World Cup 93 - RP Thread

by **Stevencousin** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 5:07 am

NATIONAL ECHO

CEleB launched in Cassaholm

CEleB Mk. I

President Stevencousin, Dr. Oscar Razorwicks, today inaugurated the first electric bus pilot project in Cassaholm with a six-month trial period and free fares. Also present, is Minister of Transport and Maritime, Mr. Dudley Chesterman, President, Oysterwood Omnibus, Sarah Parker, and CEO, of NewMobility Stevencousin, Eric Tymxrs. With the objective of providing better public transport services for the community in Stevencousin, the state government has already started implementing an electric bus pilot project. Not charging any fare, the electric bus service or known as CEleB is part of a six-month pilot project, said Executive Director of NewMobility Stevencousin, Eric Tymxrs. He added that the public can ride this electric bus around the city of Cassaholm starting with the route between Redthames, Fineworth Tower, and the city center. In addition to providing environmentally friendly travel, the CEleB with a capacity of up to 54 passengers will have easier access for the elderly and the Disabled on wheelchairs as it is equipped with a vehicle boarding ramp. "It is also equipped with a closed-circuit camera (CCTV) for passenger safety, a global positioning system (GPS), and a driver monitoring system," he said, adding that the pilot project was implemented to assess the sustainability of electric bus services in the city.

The bus is fully powered by electricity and the CEleB service is among the initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in Cassaholm by 2050. To achieve the goal of becoming a carbon-neutral country by 2050, everyone needs to be involved. Our hope is that the electric bus service will be extended to other districts throughout Stevencousin," he said. Eric Tymxrs said after the pilot project, the electric bus transport is expected to start operating with five to 20 buses next year. He said the introduction of the electric bus was the result of a collaboration between NewMobility Stevencousin and Glorius Technologies, one of the leading electric bus manufacturers in Stevencousin. Meanwhile, in the same press conference, President Razorwicks also commented on the conflict in West Zecrarth, he said; "We don't want to be hostile to any country, but they need to understand, as a country that produces products, we need to be responsible for providing the best service to our customers no matter who they are" "This issue will be resolved during the Zecrarth Heads of Government Summit (ZHOG Summit) here at the end of August."

Other News
- WCQ93: Brian Mastroeni injured for a long time - source
- WCQ93: Stevencousin will travel to Grander International Arena for MD12 against Graintfjall - Special Sponsored Flight by ExtraParks
- Technical Director, Archie Fincastle and Director of Scouts, Mark Innboro are said to be stepping down after WCQ93
- The ZHOG Summit is expected to be held on August 14-16 at Ironstorms House, Cassaholm

by **Estorvipa and Estorpiva** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 8:36 am

“Platoons, halt!” the commander of the Third Battalion of the 64th Mechanized Brigade of the Armored Forces of the Federal Defense Forces called out once the two tank platoons and the remaining BMPs had reached the treeline at the south of the village of Novopionersky. The 64th Mechanized was currently engaged in battle against the 2nd Tank Division of the Estorvipan People’s Army, the first unit to reach the cities of Durdenville and Feuerstadt after the Estorvipan People’s Republic had declared war on the Federation of Estorvipa and the Republic of Estorpiva in response to the latter taking over the southern part of Estorpiva and the surrender of the defenders of the city of Bentakeb just a few days ago. The FDF had been given orders to rush towards Feuerstadt and Durdenville and beat the People’s Army to those towns, but the unfortunate fact of the matter was that the geography of northern Estorpiva meant that the People’s Army was always going to beat the FDF, even if only by a matter of hours. Nevertheless, the FDF raced for Durdenville as fast as they could, and when they arrived there they found that the People’s Army was still in the process of setting up their own defenses in preparation for a siege of their own.

That wasn’t to say that the People’s Army wasn’t prepared for this attack. They had to have known that the FDF was going to make a break for both Feuerstadt and Durdenville, and the presence of the 2nd Tank Division on the southern flank of the besiegers seemed to prove that. And the FDF, while they were prepared to face such a threat, were still green around the gills in terms of actual combat experience against another well-equipped army as opposed to the irregulars and paramilitaries like the Blue Skulls that they had faced earlier. Tanks were of little use against a force of mostly infantry that could attack from any direction, especially in urban environments such as Bentakeb. But now that the FDF and the Estorvipan People’s Army were engaging each other in the plains at the foot of the mountains in northern Estorpiva, everyone involved in the fighting was finding out just how much they really understood about the art of war.

The Third Battalion of the FDF’s 64th Mechanized Division was one of the first units to make contact with the enemy, but the EPA was more prepared for this possibility and had already called in an airstrike on the FDF units almost as soon as the FDF began the engagement. The Third Battalion suffered casualties in the form of two BMP-3s taken out during the airstrike, but apart from that, the unit was still mostly intact. And their withdrawal back south had also made the EPA tanks follow them in that direction, leaving behind the relative safety of the coal plant north of Novopionersky, a fact which wasn’t lost on their commander. “Looks like the plan is working, men!” he said on the radio. “First and Second Platoons, move back out! Third Platoon, stick to the treeline and provide support!”

“Understood,” Senior Lieutenant Kresimir Kondratov reported. He then turned to his gunner, Junior Lieutenant Serafim Potritskij and said, “Get ready to go hunting again, Serafim!”

“Yes, sir,” Potritskij nodded. “Load dart,” he called out as he commanded the autoloader to take an armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) round from the ring-shaped ammunition rack in the middle of the tank turret and load it into the main gun of the T-80U. The tanks moved forward once again, and once he had gotten used to the up-and-down motion of the suspension once again, Serafim put his eye on his scope and began looking for targets, specifically T-72s painted in brown. He adjusted his scope to account for the fact that the current engagement was about to take place in close range (at least close ranger for tanks), and just in time as the aforementioned T-72s burst from the other reeline to the north of the village and began firing as well. Serafim placed the reticle of his scope on the gap between the turret and the hull of the lead T-72, waited for his tank to stop bouncing, and then yelled “On the way!” as he pulled the trigger. Serafim wasn’t sure if he saw the round discarding its fins as it left the barrel, but he could definitely see the dart flying straight and true towards its target, and when it hit, the enemy tank went up in a massive fireball, and even the turret was lifted up into the air a few meters before landing back on top of the now-burning wreck.

“Good shot, Potritskij!” Kondratov shouted as he watched the aftermath of the shot on his own scope. “Let’s take out more of these sons of bitches!”

“Aye, sir,” Potritskij nodded.

It was never going to be a fair fight for the EPA tankers, especially when this particular part of the battle had only four People’s Army tanks against double that number for the FDF. Despite that, the EPA still put up a good fight against the FDF, getting hits on at least two tanks from the Third Battalion before all four Estorvipan tanks were disabled or destroyed. “Excellent work, men,” the commander of the Third Battalion said to his men once the final Estorvipan tank had been taken out. “First and Second Platoons, head back up to the power plant and look for more enemies. Third Platoon, follow First and Second Platoons and secure those positions.”

“You heard the major, Potritskij,” Kondratov said. “Keep an eye out for more tanks. That can’t be all that Zhivkov’s got.”

“Roger, scanning,” Potritskij said, traversing his scope through the entire range of its field of vision to give him as big of a picture of the battlefield as he could get. The two tank platoons advanced towards the coal plant once again, with one platoon sticking close to the village and the roads and the other moving away to give themselves a better position to see if there were enemy units hiding behind the power plant waiting to ambush the incoming FDF infantry. However, when Serafim Potritskij did see enemy tanks, they didn’t come from behind the plant. Instead, those tanks emerged from over the crest of a hillside to the west of the FDF tankers. “Contact! Three-zero-zero degrees to the west!” Serafim shouted, and he made the turret turn to follow the direction in which his scope was pointing. However, this was a process that took an entire minute at best, and in that time, the Estorvipan tanks were already firing their main guns at the FDF tanks. Their gunnery left a few things to be desired, but the Estorvipan tanks still landed enough shots to disable two FDF tanks before the rest of the two platoons could return fire.

“Der’mo!” Kresimir Kondratov cried out. “We’re too exposed out here! Where’s that artillery when you need it?!”

Almost right on cue, artillery shells began raining down on the hill where the Estorvipans had positioned their tanks, or at least this particular platoon of tanks. These also weren’t regular artillery rounds raining down on the Estorvipans as well; these were “cluster munitions” which dropped smaller explosives on their targets after exploding in the air as opposed to classic shells which simply blew up upon hitting the ground or any sort of target in between. At the same time as the cluster bomb shells started dropping on the Estorvipans, the FDF tanks reversed once again to give themselves a wider berth against their opponents than they currently had. While this was happening, Serafim fired another round at one of the enemy T-72s, and once he hit, he thought he saw smoke or flames coming out of one of the hatches, although he couldn’t be sure if it was his shot that had caused that or one of the cluster munitions. Nevertheless, the barrage was enough to get the Estorvipans to retreat from their own positions at the top of the hill, and the FDF tankers got a short reprieve of their own. But just as soon as the T-72s disappeared, they were replaced by BMP-3s also operated by the Estorvipan People’s Army, and they had Kornet anti-tank missiles mounted to their turrets which they were now using against the FDF. One such missile looked like it was headed straight for Serafim Potritskij’s scope, and the guy ducked inside the turret as the missile struck the turret with a dull but loud bang.

“Fall back! Fall back!” the commander of the Third Battalion shouted, but it was too late. The barrage of missiles from the enemy BMPs were too much for two more of the battalion’s tanks, and both of them were knocked out of the fighting. One of the tanks also had its turret fly away from the rest of the hull in spectacular and fiery fashion, putting this side of the FDF attack at risk. “Everyone who’s still alive, fall back and form up with me!” the commander of the Third Battalion called out.

“How bad is it out there, Lieutenant?” Serafim Potritskij asked as he currently couldn’t see anything out of his scope. He couldn’t tell if the missile impact had damaged it or anything, but without his scope, firing back at the Estorvipans had just become a more difficult task.

“Very bad, Potritskij, very bad,” Kresimir Kondratov replied. “It’s just Kornets everywhere—oh, no. More Su-25s incoming!”

“Der’mo!” Serafim cried out as the drone of jet engines once again descended upon them to drop their deadly payload. Once again, the T-80 rocked back and forth as bombs exploded around it, but this time, all four remaining tanks of the Third Battalion somehow escaped the second air attack with only minor damage. Once the Su-25s had left the picture, Kondratov poked his head out of the commander’s hatch, grabbed the NSV machine gun in front of him, and began firing back at the dismounted Estorvipan infantry who were firing at the FDF with their Kalashnikov rifles and the occasional RPG. Kondratov didn’t want to look back, not necessarily because he didn’t want to turn his back on the enemy but because of a certain belief of his that if he was going to get hit then he wanted to do it while facing his foe. Not that there was much of a chance that someone would hit him at that distance, but superstitions were something that were hard to drop, especially for a soldier like Kresimir Kondratov.

Both the EPA and the FDF continued firing at each other for a few minutes, and it seemed like the FDF were the ones on the back foot as they were the ones backing away from their positions in Durdenville and Feuerstadt. But then, just as it looked like the FDF was about to be pushed back, two of the BMPs chasing the Third Battalion exploded simultaneously. And none of those rounds came from the Third Battalion because all four surviving tanks were more concerned with just making it through the encounter and not taking out their enemies, so Kondratov had to look around for a little bit before he saw a larger group of tanks behind the formation. “Sorry we’re late, friends, but the 61st Mechanized Brigade is now here,” the commander of the aforementioned unit said. “Fall back to the rest stop down the road. The brigade already has a temporary HQ established over there and we’re already gathering others from other units.”

“Why couldn’t you have come sooner, huh?” Serafim Potritskij asked even as he consciously decided not to press the push-to-talk button on his radio. He then released the breath that he didn’t know he had been holding in and slumped back into his seat.

  ESTORVIPA AND ESTORPIVA 4 - 2 PASARGA        
              RODIN (14')       KARPATY (25')
  PRASUTAGUSIC (32', 70')       SALAI (44')
             TIMNEV (88')

     OBEROUR AR MORO 1 - 1 ESTORVIPA AND ESTORPIVA  
  DE COURBUEIL (50')       LEMISH (74')

by **Cassadaigua** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 11:38 am

Team Cassadaigua: World Cup 43- World Cup 93

Part III: World Cup 45- Our First Qualification,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

After showing early promise in World Cup 43 qualifiers, making some in the nation getting a temporary hope that we might qualify in our first try, the Fillies had a hard time getting into the groove in the 44th edition. Some of our group mates at the time included Capitalizt SLANI, Sorthern Northland, and Jeru FC. Six games into the competition, the team struggled with a 1-3-2, showing that our "sophomore jinx" was going to be very real. When the final game was played, the end result was a 3-5-4 record and sixth place in the group. Therefore, there was not much expectation that we would taking such a massive step forward in our third attempt.

World Cup 45 would be hosted by the nations of New Manhattan and Demot, each places who's sporting programs only exist in the history books at this team. History buffs are well aware of the prowess that each of those countries, but if you have not been as interested in getting to know the legacy of the World Cup since the beginning days, just know that both of them are former champions. For this competition, Cassadaigua would be placed in Group 2, and be opposed by some well known entities like Candelaria And Marquez and Taeshan. Also in this group was a nation known as The Han Empire, or Daehanjeiguk to some. Soon enough, they would go down as providing us one of our memorable games of our first few years. To qualify, you would need to finish in the top three of our group.

The Cassadaigua roster would feature several players who participated on the Baptism of Fire team, this would include captain Courtney Ferguson up front and Michelle Fuller in the back. Those names, of course, are among those retired from the team but this squad would also feature a new legend in the making: Stacie Kerrigan. The 22 year old participated in the Di Bradini Cup the year prior, a competition where she met Eric Fraser, the Secristani defender. That in itself was a pretty good story that we have told a few times over and over. Though, it never hurts to continue talking about how it happened. Of course, Secristan remained a big rival of ours, starting in the Baptism of Fire, and going through other sports like the World Bowl and the World Baseball Classic. In that game, Fraser was instructed by his coaching staff and mostly his parents to be rough with Kerrigan, including the hair pulling that Secristanis seemed to enjoy doing. Kerrigan was a forward so naturally, their paths would cross. Fraser got the assignment to be aggressive, but he couldn't do it. Stacie heard the instructions of the rival coaches, and expected the worst. However, there was an attraction between the two of them, beginning with smiles and then small talk. They each played hard, but clean with one another, and hugged it out after the match. Soon, enough they began dating and the rest in the history books. On Monument Wall at the Dagan Airways Stadium, we see Stacie's #14, and her name, Stacie Kerrigan-Fraser.

Kerrigan would also take full advantage of the mentoring from captain Courtney Ferguson, who at 34, was in her last World Cup. The goalkeeper was still Rachel Terry, and other big contributors from this team who's names are off the radar a bit now were defender Jessica Messina, and midfielders Meghan Burns, and Erika Cottrell. This team was a good mixture of those on our first Baptism of Fire team, and those that would be the next generation of stars into the bridge years that took us from a World Cup Qualifier, to a World Cup Champion.

In qualifiers, this team would get off to a good start, beating some of the lesser teams in the group: Mo Land 3, Albundania, and Achtervolging to start 3-0-0. Definite confidence was in place for this team, as they took their perfect record to (then named) Concord Heights Stadium for a showdown with fellow 3-0-0 Daehanjeiguk. The Han were expected to not only win, but to show the world that we really hadn't played anyone yet. They were quite confident about this fact in their press releases, and didn't seem to pay the Fillies much respect. In the end, this game is seen as one of the most pivotal games in Cassadagan history. With a 2-0 lead, the Han began to get a little too overconfident and took some cheap shots at our players. Perhaps the intention of this was to serve as sending a message: that they were still a superior team to us and that we were not as good as our record showed. It was at this point where this team showed some character and resiliency. It began with a Meghan Burns second half goal to cut the lead to 2-1, and then for some unknown reason, Stacie Kerrigan was essentially attacked by Kim Jiwun in the penalty area, and the ref was on top of it. The crowd booed the pointlessness of the tackle, but soon erupted in a raucous cheer as Kerrigan buried the kick and made it 2-2.

Now, the Fillies had all the momentum in the latter stages of the game, and they showed the spirit that they would not back down from anyone with the way that Kerrigan tied it up. However, the Han were not done with their targeting of Stacie in this much. It's been so many years later, and we still have no idea why this opponent, who we had no history with and was generally well respected otherwise would decide to take so many liberties with us. Whatever the reason may have been, it was at their own peril, as Kerrigan, who was left with bruised up legs after the match, scored a dramatic goal to put us ahead, and 3-2 would be the eventual final. Historian Rebecca Stephenson said of this game, "There were a lot of things that happened in Concord Heights that night. While the team scored some good looking wins in the World Cup 43 qualifier, this was the biggest win in national history at the time because of the way they stepped up and battled back to not only win a game, but to do it when an opponent seemed to think very little of the people that we had on the pitch with the way they tried to manhandle them. It was also the coming out party for 22-year old Stacie Kerrigan. She was the one that was targeted the most by The Han, and as a young player, she not only withstood that challenge, but thrived with it. The way she was bruised up after the game showed that we were tough and could win this type of matchup. The fact that it happened in Concord Heights, in front of a sold out crowd got the fans believers. They were now 4-0-0. There were still many games left to play, but with the top three qualifying out of the group, fans were excited. Maybe this would be that time!"

The undefeated aspect of qualifying would end, but as the matchdays continued, Cassadaigua continued to remain in the top three. Taeshan was underachieving just enough in the group standings to allow the Fillies, along with Candelaria And Marquez and Daehanjeiguk to hold those positions on most days. However, they would not officially clinch their qualification until the final game, which was against Taeshan. They were close enough to where if they took the three points, we would have a near miss. This would end up as another 3-2 victory, with Courtney Ferguson, our first ever captain, being the one that scored the eventual cup winning goal. In her blog, she was very modest about the accomplishment and instead chose to commend her teammates, thank the fans, and think back to everything this team had accomplished since the beginning of Baptism of Fire 30. In their third cycle, Cassadaigua was going to the World Cup!

Very soon after qualifying, the reality of the feat set in: it's going to be a difficult road. Only the best of the best remain, but Cassadaigua would be a huge underdog at this point. The team would end up in Group F, and end up playing Milchama, Vephrall, and Kura-Pelland. Of those, only the Warriors are still active in the World Cup, and we wonder if they know their part in our national history: being our first game in the Cup itself. Whether they do or not, they certainly enjoyed the result with a 4-2 victory. Stacie Kerrigan will hold the distinction of being our first goalscorer in a World Cup match. We then lost 3-2 to Kura-Pelland, and 1-0 to Vephrall, so we would have to wait for our first ever point in the tournament. Nonetheless, it was a monumental achievement for this team to qualify, and they would do so again in World Cup 46. As excited as we were, we never knew how close we actually were to becoming a World Champion.

Stacie Kerrigan unquestionably made a name for herself in this tournament, and as 22-year old she would still have plenty of time to be a part of several more teams. After her playing career, Kerrigan continued to be a face of Cassadagan soccer and would be the President of CASE (Cassadagan Association for Soccer Excellence). She would be followed in that role by Taylor Connolly, who was followed by Stephanie Sweeney.

This series will have one more stop before we get to our World Cup 50 title. Stay tuned!

by **Nyowani Kitara** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 2:48 pm

President Muhoozi Kulan, at CORNCOB

President Muhoozi Kulan was present, physically, at CORNCOB- but mentally, his mind kept wandering east. The Guanacastecan civil war was incroaching more and more within Nyowani Kitara- it was becoming more and more obvious, internationally, that Nyowani Kitara's efforts to keep themselves out of the bordering civil war were failing. His own men were giving him security updates here in Altendalur, telling him that the President Alpízar's forces were seemingly more and more supplying themselves within Nyowani Kitara, out of reach of their actual military. That was not great for Nyowani Kitara- they did not want Guanacastecan forces, from either side of the conflict, to start launching cross-border attacks on each other, within Nyowani Kitara.

The thought had come to his head already- he might need Euran and Nepharan help in securing the border. That was something, of course, that he would want to avoid asking for at all costs- but if things escalated, they would not have any choice. He had seen his Defense Minister's period at question time- and the Defense Minister had been grilled by the opposition, including Nafuna Akongo- ironic, of course, that Nafuna freaking Akongo, of all people, was complaining, as the leader of the opposition, was complaining about the security situation. Her defense minister had a quip about how the opposition were led by a woman who plunged us into civil war almost immediately upon her succession to power- but his quick wits could not mask the fact that there was, indeed, a problem.

It was that moment when the President made a phone call to his Minister of Defense. "Minister, how are you?" He asked him. They exchanged pleasantries. "I need you to find out- do an intel report. We need to know exactly what we are dealing with, re: Guanacastecan military forces that are located within Nyowani Kitara, from both sides. There are weapons flowing from our side of the border. We also are going to need a top secret report- what is the state of their forces within NYK, what are the likelihood that they keep launching attacks from here, and are we capable of doing something about this in our own- or do we need to loop in Bastion and Corvistone. Furthermore, what are the chances that there are strikes from Guanacasteca, into Nyowani Kitara?"

That should keep his Minister busy. There wasn't a ton of confidence in the cabinet that they could do much at this point, considering the state of their forces- but he was going to have to exhaust all of his options.

But there were still important things to get done here. There was a reason he was at this conference. President Innocent Uburiganya, of Kirungabi, also freshly coming out of a civil war, had publicly proposed a Kirungabi and Nyowani Kitara alliance at CORNCOB- one that could form the basis for deeper relations. They were very similar nations, with similar interests- Afro-majority nations in Rushmore, both coming out of civil wars, both doing everything they can to rebuild their nations. President Kulan shook President Uburigyanya's hand, in front of the cameras, at CORNCOB, talking about how he was 'all-in'.

"I gladly accept the President's offer for our nations to join forces here at CORNCOB." The President told media gathered at the press room. "The reasons are compelling- especially considering that we come from similar backgrounds, working towards achieving similar goals. All of Rushmore, and beyond, must understand- our effort to get here must be done equitably. Nations like ours, and Kirungabi, are not fully industrialized like other nations- so this conference should focus on our nations ability to achieve these goals, while re-building our peacetime economies."

Sports Brief: World Cup Qualifying

Matchday 9: Nyowani Kitara earn a tough 2-2 draw away from home in their Pavolan neighbors, Brookstation

BROOKSTATION- It's not a long flight to Brookstation, but indeed, it is a tough away day. Brookstation, ranked 57th in the multiverse, were looking to have this game against their regional rivals, Nyowani Kitara, to get their Qualifying campaign back on track. "Just 12 points through 8 games is well below the standard that Brookstation have set for themselves in the last few World Cup Qualifying cycles." Said a NYK TV analyst. "A game against our team is a perfect time to turn that around- it's at home, we're Pot 1, we're a subregional rival. A quality result for them against us would really give them a lot of confidence, and probably see the start of their ascension, as we scrap at the top of the group with the Sonnelian pair, Drawkland & Juvencus."

It was Nyowani Kitara who were really on the front foot in the first 45 minutes. Handsdotter picked up an early yellow card, but the Kitarans were still able to try and get forward. He was dominating in the midfielder, and he was doing a great job of involving all sorts of players. Lots of forward progression, allowing the wingers to put Brookstation's defenders in tough spots. And a lot of that progression was rewarded. Olaf Svante getting the ball in a position where he's one on one with a Brookstation defender, beating him on the dribble, and chipping it over the goalkeeper got Handsdotter an assist in the 24th minute. And in the 33rd minute, he did it again. A free kick from a tough shooting angle saw Handsdotter on the ball, and he bent the set piece perfectly. Armoni Okombo, the captain, headed the ball powerfully into the back of the net, and we took a 2-0 lead into the break.

We looked to be well on our way to a big set of three points, earned in a tough away game. But then, disaster- a late tackle from Handsdotter. A red card shown. Down to 10 men- and the man that we are down was our best player. Everything turned on its head. Brookstation started to chase, and with our team wearing down, as we were down to 10 men, they punished us for the infraction. Leon Michael Robes got his team back in it, with a 71st minute header, and then in the 88th minute, it was Moussa Wague who would get the point for the home side, volleying from close range.

"Considering how this game started- a disappointing result." Liang Wei told reporters. "However, these things happen. An away draw, against an opponent of their skill level- we will take that. We've got to recover quickly, because St. Saratoga will be a challenge in a few days time."

Matchday 10: Disaster as Nyowani Kitara can only manage a draw, at home, against bottom of the table St. Saratoga

DEWAYO- Usually, a return home, after a tough away game, is a good thing in football- especially international football. You've got the fans on your side, you're able to recover, and get the taste out of your mouths after a particularly rough game. That's exactly what we THOUGHT would happen within Nyowani Kitara. A tough away draw we just went through, after blowing a 2-0 halftime lead, mostly due to falling to 10 men, and the defense falling apart at that point. Three points were there for the taking- but Brookstation's impressive comeback left Kitaran fans frustrated.

Still, that would not match their reaction to how this game went in Dewayo.

One would not believe it. St. Saratoga blitzed up the field to start the game, having themselves a shot. And just 35 seconds into the match- their #10 had a wonder-strike of a goal, bending it into the top corner. Liang Wei broke his clipboard at that- 1-0 was 1-0. And more importantly, it allowed the visitors to really settle back into their kind of game. They wanted to frustrate our attack, and they did- forcing us to settle, playing physically, packing it in on defense. We had all sorts of shots, but they were all just speculative, from distance. Mbũgua Kanj equalized on a great cross in the 65th minute, but we could not find a winner in our capitol.

Our worst window yet- just a 2 point Qualifying window. Liang Wei spoke about it. "Yes, this is a frustrating result- there's no ifs or buts about that." He told reporters. "I'm frustrated too- we certainly left 2 points for the taking here at home, and honestly, even 4 for this window. Fortunately, there's a ton of time left in World Cup Qualifying. I am not worried. We are going to have to change things up, at the next window, so that we can have much better results." The next window will be one with lots of air miles- strictly away from home, as we will travel to Lozho, and then Oflia, trying to earn some road wins so we can right the ship.

Nyowani Kitara also fell in the table- going from first to third, now behind Drawkland(25 points) and Juvencus(23 points) as they have 22 points through 10 games.

by **TJUN-ia** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 3:23 pm

By Peter Davis

After back-to-back wins closed the gap at the top significantly, the Jaguars of TJUN-ia were now starting to be renewed in confidence about a potential run towards the WC once more. Nephara are now only 2 points ahead after 8 games in this WCQ group and everyone knew that if things continued to be like this, TJUN-ia's hopes of winning this group wouldn't be entirely out of the question at all. Li Xiu Ying could also feel that the momentum was shifting in their favour, but they also knew that they had to make sure that they did their business on their end no matter what...and that was easier said than done.

The Estadio Universidad Carlandas would certainly be rocking when 1-win Caribbia and the expectations from all those in our corner was pretty straightforward - get those 3 points, come what may. Going 3-0 in the first half was certainly a good way to head towards that goal as a brace from Jackson Smith-Scott was accompanied by a superb free kick from Kelo Ngwemanagawa from just outside the box. Caribbia would get a goal back early in the 2nd half but then they fouled Malhrani al-Kalhrani in the box, allowing him to take an easy penalty before the final goal from substitute Jose Lozano de la Cruz the icing on the cake of this 5-1 win.

And then we headed to Ziwana. Ever since the Akambuku came back to international competition, they have been a thorn in our side so it was no surprise to see the Scorchers in our group for the 3rd time on the bounce. Ziwanicell National Stadium in Birnin-Likulu is also pretty familiar to us at this point and we certainly expected an absolute war in this game...and that is exactly what we got. The first half ended up with a 3-3 draw on our hands as a brace from Richard Mumba and a nice poker from Charles Tembo was responded to thanks to a collection of goals from Yomakaji Shimigatsu, Kim Choi-ya and a James Kaunda OG. Both teams would end up with great chances to win this game in the 2nd half but while William Tembo ended up being the 2nd half MVP, Ziwana ended up putting Sputnik Brykilawa to the sword in dramatic fashion, with substitute Kevin Schulze taking the game over with 2 goals in the final 20 minutes. It ended 5-3 to the hosts and just like that, the new gaps had been finalised. Nephara is now ahead by 5...and Ziwana and the rest are now back by 1.

Things are certainly getting interesting as the WCQ process speeds towards the halfway point and everyone knew that we had to be extra careful no matter what. The next period will feature, for the first time this group stage, back to back home games as Baggieland ends the 1st half in Beregozera in Szensky before Tallawah Stadium hosts the winless United Bongo States of America. Things are going to get wild as the rematches start to roll in...and many will hope we are up to our best till the very end. GO JAGS!

MD1: @United Bongo States of America (265) W 3-1 (1st)
MD2: @Srednjaci (101) L 0-1 (5th)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD3: vs Savojarna (37) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City W 1-0 (3rd)
MD4: @Elmyia (124) - Tollington Park, Mosfleet W 1-0 (2nd)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD5: vs Varavel (284) - Salam Liljamie Stadium, Al Kalifa W 7-2 (2nd)
MD6: @Nephara (11) - The Farham Arena, Sabrefell L 1-2 (2nd)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD7: vs Archalit (183) - Stade de la Victoire, Roi Ville W 7-3 (2nd)
MD8: @95X (159) - City Stadium, 95X City W 3-2 (2nd)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD9: vs Caribbia (222) - Estadio Universidad Carlandas, Carlandas W 5-1 (2nd)
MD10: @Ziwana (82) - Ziwanicell National Stadium, Birnin-Likulu L 3-5 (2nd)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD11: vs Baggieland (71) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
MD12: vs United Bongo States of America (265) - Tallawah Stadium, Port Town/Portuaria
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD13: vs Srednjaci (101) - Ke Kahua Pāʻani o Pua Aloalo, Kepu Manu
MD14: @Savojarna (37)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD15: vs Elmyia (124) - Zebra Stadium, Toropo/Almadinat
MD16: @Varavel (284) - Stadion Glendoorn, somewhere in Varavel
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD17: vs Nephara (11) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD18: @Archalit (183) - Archalit Olympic Stadium, Charkara
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD19: vs 95X (159) - Estádio do Pacífico, Rio Pacífico
MD20: @Caribbia (222)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD21: vs Ziwana (82) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
MD22: @Baggieland (71) - Dartmouth Hill, Hawthorn

by **Montana Verde** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 3:31 pm

Turori – 2 (0)
Makakio (89’), Yuliizala (90+1’)

Montaña Verde – 0 (0)
Moises; Alcalá, Mandito (57’ Juan Venegas ), Cambeiro, Juderías (79’ Adriana ); Schutzán, Coco; Aramis (79’ Israel ), Primitivo, Indiano (70’ Monaguillo ); Tino (57’ Osito )

Coalición de Guepardos y Reptiles – 0 (0)

Montaña Verde – 0 (0)
Moises; Maximiliano, Mercedes, Mandito (63’ Cambeiro ), Juderías; Coco, Schutzán; Emma (45’ Israel ), Tatiano (88’ Covarrubias ), Camilo (75’ Cristo Díaz ); Tino (75’ Osito )

Article from the Verdean football magazine Cuatro-Cuatro-Dos.

Dávalos running out of ideas as hopeless Condors take solitary point from away trip

Also in the news:

A Verdean Cat-warbler (image generated using Stable Diffusion AI)

Scientists say the Verdean Cat-warbler (pictured above) is now at “endangered” status owing to destruction of its natural rainforest habitat
Illegal mahogany exports “must be stopped”, says President
Verdean dahlia cultivar wins international horticultural award
Museum of Indigenous Heritage opens amid controversy over colonial legacy
President Santángel Hurtado alleges Græntfjall are funding right-wing paramilitary rebels
This week, on Fuego y Hielo: It’s the day of Angel and Clara’s wedding, but Aurora has plans to disrupt the ceremony … Diego saved Graciela’s life, but she’s still in love with Diego’s identical twin brother, Pedro … Alicia and Sergio contemplate the uncertainties of life as the ballroom-dancing themed kidnapping unfolds …

On this day in Verdean history:

A museum exhibit depicting the early days of the El País editorial offices (image generated using Stable Diffusion AI and not edited whatsoever by me, crazy how the computer does that)

1521: On “Black Thursday”, the Verdean Navy is given a humiliating defeat at the Battle of San Felome
1820: The first edition of Montaña Verde’s first national newspaper El País is published (pictured above)
1833: The Semprún–Freixa Expedition sets off to try to discover an ancient temple in the Verdean Amazon, never to return
1891: The nickel-plated 5 centavo coin is first introduced
1921: Christian Fernandino, Montaña Verde’s first ever fighter ace, is shot down and killed

by **Banija** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 3:33 pm

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

The Kabaka, at Mujaguzo Palace in Busukuma, preparing for the Funeral

The days continued to meshed together- but with a Monarchy, as it went- the show must go on. And the show did, indeed, go on. It had been a remarkable international effort to put together the rescue operations- but the Princes had no chance of survival. Just four bodies had been found by the joint task force from Baker Park, Banija, Græntfjall, and Cardenao- those had been the only four bodies that had been really recoverable. Fortunately, two of them were the Princes- his son and grandson. They were almost back, shipping from Iqaluit.

Kabaka Mwanga really had lived a life of tragedy. His father, assassinated while he was abroad. His son and heir, and then his grandson and next heir, going to a Commonwealth Assembly in his stead- only for the pilot to lose control of the plane over the famed Blood Sea. Despite the clear insults sent in his direction from countries like Nephara, his sorrow was something that he was focused on. But, of course, he knew what his job was- he was not allowed to simply wallow. The funeral would be tomorrow.

Ironically, he was in one of those moments where he was not preparing for the funeral. There were big things he would have to deal with regarding his one succession, since the line of succession in Banija was flipped upside down, with a month-old baby now as the heir to the throne, Isebantu Sekakama. The biggest thing, of course, would be appointing a Regent. He would get to that- and knew he needed to do so quickly. He, himself, was 90 years old- and without a Regent appointed for the baby, it would basically fall to the Lukiiko. And the Lukiiko handling the process... It absolutely would be chaotic. Beyond that- it could spell the end of the Monarchy itself.

But he was in his Palace, getting a briefing on the war in Farfadillis. This was something that would not wait for what was suddenly a succession crisis in Banija to deal with itself. The Farolerans had launched a "self-defense" operation against other Farf nations, and this was already sparking an increase of refugee flow from the island of Farfadillis, into the Kingdom.

He was being briefed by Ruperto Fox- who was the Minister for Home Affairs, yes, but also the de facto cabinet and government spokesperson on Farf issues. This, of course, was mostly because the Busukuma born Faroleran was the only elected Farf in the Lukiiko- and he happened to be part of the majority party.

"So, what you're saying is- Farolera is acting in self-defense. Are you sure, Ruperto?"

"Yes, your Majesty." Ruperto Fox told him. He remembered the deal that he had struck with Alex Teran long ago- work on the inside to advance the interests of Farolera, and Alex Teran would support his wild ambitions to eventually rise to the very top of the political mountain in Banija- Katikkiro. Insane ambitions, yes, and everybody recognized that a pale-skinned Faroleran had about as much chance at becoming the Katikkiro as Laborious Hawk, but hey- but ambitions were ambitions.

"I don't know man. Look at these reports I'm reading." The Kabaka said. "What are these forces doing there? From what I'm reading, aren't they just straight up butchering the forces from Rülândéá and Induja? It looks like shit could turn into a genocide or something. Ethnic cleansing, even." The Kabaka was skeptical of Ruperto Fox's claims.

"Your Majesty, please- you have to trust me." Ruperto Fox got a lot of leeway in Banija, because, well- he was the only Farf in the Lukiiko. "Ethnic cleansing, any of the stuff that you hear on the radio... You know the reliability of those crazy radio sources in Farfadillis. Ignore them." He paused, and then continued speaking. "Yes, the nations are at war- but that's par for the course in Farfadillis. Plus, what would Banija do, anyways? Would we really want the quagmire on our hands of occupying Farf nations, who would fiercely resist whatever Banija does, and having to military occupy the nation?"

Ruperto Fox made a good point. Plus- Kabaka Mwanga's mind was elsewhere. On his lost son. And lost grandson. Of not even a week ago. And the succession crisis that was going to loom in his nation, that was going to loom every single day until he appointed a Regent for Isebantu Sekakama. He dismissed him.

The Kabaka did frown, however. "Look- who says that we'd have to do things by ourselves? But you do make a point about the country being a quagmire... Well, Ruperto, I'll trust your word- for now." The Kabaka said. "We'll keep track- but sit back. You're dismissed." The Kabaka went back to funeral preparations, while Ruperto Fox sent a quick text to Alex Teran- the Banijan government was placated, for now.

by **Savigliane** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 3:42 pm

OOC Note: Some background information might be useful to read this - short summaries of each RP in the previous line can be found here, and short summaries of each RP in the current line can be found here, which should help.

ESCAPE
3. tout le monde veut lui couper les jambes

Adrian Toscani coughed. "Sorry," he added, warily looking around the table.

It was an odd collection of characters in a small back-alley Ritorno café. The concept of a small back-alley café in Ritorno, of all places, a government-established city for interdimensional portal researchers to congregate, was already weird enough. One might've thought that when the new Bianca Fiore-led government shut down all portal research, the city would empty out and all the small businesses would leave with it. But the newly-built train line from Ritorno to Acqui Bollente, as well as the unique style of a big industrial research center plopped in the middle of a field (what the kids were calling "industrycore"), attracted enough bodies to keep the cafés open and the lights on as research efforts ramped down.

Around the café table were Adrian and Thea Squarciafichi, as well as Umberto de Rossi, representing the leader of the opposition, Alberto Caccini. Umberto had the unique position of being loyal to the government without any outwards signs of doing so, which made him a great scapegoat for Caccini if any of the plotting surfaced and he was forced to give himself plausible deniability. But they were used to the big, strapping Arrachenan. To Umberto's left was Maxence Lavigne, apparently representing ex-Interdimensional Travel Task Force research head Leandro de Rossi. Nobody had even heard of the guy or knew how the legendary scientist knew him, but there were rumors that he was in the intelligence community. Leandro had at least given him a PhD student, whose name nobody knew but everyone had waited too long for it to not be awkward when they asked, to talk about the science.

Finally, there was Joël Bonmaison himself, who had been held up when it had been discovered that the only helipads in Ritorno had been decommissioned. He'd ultimately had to settle for the ignominy of landing his helicopter and a nearby field and having a driver take him to the café, and as a result came in thirty minutes late and covered in sweat.

"Apologies, gang," he says as he walks in. "Got some big guys at the table, huh? You, Leandro's boy, and of course Adrian Toscani. If you ever need a club, Qet NSC will have its doors wide open, maestro."

"Thank you, sir," Adrian replies hesitantly. "How are they doing?"

"Terrible!" he exclaims, with a booming laugh. "No, they're trying their best, and it's on me for not investing better. Myung-Sik and his boys are doing all they can. But I did think we would be in the Red League by now. Of course, way better than Villeneuve. You, Frenchy," he adds, gesturing to Agent Lavigne. "You a Villeneuve fan?"

"I don't especially follow SavigLega, Mister Bonmaison. Maxence Lavigne, representing Leandro."

"Joël, please! And nice to meet you." Either sensing the awkwardness in the room or acutely not noticing, he continues to ramble on. "So, let's talk business, then! You want to build another Portal now that Prime Minister Fiore has shut the first one down. You want my money to do so. What am I getting out of this?"

The rest of them exchange awkward glances. For some reason, Adrian finds himself answering first. "We see it as an investment, Mist...Joël. You invest upfront now, and when the portal is functioning, we charge fares to go through."

"Like a train, huh?"

"Yes, like a train. And then you get your cut of that. If this is what the scientists say it is, that's a huge money-maker for you."

"Puts a big target on my back, though. Especially given who's in power. Those Ligue-Est boys have sold themselves out...not good for business. And my construction business...let's say I'd be taking more than my fair share of risk here. Who's to say those crazies of Fiore don't smash my house and your portal up, huh?"

A recovered Umberto responds. "The plan is to put the portal in Grande Cucina for now. Near the border, of course, with some kind of transit system leading there. We have some contacts in their government who have indicated that we'd get approval for it."

"The Pasta Boys, huh? Well, alright. But I'd need some pretty good terms for this to be worth all my time and money. Not to mention the risk."

"Yes, the terms are here. We've tried to configure it to minimize risk, per the requests of others who we've offered this deal to. You would invest one hundred million today, and another hundred million quarterly assuming certain performance measurements are hit. The equity you get ramps up-"

Bonmaison looks at the term sheet, then waves it away. Adrian's heart sinks a little as he braces for another no. "What are you doing all this for? If you want me to invest, I'm going to invest. Not this half-assed option. A billion as soon as I can get the funds for fifty percent. Take it or leave it."

The others exchange wary glances - but what choice do they really have? "We'll, uh, confirm that that's okay on our end," Lavigne offers. Bonmaison seems satisfied, then reconsiders.

"And you'd better build me a helipad wherever in Grande Cucina this ends up. I'm not fucking driving again. Well," he says, putting his hands on his knees, "nice to talk to all of you. And let's hope for better days."

The room is silent after he leaves. But the Portal is again coming to fruition.

Bianca didn't talk to Evangelista Rizzuto - or anyone, really - for the next few days. The mood around Acqui Bollente was tense, everyone waiting for the next domino to drop. Everyone in the government knew that the "do-nothing" government was fucked - the Prime Minister in charge of things most of all. But any move from Fronte!'s Lia Baudino or Ligue-Est's Yves Caqueret - and especially a motion from Rizzuto to reclaim his party's leadership from Bianca - was destined to end in a Populistas government. And as much as everyone hated being in power, surely that risk wasn't enough to rock the boat.

When Rizzuto next stepped into la ufficia, as the media had dubbed it, he was smiling. Bianca despised his smile, one of many signals that he'd worked something out that nobody else in the room had and was milking as much as he could out of the fact. Despite his immense skill as a politician, it was one of many smarmy little personality hiccups that had forced him to turn to an ex-footballer in the first place.

"I trust that you've thought more about the new coalition," he opened. "Excited to hear your takes on it."

"I can't trust Une Nation on travel policy. They could've joined government originally if he'd put aside his personal misgivings. But having them and Caqueret in government is just waiting to re-open a portal. They'll say it's for commerce only, but what the fuck do you think is going to happen when Populistas are back in power with a ready-made portal to the oldworld? It'll be game over."

"What do you think is going to happen if you're forced down? It's going to happen, Bianca." He gave a theatrical sigh. "Maybe we can't stop it, but we can slow it down. Give people time to come to their senses. If you take the deal-"

It was Bianca's turn to smile. "Let's call an election."

"What?"

"You're right about one thing. We don't have a lot of time. We have until the coalition collapses to completely eradicate any ability or willingness this nation has to build a functional portal to the oldworld. But that's not enough time. So we either get ourselves enough time to save Savigliane, or we rip the band-aid off."

"Your approval rating's in the thirties, Bianca. I can't let this happen."

"Sorry, I misspoke," she said, her grin turning positively lupine. "I'm calling an election. The press conference is tomorrow. And I will be running as a party leader, whether it's here or with anyone else. You think you'll ever be in power again if I siphon off two-thirds of your votes?"

"Bianca-"

"I think it's best if we stop wasting each others' time. The clock's ticking."

by **Turori** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 3:46 pm

Turori Sport Report

World Cup 93 Qualifying Matchday 9 :: After a slew of consecutive high-scoring victories, the Turori National Team were due a return to normalcy in Group 13 action but left it entirely too late as fans at Eels Park in Eelandii were left biting their finger nails as it appeared for well over an hour that Montaña Verde may end up snapping the Turori National Team's winning run in World Cup 93 Qualifying. The Condors appeared to have struck first in the 28th minute through Marcos “Coco” Fernán but the goal was called back after review for offside. It was the best chance that the Verdean team had in the first half as they held on for dear life as the Turorian attack continued pressuring the Condors Back LIne. When it became clear that relying just on talent would not be enough, Turori National Team head coach Tarek Edgeli switched to trying to out-pace the opposition, bringing on a swarm of fresh legs with 5 substitutions after the hour mark including a goalkeeper change - just for the heck of it.

Shaking things up, Edgeli introduced the youngster Lutara Makakio to partner up top with Turakia Diijelma and took a more attacking presence by introducing forward-minded Kala'a Yuliizala in palce of stalwart defender Planio'o Nrujsa. Things did not specifically improve fast for the Eels, they would build momentum and continue to pressure Moises Luque's net. It appeared the Eels had finally leveled the scoreline in the 83rd minute but Tulaki Rauogba's top in at the back was ruled offside much to the dismay of the Turorian fans packed into the Eels Park venue in Eelandii. Despite the let down, the Eels would not give up and it was the substitute Lutara Makakio who finally got a goal that counted in the 89th minute.

There was instant deflation in the Verdean players who had fought so hard for what they thought would be such a famous point. Then, just minutes after it seemed they could get a result, they would lose all hope. Kala'a Yuliizala fired an unstoppable shot from just inside the box after a feed through from Lumlao Noauryua, giving the Eels a stoppage time winner to preserve their perfect record in qualifying and keep the momentum up heading into a critical stretch with back to back games against Top 4 opposition in Group 13.

 Turori 2 - 0 Montaña Verde	
	Turori Goals:	:: 89' Lutara Makakio:: 91' Kala'a Yuliizala             
	Stats :: Turori 	:: Possession: 60%:: Shots: 3:: Corners: 3 :: Montaña Verde :: Possession: 40%:: Shots: 2:: Corners: 3
	Turori Lineup :: 	Derizi Amatopa (Terasin Moravuao 70'), Planio’o Nrujsa (Kala'a Yuliizala 69'), Karek Edgeli, Amakli Inuro'o, Biliki Rona'atu'i, Cuoabaza Orani’aoa, Kiidallen Aeroluzzi (Moumouni Verre'elali 61'), Tulaki Rauogba, Lati'ala Giaoka (Lutara Makakio 70'), Nua'oma Aikiki (Lumlao Noauryua 69'), Turakia Diijelhma

Explorers Eliminated in AOICE return :: The Atlantian Oceania Icehockey Clubs Event was recently contested once more and Turori was represented among the field by the Eelandii Explorers, the nations only top-tier professional Ice Hockey club. While there have been some rumors that Turorian Local clubs from Lpaka and Kionao would be applying to join the Vilitan Hockey League system, no such move has yet been made and the Explorers remain Turori's only entrant to the AOICE. Unfortunately for the Explorers they were dealt a difficult draw in the Preliminary Round of the competition, against the EHL runners Up Stormguard Lions. The Explorers actually handled themselves very well against there more experienced opposition and actually forced overtime with a 2-0 regulation victory on the second leg in Eelandii. After a scoreless overtime, the Explorers Weakness was finally uncovered as they were unable to score a single goal in the shootout and Stormguard Lions advanced to the next round. While they were eliminated early from the AOICE, Eelandii's Explorers can take solace in the fact that they were the only team to push the Lions as far as a shootout, with the Vanorian Club running the table to earn the second Atlantian Oceania Ice-Hockey Club Event.

World Cup 93 Qualifying Matchday 10 - Nobody's Perfect :: The Turori National Team's dream of a first ever perfect qualification campaign came undone at the hands of long time rivals Krytenia... again. Of course, Turori's best ever World Cup campaign was the 88th World Cup cycle where they contested 25 games from the start of qualifying until the World Cup Final without defeat. The only blemish along the way in World Cup Qualifying was the penultimate matchday neutral-ground matchup against Krytenia where Turori's National Cocoabo Squad were held 2-2 by the Cyan Army.

Fast forward to World Cup 93 Qualifying and Turori had gone 9 for 9 and were the last nation left on the board with a perfect qualification record. Once again, it would be Krytenia - a team that claims to have rarely gotten a good result against the Eels, who once again were the opponent that broke up the Eels perfect record - a seemingly unattainable goal for Turori who suffered their first Qualifying defeat since the final matchday of World Cup 92 Qualifying.

World Cup 93 Qualifying Group 13 :: While Turori lost their perfect record with the defeat to Krytenia, they did not lose the Top Spot in Group 13... yet. The Eels will square off with Tikariot on matchday 11 in a top of the table clash that will determine which of the two teams will cross the halfway mark in qualifying with the Group Lead. Krytenia's upset victory on Matchday 10 also closed things up in the battle for 3rd and the final playoff spot which has turned into a two-team battle between Krytenia and the Commonwealth of Baker Park at the moment. A gap is building between the Top 4 and fifth place nation Atheara who were held on Matchday 10 by Oscioru.

by **Valanora** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 4:26 pm

Elves are somewhat infamous for their desire to record historical details with near perfect accuracy, even if in doing so it will make either the individual or the nation as a whole look poor in doing so. There is an honor among the elves despite their stubbornness and sense of elitism that they do pursue accuracy and honesty to the fullest intent that is within their capabilities when it comes to recording history and facts. While the truth can hurt and make one feel foolish or ashamed, it is oft worth the pain in doing so in order to learn from the mistakes of the past so that a brighter future may take a place in its stead. Progress and betterment of ones self is a core principle of Vanorian society and those within the Empire are most often encouraged to follow this culture even in the face of embarrassment and/or failure. To err is to be sentient, to not fix those mistakes and hope for a better future is to be as one is insane, expectation of a better outcome when the means to produce that outcome have not changed.

It should then be very surprising to any who are avid historians of the Empire or those who have studied the Empire's history and culture to learn that there has been a person who was the monarch of the land but whose name has been stripped from official record for a myriad of reasons. Perhaps the strongest reason of all was that he was a Raynor, the only one known to be seen by the family and the nation at large as a failure of a ruler and someone who is not supposed to be celebrated nor remembered in the annals of time. Maybe another reason is that because his rule was less than five years in length, the shortest reign of any of the Raynor monarchs over the nation or one of the old kingdoms. No though, neither of those is the true reason as to why this monarch had been purged from the records of the Empire and is not supposed to be spoken about apart from use an example of everything an elf is not supposed to be to their nation and their family. His name was Jumangas Raynor and he nearly brought down the Raynor royal line through his actions.

To understand the situation better, we need go back in time nearly three hundred years ago, when the current monarch of the Elven Security Alliance was Zeratul Raynor. Zeratul had inherited the crown from his mother whom had inherited the crown from her father as the only child and heir, Zeratul following suit as the oldest son of his mother. Zeratul had two children himself, the oldest was Celekorn and the younger brother was Jumangas, both afforded all the luxuries and privilege's that came with being a prince of the kingdom. Zeratul had groomed Celekorn to rule in his stead when the time came for him to ascend to the crown and Jumangas was given a more military upbringing, with Zeratul hoping that the younger brother would serve as the right hand of the older and maintain the peace, prosperity, and stability of the nation. When Celekorn reached maturity, Zeratul decided to abdicate to allow his son to take over as the monarch, a smooth transition from father to son and the ushering in of a new, glorious age.

However greed and jealousy can even corrupt an elven heart if pushed enough and over time Jumangas began to become jealous of his brother sitting on the throne and believed he was the true heir to Zeratul, not his soft brother who could not protect the nation in Jumangas' eyes. After nearly five decades of prosperous rule, it all came tumbling down when Jumangas executed a plan to have Celekorn killed and usurped the throne himself. Celekorn's wife and young son were forced into hiding while Zeratul was locked inside his own home by the forces who were loyal to Jumangas. Upon a stolen throne Jumangas sat and brought with him a brief rule that was tyrannical and oppressive, unfair taxes raised upon the populace to pay for the forces he had used to take the nation and keep it. Resentment for the monarchy was beginning to fester when the nation was liberated from Jumangas grip, as a loyal member of the Dark Bows had infiltrated the palace and put the usurper kings' life to rest under the command of Zeratul's nephew, Artanis Raynor. With Jumangas' death, Celekorn's wife and son came out of hiding, with the sixteen year old Tobias Raynor then ascending the throne.

For his actions, Jumangas' name was stripped from the record, to be made as if he never existed at all. Unfortunately his descendants would threaten civil war nearly fifty years later, but unlike their father, his daughters had not inherited their father's greed and jealousy to a fault. Tobias was able to successfully negotiate with them and have them drop their claim to the throne, instead they were granted their own land in northern Arrosia from the crownlands. Later during the events of the last Calling, they to would abandon the material realm to return to the celestial realm from where the elves were made and came from. Few enough remain that can attest that the man ever did indeed live and those that can speak not the name, the shame of his actions to difficult a burden to bare for the over prideful elves. Lathwen's father delivered the nation from tyranny in ordering the counter attack and eventual assassination of Jumangas, now his daughter reigns as Empress of an entire Empire that was still in its formation at that time. For those who believe in the concept of karma, it might seem just and fitting that Lathwen eventually has become the monarch for her father's service to the nation and to the family in such dire times.

by **Squornshelan Remnant States** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 5:02 pm

World Cup Qualifying (almost) Midway Update

It's not been flawless by any means, but this has been the best first half of qualifying any Confederate team has played by a long shot. Whatever it was that caused prior cycles to begin with a streak of underachieving results that necessitated a late charge up the table to make the playoffs, Penrooke seems to have exorcised it. The team sits atop Group 7, even on points with Audioslavia but holding both Goal Differential and Head-to-Head tiebreakers against the Bulls, on the strength of the 30 goals they've scored through the first ten matches, a mark that sees them sit among the upper echelon of teams in qualifying.

SRS: 6
AER: 2

Scoring:
SRS: Hjort 4', 41', Damnagoras, 12', 66', Ditou 74', Birhat 83', 
AER: Goppré 51', Choréls 58'

Lineup: Heiskanen; Nyberg, Titov, Panoss (Keresh 85'), Musta (Sauber 60'); Hedberg, Nisarizo (Birhat 77'); Dast, Damnagoras, Ditou; Hjort (Nacar 77')

The Black-and-Reds were absolutely dominant in this one, apart from a fifteen minute stretch to start the second half. The veritable rock to Aeragny's scissors, as the opposition's press put it. Once again, the speed of play that Penrooke has brought to the equation paid off, with the Airannians clearly not ready for the directness of play from kickoff. A relatively short buildup led to a practically wide open shot for Hjort. Damnagoras got lost between the lines just a few minutes later to double the scoreline. While the Black-and-Reds would not find their third until just before the half, that owes more to some superb play from Victorya éys, who kept her side within sight of their hosts against a host of chances. Azayo jCarvên also deserves real credit for making adjustments and motivating his side at the half. A less disciplined, less well-led side might easily have folded down three nil away against a difficult opponent, but the Drills came out focused, and exploited some space down the wing to pull within one. Acting quickly to stop the bleeding, Penrooke sent Sauber on with instructions for the team, and to spare a slightly shell-shocked Musta any further jeering from the restive Lutenblag crowd. Whether it was tactical adjustments, a wakeup call, or just class finally showing again, the Black-and-Reds found their feet again and started to pull away, aided by a steady stream of fresh legs from the bench.

ASG: 1
SRS: 0

Scoring:
ASG: Yes
SRS: No

Lineup: Shimski; Nyberg, Titov, Yarlut, Halfariani (Maksimov 88'); Hashemi, Zazagan; Bondarov (Stern 81'), Damnagoras (Nisarizo 65'), Yonte; Ness (Fridtjofs 81')

Sometimes you just can't seem to breakthrough. Defenders shins and toes are always in the right place to disrupt shooting opportunities. The goalkeeper has read your mind and is standing there, waiting, exactly where you wanted to put the ball. The holding mid is already striding into your passing lane and its too late to stop your foot from following through. It really wasn't that the Black-and-Reds played poorly, though being held to a clean sheet is never a good look. Astograth, despite somehow being permitted to take the field without submitting a team sheet, were simply the better team, with a masterful defensive display. We certainly do hope the Astograthi FA will eventually favor us with the names of the players who took the field, so that they can be properly applauded, and offered Superleague contracts.

SRS: 6
EQS: 2

Scoring:
SRS: Titov 8', Halfariani 12', Hashemi 24', Ness 50'
EQS: Pink Pony 58', Gray Pony 74'

Lineup: Shimski; Bakken, Titov (Jagdish 85'), Yarlut, Halfariani; Hashemi (Hedberg 79'), Sevet-Ibilx; Bondarov (Norling 79'), Volam, Yonte (Maksimov 85'); Ness (Dahlgren 90+2)

After the blip against Astograth, the attack came storming back all at once against Equestria. While our regional neighbors were once World Cup champions and of quite a higher caliber than the Black-and-Reds of that time, the shoe is very much on the other hoof now. Anyone who likes their teams to "score early, score often" as the old Imperial era saying went, would have been pleased with the Black-and-Reds in this one. The back line, of all places, provided not only the match's opener, but the second goal as well. Titov scored from an early Hashemi corner kick, and Halfariani added another with an absolute screamer from 35 yards out. When asked post-match what possesse him to shoot from that position, he just grinned and shrugged his shoulders. Hashemi, already with an assist to her name, tallied a goal before the half was out, as the Equestrian keeper was once again beaten from distance. Wary of the sort of second-half letdown that had nearly let Aeragny pull level just a few weeks earlier, the Black-and-Reds were the ones coming out meaning business. Ness capped off the quick buildup that started almost immediately after kickoff, and Bondarov, needing no buildup at all, ran through the defense for number five. The visitors did pull one back not long after, but Hashemi answered almost immediately on a free kick that she herself earned, and at 6-1 with only half an hour to play, the match was pretty well sewn up.

OBR: 1
SRS: 3

Scoring:
OBR: Chasey 11'
SRS: Fridtjofs 15', 44', Volam 80'

Lineup: Krusan; Nyberg, Harkhan (Van 72'), Keresh, Halfariani; Hashemi (Sevet-Ibilx 72'), Zazagan; Stern, Volam (Nisarizo 83'), Maksimov (Sauber 83'); Fridtjofs (Sargsa 88')

Hana Chasey, who some supporters apparently thought was a woman, and others better informed thought should have been banned from the tournament after failing a drug test during the Baptism of Fire, opened the scoring, the first time in several matches that the Black-and-Reds trailed in a match. Fortunately, the deficit was short-lived. A series of passes from Volam to various members of the attack and then back pulled the Obrelan defense out of position, and cleared the way for a clear cut chance for Fridtjofs that the veteran striker made no mistake about. He would strike again just before the half, outracing Shira in a race for a long ball over the top from Harkhan. The center half followed Fridtjofs to the corner as he celebrated the goal, but was eventually restrained by his teammates, though not without a few choice words exchanged (and picked up by on-field microphones, unfortunately for the censors). The second half was uncharacteristically cagey for this Black-and-Reds team that has suddenly developed a tendency for blowout wins, and there was a palpable sense of relief in the away end when Tyra Volam finally notched the insurance marker with just ten minutes to play, blasting the ball from the top of the box while holding off Frances, who was draped over her left shoulder. Words were once again exchanged between the two sides in lieu of more traditional goal celebrations. The return leg in Hensha should be interesting, to say the least.

SRS: 5
BRP: 1

Scoring:
SRS: Ness 5', 21', 82', Volam, 48', Yonte, 51'
BRP: A Boring Person, 89'

Lineup: Shimski; Norling (Bakken 80'), Titov (Panoss 80'), Jagdish, Musta; Hedberg, Hashemi (Sevet-Ibilx 71'); Bondarov, Volam, Yonte (Sauber 69'); Ness (Hjort 85')

Caitrin Ness was a force from start to finish, not only notching the hat trick, but assisting on both other goals. She overpowered the Boring defense all evening, soaring over the center halves for headers, laying the ball off to Volam or the wingers for shots or passes, and just generally running things. This is the kind of game that shows you what a big, powerful target forward can do when she's also good with the ball at her feet.

MUR: 1
SRS: 6

Scoring:
MUR: I'll admit, I fell asleep and didn't see the end, 90+1'
SRS: Ness 3', 51', Bondarov 11', Yonte 16', 43', Fridtjofs 88'

Lineup: Shimski; Nyberg, Panoss (Jagdish 84'), Van, Halfariani; Hashemi (Sevet-Ibilx 89'), Nisarizo (Nacar 78'); Bondarov, Zazagan (Hedberg 78'), Yonte; Ness (Fridtjofs 84')

How many synonyms are there for absolute domination? When your opponent can't get on the scoresheet without added time, the match definitely qualifies for all the words you can come up with. Fans are probably upset that Ness was subbed off when she was on a hat trick for the second straight match, but it's hard to be upset with a six-one win and a red-hot team heading into two of the most important matches of qualifying.

Qualifying Schedule & Results:

MD01: AUD 0-1 SRS @ Arena Kirola (cap. 72,000), Cathair, AUD
MD02: SRS 3-1 RYF @ Flanoil Arena (cap. 50,350), Traal, West Flania, SRS
MD03: STR 1-1 SRS @ TBA
MD04: VEZ 0-1 SRS @ Fate Stadium (cap. 333,000), Naypyithaw, Burma, Val Z
MD05: SRS 6-2 AER @ The Lutenstaad (cap. 75,000), Lutenblag, Molvania, SRS
MD06: ASG 1-0 SRS @ TBA
MD07: SRS 6-2 EQS @ Olympiastad (cap. 47,550), Arkintoofle, Megabrantis, SRS
MD08: OBR 1-3 SRS @ TBA
MD09: SRS 5-1 BRP @ Pheldagriff Stadium (cap. 45,620), Yassaca, Sivolvia, SRS
MD10: MUR 1-6 SRS @ TBA
MD11: SRS  v  ESL @ Admiral Cherenkov Stadium (cap. 71,200), Santraginus, Isle of Squornshelous, SRS
MD12: SRS  v  AUD @ Vogsphere Arena (cap. 90,000), Vogsphere, Isle of Squornshelous, SRS
MD13: RYF  v  SRS @ TBA
MD14: SRS  v  STR @ Sunergy Field (cap. 37,550), Hunian, Algolia, SRS
MD15: SRS  v  VEZ @ Bridger Lane (cap. 72,406), Damogran, Algolia, SRS
MD16: AER  v  SRS @ Centerby Stadion (cap. 36,000), Vorácy, AER
MD17: SRS  v  ASG @ Megabrantid Financial Field (cap. 69,245), Brantisvogan, Megabrantis, SRS
MD18: EQS  v  SRS @ TBA
MD19: SRS  v  OBR @ Malgacorp Arena (cap. 29,350), Hensha, Megabrantis, SRS
MD20: BRP  v  SRS @ TBA
MD21: SRS  v  MUR @ Green Heart Center (cap. 20,760), Han Wavel, Han Dold, SRS
MD22: ESL  v  SRS @ Eshialand City Superdome (cap. 75,000), Eshialand City, ESL

by **Pasarga** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 5:19 pm

Torgos Tribune ~ An Eye To Disappoint

When Kurtis Rakeruth was appointed as the manager of the Wanderers, some saw it as a way of falling up for the Nepharim manager, having failed to produce the expected results at his previous employment in Sanford. Having managed the biggest team in a league where parity is not expected nor desired to exist and then managed not only to not win the title but finish in the top two was the ticket that sent the manager packing from that job and on the market. The Wanderers had their manager position come open at the same time and seeing the manager as a good fit for the traditional way that Pasarga likes to play the game, offered him the position after a short interviewing process that admittedly did not receive many applicants for the position. The lack of applications to one of premier national team jobs in both Rushmore and the sport as a whole at the time might have been a bit of foreshadowing that those more elite managers were seeing something that the PFA and the fans back in the dual islands was missing.

Despite the apparently bad omens at taking over the job, Rakeruth actually got their tenure at the head of the Wanderers underway well, helping the team qualify for the Finals and then also getting the team into the knockout rounds. It was the sort of feel good moment that seemed to show that it was a match well made for both the national team and the manager itself, with the team looking to be flourishing and the manager looking quite competent in their decision making. Unfortunately that World Cup was going to be the height of things for the Wanderers as they entered into the Copa Rushmori on high hopes, hopes that were dashed before even the last group stage match had been played, with the team being upset in the opening two matches of the group stage and eliminated before matchday three. It was a huge blow to the confidence of the team, yet there was quite a bit of belief that there was nothing wrong with the team, merely they had been exhausted from the quick turnaround from the end of the Finals to the start of the regional tournament and had been caught off guard and tired as to why they were eliminated.

Yet everything truly began to unravel in qualifiers for World Cup 92, as the Wanderers were unable to find consistency and were not able to qualify for the Finals. Despite then being one of the favorites for the ensuing Cup of Harmony, the team would face regional rivals Yue zhou in the quarterfinals and be upturned there as well, leading to an exit a round or even two from the competition that no one had thought was possible given the amount of talent that was on offer. Surely then with a bit of time to rest between the Cup of Harmony and the Copa Rushmori, the Wanderers would be able to find their legs and once against assert their will in a regional competition where they have had quite a bit of success and often times have looked quite dominant. Yet more upsets to start the group stage cut the legs right from under the team and despite a hard fought draw with the regional and world cup holders, the team was unable to qualify for the knockout rounds in the Copa for a second straight tournament, a feat that has not happened in several generations.

All this meant that Rakeruth was on very unstable ground coming into the qualifiers and then having been located in pot two and being drawn in with the number one ranked team in the sport, it was always going to be a difficult task. Losing to Valanora was not a huge issue, although the fans might have liked to scrape a draw in Torgos, but it was not to be on that opening night. Yet another loss and a pair of draws means that the Wanderers have dropped points in nearly half of their qualification games thus far and sit not in first or second in the group but fourth and needing to have a lot of help if they are going to make a fight for the playoffs and the chance to qualify out of the group. It also means that the manager has finally had the PFA lose their patience for him and he has been sacked as of yesterday evening, leaving the Wanderers looking for a manager heading into the second half of qualifiers, with the aforementioned number one team in the world waiting for them in the Empire to start off the second half of the campaign. The situation is not beyond saving, but it will have to be under a different manager, while current assistant manager and former Pasarga international Jürgen Eisenhower takes the reigns as the interim manager during the search.

by **New Gelderland** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 5:33 pm

Terranean Broadcasting Company

Afanc Strait’s negotiations to join Quebecois Commonwealth have stalled

By Charlie Blythe
TBC in Nyhavn, Gatchingerrak Union

Despite strong current political, economic, and sporting ties with Quebec and Shingoryeo, the Confederacy of the Afanc Strait’s request to accede to the Quebecois Commonwealth has remained stagnant as the Afanc Strait remains just an “affiliate” member of that supranational organization.

An official close to the discussions, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations, has cited two stumbling blocks in the request: lack of historical ties between New Gelderland, Ceni, and Quebec and Shingoryeo, and the two constituent pieces of the Afanc Strait’s continued membership in the Common Rushmori Community.

“What were Ceni and New Gelderland doing in the 1500s and 1600s?” asked the official rhetorically, perhaps unaware (or perhaps fully aware) that neither Ceni nor New Gelderland existed as states that early. “We demand evidence of longitudinal interaction with Quebec and Shingoryeo, and when we say longitudinal, we mean it.”

The anonymous official also pointed to the nations’ membership in the CRC as a stumbling block to Commonwealth officials, given the conflict between the Commonwealth and the CRC in terms of free trade benefits.

“Currently, the Commonwealth gets extremely protectionists with its markets,” said the anonymous official. “With free trade and freedom of movement provisions in the Common Rushmori Community, common membership between Ceni and New Gelderland in the Commonwealth and the CRC would create problems in terms of cross-pollination of the respective free trade agreements.”

Afanc Strait officials have decried the stumbling blocks as “onerous” and almost “insurmountable” but noted that they would continue to pursue full membership in the Commonwealth.

“We cannot change our history,” said Liam Penderyn, the compromise choice for President of the Confederacy’s governing council. “So to restrict membership based on times when neither country had a government to represent it in international relationships seems both ludicrous and counterintuitive.”

“To demand that we go back in time and create relationships with Quebec & Shingoryeo in the past is ludicrous and an insurmountable challenge for us,” added Penderyn.

Meanwhile, Penderyn called the Afanc Strait’s membership in the Common Rushmori Community “non-negotiable.”

“The CRC has massively benefited New Gelderland in Ceni, both in terms of regional integration as a goal in and of itself as well as economic terms,” said Penderyn.

“Despite the obstacles, we will continue to pursue full membership using all the legal and rhetorical strategies that we have at our disposal,” Penderyn concluded. “In the time since New Gelderland and Ceni have constituted sovereign states, we have reached across the Blood Sea to trade with Quebec, we have had so many intellectual links through our respective and renowned university systems, and we have had so many sporting links. So this is something that we will continue to pursue.”

As the debate over Afanc Strait full memberships in the Commonwealth continues, Afanc officials are concurrently representing the confederacy at the Commonwealth Assembly in nearby Gatchingerrak Union, a stalwart constituent of the Quebecois Commonwealth.

But the Assembly itself has been overshadowed by the tragic death of the Banijan Isebantu Mutungi and his son, the Omugabe Ssekamanya, even as negotiations to admit the Banijan Esportivan territories of Njaza had occupied much of the substantive issues at the Commonwealth Assembly.

The Afanc Strait affiliate delegation at the Assembly had issued its condolences, but so far, the larger leadership (including the Confederacy Council) has not weighed in much on any major issues being discussed in Nyhavn.

Overall, Penderyn has generally not generated much controversy as head of the Confederacy of the Afanc Strait, but that quietude has also worked against Penderyn given the Afanc Strait’s goal to triangulate between Euran influence in the Terranean region, Cenian interests in promoting liberal values, and navigating the number of international crises currently plaguing the SAREIMA regions.

Euran development of hypersonic weapons has provoked some responses elsewhere in Rushmore, especially among those wishing to perpetuate the false “Terranea versus Pavola” dichotomy, but the Afanc Strait has largely remained silent on those developments (perhaps to avoid getting aimed in the crosshairs of those very same hypersonic weapons). Likewise, the Afanc Strait Confederacy has largely remained silent on the civil war and concomitant refugee crisis in Farfadillis (perhaps because of geographical distance and the quick responses by many Oceanian powers).

“So far, the Afanc Strait Confederacy has only had a major impact in the sporting realm,” said Gil Korova, a TBC diplomatic correspondent. “Frankly, given the bid for the Olympics between New Gelderland and Quebec, I would see this impact, and these connections, in the sporting realm as a reason for the Afanc Strait to join the Quebecois Commonwealth fully.”

“But I’m not sure how full membership in the Quebecois Commonwealth will aid the Afanc Strait,” continued Korova. “Ceni and New Gelderland have much larger trading and economic relationships with their Rushmori neighbours than the nations in the Quebecois Commonwealth. If giving up membership in the CRC is a consideration, then joining the Quebecois Commonwealth will hurt the Afanc Strait rather than helping it.”

But Penderyn disagreed with that line of criticism.

“Obviously, we do not plan to give up membership in the CRC, and we will continue to negotiate so that we do not have to,” said Penderyn. “But in terms of solidifying our relationship with Quebec and Shingoryeo diplomatically, beyond our existing cultural and economic ties, I think that’s something that’s absolutely worth doing.”

by **Milchama** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 5:39 pm

"We blew it"

"No, You Blew It! They're having a one show reunion in Florida"

"I have no idea what you are talking about"

"The band, You Blew It!"

"Ok, whatever, Milchama still blew it"

"Just like you?"

"Who?"

"You, who blew it"

"No, who, he's on first base"

"I don't understand"

"That's in left field"

"I hate this so much"

"Why did you play into it?"

"It felt right at first and then it got annoying"

"I can't believe other people are going to have to parse this crap and make meaning out of it"

"Yeah that's a poor job from them"

"Honestly poor choices"

"I would never do such a thing"

"Except you do that all the time"

"Well I don't try to make meaning from them, I just read whatever looks fun"

"Is this why we only know what happens in like 5 other nations in the WC because you don't pay enough attention"

"Probably, also I'm busy"

"Oh yeah that's a good point"

"Also, I don't need to know political updates of any country that's not immediately next to us and those don't exist in the WC this time"

"True, no Geisenfried this time around"

"Shouldn't you care about Banija?"

"We have weirdly few relations with them, probably because they're royalist"

"Or because you never read the RPs"

"i guess that's fair but Banija is a bad example"

"Why?"

"Because I know what's going on"

"Oh ok"

"Yeah so it makes more sense"

"So, wait what were you saying about Milchama?"

"That we blew it"

"Like what You did"

"Not this again"

"Fine"

"But Milchama are still in third place"

"Well that's awful"

"But 6 points up on 4th place and only in 3rd on GD"

"So?"

"It's not as bad as it looks"

"I guess but it's not good"

"It's not ideal but having 8 wins out of 10 in the first half of qualifying is pretty good overall"

"You know, you're right about that"

"So it's not so bad"

"Except we've done bad against the good teams in the group"

"That's a problem for later, for now we should soak it in and be ok with this"

"I mean this isn't ok"

"3rd place! 2 points behind the leaders at the halfway stage! This is very good!"

"Ok that's true"

"So let's be ok with this"

"Ok"

"Do you feel better?"

"I still think You Blew It!"

"Argh!"

by **Aeragny** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 5:50 pm

Airannia 2 - 1 Obrela
39': Bardeus Fichomcéls 1-0
44': Çontre Colminge 2-0
49': Yuko Miyura 2-1
61': -- Katsu Mansuno (OBR)
65': Gary Goppré <> Lio Trofois
69': Viveró Décibeq <> Uillten Tillabois
80': -- Só Kezhinár (AER)
83': Só Kezhinár <> Elice Veure

Boring Paradise 2 - 3 Airannia
20': BPA 1-0
36': BPA 2-0
49': -- Sam Allbhy
55': Khriss Garyabh 2-1
70': Bardeus Fichomcéls <> Arton Seuny
70': Gary Goppré <> Lio Trofois
72': Renald Duponte 2-2
75': Khriss Garyabh 2-3
80': Çontre Colminge <> Ivi Ubetzher

Two hard fought victories - the first, against Obrela, an early lead which came under high scrutiny during the second half, and the second against Boring Paradise, a game which appeared lost during the first half, but was pulled back in the second half, especially thanks to an exceptional substitution in the name of Trofois, who, fresh on the field, provided two passes, both of which led to goals allowing the Drills to take home 3 points. After all's said and done, though, the Airannian team suddenly found themselves in a wholly unexpected 5th position in the qualifying group; something that seemed entirely unlikely at the start of the series. Not only that, but should the Drills win against Murphtannia, who currently sit at the bottom of the table with an 0-1-9 record; and should StrayaRoos not win against 2nd place Audioslavia; they might just find themselves in the 4th position on the halfway mark, which would completely eclipse expectations coming in. Regardless, a four game winning streak is unprecedented, and morale couldn't be greater. jCarvên has been quoted saying: "Our schedule was very slanted; starting us off with a difficult set of opponents right out the gate; we faced Audioslavia, Squornshelia and Valentine Z, the clear top 3 of the group in the first half of this round robin. I'm very proud of our boys for not letting it get to us, taking key victories against Astograth and Equestria, and not dropping points against weaker opponents. Though the most recent two matches were close, we came out on top each time - and we are yet to play a game during which we didn't score at least once." While qualification for the World Cup is not a realistic ask for the Drills, it seems the disaster of embarrasment has already been avoided.

And for Aerágny, avoiding disaster is something to write home about, as the Airannian history books might tell you. Through the ages, many kinds of disasters have struck the nation, leading some to think bad luck runs in the country. Some examples:

The most notable of all would be the detonation of the ammunition plant in the Ajurti town of Poll; a wartime tragedy. Due to a combination of various tragic coincidences, the Stollox ammunition and explosives factory was hit by a stray bomb, intended for a nearby military airport. As this particular ammunition plant was surrounded by a residential zone (as only the greatest of explosives factories are), this error levelled the surrounding neighbourhood, killing roughly 2000. Building construction safety standards in Ajurton weren't exactly the strictest at the time either, which allowed this disaster to truly become catastrophic. The town of Poll never quite recovered and nowadays only a small village remains of the formerly lively town. Its western half was turned into a military practice ground, as one of the largest "practice villages" in the world. Another significant portion of the town is being used for the purpose of training rescue teams instead; as many old, partially collapsed buildings still remain here, even 60 years after the deadly disaster. The town was rebuilt a few kilometres to the north, though, as Poll-Pé (High Poll), and is still a growing industrial town today.
The collapse of a tunnel in the Beoxegne department, trapping 55 people in a dark, dark place. Unfortunately for them, this was in the early 60s, and the rescue operation was long, strenuous and difficult. In the end, there was only a death toll of only 2, but this case naturally occupied massive attention from news outlets during the agonizing 63 days it coursed.
In 1999, after a fire, a fertilizer factory exploded in the Hmalan village of Attonzhár; where not much else goes on on any other typical day. This explosive plant was luckily not located in a residential area, but nonetheless, the destruction and havoc were wide-spread. To this day, the exact cause is still unknown, though consensus is that an unattended flame led to the disaster.

But no need for all this doom and gloom now. The future for the Airannian national team shines bright; and there seems to be no disarray... perhaps some of Airannia's greatest victories and good fortunes in history should be talked about next? After all, there's so many to mention! Such as... the invention of the air fryer? That happened here, I believe. Do you own an air fryer? Boom. It's Airannian. Enjoy.

by **Kimi-Suomi** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 6:23 pm

Tämä prosessi on toistaiseksi ollut vain vuoristorataa. The lack of consistency was seen by many as the only consistent thing with the Huuhkajat of Kimi-Suomi and everyone knew that things would have to get better if they wanted to keep within the hunt for a place in the Top 3 of this WCQ group. Esko Laaksonen was just as angry as everyone else when it came to this inconsistency and he vowed that things would improve in the long term...but how did that go this time?

Up first was the legendary Karpaatia ja Ruthenia (Carpathia and Ruthenia) at Pesä, a returning legend that had only managed 5 points thus far under manager Lina Salucci. Seeing the "C&R" abbreviation on the English broadcast of this game (KjR in Finnish) was undoubtedly a flashback to the past, but we had a job to do and these legends, unfortunately, had to be put to the sword in order to keep up with the pace in this group, which would be done thanks to a brace from Valtteri Nordström and a nice late goal from Tero Salo. Porfirio Martinelli did get one for the visitors, but that was all she wrote for this one.

Then we travelled to face what was expected to be a difficult foe in the form of Tähtiteräinen. The team also known as Starblaydia were always going to be a team that would fight it out for a spot at the WC no matter what and we knew that this game between a 0 and a +3 on the scale was going to be a bit of a siege. Our defence was certainly tested across the game, with the Rautavaaras and Peter Nurmi certainly earning their money's worth on this night, but the assumption was that the counterattack may be our only way to victory and we looked to hone in on that marker no matter what. We had some good chances throughout the 2nd half but in the end, it only took one such breakthrough in order for this contest to be sorted...thanks to a superb run from Carl Oesch to assist Kimi Airo in the box. That would be all that was needed to secure a 2nd straight win and move us within 4 of the lead and 3 of the main group of chasers.

As we head towards halfway, we feel as though we could make a run...but we also know we are a few bad days away from disaster in a group as tight as this one. Up next will be a double-header at Pesä, starting with 2nd-placed Pyazhnaya before Uusi Portlandin Tasavalta (New Portland Republic) comes to town. Every point will certainly matter as the head towards the rematches...and hopefully, we can push as much as we can towards the promised land. NOSTA KUIN HUUHKAJAT!

ISideWith UK · by **Eastfield Lodge** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 6:29 pm

Eraman line-up

GK: Mikla Kala
RB: Along Widana
CB: Anton Mora
CB: Andik Kesum
LB: Cicak Kudung (<> Uri Kesiman 68’)
CMF: Karipa Senawang
CMF: Nyoman Jelantik (<> Kinta Biru 68’)
AMF: Seligala Rudra
RWF: Perda Nasar (<> Samara Grawira 82’)
LWF: Era Hitam
ST: Putra Daulapura Wikra Petara

Eastfield Lodge line-up

GK: Fortune Cammers
CB: Torunna Soriano
CB: Cristos Harding
CB: Tejano Debar
RWB: Wrenley Duncan
DMF: Emmie Toure (<> Caroline Turcotte-Greene 45’)
LWB: Leyton Begum
RWF: Inocencio Stevenson-Fury (<> Daniel Ashby 45’)
LWF: Munsif Strand
AMF: Yohan Bob (<> Lalo Allred 68’)
ST: Maisha Paree (<> Ramsey Dean-Jamal 76’)

World Cup 93 Qualifying Group 15 - Matchday 9
Eraman 3-3 Eastfield Lodge
Petara (2’), Hitam (36’), Mora (56’); Paree (pen 47’, 67’), Ashby (80’)

62% - Possession - 38%
13 - Shots - 7
6 - Shots on Target - 3
5 - Corners - 4
16 - Fouls - 10

Location: Arupura Stadium, Arupura, Aru, Eraman
Attendance: 18,296

A much improved second half performance against Eraman saw Eastfield Lodge come from two goals down against the group’s third seeds to remain in the hunt for a playoff place as qualifying approaches the halfway mark.

Eastfield Lodge have gone somewhat under the radar in this closely fought group, three straight wins and four from five taking the team to within just two points of third place Eraman, their opponents for the ninth match of the qualifying campaign, the third seeds only just holding off the competition for the second playoff spot of the group. With struggling Ingont rounding out the international break and a tie against another minnow in the shape of The Cannaland Islands to round out the first half of this qualifying campaign, a win today would put the Imperial Commonwealth well on track for a first World Cup Playoff place in decades. Robert Andrews named an unchanged side from the starting XI that defeated Cormoe a few weeks prior, Eraman also seemingly unchanged following their win against Sannyamathland.

The hosts would open proceedings with a bang, much to the disdain of the travelling Eastfield Lodge supporters, as star striker Putra Daulapura Wikra Petara broke the deadlock by finding an early gap in behind Tejano Debar to run onto Era Hitam’s through ball and slot home underneath Fortune Cammers. It was an early shock to the system that nonetheless foretold the flow of the first half, Eraman well in control as they kept hammering away for a second goal - Petara nearly adding a second in the first ten minutes as he dragged a low effort wide from the penalty spot. The visitors’ best chance of the first half came shortly after the 30 minute mark, with Inocencio Stevenson-Fury managing to break on the counter and dribble through the entire Eraman defence, rounding Mikla Kala before having his tight angle shot flash across goal and out for a corner. Unfortunately, the Monkey Kings would double their lead straight from that corner, a brilliant catch from Kala allowing the Eraman keeper to launch the counter and find Era Hitam with a long ball upfield. From there, it was a simple matter of taking the ball down and dinking the ball over Cammers to make it 2-0.

The favourites would almost seal the match a few minutes later, as Cammers registered his first save of the match to deny a bullet header from defender Andik Kesum, but Eastfield Lodge did continue to show signs of life, with Leyton Begum pouncing on a loose ball from the corner of the penalty box and hitting a rising shot that beat Kala only to clatter off the top of the crossbar. The visitors made some changes over half-time, an overwhelmed and jaded Emmie Toure replaced by VLC midfielder Caroline Turcotte-Greene, with FM Town playmaker Daniel Ashby coming on for Stevenson-Fury. It was a change that paid immediate dividends, as Ashby forced left back Cicak Kudung into an early mistake in the second half and subsequently won a penalty as the Royal Puncakpura player dragged Ashby to ground by the back of his collar. Up stepped Maisha Paree, sending Kala the wrong way to open the scoring on what so far had been a quiet night for the Olympia striker. It didn’t take long for Eraman to restore their two goal lead however, with less than ten minutes passing before centre back Anton Mora beat Cristos Harding to a corner, his header coming off the underside of the crossbar before being awarded by goal-line technology.

Their resurgence failed to last, however, as the visitors pushed hard and came inches from bringing the deficit back down to a single goal when Ashby fired a low cross to the back post, Paree’s outstretched boot mere millimetres from making contact as she found herself unmarked. A few minutes later, she succeeded, this time from the other wing as Leyton Begum popped up on the wing and set up an unmarked Paree at the other post for a simple tap-in. Eastfield Lodge were well and truly on top, a situation made clear as day as the hosts failed to register another shot on target for the rest of the match - indeed, they only managed a handful more touches in the Eastfielder box, their best chance coming from a Petara header that was glanced wide of the far post. The comeback was completed by probably the best player in the match, Daniel Ashby polishing off an accomplished performance by finishing off a series of one-twos with a beautiful snapshot beating Kala at his near post.

In the end, it was enough for the Imperial Commonwealth to secure a surprise draw in a fixture that would normally have been a routing in recent times, and in what transpired to be very much a game of two halves, a draw was probably a fair reflection on how both teams played. Fortunately for the visitors, Cassadaigua and Cabo Azure played each other to a draw, leaving Eraman in third but still only two points clear of sixth placed Eastfield Lodge - Aleirave’s loss earlier in the day to leaders Zwangzug cutting their advantage over the chasing pack to two points.

MD10: Eastfield Lodge 5–1 Ingont
Line-up (3-3-3-1): Cammers - Harding (<> Lillehammer-Lockwright 45’), Soriano, O’Lara - Toure, Duncan (<> Lie 45’), Begum - Ashby, Armitage, Bob (<> Keckwright-Olivier 75’) - Paree (<> Dean-Jamal 75’)
Goals (Assists): Armitage (34’ - Paree, 38’, 76’), Dean-Jamal (84’ - Ashby), CB own goal (90+1’)
Headline: Armitage hat-trick as Eastfield Lodge cruise past Ingont

Likely line-up to play The Cannaland Islands (3-3-3-1)
Gaber - Lillehammer-Lockwright, Salama, Debar - Toure, Lie, Karson - Stevenson-Fury, Strand, Allred - Cyra

Likely line-up to play Cabo Azure (3-3-3-1)
Cammers - Harding, Soriano, O’Lara - Turcotte-Greene, Duncan, Begum - Ashby, Armitage, Bob - Paree
Suspended: N/A
Injured: N/A

by **Acastanha** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 6:36 pm

Acastanha Yearly Kaleidoscope
The Cost of Defense

In this edition of Acastanha Kaleidoscope, we're going back to the early year. Following the annual government budget allocation, we seen a spike increase in the defense budget of current year. A staggering 12% of government budget is allocated to defense alone. And increase of 10% from the previous year. Although it is still below education and healthcare, but the increase raise so much questions and suspicious amongst the citizens. The Daily Sol, a major printed news media in Palidas, even published a full page article about this.

The citizens are quite unified to reject the increase. Most of them stated that the region, Mandalanusa, is not a war prone region. The area has been quite silent for more than a decades. An increase of military budget will raise concerns to the neighboring countries and might fueled armed race. While the defense ministry spokesperson stated that the budget is needed to regenerate the current aging alutsista own and operated by the country.

Our defense systems are a century old. We can't even protect ourselves. Even a small country like Soracana Islands have a better equiped military than us. It is already a time for us to catch up the technology for our defense to be able to placed at the same level of the others. We can't let our guard down.

Herberto Jalinki
Defense Minister

For the realization, the ministry have contacted several arms companies to select a suitable equipments for Acastanha terrain. It is acknowledge that the current focus is the regeneration of land and air forces equipments. These will be includes tanks, anti air artillery, reconnaissance aircraft and transport aircraft.

by **Hopal** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 8:13 pm

Statement from the Office of the Chair of the Hopalian Olympic Committee

The allegations in the piece by the Hopal Herald are categorically false. Hopalian Olympic Committee Chair Gurvaneses completely denies all of the allegations made by the Hopal Herald. We consider the slander from the Hopal Herald to be disgusting and this office is reviewing potential legal actions against the Herald. We hope that the Hopal Herald we retract their allegations and apologize to the Hopalian Olympic Committee and all Hopalians. We do not wish to waste any more attention on these baseless allegations, nor do we wish to give them a platform, but we feel as if we must respond. That is all that we have to say at this time. We will return to our usual work, and we will soon have an assembled team for the forthcoming Winter Olympics.

March 3 - 11:00 AM
3 hours after the release of the Allegations against the Hopalian Olympic Committee in the Hopal Herald

Brian Whitney was the editor of the Sports Section of the Hopal Herald. A rotund man, fattened by his years sitting behind an office desk, working for most of his life as a middle manager. His salt and pepper hair had been rapidly greying over the last few months, his new job had been taking a toll on him. In his trademark suit and tie which was more than a little tight on him, he stood before the Hopalian Olympic Committee's Office Building. A tall skyscraper-office building, set in downtown Hopton, the administrative heart of the country, a distance away from the Parliament Building and the political core of the city, yet still not too far from it. It was actually only just a small walk away from the Hopal Herald's Building, and even Brian Whitney, a man who struggled to make it up a flight of stairs, managed the walk. It was a cylindrical 35-floor glass-paneled tower, almost undistinguishable from the buildings around it, save for a gold black-letter plaque beside the entrance denoting its purpose.

Brian Whitney stood before the entrance of the building, and he quite frankly was scared. Lucy Gurvaneses had been the person who had secured Brian Whitney his current job, before he had been her Deputy Chief of Staff, and was definitely not the most qualified candidate for his current job. Sure he had worked in sports journalism before, and had even worked for the Hopal Herald before, but he was not the most qualified candidate to lead the Sports section of the paper. But Gurvaneses secured him the job with Rick Silverstone, the Editor-in-Chief of the Hopal Herald. Whitney was meant to be entirely loyal to Gurvaneses, and he for so long managed to keep her scandal out of the limelight, he'd kept his journalists off of the Hopalian Olympic Committee. He'd kept his job by also being Rick Silverstone's loyal lieutenant, following all of his order to the boot, making sure he wouldn't have any complaint. In exchange, Brian Whitney benefited from Gurvaneses' exploits, monthly cheques worth thousands showed up in his bank account without a word. But he could only hold his journalists back for so long, they'd gone behind his back to investigate the Hopalian Olympic Committee, and yesterday they had a full article written out. He'd tried to punish them for going behind his back, and tried to hold the article, but it turned out his Deputy Virginia Duff, who, he'd appointed to essentially run operations, had turned on him and helped write the article. They'd gone straight to the publisher and Rick Silverstone at that point, and there wasn't anything he could do anymore to stop them. Minutes after the article's release in the day's paper at 8:00, he was being summoned into the Hopalian Olympic Committee's Building by Gurvaneses.

So there he was. He'd told his staff that he was heading down to the Hopalian Olympic Committee because he'd wanted to assess the situation down there personally, take a look for himself as to what his journalists had been investigating, and no one batted an eye. He walked through the entrance into the building. The receptionist, Natalia, had been with the Hopalian Olympic Committee since its inception, and in that time Brian Whitney had gotten to know her. Upon his entrance, Natalia, looked up from her papers and stood. "Mr. Whitney. How are you? Hopalian Olympic Committee Chair Gurvaneses has been expecting you. Third floor, waiting area." Natalia spoke flatly. Lucy Gurvaneses expected everyone to call her by the full title of Hopalian Olympic Committee Chair, as a sign of her power, it was a mouthful, but she wanted everyone to know her power.

Brian nodded, and he'd proceeded into the elevator. It wasn't a long wait going up onto the third floor, but there were many thoughts that swarmed his mind. How would Gurvaneses react? What was in store for him? Surely she must want something with him if she called him here. He almost failed to see the elevator door open, and stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. When the elevator doors did open, a staffer ran into an office, out of the waiting area before Brian, but he didn't notice. When Brian did walk out of the elevator, he soon heard the clank of heels storming towards him. Out of the shadow of the offices before him emerged Lucy Gurvaneses, a woman with the face of fury.

Lucy Gurvaneses' office had been in crisis mode after the release of the Hopal Herald's allegations against her that morning. After calling Brian Whitney, she called Rick Silverstone, full of fury, and it was something that would backfire on her. She and Rick Silverstone had been old friends, and that's how she'd managed to convince him to hire Brian Whitney, also at that meeting promising to promote Rick's daughter's sport; rock-climbing. While Gurvaneses self-righteously blew up on Rick and accused him of slander, Rick pushed back on her, telling her she'd betrayed and lied to him, saying that their friendship was over, and that he wouldn't defend her. Rick said he wondered if Gurvaneses hadn't tried to manipulate him, and if he should keep Brian Whitney in his job. Gurvaneses blew up on him, cursing, swearing, and threatening him, before he finally hung up on her. She was furious, her office hastily put together a statement denying all of the allegations, but she was just furious and now she wanted to vent her anger at Brian Whitney.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?"

"I--"

"WE HAD AN AGREEMENT!! I THOUGHT WE DID! YOU BENEFITED! I BENEFITED! ALL WAS SQUARE! AND LOOK WHAT YOU DO!!"

"I-I didn't have any choice. I-Virginia had the article, and there was nothing I could do to say no!"

"OH, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! YOU'RE A LITTLE BITCH! YOU KNOW THAT!!"

"I didn't have any choice, there was nothing I could do!"

"THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO! YOU PUSSY! WHY DID I THINK YOU'D BE A GOOD CHOICE TO BE MY CRONY, YOU CAN'T STAND UP FOR ANYTHING, YOU JUST TAKE IT ALL LYING DOWN!!

"Lucy,"

"OH I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOU NOW!! YOU'RE DONE! YOU'RE OVER!! THERE'S NOTHING FOR YOU NOW!!"

"No, let me explain--"

Brian saw a fist heading towards him and-

PUNCH

He was out cold.

"If I'm going down, I'm taking all of you down with me."

by **Xanneria** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 8:29 pm

Football Diplomacy: Mihaly and Xannerian Leaders meet.
source: http://www.xtranews.xan/news.html

PEARLHAM - A friendly between Cardenao and Xanneria has concluded but whats being talked about isn't the game. Xannerian leader Commandant Timothy Randolph and Cardenao leader President Mihaly were seen at Perlham's Wolfram stadium. Reports from political pundits and analyzers stated that this was part of a trade deal made during a quick summit. Reportedly the young nation of Cardenao was interested in coal. With Xanneria have large deposits of Coal and very few places to use it, it makes sense to deal the coal overseas, with the young nation. Xanneria has very few coal power plants left after a 50s and 60s move to convert to nuclear left the nation with few coal power plants, when large coal deposits were discovered in the 80s in Northwest Xanneria. What is moist puzzling though is what the trade off is. Fresh Cardenao seafood is going to be imported into the nation in exhcnage for the coal and it will be fascinating to see how this works given that Seafood in Xanneria has for the most part been self-sufficient.

Controversy Brews after Secretary makes controversial statement.
source: http://www.xtranews.xan/news.html

DOMINICA CITY - When Commandant Randolph was first forming his cabinet a lot of his opponents in the Libertarian and Liberal Xanneria parties were concerned by his addition of noted right wing hardliner Geoff Paulus to his cabinet and the head of Department of the Interior. Cabinet Minister Paulus made a statement today talking about Xanneria and its relation to the crisis in Frafadillis. What shocked many was a comment he made regarding a controversial and unproven statement regarding the old Nyowani Kitara. He made a comment how he wanted the Xannerian Immigration department, (Whose under the DoI jurisdiction) to only accept the carded Farves. Whats controversial is he quoted a noted right-wing talking head talking head who claimed with no back up that a bunch of people were falsely immigrating to Xanneria by impersonating Nyowani Kitaran refugees, when that crisis was happening. This has caused many people in media and politics to show concern over Paulus and many are calling for some for of resignation or investigation into influences in politics. Commandant Randolph has yet to comment as he is currently still in Pearlham with Mihaly, but we will see his response. Traditionally the Conservative Party in Xanneria has taken a stance similar to what Paulus has, but has usually not taken the stance through the same means as Paulus has with bizzare outside influences and works that have had no outside inspection. We will see how this story unfolds over the next few days.

XANNERIA - 2
Burnes 37' 90+3'

AUST SCOR - 1
Boyd-Church (og') 52'

XANNERIA - 1
Gessecki 84'

ZETA REKA AND HUGELTOLDOM - 0
NONE'

by **Tikariot** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:01 pm

Winston Curtis: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to a special edition of 'Tikariot Tonight.' Two weeks ago a devastating landslide buried parts of the Western Soharrian town of Wenford. Tonight we will take an in-depth look at the catastrophe, from what may have caused it to the aftermath. So, let's have a look at what is now called the "Wenford Slide".

Wenford, Soharr, a small town of about 7,000 people located in the foothills of the Xarkian range, quiet, idyllic, a closeknit community. An unprecedented low pressure system formed over the area, causing widespread flooding due to heavy rainfalls. The accumulation of large amounts of rain in a short time caused the side of a mountain above Wenford to weaken and in the late afternoon of 11 February caused a massive landslide that buried parts of the town under metres of mud and dirt. While the region is known for landslides during the rainy season, this incident caught residents by surprise as there had been no warning signs prior to the disaster and the mountain was considered safe.

TEMA (Tikariot Emergency Management Agency) immediately dispatched emergency personnel to the area to aid local emergency services in their recovery efforts. International allies also sent support, such as the Quebecois Silver Star, the Græntfjaller specialist emergency response team White Rats, Gnejsian specialist canines and medical professionals from Nyowani Kitara.

The latest death toll is 387 with 50 more still missing and feared still being buried under the mud.

Winston Curtis: With me in the studio is TBC TEMA liaison Justin Ravel, Justin, do we have any update on the situation in Western Soharr?

Justin Ravel: Emergency response teams are still working around the clock in a race against time to find the missing residents, even though hopes to still find survivors are getting slimmer by the minute.

Winston Curtis: We have seen pictures of the landslide and it looks like literally half the side of the mountain is gone, how are the response teams progressing?

Justin Ravel: As you can imagine, it is a massive undertaking, especially since the area is still experiencing heavy rainfall, making both the conditions treacherous and also keeps the risk for other landslides high. The Tikariotian army has sent troops and equipment to secure other high-risk areas and mining company Viljan Minerals has also sent heavy equipment from mining operations in the area to aid with efforts.

Winston Curtis: It is good to see that there is such widespread support, both nationally and internationally. Speaking of international ties, do we have any information if there are any foreign nationals among the persons affected by the disaster?

Justin Ravel: There have been some citizens of Græntfjall and Al-Tamazgha on a bus that was caught in the landslide, but no casualties among them.

Winston Curtis: This does remind me that there indeed were reports about Al-Tamazghan Football Federation's Senior Technical Director Rochdiya Sabila getting injured in the disaster.

Justin Ravel: Yes, she is still in a hospital in Avanaroch with, as sources told me, serious but not life-threatening injuries. There are plans to transfer her to Al-Tamazgha as soon as doctors clear her for transportation.

Winston Curtis: That's good to hear. Now, as we heard in our report, the mountain above Wenford was considered safe. Do we have any further information as to what caused the landslide?

Justin Ravel: This is a very difficult undertaking in the weather condition our teams are facing due to the ongoing heavy rainfalls. Of course, our main focus is the recovery of victims of the landslide and investitations into the cause come second. But yes, the mountainside had been assessed before due to the region being known for harsh weather, and it was not seen as a high-risk area.

Winston Curtis: This brings me to another point, one that usually comes up in connection with disasters, the safety of settlements at the foot of mountains or volcanoes. I am thinking about the eruption of Mt. Karegnodi in Quebec that buried Artamon or the devastating Ararfjäll landslide in Norrhem.

Justin Ravel: Yes, I can see where these discussions come from. It is a discussion, however, that does not have a clear answer. In some cases it is densely populated areas where settlements grow into the only directions they can, in the case of volcanoes it can be farming communities that try to take advantage of the fertile soil around the volcano. In the end it comes down to risk assessment, how big is the chance that a volcano will erupt or weather like we are experiencing in Western Soharr right now to cause a landslide, and in the end all of these settlements, be it Artamon, Wenford or others have come to the conclusion that the benefits of the location outweigh the risks. Unfortunately, things like this can happen, even if rarely, and then everybody begins to re-evaluate choices.

Winston Curtis: One more thing before we go, there have been reports of the entrance to a cave or even cave system to have been unearthed by the landslide. Do we have any information on this yet?

Justin Ravel: Not much. All we know so far is that it exists and that we don't have any documentation on a cave or cave system existing in the area. As I said before, the whole area is still unstable, so we have the Tikariot Army right now guarding and securing the entrance to avoid any further landslide and also to prevent any self-proclaimed adventurers from attempting to enter it and potentially put themselves in danger.

Winston Curtis: Thank you for taking the time to come here and give us an update on the situation.

Justin Ravel: I am happy to be of assistance.

Winston Curtis: TBC News will continue its coverage of the landslide and TEMA has set up an account for donations to help the survivors of the Wenford Slide, the details are on your screen right now.

OOC Disclaimer: The news graphics have been made with Midjourney. The Tikariot Tonight logo is my creation.

by **Ceni** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:02 pm

Longstar sacked as fans latibulate

Alternate titles: A requiem for Luke Longstar; Serenity now!?

Henry Cockeram's 1663 Terranean dictionary defines "latibulate" as "to privily to hide ones selfe in a corner."

Cenian fans are doing that en masse right now. Not only that, the age of that word as this team's spell of poor results will remind the most dedicated superfans of an ancient period in Ceni's footballing history, a period known as the "Road to Nowhere" period by this publication's predecessor, Goal: Ceni's Road to the World Cup.

This is Ceni's third cycle having returned to international competition in football, and it's the cycle that Cenian fans are expecting to qualify. In the olden days, before the Portal Incident, the number three was the magic number for new nations getting their first World Cup qualifications. Honestly, with so much footballing talent returning to the scene, Cenian fans did hope for a lucky first comeback qualification a la Krytenia. And there were those who were even luckier: After all... Drawkland and Baker Park qualified on their first attempts ever, right?

But this is not a post to whine about Ceni's failure to qualify and its deleterious fifth place standing right now. No, this is a post to say our prayers for Luke Longstar: even before rounding out the first half of qualifiers, the Cenian Football Association has announced that it has fired Luke Longstar. So this is a post in memoriam for our departed manager; this is a requiem for Luke Longstar.

———

Luke Longstar's story with the Cenian national team starts in circumstances eerily similar to this moment in time.

Right before World Cup qualifying, Ceni had achieved its top rank: number ten in the world. Things looked good.

But after a six-point lead at the halfway mark, Ceni slipped down the rankings, failing to qualify. And a nation named Aggrey-Fynn Land, lost to the sands of time, ended Ceni's Cup of Harmony run. It was the second seed in that tournament, so the Cenian FA sacked its then-manager Kirk Koromin (patriarch of the Koromin family, whose scions Asher and Aidan currently play for Ceni).

Luke Longstar stood out among the crowd at the time. After all, he had just won the UICA Champions' Cup with 1860 Azoth using an attacking style that mirrored the style that has always been in vogue with the Cenian national team. (To this date, Longstar is the only Cenian manager to win the CC or its successor, and 1860 Azoth is the only Cenian team to have done so as well.)

Picking Longstar was a no-brainer, the easiest decision in the history of decisions.

But the infamous writer Nova Hellstrom of Sporting World disagreed. "I don't think bringing in a new coach to make his WCC coaching debut in the group stage of the World Cup is a wise move but that's what Ceni decided to do because they fired their previous coach after a run of fluke draws toward the end of qualifying last year," she opined. Fortunately, nobody listened to her, and Free Republics' infamous writers-cum-gadflies are no longer around to annoy the sporting community. (But we digress.)

Indeed, Longstar would prove Hellstrom wrong. After a semifinal appearance at the Copa Rushmori (the first and only time that Ceni has ever reached the semifinals at a Copa Rushmori), his team reached the quarterfinals at the World Cup, defeating Nephara on penalties in the Round of 16. Ceni would etch its name into the history books as the first (and so far only) team to defeat Nephara on penalties in the World Cup Finals.

Longstar's tenure looked safe.

But that etching would soon fade from view like the intaglio image on a corroded metal plate. At World Cup 80, Ceni qualified, but it lost to Baker Park — then an upstart in its first cycle — in a third round upset to eliminate it from knockout round contention. (Although Cenian national football memory holds that defeat to be a grievous loss, the possibility that Ceni would not have advanced despite a victory still exists.)

And then John Asteem conspired to have Longstar and his team throw forward in the future by 22 years after a friendly with Drawkland. We won't relitigate the story here: As (quite literally) the event of the century, it's been covered enough by all the relevant press. But Longstar held it together enough to collaborate with the physicist Jaina Ende-Dogor to get to the bottom of what would be called the Portal Incident.

That was now four and a half years ago. Longstar would take an emotionally traumatized team back to the World Cup, hoping to put the Portal Incident behind them with a solid qualifying campaign. Unfortunately, he could not pull a Krytenia; the team made the knockout rounds of the Cup of Harmony, which according to one crackpot at our sister publication GelderSport is just about the best a team outside the top 32 can expect once every six years. (Yeah. We don't agree with that.)

Longstar looked solid as his team reached the playoffs for World Cup 92, only to fall to a Ko-oren team that parked the bus and refused to move it throughout two games. The World Cup qualifying campaign had ended on a sour note, but at least Longstar could look to a Cup of Harmony on home soil to revive the team's sagging morale.

Only that didn't happen; in retrospect, it was the beginning of the end for Longstar.

Ceni only secured five points to not even make it to the Round of 16. Yuezhou, Juvencus, and Cap Nord combined had repeated Aggrey-Fynn Land's feat all those decades ago. (Will Cap Nord go down in Cenian football memory as an immutable villain? Almost certainly not, despite Baker Park's status as such. Unfortunately, we can't speak to the psychology behind that.)

And then this qualifying campaign happened. Ceni lost to Natanians and Nosts away, and then it lost to Gyatso-Kai away. The Cenian FA put Longstar on notice. Things appeared to look up.. and then the Disasters at Westgreen happened. Ceni hosted the two games against the two lowest-ranked teams in the group at the (now haunted, cursed, hexed) Westgreen Park Stadium... and walked away with only one point. That was the final straw.

So, what can Longstar take away from his trip managing Ceni? One World Cup quarterfinal, one Copa Rushmori semifinal, and a bruised ego.

He would have been better off quitting after his first cycle.

———

So, where does the Cenian national football team stand?

World number five Græntfjall looms. The Cenian FA's official posture on this match seems clear, even when read between the lines: The original ultimatum stated that Longstar would have to sit in the top three of the qualifying group to have a temporary reprieve from the guillotine previously dangling over his head. Given that, well, the first half of qualifying is technically not yet over... Yup, the Cenian FA totally expects Ceni to lose to Græntfjall.

After all, if it can't beat unranked Stevencousin at home... what chance to beat former World Cup champion Græntfjall away?

Fun fact: It took Græntfjall less time from its debut to win the World Cup than it took Ceni to qualify. It took Græntfjall less time from its debut to win a FUCKING WORLD CUP GRAND SLAM than it took Ceni to qualify. We do not ask you to pardon our Olusanke; are we pissed about this? Most certainly yes.

Unhinged rants aside, Ceni next faces a managerial search... even for an interim manager. Adrián del Toro, one of the more experienced players, will take the helm against Græntfjall. Does that seem like an imprudent decision, ready to provoke a Hellstrom-like critique? Most likely. Then again, nobody expects Ceni to have a snowball's chance in hell against Græntfjall, or an unprepared hiker's chance on a green mountain (in whatever language you spin it).

Who will replace Longstar? It's anyone's guess, but it's literally our job to guess, so we'll try. Unfortunately, our guesses have not evolved much ever since we first published on this topic after the Cup of Harmony, and in fact, our information may have even gotten worse as the speculated candidates pursued other opportunities.

With this announcement around, today's issue of the Torgos Tribune has sold an unexpectedly high number of copies on the streets of Cenial.

Why, one might ask? Buried in the sports section with the headline "An Eye to Disappoint," the article announces that Nepharim manager Kurtis Rakeruth has been sacked from the Pasarga national team. So the glitterati have been speculating that the Cenian national team will attempt to hire Rakeruth for its struggling squad. If he's bad enough for Pasarga, he's good enough for Ceni, right?

But the usual suspects are still floating around at the back of our minds: Arrowsword, Engstrom, Byeon. Even a younger Koromin — Kel Koromin — has been floated as a potential managerial candidate these days.

With all the chaos, the confusion, and of course the latibulation, Cenian fans will have to employ an anger management system. Perhaps they should not follow our example: After all the anger about Ceni's recent qualifying results, we've been saying "serenity now!" a lot recently.

But we all know the results of that: Serenity now, insanity later.

by **Huayramarca** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:06 pm

A Day in the Life of: Abraham Mendoza

By Carlos Humala

Abraham Mendoza isn’t, by any means or metrics, your typical Huayramarcan footballer. Mendoza has some special attributes and skills that make him differentiate among the rest, such as: hard-nosed, good work ethic, analytical, and also, a doer. He is a piece that shows how diverse are the backgrounds of footballers in the National Team, as Mendoza has had a lot of commodities that other players haven’t enjoyed, although, a completely different range of challenges that he had to face in order to be here, in front of us, talking prior an important match of the World Cup Qualifiers.

Abraham was born at the Metropolitan District, now known as Chuquiago, in a family with some advantages and opportunities for him; son of an industrial engineer and a financial specialist, Mendoza was born in a completely different context than most of the National Team, as education was a topic served since his early days, emphasizing in mathematics and analysis that was useful for him as he grew up and choose his path in life. Another interesting example of a person that can achieve his dreams through intelligence, some effort and the right choices being made since early; we’re glad of having him today for another iteration of A Day in the Life.

“Good morning, Abraham. Nice to meet you!” I greeted him as he was sitting, he was reading a book of football tactics as he wants to understand the game a bit deeper to improve his technique and football IQ. Abraham closed the book and said “Pleasure is mine, Carlos. Nice to meet you and excited to share my history to you and all the TV audience.” I told him “Your life may serve as inspiration to some people because on how you combined your will to play football, desire of studying, and also for being able to use all the skills you’ve found through the life as a mean for achieving success.” He, modestly, said “Well, I thank God for it and my parents for the help they provided. I’m aware that success depends on how you read environment and some other conditions you might have in life, I can say I’m just a privileged.”

Continuing, Mendoza said “I’m aware that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in Huayramarca socially-speaking, there’s a breach of inequality that needs to be addressed and fixed to help those who are in need. For those who might identify with my situation, I hope my experience can prove useful for you all, so you can get some feedback and dare to fulfill your dreams or do what you want.” Quite curious yet important thing from Abraham, that he is socially aware of being born with some kind of “advantage” compared with the average Huayramarcan, although, he recognises that there are things that need to be talked and fixed, a truly compromised citizen with the improvement of the nation. A good kind of guy, it seems.

“So, Abraham, how things started for you in life?” He said “Well, I was born in Miraflores. I had some chance to play with friends after finishing school and homework. My neighbourhood has some football pitches where we used to practice and then play; we even have a team there but I wasn’t allowed to play there by my parents.” I asked him “Why they didn’t allow you?” Mendoza said “They wanted me to focus on my studies, as they thought that would be a great way to continue with the legacy of my family when it comes to studies; we tend to be quite good at it and they wanted the flame to keep burning, so I got into mathematics since early age.”

“I had to ask him about ‘getting into mathematics’, like, how?” Mendoza said “Like getting into math Olympiads, tournaments for children where people tried to solve some problems, and the best solution or who made it faster and better, would win some individual prices and also support for their school. I loved taking part of those tournaments, although I recognise that I had the advantage because of my parents, who both teach me mathematics since an early age.” I asked him again “Any special consideration from your parents to make you learn maths since early age?” Mendoza answered “They considered that, for anything in my life, that learning experience should ‘widen-up’ my vision of things, making me smarter and more capable to adapt to any kind of circumstance.” Ah, classy view from an engineer. They love to plan things beforehand, and that even extends to parenting it seems, heh.

“As you grew up, were you interested in sport already, like, getting into a more professional activity or just giving the step forward from recreational play?” Abraham said “To be fair, I wasn’t even thinking to step up from recreational. In that time, I just wanted to get rid of stress or academical workload by kicking a ball and making some goals.” Then, as a potential doubt surged from my sheer curiosity “Did somebody noticed some potential in you by that time?” Abraham said “Yes. My Physical Education teacher had told me some times that I’d be a good fit for the school team, but I rejected those chances because I wanted to focus in studies and didn’t want to get in troubles with my parents when it comes to scores. I just wanted to play for fun and not formally.”

There is already a clear thing from Mendoza, and that is that football wasn’t a priority for him, it was just a mere pastime; but how radical was that change of mind from Mendoza? Who persuaded him to get into football and turn into what he is now? Sounds like it could’ve been something of peer pressure or somebody just called him and invited. We will see as we get deeper and deeper into his life.

“Coming back to childhood. What do you think about parents now after growing up?” Mendoza said “They raised me nicely, although they could’ve been more open-minded to my desire or not just studying, but about taking some spare time for me and have fun with friends, which I think I lacked quite a bit.” I asked “What made them change their mind about allowing you to practice sports in a more serious way?” Mendoza said “They noted that I was unhappy. I wasn’t enjoying a lot; despite I was performing well with grades and all the stuff. But there are things that go deeper than grades, that was my need to play with peers, enjoy playing competitively, and also showing that I wasn’t only good at academics, but also in sports, specially in football.”

“When did they allowed you to play football at the school team?” He said “They did it until I was 15. I showed them a letter of interest from the coach of the school team, as he noticed that I had some decent skills for that time, and that he wanted to have me in the team to increase the chances of being competitive. They were somewhat hesitant, but they noticed that I really wanted to play.” So, it seems that it was more of a mental health move of the kind, as Mendoza not only had desire of playing, he wanted to feel ‘alive’ by showing his talent in the field, not only at the classroom. “So, they did let you play?” Mendoza said “I had to beg them to let me play, they accepted and also promised to keep my grades and pursue higher education while playing football.”

Promises from many people could go in vain, but Mendoza took his word to a completely different level of commitment and responsibility, as he also pursued a career in Engineering while playing football, now, I had to ask him about how he managed to combine the workloads related to both activities. Mendoza answered “Well, it’s matter of willing to do it and mark the difference in the field and also outside of it. I got connected into the University of Chuquiago, specifically with the football team coach, who asked the university to support me through a scholarship due to my talent. I got into the team, they accepted my petition and I started to study Industrial Engineering while playing for them at tournaments across the nation, and also some pan-Anaian universities championships.”

“Did you felt comfortable studying Industrial Engineering and having working practices while playing football?” I asked, Abraham said “Of course not that comfortable, but I gave my word and I had to fulfill what I promised years ago. It has to be said that it was quite hard, but I enjoyed every second of it as it showed me the importance of fulfilling important things in life as your superior studies, working practices, but also doing what you love to do in life.” Then, asked him “What’s your favourite subject of Engineering?” Mendoza said “Ergonomics. I love the fact that there’s a lot you can do for the workers, this when it comes to being comfortable while working, avoiding injuries at work in their back or in their arms, avoiding repetitive movements or things that can cause harm against them.”

Now, understanding Mendoza, I knew that there was a reason that kept him going, it was his will, and also the fact that he liked to do what he had to do. Mendoza interrupted me and said “Speaking of ergonomics, you have to sit better, you could get your back injured or displaced in a future.” I corrected my seating, and then thanked him for the indication. “I’ve been intrigued by the fact of your knowledge and different appreciation of things, a special vision. Has this helped you in football?” Mendoza said “It has helped me for good, of course, as I tend to analyse my matches through data, also, the fact of checking the weather for the game and grass to adjust my game plan, be it for mid range shots, running to the area or playing through long passes instead. There’s a thing called the ‘scientific method’ that I try to use in game, I need to replicate what I do.”

Now, it is the time to ask Mendoza about the future “Do you want to continue in football or you want to work at Engineering?” Mendoza said “I try to do both, playing football and training myself and then doing some remote job as process engineer. The thing is that I want to keep in the right side, I want to gather practice and experience for the moment I retire, as I’ll get into the workforce as anybody else. I don’t want to depend only in football, I want to to work normally too.” Without any chance of doubt, Mendoza is the kind of person that has some kind of methodical discipline, plans for future and a goal to achieve not only in the pitch, but at life.

It was time to leave for Mendoza, so we asked him a final question “Any ritual prior the match?” He said “I don’t trust in nonsense, I just read, chill down, etc. I don’t do any nonsense.” He bid farewell and left, it was time to prepare the team for an important game, one we hope Huayramarca is able to get a good result that might bolster chances to keep at top or improve the position at the leaderboard, as Huayramarca continues working in the process of achieving, once again, the dream of qualifying into a World Cup Finals. Task won’t be easy, but the Condors are aware that they have skills to put of a fight and achieve their goal for the Qualifier. Through dedication and hard work, Huayramarca can be able to unlock their potential, show a great performance and make sure that the goal comes a good shape. The second half of the Qualifiers is coming, and it’s the time to show compromise and dedication.

by **Brusseldorf** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:50 pm

Required reading
Los Alrededores (The Surroundings), continued.

The cell on the screen flashed intermittently, an empty rectangle of black, then white, then black again. The flashing rectangle jumped down a row, and the row above it became populated with a string of numbers. 204. That was the two-hundred and fourth call she had made that morning, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet. The office around her was alive with activity, and the constant noise of phones ringing and fax machines spooling their dwindling paper supplies. Today was the 10th matchday of the World Cup qualifiers, and the mood around the office was one of surprisingly good spirits. The Brusseldorfen youth team had held Trolleborg to a 0-0 draw on home soil, in front of a 10,000-strong crowd at their training facility. The flashing cell jumped down another row. 205. She had called and spoken to so many different people this morning that the names and places were starting to blur together. A quick scroll back through the spreadsheet as her phone was redailing listed hundreds of addresses throughout Brusseldorf. Places of residence, family's places of residence. Municipal councils and local police stations. Not a single one of the Brusseldorfen national team had been found yet. She stopped scrolling momentarily. There was a click from her headset and someone started speaking on the other end of the line.

It was a beautiful day off the coast of Saint Helena, and the ocean was sparkling like a sea of jewels. A handsome flotilla of sailboats tacked one at a time, heading for the open waters to the north of the island. The disastrous events that had taken place there almost a decade prior continued to be felt by the inhabitants of the Atlantic paradise; anything resembling an electronic device would simply malfunction within a large radius around the island due to intense electro-magnetic interference. The supply ships had been making the atlantic run for just as long, providing the islanders with food and supplies. The wind kicked up, and the boats raced toward Rupert's Wharf, which was just now coming into view as they passed the northern headland. A young man was piloting the leading sailboat, barking orders to the crew as they raced up and down the deck and crawled up the rigging. A deckhand came to the skipper's side and spoke to him, binoculars in hand.

"Skip, we'll hang back and let the two bigger boats in first."
"No worries" replied the captain.
"I'll meet you at the coffee shop when we're finished here" said the deckhand.
"Sounds good"

The captain allowed himself a small smile as he gazed off his port side towards Jamestown. There was nothing quite like the sight of a port after two weeks at sea.

The story continues…

by **Graintfjall** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:53 pm

Græntfjall – 3 (1)
Björnólfur; Hermione (38’), Eyvar, Asbjørn, Jan; Steinar (79’ Arendt ), Tinni (79’ Valtter ), Danny (c) (61’ Tom ); Rebekka (71’ Kæja (80’)), Röskvi, Þrastar (41’) (71’ Sara K (85’))

Dod Rava – 0 (0)

Yuezhou – 1 (1)
Liu (27’)

Græntfjall – 2 (1)
Björnólfur; Hermione, Reidar, Eyvar (17’), Jan; Danny, Tinni (67’ Valtter ), Kæja (69’) (76’ Arendt ); Rebekka (45’ Steinar ), Joel (67’ Röskvi ), Sara K (c) (84’ Þrastar )

Selection of articles from Græntfjaller news media.

Snow Wolves sputter their way to an undeserved six points, but injury worries build

MD11–12 squad: 1. Björnólfur, 12. Mikkel, 23. Ásólfur; 2. Alyssia, 3. Jan, 4. Eyvar, 5. Reidar, 17. Tom, 20. Leona, 22. Anarr, 24. Hermione, 26. Harmony; 8. Danny, 10. Kæja, 11. Valtter, 13. Erin, 15. Steinar, 18. Tinni, 19. Lotte; 6. Rebekka, 7. Sara K (c), 9. Röskvi, 14. Vanessa, 16. Þrastar, 21. Ari, 25. Joel

* The Commonspeak [English] vernacular “brace”, meaning pair, isn’t common in Græntfjall, so to avoid the confusion the traditional Græntfjaller word, influenced by traditional counting systems used by Kamdyr herdsmen, is used here. “Twunt” is believed to be formed by an elision of two and three.

Græntfjall to propose Cap and Trade system at CORNCOB

“Absolute #girlboss energy”: Prime Minister’s fiery speech on Farf situation draws mostly unanimous praise

Græntfjaller search and rescue teams battling the elements

Also in the news:

Prime Minister proposes new funding for schools as education push continues, marking shift from focus on economic inequality
Storm brewing over gun bill as Crown Princess joins opponents at rally
“Out of control”: whale-blubber spending in transportation bill includes funding for “roads to nowhere” according to corruption watchdog
Agriculture futures slump on new long-term climate forecast showing drought conditions prevailing in southwest
Farolera-based Tinni Grímólfursson speaks out on Farf conflict: “For God’s sake I just wanna grill”

World Cup 93 - RP Thread

Boot It!: Why Is It Always Them

WC93Q MD9-10

WC93 Halfway Point

Tight, Tight, Oh So Fight

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