal difference, although the team was falling behind.

The second match had HUElavia going for goal from the get go, sending attacks left and right. The opening goal came in the 23rd minute, when a corner kick was taken by Font, which curved into the box, and Moutinho-Figo towered over Tamarkin to head the ball past the reach of Sergovic into the goal to make it 1-0. The crowd jumped up with passion and cheered with jumps to make the stadium rumble while Moutinho-Figo celebrated with his teammates. In the second half, HUElavia kept on attacking, taking shots left and right, looking for another goal. That chance would come in the 70th minute, when Font made a pass to Gimenes, who took a curving shot past the reach of Sergovic to blast into the top corner of the goal to make it 2-0. Once more, the crowd erupted with joy and passion to make the stadium rumble, while Gimenes did a dance to celebrate the goal with his teammates. After that, HUElavia cooled down and held out to get the victory, and yet another sweep in the Qualifiers.

With the results, HUElavia still continues to sit in 4th Place with 24 Points (7-3-3), behind Ko-oren who has 31 Points (10-1-2), Frestovenia with 30 Points (10-0-3), and Vdara with 28 points (9-1-3). The next two matches will be a visit at Delaclava, and then hosting Txakhaxi at Cog Stadium (40,000), in Caghia. The Home Uniform will be worn for both matches. The backups will be playing both games, looking to give more time for the youngsters. While Qualification is still possible, HUElavia would need to go all in with victories, and hope for two of the three teams above them has a monumental collapse in the final matches. Regardless, the HFA is keen on keeping Coach Conavacio for whether the team miraculously makes the World Cup, or gets invited to the Cup of Harmony. Either way, his main goal is for the team to win the Independent Associations Championship, which is not for another 3 years. The fans continue to cheer on the team, even though they have concerns for the situation of the team at the moment. For the time being, the players continue to train hard and well, moving forward with what seems like inexhaustable energy, likely coming from the rotations from the team. Onwards to the next two matches!

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Audioslavia]

THE HISTORY OF

ANAIA

Chapter 6 - Spring 2016
The Failed Rebellion
Sanaianara One Point No

Here’s a statement that is entirely uncontroversial: Noted online nation simulator R.L. States often just rehashes storylines from the actual multiverse, but everyone just goes with the version of events they secretly hope would have happened, no matter how unrealistic.

Take, for example, the Independence Referendum. The Anaian nations voted on whether or not to defect from Atlantian Oceania and set up their own sporting region. There would be no financial gain to independence, no reason to vote ‘AO Let Go’ other than through ignorance of the full benefits of membership of the wider union and a very vague promise of future riches that would likely never come. Anaia voted ‘no’ by six votes to four. Lo and behold, R.L. States copies the plot shortly after, only with a nation actually breaking away from their ‘oppressors’ and gaining ‘sovereignty’ and going on to meme the place up for the next five years.

Calling it 60/40 makes it seem like it was a close-run thing, but the pre-vote agreement that the Anaian nations would need to be 90/10 in favour of leaving to actually get around the table and do it meant they’d have needed to flip half the votes, not just one or two. Who voted for what? Well other than the Audioslavian FA voting for independence, as they later stated, it’s unknown which others cast their secret vote for ‘aye’. Either way, the bonds with Atlantian Oceania simply ran too deep.

It’s perhaps a blessing in disguise that, when the Anaia nations first seriously pondered leaving Atlantian Oceania, they veered towards ‘no’. While after season ten the LigAnaia seemed to be at its most powerful, many of the participating associations were struggling. Over in Mertagne there were reports that the Football Association was being run by proxy via those of Quebec and Audioslavia, while a series of bureaucratic blunders by the Legalite football association - yes, bureaucracy failure by a nation called Legalese - lead to its teams being pulled out of UICA competition in embarrassing fashion.

Schiavonia’s Monarchs won a miracle LigAnaia championship in season twelve,
though Legalese’s Inter Tyrellia were refused entry to UICA competitions due to their license being revoked under UICA’s C.T.E. clause

Uncertainty is never a vote winner, and with so many of the Anaian nations seemingly winding down their participating in international sporting endeavours over the coming years - just five of those ten Anaian nations would enter World Cup 79, with only two managing to qualify for the last 32 - a 2016 synchro-bounce would certainly have been too soon, and would almost certainly have closed the door completely to the recent Sanaianara 2.0.

Over the next few years, COCANEFA remained a part of world football albeit with a diminished role, especially with the winding down of domestic leagues in Starblaydia, Cosumar, Osarius and Mertagne. A mooted Champions LigAnaia for winners of each COCANEFA league would never quite come to fruition, neither would the planned CopAnaia reboot as a single cup competition for the top 32 teams of each COCANEFA nation.

During its years in the background of NS Sport, COCANEFA changed colours once again, this time to a modern deep purple and bright green - a colour combination chosen for its rarity in the multiverse and the fact that it favours none of Anaia’s constituent nations. Though Starblaydis might nudge you in the ribs and talk at you about the purple.


The new regional flag uses the Novastrella as inspiration for its crown design. The use of the colours of a football confederation are perhaps a little strange, but nevertheless gives the flag a unique feel and separates it from the blues of Rushmore and Atlantian Oceania

Despite COCANEFA taking a back seat and its constituent nations drifting towards the periphery of the sporting spotlight, Anaian identity remained strong. Smaller-scale revivals of the LigAnaia were discussed with the football associations of Mriin, Chromatika, Huayramarca and Ko-oren and, even if the talks never moved beyond the round table, there remained a shared identity among the geographically and culturally Anaian nations.

There are those who complain that we never quite got the big send-off that both regions deserved, with a final super-sized AOCAF Cup being won quietly by the Bulls in an all-Anaian final with Chromatika. While that tournament, run expertly by Siovanija and Teusland, might have been made more special than it was, those of us with remorse over a missed opportunity clearly have short memories. Or, at least, memories that don’t stretch back to AOCAF Cup 60.

---

Chapter 7 - Spring 2020
AOCAF Cup 60
We hope that you escape uninjured and have a good time, respectively.

AOCAF Cup 60 was brought to you by Farfadillis, Krytenia and apparently 1980s Yorkshire Television.
Image created by Kry/Farf

The tag-line of AOCAF 60, above, largely came true. In terms of escaping uninjured it’s so far so good for both sides, and a good time was had by all in the first regional tournament to split itself along a diagonal, even if said diagonal wasn’t entirely straight. Lines were drawn not through the entire tournament, but through each pot, meaning we didn’t quite get an Anaian/AO split across the tournament.

Yes, that’s Vilita in the North East and Ko-oren in the South West

Hosted by Farfadillis and Krytenia, AOCAF 60 was a barnstorming us-versus-them encounter that guaranteed a North-East versus South-West final, with groups entirely divided between the two host nations.

While not the largest tournament in AOCAF Cup history, the forty nations entering the sixtieth edition was far more than than the regional tournaments of Rushmore (20), Esportiva (24) and even the Indies (32) could muster. There was, as the Krytenians experienced, a true feel-good factor around the cup. We’re not sure what an ‘Idiot Project Discord Watch-along’ is, but it debuted around the time. We’re not sure what ‘Public RP Bonus’ entails, but it was here in AOCAF 60 that it was first used and the system was praised for its unprecedented levels of transparency and for the trust shown in the region, and the experimental nature of the tournament continued with an extended Nations League format in the next cycle.

The whole thing feels a bit like the first half of The Deerhunter. The friends going out for drinks bit, not the bit that makes everyone forget the friends going out for drinks bit.

There was something special, almost magical, that seemed to happen to any nation hosting an international football tournament. It's as if the problems of the country - even of the world at large - simply melt away, replaced by the shared experience and joy felt by fans across the country, no matter where they came here from.

Krytenia, this year, was no different. There were Sarzonians - now there's a blast - having the time of their lives and a bit of banter with the locals down in the southwest, dragging a few fun-loving Vilitans along for the ride. Bulls fans had pretty much taken over the bars of Osteria; no doubt Jeremy Jaffacake was in one of them, regaling a bunch of burly steelworkers with the tale of how he brought down a medium-sized government with nothing more than a swivel chair, a spatula, and a cheese and pickle sandwich.

What transpired in AOCAF 60 was rather at odds with the general tide of international football at the time, with the internationally dominant South Western sides wearing one another out in some hotly contested knockout matches, leaving the title open for the North Easterners to take. Mriin ran the North Eastern gauntlet, defeating Vilita in the regional final, and in what reads today like a bizarre twist, the South Western bracket was won by Ko-oren, now the Regional Delegate of Anaia.

Ko-oren dubbed the final ‘North West versus Centre’, which rather makes more sense than trying to fit a modern view of the sporting landscape onto the events. The Dragonflies defeated The Reavers in the final - further proof, if any were needed, that Dragonflies > Reavers - and the tournament was heralded as an unmitigated success.

You’d be forgiven for wondering just what the Anaian nations thought was so wrong about Atlantian Oceania that they could correct so confidently in a new region. As always, the only response is that, well, nothing was wrong. Atlantian Oceania was, and remains, in fine fettle. A breeding ground for innovation and inspiration and, in modern times as well as historically, the home of the absolute pinnacle of organised sport. The reason for leaving was, as I’m sure you’re tired of hearing, never anything to do with Atlantian Oceania. The suburban family home is always more comfortable than the dive we move into at 19 (or 29 or 39, no judgement here), but we move out all the same. The question wasn’t ‘why’, it was ‘why not’, and the answer was simply ‘..huh, yeah, why not’.

I mean to be fair you probably told your parents you were leaving and they probably even helped you move, but that’s a whole nother colander of poo.

However successful editions sixty to sixty-two of the AOCAF Cup were, nineteen names would, all the same , be written onto the Declaration of Foxchester shortly after that sixty-second edition. Though you might have already known the general thrust of the stories of Mertagne, the LigAnaia and COCANEFA, there are far too few that are aware of the events of the sixteenth of May. Let's rectify that in part eight.

[Busoga Islands]

Busogan national team manager Alexander Bumba at the PlayToy Mansion in Quebec City, Quebec

Bumba was fortunate that the World Cup Qualifying schedule was so choppy. About a month was afforded between MD13 and the final five matchdays, which would take place over the course of 2 and a half weeks. It was like this intentionally. It gave teams a chance to get healthy, allowed hype to build up for the biggest matches(which meant more money for the national FAs and their broadcast partners), and allowed big teams that were struggling a chance to recuperate and turn things around.

For a smaller team that was punching above their weight, however, these long breaks built into the Qualifying schedule were not a blessing- they were a curse. When you were a small team like Busoga was, you wanted to jump up and continue your momentum, lest your form slips and you suffer a serious streak of losses. But you had to deal with the schedule as it came. Not good for Busoga's qualification chances- but good for Alexander Bumba personally.

He'd always wanted to come back to Banija to coach Jinja City FC again, and the Islander national team was just the path to do it. But this was even more successful than his wildest dreams. Never did he think he could seriously make this team a contender for the Finals, but with five games left, Busoga were a game up on all of their group rivals, all alone in first place. And with how the team was doing right now, he was garnering all sorts of attention in Jinja City.

Jinja City FC had a frustrating sixth place finish in the S-FPL last season, causing them to part ways with their Pasargan manager. Of course, when things were going as well as they were in Qualifying, the last thing Bumba wanted to do was distract and demoralize the player base by making it known that he was looking for another job. So with the break, his agent hooked him up to a party at the PlayToy mansion in Quebec City, and he would meet with the Jinja City Chairman there. Had to guarantee a place where he wouldn't be seen by traditional Banija or Busogan media. And Bumba was too recognizable- basically nowhere in Banija or Busoga was safe.

It was unorthodox, entirely. Bumba was fairly religious- he wasn't exactly comfortable entering the mansion. But Jinja City's Chairman was an infrequent attendee of these parties, and had been multiple times before. Plus- nobody would be looking twice at Bumba. Naked women everywhere. Famous and rich people all over the house. Even if Bumba was recognizable, Jinja City's Chairman would not be recognized this far from home, in the newly formed Anaia region. It was far from home, but yet- nobody would think to photograph these two together.

Bumba was sitting in a VIP section of the strip club at the mansion. Continuously turning down offers for dances, he and his agent sat there with a large bottle of 60 year old wine, waiting for Jinja City's Chairman. Eventually, of course, the Chairman came in with two women on his arms. "Alexander!" He exclaimed. The two men hugged.

Their relationship went way back. Alexander Bumba was at Jinja City FC for 9 seasons, of course. One league title, five runner-up finishes, never missing out on the top 4. "Well, you know why we're here." Alexander said after the two men exchanged pleasantries.

"You're always all business, all the time Alexander. Learn to live a little." The Chairman said while smirking. "But alright- let's do it your way." The Chairman motioned to the women he had brought with him. "Come back in 10." He said to them. They simply nodded, got up, and went away, both with big glasses of wine. "So, let's get down to it. Domestic football has changed in your six seasons gone from Banija. You know it. We're in the S-FPL now. The competition is twice as tough. We're the #4 coefficient in the multiverse- Farfadillis is #2. Kitara AA- Kitara fucking Athletic Association, of all teams, has become the first Shango-Fogoa Basin club to win the Champions League. Kitara god damn AA. And we can't even make the Champions League."

"Now that we've got this global presence as a league, it's about g-d damn time we take our place among the big clubs. Not just of the league- beyond. How do we do that? We've got to get to the Champions League, consistently. We've got to make deep runs in IFCF competition, consistently. You're good at that. You were strong in Cobrio. And look at the job you've done in Busoga! Taken that nation, of all nations, and put them on the brink of the World Cup Finals? Stunning."

"Is this an offer?" Alexander Bumba said. The results on the field spoke for themselves- he was the obvious candidate.

"Yes, it's official." The Chairman said. "Come home, Alexander. You've ventured to Cobrio, you're in the Busoga Islands. Home will welcome you with open arms."

Alexander Bumba thought about it for a second. He longed for it. He knew he wanted it. "You know what- yes, I'll come back to Jinja City FC. Those g-d damn teams on the coasts, the Herzegovina Cities, Istria Cities, and Kitara AAs of the world, think they're all that because they're on the oceanfront. But we're going to show them. When I get to Jinja, we're going to have the best damn team in this Basin before long." Bumba grinned. "But before we shake on it- you know my verbal commitment is golden- there are two things I must ask."

"Anything, Alexaner." The Chairman said. "And of course, thanks to the S-FPL media rights deals, we can give you a ton more money than we were paying you last time you were here. We're going to offer you a 90% raise on what you were making before."

"I'll accept that." Alexander said. "But on two conditions. One- no word of this leaks out until after World Cup Qualifying. If anything leaks, then my verbal commitment will no longer be surefire. I cannot distract from this World Cup Qualifying campaign. Something truly special can happen in the Islands, and we must achieve that." The Chairman nodded- he had been expecting that. "Second- if we make the World Cup, I will coach the team in the Finals. If we go to the Cup of Harmony... We''ll discuss at that point. But if we're going to the World Cup, I'm gonna coach the team at the Finals. And I'd expect that this move."

The Chairman sat there, thinking. Like most Club executives, he wasn't a fan of the demands of the international game on players. And definitely not on coaches. But this was the man he wanted. Bumba knew how to manage. He knew Jinja City. Fans loved him.

"Ok, I'll accept." The Chairman said. "Welcome back to Jinja City." The two men shook hands, as Bumba's agent nodded. They wouldn't draw up contract language until after the Qualifying campaign, because of the leaks directive. But still- Jinja City had their new manager. And as Bumba exited the club, Jinja City's Chairman continued on to enjoy his night. Swiping a national team manager. Again. The manager would have a lot to drink to- and he would see if he could handle his liquor.

[Le Choix]

Les Élus Remain In Contention

Arklanda 0–2 Le Choix
The second half of qualifying opened with yet another great performance by Francine Pellier, with Gavin Lavigne scoring another brace. A bit of cautious optimism started to go through the squad that they may be able to make some noise after all.

Le Choix 0–0 Tolanka
Eh. At least Francine Pellier didn't let in any goals? They'll need to solve this goalscoring coming in very small bunches question if they are to actually make a serious run at qualifying.

Sapim 3–4 Le Choix
Uh... The most unlikeliest of Chosen games, Pellier gave up three goals in the first five minutes. After the game, she said that she had felt woozy. Thankfully, Aurélie Dior and Gavin Lavigne knew what they were doing, and were both able to score two goals apiece to get the victory. That game winner in injury time? Probably the prettiest goal in Chosen history - an off-angle header that beat the keeper to the right upper corner of the net.

Le Choix 1–0 Havynwilde
Take a bow, Béatrice Pueyrredón. The left back became one of the few players to score a goal in Chosen history, scoring from the middle of the field on a shot that she took on a whim. Lucky for her, Gavin Lavigne had drawn most of the defense off kilter, and the ball sort of rolled in.

With these results, the table is as such:

*  Group 18                                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Farfadillis                                13   11   1   1    47   23  +24    34
 2 New Lusitania                              13    8   1   4    33   23  +10    25
 3 Yuezhou                                    13    7   3   3    25   20   +5    24
 4 Equestria                                  13    7   3   3    23   16   +7    24
 5 Le Choix                                   13    7   3   3    14    8   +6    24
 6 Netop                                      13    4   2   7    19   26   −7    14
 7 Tolanka                                    13    3   4   6    20   27   −7    13
 8 Havynwilde                                 13    3   2   8    15   27  −12    11
 9 Sapim                                      13    1   5   7    28   41  −13     8 E
10 Arklanda                                   13    2   0  11    17   30  −13     6 E

The good news? Things are very tight atop the table. The bad news? Games against Equestria, Yuezhou, New Lusitania, and Farfadillis all loom. The way that The Chosen's schedule worked out is very heavily weighted toward the end. They will be in control of their own destiny, but whether that will be to their detriment or benefit remains to be seen.

Grades of Important Players:

GK Francine Pellier - A
Did you see that we've conceded eight goals, the least in the group? Le Choix has also scored the least amount of goals, so without the heroics of Pellier, The Chosen would be certainly lost. Indeed, her praises cannot be sung enough.

CB Éloi Bouthillier - B+
The Captain of the defense has been paramount in keeping Pellier clean. Éloi, only being 21, has personally failed on a few challenges that's led to many of the goals conceded by Pellier, but he's done a very good job in coordinating the defenders to be a well-oiled machine. It's this leadership that gives him this high of a grade.

CM Léa Leloup - B-
She was supposed to be the tertiary source of playmaking, but has struggled a bit. At times, she's had to help out the defending four, but in other cases, she's actually hung back instead of committing to the attack. As Hélène Monet hasn't stated officially whether this was a planned thing or not, one can only peg Leloup's campaign as a barely successful one.

AM Aurélie Dior - A-
Dior has scored multiple goals and assisted on a lot more, engaging in her role as the major playmaker on the team. She and Lavigne are the one-two punch of The Chosen attack, and as important as Pellier has been to keep them in games, Dior and Lavigne have been the ones to actually win them.

ST Gavin Lavigne - A+
Enough said? Enough said.

Honorable Mention: Henry Grant, who's good for a few great shots per game, and Béatrice Pueyrredón, who's helped Bouthillier on the defensive end while also moonlighting as a shooter.

[Legalese]

When the Federation took the lead on building Shoreline Park in Spetz-Tessah, Lisa took a backseat from the planning. “I’m not an architect,” she told the designers. When they returned with a design that included a partially-open end -- the Sunset End, faced to allow for views of the sunset in the early evenings, she approved. She had only one request.

“The Federation box is going to need an outside porch. It’ll get too stuffy inside.”

The designers complied, bringing the boxes back about six feet, and placing an overhang with sliding door access.

Some six years, later, this is where she would be standing, watching the sunset -- possibly two of them. The first, a glowing orange fireball slowly sinking over the horizon, as if it were to fall off the Strait of Champions (Celebrating a 33rd-place finish, she grumbled silently), and into Cathair. There might be a few elves that wouldn’t object to that, she thought and dismissed quickly.

After all, one (especially if one were the Executive Director of the Federation of Assocation Football in Legalese) couldn’t be mad at the Audioslavians for long -- their football association, long the ringleaders of the COCANEFA and the LigAnaia that fostered the friendships and brotherhood that prompted Abigail Calvetti to sign the Declaration and send Legalese on a new path forward, diplomatically, did a lot to prop up the domestic efforts of Comunas Cougars, Bob’s Towing, InterTyrellia and Tyrellia Titans, and all the others that make up the top of the Legalese Club Pyramid. Without their help, there might not be anything for her to build off of.

Which brought her to the other sunset, still illuminated on the scoreboard, roughly an hour after the festivities had ended. It read Legalese 3 - 3 Juvencus, and combined with Savigliane sending Central Antarctic Peninsula back to another Ice Age, put their region mates a full six points up on Legalese for second place, with Taeshan in between. Throw in the head-to-head tiebreaker, and it meant that even if the Legalites could win out (beating the formidable foes at Baker Park and Taeshan in the process), their brothers from another dimension could qualify with three wins in five matches, which looked inherently likely. Six points back is not a death sentence with give games to go -- Margaret knows -- but twilight was near, and the Legalese hopes of a trip to Chromatika and/or Cassadaigua had hit rock bottom, and were still digging.

She sighed, thinking about it all, when a voice interrupted her.

“Ms. McQuade?”

Lisa turned and gestured for her visitor to join her.

“Thank you. Wanted to come up and say thanks for hosting a few games here -- I hope the results don’t cause too much concern.”

“That’s fine, this is a good place to play. We were just facing two tougher sides, and that just happens, sometimes. We’ll get there -- it’s why we’re trying to build, and what this is all about. Justin, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. Justin Tilman. Ready to be getting our side out here as well.”

“That’s good! Remind me, where did you end up?”

“Island Conference Upper. But hey, a good run and we could make the K-League yet, and if things really get going, be up in the National League in no time. I mean, we have the hope for a support base here. It’ll be a little different -- we’re nowhere near as good as these national teams -- but even if we can start drawing at least half-full at the third division, we’ll take it and build on it.”

“Justin, if you can draw that, you’ll get players who want to come to Spetz-Tessah, and stay here. This is a good town -- great city center, easy to get around safely, it’s just a nice place. I think if you can handle matters on the pitch, you’ll be fine.”

“I agree. I also love the Sunsets, but I have to be honest -- I think this field will work well for night games. Have you ever seen the Moon over the water out this way?”

“I can’t say I have. Do you guys mostly play at night?”

“I do -- heck, it’s almost become a running joke, since I think we have most of our home games scheduled at night, even though most teams play in the daytime. We may be Spetz-Tessah FC on paper, but I think they’re going to start calling us the Moonies at this rate.”

[Xanneria]

Ripperonin shortage at Crisis levels
extracted from http://www.xtrasports.xan/nationalteam.htm

XANNERIA - In what is the middle of Xannerias worst qualifying cycle ever, FAX President Clive Bacon has issued a statement. The statement has mention that first coach Rhule will be back for three more years. Clive has made a statement that goes as following

We know performences lately have been on good days stale, but we believe the best course is to keep coach Rhule in for at least one more cycle before evaluations are to be made. We think with the Ripperonin shortage, he deserves a better shot at getting properly judged. We are also int he stages of overhauling the roster in the next couple of cycles. And while I understand this may be controversial to voice this opinion openly, there are several players who have openly stated they will be retiring after the cup of Harmony or World Cup next season.

The key tot his all is two folded. First off the two largest factories for Ripperonin, the Smithworks Pharmaceuticals in the suburbs of Denalia and the Simon Richard Pharmaceuticals plant in Gardinia have both been burnt down. We have yet to find whose responsible but it seems like someone has read the Electrum paper Turnip and decided that Ripperonin is bad for human and non-human footballing consumption. It is unkown what the motivation truely were as we have yet to catch the arsonist in the act but the last major Facility for Ripperonin has been on lockdown since the fires!

[Pemecutan]

CHAPTER I: THE TENSION BUILD UP || CHAPTER II: THE ACCIDENT || CHAPTER III: THE ROAD LIES AHEAD || CHAPTER IV: A LITTLE TOO MUCH
CHAPTER V: THE OTHER SIDE OF YOU || CHAPTER VI: DEFEND WITH YOUR LIFE

---

---

CHAPTER VII

The players are playing around during their lunch break at the cafeteria of the quarantine place. Today Coach Pramana is only giving them a short practice. Just a warming up and some easy practice, which is something quite uncommon. But the players seems to not overthinking about that. It is good that they have more time to be relax and playing around like this. Their last two matches result are quite decent although they are missed the target to get a full 6 points after a no goal draw against Cascadia. Luckily, they are getting a full 3 points after beating up Libonesia in their latest match at home.

The atmosphere is very relaxing. Coach Pramana is also can not be seen after their practice this morning. It is odd and some of them know it. Suddenly the cafeteria door is open widely. A silhouette of a man is standing there. Everyone is pinching their eyes to adjust with the light as the sun shine through the open door behind that man. The man approach the group slowly. As the silhouette become more and more clear, all of them screamed with joy. All of them embrace the man and hug him one by one.

"Man, it is great to see you here. Are you okay know?" ask Wisnu to the man which is no other than Pandu Oka Jaya. After he is discharge from the hospital, he is recuperate in a hotel for a while together with his mother while waiting his teammates matches. And now, he is here to give them a surprise.

"Yeah, never been better," answer Pandu with a wide smile.

"Glad you will be back, Pandu. We are missing you," says Bayu Hermawan.

"Thanks guys. I'm so happy with what you've done in our latest matches," congrats Pandu. The teammates sat him down and surround him.

"Yeah, although we wish to win against Cascadia. But well...." Rama Karyadi does not finished his line.

"It's okay. We can do better next time. Where's Coach? He usually seat around us during lunch?" Pandu ask confusingly.

"Don't know. Coach have been acting weird today," say Laksamana.

"So, does it means that you will become starter again?" ask Wisnu suddenly.

Pandu put a small smile, "I don't think so. Well, I need to still have some rest and can only do mild practice for a little while. So I can't be a starter maybe for the rest of the group stage."

"Oh, I thought that you will be back as starter," say Wisnu a little bit sad.

"Aren't you happy that you will stay as starter?" ask Pandu.

"I do. But damn these matches can be overwhelm sometimes," whine Wisnu.

"It's okay. I got you back. Although I can't be starter but I still can substitute you sometimes maybe for about 10 to 15 minutes. We also have Bayu, right?" explain Pandu while also pointed at Bayu Narmada, the other forward substitute. Wisnu is only nod his head.

"You guys are still here?" ask Coach Pramana when he finally arrived at the cafeteria.

"Oh hi, Coach," greet Pandu.

"Oh, Pandu. You have been discharge?" ask Coach Praman while hug him.

"Yeah, but I'm recuperating at hotel with my mother for a few days before I come here. Hospital procedure," explain Pandu.

"I see. Well, we are glad that you are here," says Coach Pramana patting his back. "And for everyone," He swift his attention to all of his teammates. "As you all know, we are already pass half of the group stage match and I understand that all of you are distress and get overwhelm with all of this. So, I have been thinking from all morning and with the approval of the management, I'm giving all of you a break before our next match," end Coach Pramana.

All of the players are just seat there and looking at their coach in disbelief. This making Coach Praman confuse. "Guys? Hey? Are you okay?" Coach Pramana ask. Suddenly, all of them screaming and hugging their coach.

"Thanks, Coach. I believe this is what we need right now," says Laksamana.

"It came too late I guess," realized Coach Pramana.

"Better be late than never, Coach," chirps Komang Adi Prakasa.

"Wait," shouts Pandu suddenly which makes everyone silent. "Does this mean that I have to go back to the hotel?" he says with an agony look. The others are just laughing with the truth.

A DAY BREAK

Wisnu is knocking on a door ferociously making the door almost break. A shouts come from inside which makes him stop. The man that opened the door looking shock at him.

"Miss me?" ask Wisnu suddenly hug the man in front of him.

"Why are you here? Are you running away from the quarantine?" ask the man which is no other than Juni.

Wisnu laugh with Juni's comment. "Silly boy. The coach give us a break," explain Wisnu.

"And you come to see me first instead of your parents?" ask Juni while breaking their hug.

Wisnu just nodded with a bright smile. "Pervert!" Juni exclaim which makes Wisnu laugh. Seems like his boyfriend always know what's inside his mind.

"We are going to our parents house after one round, okay?" say Wisnu. Juni rolled his eyes.

"I don't think you would take no for the answer," say Juni and Wisnu shake his head immediately.

---

"Are you sure it is okay?" ask Arya Tungga Wijaya as he is standing in front of Riko's house.

"It's okay. Don't worry. My parents while like you," calmed Riko.

Riko decided to take Arya to his house knowing that it is impossible for Arya to go to his hometown in Batubulan which is quite far from the capital. Riko is from Kaliungu, a small town just a few kilometres away from the capital, where they are being quarantine. He press the bell button in front of his house. It is a typical townhouse which is a common resident for non-Sanatana Dharma citizens.

"Riko!" shocked a middle age woman which suddenly hug him.

"Hi mom. The coach gives us a break. So here I am," explain Riko.

"Oh that's good of him. And he is?" The mother ask while looking at Arya who is standing beside her son.

"Oh this is Arya, my teammate. I ask him to come with me as he can't go back to his hometown. We are only given a limited time for our break. And he can't fly two times to reached Batubulan," says Riko.

"I see. Then you are welcome here, Son. Riko's friend is always welcome here. Come on in."

Arya smile politely after Riko's mother ask him to come. It is a warm welcome for him.

---

"Honey, I'm home!" shouts Komang Adi Prakasa as he is entering his house. Komang which is coming from Tulangampiang is easily taking the bus to his home.

"Bli Mang?" his wife looking at him in disbelief. "How come you are here?" ask her.

Komang hug his wife and kiss her gently in the forehead and on her lips. "I miss you." he whispers not answering his wife's question.

"You're not answering my question, Bli," say Ratih, Komang's wife which makes Komang smile.

"The coach gives us a break. It's just a day but it is worthwhile," explain Komang.

"It is," say Ratih while taking her husband inside. "So what do you want now?" ask her again.

"Your cook. I missed it very much," answer Komang while rubbing his stomach.

"Hahaha. Okay okay. I'll cook you dinner. You can get some rest," told Ratih.

"No. I want to see my wife cooking," refuse Komang.

"Since when you become so clingy?" ask Ratih while they are both walking to the kitchen.

"Since I miss you," answer Komang stealing a kiss from his wife which makes Ratih blushed.

---

"Mom, please stop. You will make me fat," told Pandu refusing his mother.

"It's just fruits. It won't make you fat. Besides you will take another practice after this which will burn all the fat down," argue his mother.

Pandu lazily eat the fruits while watching television in his hotel room. He really want to go out but no one is in the town as the Coach give them a break. So he is stuck here. Maybe he can go out tomorrow. Refresh his mind from this box called hotel room.

---

"Mom! Dad!" shouts Wisnu as they arrived in his house. Wisnu live in Binoh, a small town west of Ubung. It is about 2 hours journey from Tonja, where Juni live.

"Why are you shouting like that? We are not deaf," argued Wisnu's mother who greet them. "Oh you bring my son-in-law too. I miss you so much. Why don't you come here often?" the mother bombard Juni with questions while hugging him tightly.

"Mom, you miss him and not your own son?" whine Wisnu which makes Juni smile.

"He is nicer than you, Son," exclaimed Wisnu's mother.

"Just a few minutes and you already stole my mother," comment Wisnu which makes the other laugh.

"So how long you got the break, Wis?" ask the Father. They are already seat in the dining room.

"Just for a day, Dad. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon," explain Wisnu.

"Oh, then we still have time to go fishing. How about in the morning?" invite Father.

"That's a good plan, Uncle," agreed Juni.

"Please, Jun. We already told you to call us Mom and Dad too just like Wisnu. We are your family after all," cut Mother.

"Sorry, Au...Mom," Juni says with a smile.

"Then fishing tomorrow morning," say Father suddenly.

"Dad, you know that I don't like fishing?" comment Wisnu.

"But I do. And Juni also like it, don't you?" ask Father. Juni just nodded.

"Who is your real son by the way," sneer Wisnu which makes the other laugh.

"Make them happy, would you?" whisper Juni to Wisnu.

"I know darling. I just commenting. I like that they like you a lot," reply Wisnu. Juni just smile. He understand what Wisnu say because his own parents still can't accept his orientation.

---

"Your cook is as delicious as usual, honey," praise Komang.

"Oh I know where will it goes," say Ratih which makes Komang laugh. He takes his wife on his lap and kiss her again on the lips.

"You know I miss you so much," say Komang.

"I know." They are kissing again more intensely know. Until suddenly Ratih stopped him. She rushed to the kitchen and throws up.

"What happen to you, dear?" ask Komang who is helping his wife. He is very concerned.

"I don't know. I feel nausea and a little dizzy," explain Ratih.

"Do you want to go to the doctor?" invite Komang.

"No, it's okay. Maybe just a little rest will make me better," Ratih refuse.

"Are you sure?" Komang reassuring. Ratih nodded. He then take Ratih to their room. Both of them cuddling until they are fall asleep hugging one another.

---

Pandu decided to take a jog early in the morning. Luckily there's a small park near the hotel where he can jog. It's a quiet park. Not much people around. It's a good situation for him as no one will notice. He finished his second lap slowing down his run when he is looking at the side road. A woman is standing there looking confuse as she checking on her motorcycle.

"Is there a problem?" Pandu ask politely.

"Oh hi, sorry," the woman seems to be a little shock. She is not notice someone else around her. "It's my motorcycle. The engine is suddenly stop and I can't started it," she explain.

"Can I check it?" Pandu try to help. The woman nodded in agreement. Pandu try to start the motorcycle but failed. He open the fuel tank and checking it. Close it again and try to start it again. But it failed again. He might check the engine but there's no tools in the trunk.

"Are you in a rush?" ask Pandu.

"Not really. Why?" she asked in return.

"Well, we need to find repair shop. I can't check it more cause there's no tools in your motorcycle trunk," explain Pandu.

"I see. But I don't know if there's any open yet. It's still too early," she say while looking at her watch. It's 6 am and no store is open yet.

"Let me help you to find it," Pandu lend a hand.

"Are you sure? It's okay if you can't," she try to refuse.

"It's okay. It is my day break after all. And I don't have any plan, so...." Pandu's hanging his words.

"Thanks anyway," cut the woman. Pandu is smiling.

He take the motorcycle accompany by the woman. "My name is Pandu by the way," Pandu introduce himself.

"I'm Cintya. Nice to know a kind guy like you," praise Cintya.

"It's no big deal," answer Pandu.

They are continue to talks while searching for a repair shop.

---

"So how is it, Doc?" ask Komang. He finally took his wife to the doctor after she is collapse in the kitchen this morning.

The doctor just smile at him. Ratih seat beside him after she is being examine the doctor.

"You don't need to be worry, Sir. It's nothing serious," answer the doctor while writing some prescription.

"Really? But what happen to my wife?" Komang is still worried.

The doctor put her pen down and looking at Komang and Ratih intensely. Both of them holding their hand together. The doctor then smiling at them.

"Congratulation, Sir. Your wife is pregnant," the doctor told them.

Both of them looking at the doctor without blinking. Then they are looking at each other.

"Seriously, Doc? Are you sure?" ask Komang again.

"I've check the symptoms and also using pregnancy test. And it's come out positive," explain the doctor while giving them the test pack result. "So, congratulation."

Komang screaming in disbelief. He hug and kisses his wife in happiness. Ratih break her tears while hugging back her husband. They smile each other and kisses again. The doctor just seeing at the couple noticing that they are in their own world.

"But Mrs. Ratih is just entering her third month. So you must be careful with your pregnancy. The first trimester is the most crucial period," the doctor interrupted. "Here is the prescription. It's a vitamin for your body and also to keep you stay healthy. Anti-nausea to reduce your nausea symptom and also your morning sickness. But overall the mother is very healthy," added the doctor.

"Thank you, doctor," say Ratih which taking the prescription letter from the doctor.

Both of them walking out from the doctor room full with smile. Komang doesn't release his hug from his wife. He is so happy. A child that he is waiting for almost 3 years suddenly come.

[Eraman]

CHAPTER 9
CONFIDENTIALITY

Eraman Anti Corruption Commission.

It’s an organization in Eraman that scares people like me. You have to imagine the power that they have in their hands. They can call you to know everything about you that might cause you to feel like you’re being stripped naked in public without any protection.

Maybe some of you will ask, aren’t tax collectors in the form of Eraman Royal Internal Revenue or Eraman Royal Custom more intimidating than the EACC? To me, ERIR or ERC will always take some of your hard earnings, that is not a problem.

You see, I'm a lawyer. I have a law firm. My law firm makes money by looking after the various interests of certain people. I run legitimate business with various parties including banks, some VIPs as well as normal citizens.

From the beginning I set up my law firm with Suri, I had told her that I wanted to turn my law firm into a boutique law firm, a medium-sized law firm with limited expertise.

I have also conveyed my wish to Suri to only make beautiful ladies as lawyers in my firm. At first, Suri was angry with my wishes.

Slowly I explained to Suri that I did not disbelieve in the sex appeal she had. I explained that one day she would want to be a full-time boss just to direct someone to do the work.

I'm not a sexist but I understand how the world works. The good-looking one will always be preferred even if they have an average level of intellect.

Suri looked at me with a dissatisfied face but could not give a good enough argument to refute my remarks.

Though I will value all my lawyers through external features, Suri will value them from their abilities in doing legal work.

Suri can be said to be a lady boss who is feared by all the lawyers in our office. Our lawyers are said to only dare to meet Suri if they really cannot avoid it.

Suri was the real engine of our law firm until we finally decided to resign and just control our firm remotely.

I who started managing lawyers took the step of opening a business in Petara Tower which can be said to have the same modus operandi as a law firm. Of course, you will say I'm crazy when I compare my law firm with a karaoke club.

At my law firm, I had to manage lawyers who could be divided into trainee lawyers, young lawyers, and senior lawyers. At the karaoke club, it was the same. There are trainee guest relations officers, young guest relations officers, and senior guest relations officers.

To show how similar the setup of a law firm is to the karaoke club that I have, the management aspect of the two are very much the same. There is an accounting department which takes care of the money. There is a human resources department which takes care of employees. There is a sales and marketing department that makes sure everyone that should know about us can find us when they need our services.

In both places, all data of people coming in and out needs to be kept carefully and confidentially.

No matter you are a lawyer or guest relations officer, whether male or female, they will all be asked to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement document that requires them to keep a secret about who they sit and talk with.

So, when I was asked by the EACC to be a double agent to expose Tun’s activities, I was in a dilemma. I didn't just keep Tun's secret. In my pocket, I keep the secrets of several corporate figures, politicians, lawyers, police, high-ranking government officers, royalty, tourists, and some lost normal citizens who were brought by their richer and more influential friends.

Their secrets are in various forms including scandals, corruption as well as a hobby for spending money at the karaoke club whether for gambling or just having fun with the guest relations officer.

How can I know everything whether it’s at my law firm or my karaoke club?

Easy.

I recorded everything. I have installed in both places the most sophisticated CCTV that can be bought with money. I keep all the video recordings that exist complete with voice recordings.

In my savings, I have a recording of the scandal between Tun and Suri, a scandalous video recording of a Melayu Archipelago president, and several important figures with the guest relations officer in my club.

I saved all the recordings initially in a video cassette before being transferred to a more sophisticated form and finally now it is in the cloud service.

I am afraid that if I am tortured by the EACC on an ongoing basis if I am not careful, I will disclose this information which will cause more parties to be brought down.

So, quickly, when the EACC arrested me, I agreed to cooperate to bring down Tun.

[Oberour Ar Moro]

Jean Calvaire slowly dragged a chair from a desk and pulled it to the corner of the dark rented room. He then sat down, looking at the man splayed out on the floor under the window with his hands cuffed behind his back.

“Eduard Dautane," he addressed the figure. "Upstream Business Development with Pensirot Petroleum, yes? Are you here in Jabal Akhdar City for strategy development, for exploration, or for acquisitions?”

Dautane, looking worse for wear, kept his head down. “Just who are you?”

“Jean Calvaire, Ministry of Intelligence. I’m sorry about my colleagues. They're just very interested in returning you to the Dominion.”

“I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You don’t have to be a diplomat to know that there are economic sanctions against Jabal Akhdar, that Oberours are not to travel to the Emirate, and that there is an oil embargo against the Ghazzi regime, in concert with our ally Græntfjall.”

Dautane had started making dismissive noises as soon as Calvaire mentioned sanctions. “I can’t believe this. That Foreign Affairs crap, are you serious? There is money to be made and oil to be collected here, for the first time! And we’re going to let Græntfjall monopolize it? And this is enough to get me renditioned?”

“Rendered.” Calvaire corrected.

Dautane cursed loudly. The room then fell silent.

Jean leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “Look Dautane. The fact I’m here along with the guys bringing you back to the Dominion is just a lucky strike for me. But I’m here for somebody else. A former co-worker of yours. Phelipes la Galeranne.”

Dautane looked away, saying nothing.

“In fact," Jean continued, "I needed to ask my colleagues for a few minutes of your time. They’re very eager to get you moving. If I wasn't here you'd be in the trunk of a car with a bag over your head right now. Enjoy the break. But I need what you know about what la Galeranne is doing here in Jabal Akhdar.”

Dautane lifted his head, resting it against the window sill. “What’s it worth to you?”

“Quite a bit, actually. I will gladly vouch for you if you’re able to provide useful information in a major intelligence operation.”

The man on the floor looked disgusted, and apparently decided that he wanted to just spill what he knew. “If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be here. Phelipes la Galeranne was cut off by Pensirot officially, but he was still talking with the company. Certain parts of the company. He was paid through an intermediary as long as he put us in contact with those who had control of petroleum resources.”

“Was the intermediary VVE?”

“That’s the one. So I understand la Galeranne’s been in Jabal Akhdar for a while, maybe even before the coup. Not sure. He’s making deals for oil, but he's got some kind of operation in the desert, doing advanced research or something. Something that was supposed to make Pensirot billions and billions or whatever. I don’t get it at all.”

“You’re not a believer?”

“I ship oil from outside Oberour Ar Moro into Oberour Ar Moro. I shouldn’t have to believe anything.”

“So what were you doing here?”

“We’re supposed to be finalizing everything. Send equipment through intermediaries, get oil through intermediaries, share profits through intermediaries. And while I was here, get the details on what la Galeranne was doing.”

“Well, Monsieur Dautane, you’ll be interested to know that I am very intrigued in the advanced research Phelipes is doing. If you could let me know where I can find him, I’d be most appreciative.”

Dautane looked up at Jean. “You’re going to tell them I’ve been cooperative with your investigation?”

“I shall.”

“Will you punch that crackpot la Galeranne for me?”

Jean Calvaire chuckled and stood up. “We’ll see.” He then walked to Dautane and kneeled in front of him. "Where can I find Phelipes la Galeranne?"

Thank you to Græntfjall for letting me utilize Jabal Akhdar in this RP.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

10 Most Memorable BPNT Matches, continued

we're into the top five, with another bad news, good news turnaround.

5) We come to another match that is monumental in its own right, but also has a context when framed by another match against the same opponent.
We told you there would be something to be proud of at AOCAF 60 in Farfadillis, and we've arrived that moment; after seeing off Toriskania in the Round of 16 on penalties, BP came to a roadblock that they were quite familiar with in regional play.

Equestria came in as the two-time defending AO Champions, having taken the title in Banija and defending in the subsequent tournament co-hosted by Chromatika & Freeport. They'd won 22 matches in a row over that span, and not been defeated anywhere in regulation in the previous 34; their squad was extremely talented in all areas of the game, with Pristina Shine one of the multiverse's best goal scorers and Gentle Breeze in goal.

This marked the third time in four AOCAF's that the nations faced off in knockout play, the Ponies winning 2-0 at Gold Field in Vidial, Mriin in AOCAF 57, but it's the Semi-Final in the following edition that we want to talk about for the big picture aspect of the match in question.

Baker Park hosted the Ponies at Keller Field, with the winner advancing to the Final in Busukuma against the winner of Banija and Cosumar; the Bees were still riding high after the win over Vilita & Turori, having reached just their second semi in history. Pam Scott looked to turn to a more defensive posture for this encounter, hoping the crowd would be able to will Black & Gold on to another famous victory; she allowed Equestria to have the ball in their own half almost unmolested, while locking down the wings much in the same way they'd done on the right against V&T.

After 90 minutes of stalemate, the match headed to the 30 minute extra session, Scott already thinking ahead to a shootout in order to have the right players on the pitch if it got that far. Switching ends for the final 15 minutes, she brought on Sabrina Patton to replace Missy Tilton, and the fresh legs almost paid off as Patton harried the defense and 6 minutes from time had a decent look at goal but sent the wide of the far post.

In the shootout, Jamari Bozeman's opener was saved by Gentle Breeze, followed by Shine making the first kick; Veronica Navarro slotted her kick home, Rosewing matching the succesful conversion; Westmoreland was stopped by Breeze, then Rainbow Blitz made it 3-1; Patton needed to make in order to force another kick from the Ponies, and she hit the back of the net with pace; Cloudchaser was the fourth Equestrian on the list, and the captain—who'd announced she would retire at the conclusion of this tournament--nestled the ball into the net.

It was a heartbreaking end for the hosts, the image of Aaron Aiza kneeling down to console his club teammate Westmoreland leaving a lasting impression, along with the BP side paying their respect to the veteran Ponies skipper.


Meanwhile, back in Azurena, Jennifer Prescott was in charge for the latest confrontation, and she took an unorthodox tactical approach to finding a way past the holders; most of the cast remained the same for the purple side, and half of the starting lineup for BP had appeared in that previous contest. Rather than allowing the Ponies to keep hold of the ball, space and time on the ball were curtailed by squeezing the lines closer together, aggressively pressing against the defenders in their own third, forcing the midfield to come back deeper to receive passes. Shine was marked by Sarah Foreman, and the other backs skillfully caught her out on the offside trap time and again.

Amanda Hayes broke the spell of scoreless futility with the opener on 30 minutes, a seeing eye free kick that Breeze looked have covered but dipped and tailed away to the far post. Tracey Vasillias doubled the margin right after halftime with a run from her own half that led to a long range howitzer that looked well over until it also took a dip, right under the cross bar.

The only breakdown defensively led to the only legitimate scoring chance Equestria had the entire match, Sunny Day making no mistake with 25 minutes remaining, and there was a new spirit in the side that they could pull the match back onto their terms.

The movement that Baker Park was utilizing in midfield when they had possession created a number of problems for Equestria that were as difficult solving on the fly as the defensive alignment; plenty of crossing in front of or behind the player with the ball dribbling, with forwards stepping out as safety valves.
Patton played the ball to Nicki Stone, who then took the ball into an area just right of the arc, Westmoreland moving to cover Stone's vacated space; Tilton showed and Stone played it off, with Tilton then laying into a gap where AB ran onto it, firing it with her right foot into the lower corner. Less than five minutes later, Daisy Callum scored a fourth with another long shot; the final stats showed BP had the ball in the Equestria half for 41% of the match, but inside the offensive 18 yard box for just 6:25.

It was another performance for the ages, and the 100th victory in the NS Era, not mention the second time they claimed the UWC Interim belt; although they fell to eventual champion Ko-oren in the Semi-Final, the confidence carryover to the next tournament, World Cup 85—which would also be co-hosted by the Farfs—led to yet another entry on our list.

Equestria 1-4 Commonwealth of Baker Park
Day 64' Hayes 30'
Vasillias 48'
Westmoreland 72'
Callum 77'

AOCAF 60 Quarterfinal
Ojo de la Tormentia, Azurena, Farfadillis att-15,000