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>Season 9<
>Season 9<
Kanzlia is an island country located in the frigid north of Esportiva. It has had a stringent history with its location and much of the country revolves around the cold and the waters surrounding it. With a long history as a maritime power, much of the Kanzlian economy entirely runs on the water. So much so that once Kanzlia lost the ability to trade, the country fell into a devastating famine known as the Kanzlian Collapse in the 1960s.
With a people so used to hardship and with the recent civil war still affecting families today, the Kanzlian society has a noticeable tinge of reservedness and longing for safety and insurance. A society much more refined and sophisticated in the hopes that if tragedy struck, at least they won't look pathetic.
Football in Kanzlia
Football is by far the most popular sport in Kanzlia. Introduced in the early 1900s, the sport exploded in popularity in the 1960s during the Kanzlian Collapse. Football became a source of entertainment for many of the struggling families in Kanzlia as the Royal family subsidised ticket prices. The highest attendances in Kanzlian football came during the 1960s.
The VVK was founded in 1900 but back then there were multiple city football federations. It was only in 1967 when the VVK became the sole football federation in Kanzlia when the Ibsian Sporting Association was finally absorbed into the VVK. The Kanzlian Honour Division is the top flight of Kanzlian football and was formed in 2020. Previously, a double league system (Kanzlian East Premier and Kanzlian Western Championship) was used due to the rivalry between Szbedansk and Kotr.
There was, until recently, no all-encompassing Kanzlian knockout tournament due to infighting between clubs over which regional cup competitions such as the East Premier Cup, Western Championship Cup, Ibsian Cup, Szbedansk Cup, etc. will be recognised as the top-flight cup. In the Honour Division's inaugral season, all clubs finally agree to unrecognise all cup competitions (and classify them as amateur cups) and start anew with the Nationaalbeker.
Horseracing in Kanzlia
Horseracing in Kanzlia can be traced back as early as the 1850s where small scale breeders hold stakes against other breeders. The earliest recorded race comes in 1856 where breeder Karel Uitveracht II with his horse Oosthaven won against 4 other breeders and their horses. At this time its typical for breeders to also be jockeys for their horses.
In the 1880s, Kanzlian Navy officers took interest in horseracing. Initially this interest was meant to replace the now banned practice of duelling. These 'Navy' races initially had the duelling officers ride their horse for a race. Eventually however as betting took place the Navy races became less about settling differences but more about gambling money. It's these Navy races which paved the way for the Admiraal races. The Admiraal races were first raced in the 1890s which coincided with the Royal family taking interest in the sport.
Horseracing exploded in popularity among the public in the early 1900s with the Royal family's interest and endorsement of the sport. Trystan II was very interested in the sport. She was a notable frequenter to the bookmakers, not a very good one unfortunately and her addiction grew so bad parliament needed to intervene. This coincided with a surge in horse betting among the public as the National Horseracing Authority formed earlier in 1899 pushed hard to open bookmakers to the public. As horse betting griped the nation, there was significant pressure groups detesting the gambling aspect of the sport. The Equine Temperance Movement was formed in 1903 and championed hard to moderate or outright ban gambling and such in equine sports.
The KKRB was fully nationalised in 1964 and the suspension was lifted in 1965. By then public perception on gambling dramatically shifted. The betting scene in horseracing took a large hit and the government made sure to impose strict limits on bets in the sport. As a result the popularity of horseracing took a tumble post Kanzlian Collapse. Viewership wise it was surpassed by Ice Hockey in 1969 and later surpassed by Basketball in 1978. However, following the White Paper Crisis in 1984, the KKRB was partially privatised. Draconian limits on betting was slowly lifted and people took interest in the sport again. It surpassed basketball in 1990 and recently in 2024 it surpassed ice hockey in TV viewership following the 2024 Royal Kanzlian Cup. Today it remains the second most popular sport in Kanzlia far behind association football.
As of 2025, the Aletta Nowaki government has announced plans to impose more restrictions on sports betting. The KKRB was actually exempt from the restrictions which in turn boosted its popularity among the public.
