Baptism of Fire 70 Everything Thread

[Free Republics]

Baptism of Fire 70

Welcome to the 70th edition of the Baptism of Fire, hosted by the Kingdom of Saintland and the Federation of Free Republics. This tournament is sponsored by the True Church of Iesus Christus and the Salvation Circle who encourage all players, coaches, other national team staff and fans to visit a cathedral during your stay in Saintland or the Malifornia Charter Society (which will, collectively, host all group stage matches). The Baptism of Fire is the first tournament of every World Cup cycle and, fittingly, it is the first WCC tournament for those nations that enter it. This is the one tournament where there are no rankings and everybody enters on an equal footing. This is the tournament where every single nation enters with a realistic chance to win it all. Here, the only things other than luck that affect your chances of winning are posting a roster and roleplaying (RPing) and you can earn a roleplay bonus for every day of the Baptism of Fire.

Please refrain from "reserving" posts in this thread if you are not the host. Doing this is counterproductive as it means the host might not see your roster or RP that you edit into a reserved post. In addition, purely OOC posts (posts that do not contain a roster or RP) should be placed in the World Cup Discussion Thread or on the NS Sports Discord. You can also ping the host on Discord if you're RPing right before cutoff and need extra time to finish your RP.

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Group Draw

Cutoff Time: 9 PM - 11 PM EDT

NOTE: As both host nations are OOCly the same person, there will be a single cutoff. I will alternate which nation cuts off on a daily basis.

Saintland

St. Petrus Group

Starcom Racing
Western Bjornaic
Bernegastad
Pius Desurongcrandis
The Aurian Plains
Tulize
Tornado Queendom
San Félix

St. Paulus Group

Abercontin-Jereaux
Lepolanatnessffiria
West Phoenicia
Spensar
Petrisi
San Carlos Islands
Bolgano
Aurevbush

Free Republics

El Fierro Group

Shatla
Port Ember
Kandonica
Caras
Saciu
Amurbia
Timuria

Los Martires Group

Lavize
Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison
Orestea
Terre Septentrionale
Lashnakia
Amuaplye
Hapilopper

San Hacienda Group

New Karelograd
The Orion Islands
Zealandiana
Paratan
Asdia
The Szcerkina Federacy
Bliuji

Note: Asdia's NS nation is Dabberwocky

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Schedule

Saturday, July 13th: Matchday 1 (1v8, 2v7, 3v6, 4v5)
Sunday, July 14th: Matchday 2 (8v5, 6v4, 7v3, 1v2)
Monday, July 15th: Matchday 3 (2v8, 3v1, 4v7, 5v6)
Tuesday, July 16th: Matchday 4 (8v6, 7v5, 1v4, 2v3)
Wednesday, July 17th: Matchday 5 (3v8, 4v2, 5v1, 6v7)
Thursday, July 18th: Matchday 6 (8v7, 1v6, 2v5, 3v4)
Friday, July 19th: Matchday 7 (4v8, 5v3, 6v2, 7v1)
Saturday, July 20th: Round of 20 (13v20, 16v17, 15v18, 14v19)
Sunday, July 21st: Round of 16 (1v16/17, 8v9, 5v12, 4v13/20, 3v14/19, 6v11, 7v10, 2v15/18)
Monday, July 22nd: Quarterfinals
Tuesday, July 23rd: Semifinals
Wednesday, July 24th: 3rd Place Match & Final

Teams in groups of 7 have a bye whenever they would be facing the 8th listed team.

Note: The top 4 in each group advance. For seeding purposes, all games against 8th place teams will be excluded with 1st place teams seeded 1-5, 2nd place teams seeded 6-10 and so on. Teams seeded 13 through 20 will play in the Round of 20. The knockout rounds will not be reseeded though group stage rematches will be avoided where possible. If you are looking for the list of tiebreakers, they are available in the host bid.

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New to NS Sports?

If you're new to NS Sports, we recommend reading the Guide to Sports Roleplaying, if you haven't already. If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask on the Discussion Thread.

First off, the roster is, at its simplest, a list of the eleven players in your team's starting lineup and any reserves that are also on your team. There's no limit on the number of players that you can include on the roster or even on what sorts of teams you can send. Past World Cup participants have sent teams that are all-male, all-female and mixed gender. They have sent teams comprised of humans, aliens, sentient ponies, monks, kids with magical powers, kids without magical powers, snakes, jumping beans, elves, immortal beings from another reality and anything else you could possibly imagine (most send teams of humans, of course). In addition to the names of your players, you can other information on your players such as their background, their club teams, their physical appearance, their strengths and weaknesses on the pitch and anything else that might be of interest. Rosters may also include the identity of the team's manager/head coach, assistant coaches, formations, tactics and anything else that you want your opponents to know about your team.

Additionally, you have the option to set a style modifier and RP permissions within your roster. A style modifier is a number between -5 and +5 and can include up to 3 decimal places (technically you can include more decimals, but we'll round it to 3 places because the scorinator can only handle that many). Negative numbers are defense-oriented while positive numbers are offense-oriented. A team with a style modifier between -0.001 and -5 is going to score fewer goals and allow fewer goals than normal while a team with a style modifier between +0.001 and +5 will score more goals and allow more goals. A style modifier closer to 0 reflects a team that is more balanced between offense and defense while a modifier closer to -5 or +5 reflects a team that more heavily emphases defense rather than offense or vice versa, respectively. If you don't indicate a style modifier, you will be automatically assigned a style modifier of 0.

The RP permissions box is intended to inform your opponents of what you are willing to let them do and what you aren't willing to let them do, should they roleplay your match before you do. Please copy and paste the following somewhere into your roster:

Code: Select all

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes/No
Godmod scoring events: Yes/No
RP injuries to my players: Yes/No
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes/No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes/No
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes/No
Godmod other events: Yes/No

Choose my goalscorers means exactly that: allowing your opponents to choose who scored your goals should they RP the match before you do. Almost everybody allows this since it is very difficult to write a match report without identifying the goalscorers. Godmod scoring events refers to goals that are unlikely to happen in reality. RP injuries to my players allows your opponent to injure your players. Godmod injuries refers to more unrealistic or more severe injuries and to choosing the length of an injury. Even if your opponent allows serious injuries, I'd suggest asking them via TG before killing off, seriously injuring or arresting any of their players or other characters. Yellow cards and red cards are part of the sport of football/soccer. The referee hands out yellow cards as a warning to players who aren't following the rules, with either a second yellow or a red card resulting in the ejection of that player from the remainder of the match and his/her team playing the remainder of the match a man/woman down. Allowing your opponent to hand out cards to your players lets do just that. You may grant them the ability to hand out unlimited cards, limit the number of cards that they can hand out or disallow them altogether depending on your team's style of play. Finally, godmod other events allows your opponents to RP things that aren't likely to happen in reality or flat out impossible in reality that don't involve scoring or injuries. This can include any number of events from blizzards to fan riots to protesters streaking across the pitch to the home nation's Army covering the field in mud to a portal opening to another dimension.

The scores themselves are produced by a program called a scorinator, which is designed to generate random numbers and turn them into scores. This tournament will use a program called xkoranate and a formula called NSFS to produce scores. This program determines who wins and who loses and also by what score. The 3 factors that go into determining who wins are rank (non-existent in this tournament), RP/roster bonuses and randomness. The rankings used for the World Cup and Cup of Harmony are called the KPB rankings and are based off of the results of the last 3 World Cups, last 3 World Cup qualifying rounds, last 3 Cups of Harmony and last 2 Baptisms of Fire to have been completed. RP bonus is added to your ranking by the host based upon whether you RPed and also the quality of the RP, as perceived by the host. Finally, the randomness factor (also known as "Margaret") is the luck of the draw. No matter how much stronger one team is as opposed to another, there is always a chance of an upset. Finally, the cutoff is the time set by the host when RPs will no longer count toward that day's RP bonus and will now count toward the following day's RP bonus instead. This is also the time when the results for the current day's matches will be posted. in tournaments where there are multiple hosts, it differs by host so be sure to check your host's cutoff time rather than their co-host's time.

Finally, roleplays (RPs) are posts that tell a story, either the story of the entire match, part of the match, your team's preparation for the match or even something wholly unconnected with the match. They can take the form of a narrative report, a newspaper/magazine article, play-by-play commentary or anything you can imagine. Creativity is encouraged. You can RP in isolation or you can RP in collaboration with your opponents, other group mates and even nations that are not part of your group. The only things you are bound by when RPing are the result and whatever facts your opponent has established about the match, if they RPed first (and even then, you can still RP a different take on the same events). Personally, I'd suggest looking at RP as a collaborative endeavor rather than a competitive one. If you stick around for the long term (and we hope you do), you're going to win some matches and you're going to lose some. While everybody who signs up for the World Cup does so with the hope that this will be the cup when they finally win it all, those that stick around for the long term tend to be those that enjoy RPing and the sense of community here for their own sake in addition to winning and most of them also started here, at the Baptism of Fire.

[Saintland]

Saintland IC Information

History of Saintland

Saintland was founded in 966. Prior to that year, the island that is now Saintland was an uninhabited island in the Lunia region near the north pole. In the year 966, the Christian Church, which was still united at that time, held a now-forgotten Council. At this Council, they discussed some arcane matters related to Christology. There were 2 factions at this council that had irreconcilable differences. The majority faction are known today as the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

However, a small minority of Christian bishops rejected the decision of the Council of 966. Knowing that they would be persecuted for their beliefs if they remained, they left their homes and got on a number of ships. Their brothers and sisters, members of the nobility, went along with them. A Prince by the name of Paulus chose to go with them, because he believed they were right. They set out across the sea, praying that God would guide them to safety.

Somehow, they ended up traveling several thousand miles by sea, arriving at a remote island far to the north of their original homes. They were widely believed to have perished at sea. Soon, the very existence of the Council of 966 would be forgotten. The Prince would be crowned King Paulus I, the first King of the Kingdom of Saintland. Centuries went by and the Sanctii were able to keep their existence secret from the rest of the world.

Despite their isolation from the rest of the world, starting in 1038, the King's Government sent periodic expeditions to explore the outside world. They would inevitably return to Saintland, with information regarding what had happened since the last expedition. The explorers brought knowledge of new inventions back to Saintland. The King consulted with the Patriarch of the Church and they jointly decided which of the new inventions and innovations were worth adopting and which should not be adopted. This would prove to be very useful to the authorities in Saintland, as they successfully kept the Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment out of the Kingdom.

The policy of isolation would be ended in 1788. In 1825, King Josephus X decided to abolish the practice of serfdom. After breaking the power of the nobility, King Josephus X industrialized Saintland. However, Saintland never adopted laissez-faire policies and has only developed a barely modern economy. Usury laws remain on the books, intellectual property legislation remains non-existent and protective labor legislation was adopted very early on in the industrialization process. As Saintland industrialized, a special legal status called "foreign resident" was created, which permits foreign nationals to reside in Saintland and remain exempt from some of Saintland's laws.

Around 2 and a half years ago, Saintland began to take a more prominent place on the international stage, under the leadership of King Paulus XV. King Paulus adopted a new policy of aggressively entering international sports competitions in hopes of spreading the True Church around the multiverse and proving the truth of their faith through their performance on the field. While Sanctii athletes would begin to become fixtures in a number of sports and would particularly find success in soccer, gridiron and (especially) basketball, the mission of spreading the Faith proved much more difficult, due to the Church's theology, which still remained mostly unchanged since the Middle Ages. Thus, the King sought to bring major international tournaments to his Kingdom and eventually brought the most prestigious international tournaments in baseball, gridiron and ice hockey to the Kingdom of Saintland.

However, the life of King Paulus XV was cut short by an assassin. The assassination took place at the final of World Bowl XXII in the nation then known as the Free Republics. The assassination would later be blamed on a Feministvs Sanctvsterra sympathizer who had killed the king over his staunch opposition to the foreign-funded radical feminist organization that sought to overthrow the Church. She would be captured while attempting to assassinate a prominent member of the Senate of the Free Republics and was blamed for the assassination of a Republican Consul. (OOC: In fact, she actually killed neither of them, but was an accomplice of the King's assassin and she was part of an underground group of assassins called The Brotherhood, but ICly Sanctii and Republican authorities blamed her for both assassinations, the truth became a conspiracy theory and what actually happened became extremely muddled). His son Petrus, captain of the Sanctii National Gridirion Team, was crowned King Petrus XX.

The early part of King Petrus's reign as king saw the King constantly trying to modernize Saintland, like his hero King Josephus X, but being thwarted by hard-liner elements within his Government and the Church. He was excommunicated from the Church and removed from the throne after attempting to institute a constitutional monarchy and went into hiding for a while. Another notable event that happened during the early part of the reign of King Petrus was the mysterious appearance of Saintland in northern Rushmore. One night, the Kingdom was in Lunia, but they woke up the next morning and were suddenly in the region of Rushmore instead. So far, nobody has been able to explain why this event happened, but the Sanctii would become a leading power in Rushmori sports and eventually go on to win a Copa Rushmori.

Around the time when the Kulseth regime in the Free Republics began its wars of attempted expansion, the King's brother Andreas usurped the throne while King Petrus was away in Electrum competing in the World Bowl. "King" Andreas, as the usurper became known, was the captain of the Saintland National Soccer Team, the founder of Royal Computer Entertainment of Saintland (which produced the Saint and SaintPhone lines of mobile devices and software for them that promotes the agenda of hardliners in the Sanctii government and Church) and an ally of the hard-liners within the Church of Saintland. Along with his twin brother Josephus (who was murdered during a World Cup of Hockey match by an "Enemy Crusher" from the nation then known as Gregoryisgodistan and now known as South Covello), prominent Sanctustube personality Sister Maria Polus, Patriarch Nicolaus V, RepublicSoft LLC and the Holy Party of the Free Republics, Andreas had conspired to rig a Republican Consul election for the Holy Party and make Reino Kulseth the unquestioned leader of the nation that became known as the Holy Republican Empire. This elaborate conspiracy, however, is not public knowledge and it was widely believed at the time that this Republican regime was elected in a free and fair election. In the present day, whether or not this election was rigged is the subject of intense debate from historians who have yet to find definite proof either way. King Andreas and his co-conspirators were committed to spreading their Faith by any means necessary and were covertly funding terrorist organizations such as the Christian State to advance their agenda. This covert funding of international terrorism was eventually the undoing of "King" Andreas who was removed in a bloodless manner by Euran troops shortly after the fall of the Holy Republican Empire at the hands of internal rebels and a coalition of foreign troops from various nations.

After the restoration of King Petrus XX, he gradually transitioned Saintland toward a constitutional monarchy. Eventually, King Andreas returned to the scene, launching a revolt in the eastern half of Saintland that eventually led to an uneasy peace between the two halves of Saintland as each regime was propped up by different foreign powers. A wall known as the St. Petrus Wall was constructed right in the middle of St. Petrus. The western half of Saintland soon fell under the control of Feministvs Sanctvsterra, becoming a "feminist democracy" where women held all of the political power, while the eastern half reverted to absolute monarchy. The western Church soon diverged radically from Christianity, producing a religion that worshipped the virgin Maria as the daughter of Goddess. Several decades passed faster in Saintland than in the rest of the multiverse due to a mysterious time warp phenomenon and eventually the east's population dramatically outnumbered the west's. Eventually, both King Andreas and King Petrus XX died. King Petrus died without a son and passed his throne onto his daughter Gloria. King Andreas passed his throne onto his son Paulus, who was crowned King Paulus XVI. King Paulus immediately claimed the western throne and invaded, seizing it by force. His cousin Queen Gloria was placed in a convent and the eastern government carried out a policy of reunification of Saintland under the eastern regime, including disbanding the Parliament, arresting the last western prime minister Leva Fadius and imposing eastern law and the eastern Church upon the west.

At the current time, people who lived in the western half of Saintland before the war are treated with suspicion and the government has spared no expense to relocate loyal easterners to the west. The west also features a much larger police and Royal Army presence than the east. The exception to westerners being held in suspicion involves young men, most of whom have eagerly embraced their new position of superiority over women after growing up in a nation where they were considered the inferior gender. At the moment, there is very little open or covert opposition to the current government of Saintland, even in the west, as any such opposition is being crushed ruthlessly whenever it is discovered.

Transportation

Due to the lack of an automobile manufacturing industry in Saintland and the prohibitive cost of importing foreign-made cars, the automobile has never been popular in Saintland. Many years ago, King Paulus XV decided to ban private ownership of automobiles for public safety reasons. Therefore, visitors to Saintland will not have the use of automobiles of any sort.

Under the laws of Saintland, automobiles may only be used by police, the military, fire departments and licensed bus or taxi services. In the cities, you should be able to find a bus or a taxi. If you see a police or military vehicle on the road, it is likely headed toward a crime scene of some sort or is being used to transport a criminal who has been apprehended by the authorities. It is highly recommended to move to the sidewalk when you see an automobile coming down the street.

Saintland has a highly developed high-speed rail network that connects every community in Saintland, from the tiniest villages to the cities of St. Petrus and St. Paulus. This is the only fairly quick way to travel between the communities of Saintland. The largest airport in the Kingdom is located in St. Petrus but there is also a smaller airport in St. Augustinus.

Bicycles are a popular form of transportation in Saintland. There are bicycle rental stores in most communities throughout the Kingdom. The most popular bicycle rental stores, among international visitors to Saintland, are located at the St. Paulus and St. Petrus airports. Bicycle parking is provided throughout Saintland and locks are included with every bike. The use of helmets is optional, but recommended.

Lodging

Until the reign of King Paulus XV, Saintland lacked the necessary lodging to host large numbers of foreign visitors at a given time. However, in the hopes of luring major international sports events to Saintland, the King's Government constructed a number of hotels in the major cities during his reign. All players, coaches and officials from the nations that are playing in Saintland will receive complimentary lodging at the Royal Hotel in St. Petrus. If requested, hotel staff will perform a wake up call to ensure that your players make it to the stadium in time for the start of their games.

Weather

Saintland is located in a polar region, which means that the weather is relatively cold, even during the summer. The average summer temperature in Saintland is 14 degrees (Celsius), which is the equivalent of 57.2 Fahrenheit. On an exceptionally warm day in Saintland, the weather may reach the mid-70s Fahrenheit (24 Celsius), but temperatures in the neighborhood of 7 Celsius (44.6 Fahrenheit) are not unheard of during the summer.

Language

Saintland speaks a dialect of Latin. Sanctii Latin is a living language, so it does have some differences from classical Latin. The degree of difference between the Latin of the Vulgate and the Latin spoken in Saintland is similar to the difference between the English of the King James Bible and the English that is widely spoken today.

Although Latin is the native language of the Sanctii, foreign language education is heavily emphasized in the nation's education system. The average person you run into on the street should be able to speak English relatively fluently, so there is not much of a language barrier for those from English-speaking nations.

Currency

Saintland uses a currency based on bullion. The main coins in Saintland are the Denarius, which is a one-ounce gold coin and the Argentii, a one-ounce silver coin. Gold and silver coins are also available in smaller weights, all the way down to 1/100th of an ounce of silver.

If you do not possess bullion, Universal Standard Dollars are widely accepted, as are the Republican Thaler and the Acedonian Ace. Their value will fluctuate, however, depending upon the current values of gold and silver on the international market.

Entertainment

Saintland is a theocracy that operates under Biblical law, so many forms of entertainment are illegal in Saintland.

There are 5 television networks in Saintland, which are numbered from Royal One to Royal Five. These networks will be airing every match of the Baptism of Fire live, as it happens along with an eclectic mix of Sanctii programming and (ideologically translated) foreign programming.

Additional programming is available on Sanctustube. The Royal Networks maintain a popular Sanctustube channel, which includes live streams and on-demand access to almost every game played in WCC sanctioned tournaments since BoF 51. It also includes on-demand access to any game from the last 20 or so editions of other major tournaments, completely free of charge. If you'd rather watch programming from your home nation, you can probably find it on Sanctustube. Outside of Saintland, if you watch an unauthorized video of a non-Sanctii show on Sanctustube, you will see the show unedited. However, when accessed within Saintland, Sanctustube displays a highly edited version. Anything that is deemed incompatible with the values of Saintland will be removed and background music is usually replaced with music of Sanctii origin. It is not unheard of for the King's Government censors to ideologically translate a foreign television program or movie to reflect the values of Saintland. If a show has not been ideologically translated yet and is deemed unfit to broadcast in its original form by the Ministry of Censorship, it will be blocked outright.

There are movie theaters in the cities of Saintland which mostly show (low-budget) movies produced by Sanctii directors. Movies must be approved by the censors before they can be shown in movie theaters. Sometimes, popular foreign films will be broadcast in the theater, typically after an ideological translation and massive editing.

Cantus Virginum is the most popular musical group in Saintland. The group consists of around a hundred members at any given time. Their members are young women who are either still legally minors under the laws of Saintland or have only recently become adults. Their music is primarily popular with their peers and with girls slightly younger than them. It is widely considered, even among citizens of Saintland, to be of poor quality. It is, however, considered impolite in Saintland to publicly criticize their (lack of) singing ability. The past iteration of the group had its fair share of scandals but the current revival has been scandal-free thus far.

Important Laws

As Saintland is a theocratic nation, pornography, prostitution and public nudity are all highly illegal. The ban on pornography includes "written" pornography, a category that includes most romance novels of foreign origin. Tobacco, Cannabis and other recreational drugs are also illegal. Drinking alcohol is legal, although it is highly regulated. There are limits on how much alcohol an individual may purchase. Drinking alcohol outside of communion is unlawful for minors, university students and soldiers that are not officers. Excessive drunkenness in public is illegal. Contrary to popular misconception, protesting is actually legal in Saintland, but sedition and blasphemy are illegal. In effect, this means that any protest against the King's Government or the Church of Saintland is considered a criminal act. However, a protest against horse racing at the first international Saintland Triple Crown by citizens of the Equestrian States was permitted and an equivalent protest would be permitted today. There are also laws on the books that prohibit aiding unlawful organizations in any way whatsoever. These are being aggressively used to prosecute those who express. Possession of firearms by anybody who is not a police officer or a soldier is strictly prohibited.

While there are sumptuary laws on the books, most of them will not be enforced upon visitors who are here for the Baptism of Fire. However, women will be required to wear a head covering while in public. Exceptions will be made for athletes, during games, should the head covering interfere with their ability to compete to the best of their ability. Visitors who are not following the sumptuary laws should keep their IDs with them at all times and be ready to show them to any soldier or police officer upon request. This exemption will apply to nationals from nations that are participating in the Baptism of Fire and will remain in effect until up to 72 hours after the final game of the BoF. Any foreign nationals that remain in Saintland 3 days after the conclusion of the BoF will automatically obtain visitor status, with their 90 day clock to either apply for foreign resident status, apply for immigrant status or leave starting retroactively at the moment they arrived in Saintland.

Customs

Everybody visiting Saintland should expect to go through Customs prior to entering the nation. Customs is a branch of the Royal Army, which is tasked with keeping contraband out of Saintland. Customs will thoroughly search all items that are taken into Saintland. They will primarily be searching for guns, tobacco, cannabis, other recreational drugs, blasphemous material, seditious material and pornography. If a book appears to be "written pornography," that can cause a long delay in Customs while the Customs officials check the list of known works of "written pornography" to see if the book in question is on the list.

Stadiums

NOTE: Matches take place ICly in the order they are listed in the schedule. All tickets on the Saintland side will be good for an entire day's worth of matches including performances by Cantus Virginum members at halftime of every match and between the matches.

Royal Stadium (St. Petrus Group)

Royal Stadium, located in St. Petrus, is Saintland's National Stadium. The spacious stadium seats 62,383 fans and is the home of the National Soccer Team and the National Gridiron Team. Royal Stadium has a grass surface, which was once re-seeded after an incident during World Bowl XX. Royal Stadium will host all St. Petrus Group matches and at least 1 match in every single knockout round, including the Saintland Semifinal and the 3rd place match.

Via Damascus Stadium (St. Paulus Group)

The Via Damascus Stadium, which means "Road to Damascus" in English, is located in St. Paulus, the largest city in Saintland. Via Damascus is Saintland's second most prestigious stadium. It has been the home of the National Rugby Union Team during past World Cups of Rugby Union. It is also the home stadium of the St. Paulus teams for soccer and gridiron. The stadium seats 32,189. Via Damascus Stadium will host all St. Paulus Group matches and matches in the Round of 20, the Round of 16 and the Quarterfinals.

Additional Information

For additional information, please consult the following RPs:

Lonely Multiverse

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... #p14774287
http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... #p15198065
http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... #p15301616
http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... #p15450232

Cantus Virginum

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... #p13846572
http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... #p15181802

[Free Republics]

Free Republics National Information

History of the Free Republics

The Federation of Free Republics was formed in 1767, following decades of revolutions in the Lunia region. In the previous few decades, there had been a wave of revolutions. The ideas of liberalism had become popular in the region, as Abram Schmitts, an economist from Shostistan, wrote several books promoting the benefits of capitalizm. Soon, absolute monarchies fell throughout the Lunia region. The Kingdom of Saintland remained unaffected by this wave of revolutions, due to its self-imposed isolation.

Following the revolutions, there were now many Republics scattered throughout the region. These Republics faced seemingly constant attempts from reactionary elements to reverse the revolution and bring back absolute monarchy. They also had trouble trading and communicating with one another. The newly free, with a lowercase f, Republics had numerous antiquated laws and contradictory systems of measurement in effect. A foot in Vorita was 2 feet in Amolotopia and a meter in Roxawa was a decimeter in Nejax. It was a total mess all around. This mess was made even worse by the multitude of languages spoken in the different Republics. As they sought to eliminate trade barriers and forge closer ties between one another, their efforts resulted in confusion. In the days of absolute monarchy, the inability to speak one another's language was a benefit, since kings were always waging wars against one another. However, as the Industrial Revolution heated up and brought an unprecedented degree of prosperity to the land, they could no longer maintain separate languages, separate measurements and the arcane laws and regulations that were hindering commerce in the region.

Then, a rebellion broke out in the Republic of Roxawa. The rebels sought to abolish all property, all laws and even government itself. Rampaging around the countryside, they attacked government buildings, vandalized property and stole whatever they felt like. All the while, they spoke of total freedom. Terrifying the Republic's well-armed militia into inaction, the rebel crime spree continued for weeks. Fear spread throughout the region that other "rebellions" of this sort would soon break out, providing the perfect excuse for the Federationists. The leaders of 77 Republics throughout the region agreed to send delegates to the city of Baseton in Amolotopia to discuss an appropriate response to the rebellion. This was a pretext, which was seized upon by the Federationists to push their "Constitution" scheme.

The Federationists proposed that a document called a "Constitution" would establish a new unified government of all of the Republics, known as the Federation Government. This would be a relatively weak government, as the Republics would remain mostly autonomous and generally free to do as they wished in governing themselves. The Federation Government would have an enumerated list of responsibilities, such as promoting commerce, maintaining a common foreign policy and common immigration policy and several other minor tasks, such as the option to establish a national postal system.

The Constitution guaranteed a number of fundamental rights. Among them are the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion and the right to own weapons for the defense not only of oneself and of the Federation, but also against tyranny. Other provisions of the Constitution prohibited unreasonable searches, cruel and unusual punishments and double jeopardy. The document also included a strict prohibition on the practice of slavery and declared immediately and permanently free any "slave" that was brought within any territory subject to the Free Republics. The Federation Government has the power to pass any legislation it deems necessary to free slaves. While ratification was controversial, due to the feeling among many people that the Federation Government was too powerful, it was eventually ratified by the electorate in each of the original 77 Republics. Today, there are the number of Republics in the Federation is well into the hundreds.

The Constitution created a bicameral Legislature and an executive branch where power is shared equally by the 2 heads of state. The Assembly is the popularly elected branch of the Legislature. Originally, it used a first-past-the-post system, but this was later changed to proportional representation after political parties and coalitions became the norm. The entire Assembly has always been up for re-election every second year. The Senate, by contrast, is a purely appointed branch and Senators serve for life terms. When a Senator is elected to another office, he becomes an inactive Senator, but other than such periods when he may serve in other offices, he is a Senator for life, without exception. Each Republic may appoint a new Senator every second year and Senators are appointed in the same years when Assembly elections are held. Finally, the Consuls are elected to 8 year terms, with a new Consul elected every 4th year. This means that every other Assembly election is held simultaneously with a Consul election. The Constitution prohibits any Consul from serving more than a single term per lifetime. Originally, Consuls were also elected first-past-the-post, but that has since changed to a 3 round system. In the first round, the top 2 candidates, plus any other candidates that get at least 10 percent of the vote advance, assuming that no candidate gets a majority of the vote. The second round sees the top 2 candidates advance, again assuming that nobody wins a majority of the votes cast. In the third and final round, whoever wins the majority of votes cast is elected. Both Consuls have and have always had full power to veto any act of the other and former Consuls automatically become Senators upon the expiration of their term in office.

The government of the Free Republics quickly moved to standardize the system of measurements used throughout the Federation and adopt English as the national language. To help transition the Federation to an English-speaking nation, the Federation Government established a system of schools funded by the Federation Government, which ensured that the next generation would speak English and identify themselves as Republicans, rather than identifying themselves by their home Republic and speaking their Republic's native language. A substantial minority of parents resisted this effort, but children were allowed to go to school and learn English, whether or not they had parental permission. By 1830, almost everybody spoke English and identified as a Republican, not an Amolotopian, Roxawan, Voritan, Schost or whatever the demonym was for their home Republic. This brought about a more unified society. Around this time, education was returned to the Republics, most of which eventually adopted a voucher based system.

The government also banned trade barriers between Republics. This was an expected and noncontroversial move. The funding of the government by a tariff also proved uncontroversial, since politicians generally agreed that the tariff should be limited to revenue only and not used to "protect" industries from competition. However, an income tax was eventually adopted as foreign imports began to dry up. The Republican economy was simply too much of a powerhouse to justify importing goods from abroad. Discontent with the income tax grew as the government kept pushing it higher and higher. Finally, Paul Musgrove ran for Consul on a platform of capping all taxes at 10 percent of income. After his election, the amendment passed both the Assembly and the Senate before being sent directly to referendum. Voters in every Republic overwhelmingly voted for it and it became a popular amendment.

In the 20th century, the Free Republics became even more of an economic powerhouse, thanks to the capitalizt economic system. Business thrived in the FFR, as the nation became progressively wealthier. Over the years, the FFR has expanded its territory while remaining on the cutting edge of technological advancement. In the present day, the Free Republics have a population in the billions and are one of the wealthiest nations in the multiverse, with a correspondingly high rate of income inequality. The exact population of the Free Republics is unknown, due to a Constitutional amendment adopted in 1934, which prohibited the taking of a Census by any entity, whether governmental or otherwise.

Several years ago, the Free Republics were left leaderless following the death of both Consuls within the span of a few months, one of them via assassination. In the chaos, Reino Kulseth of the Holy Party was elected Consul and gradually obtained dictatorial power for himself at the expense of the nation's Republican institutions. Kulseth established a tyrannical government that passed laws against lying (despite routinely lying to their own people) and mandating the use of the word "thou" instead of you in most circumstances. Kulseth dragged the nation into a large-scale war that proved extremely costly for both sides and which led to his downfall.

In the end, the Republican people rose up against Kulseth and, aligned with several foreign armies, brought down Kulseth's "Holy Republican Empire" and brought back the Federation of Free Republics. Robert Nicholls, the father of Veleik Nicholls (leader of the popular revolt) and owner of Nicholls Enterprises, was named the new Acting Consul until such time as the normal electoral process could elect his replacement. However, the following election led to the rise to power of another tyrant, Consul Caleb O'Reilly, who jailed Acting Consul Nicholls and basically turned over control of the country to a hivemind of robots which oppressed the people of the nation until one day when hackers disabled the robots and Consul O'Reilly resigned from office, claiming to have been under hypnosis during his entire time as Consul. In the aftermath, Consul Nicholls was restored to power as the Senior Consul as the FFR geared up for another election. Consul Nicholls intended to spend his time as Consul restoring the Free Republics to its former glory and was relieved that the Republican people selected retired soccer player and current professional wrestler Kyle Bolton to be their new Junior Consul in the election.

Unfortunately, the left-wing extremists in a handful of Republics, who had previously scared many Republicans into voting for Kulseth and O'Reilly, rose up in a wave of anarchistic street violence. When the Federation Government adopted measures to stop the violence, the 32 Republics they controlled seceded from the Free Republics and declared themselves a Confederacy of Leftist Republics, which quickly became a state sponsor of terror. Consul Nicholls waged war against this rebellion and ultimately defeated them. After the conclusion of this short-lived civil war, Consul Nicholls introduced "charter societies" located in the 32 former Leftist Republics and sold off ownership of these autonomous societies, whose residents are prohibited from participating in Federation Government elections or sending any representation to Republica, to the highest bidding political extremist groups in an effort to address the FFR's political extremism problem once and for all.

With the extremist groups largely exiled to the charter societies, political stability has improved in the nation. This quickly bore some fruit with the decision by the Free Republics to join the Reichsburg Free Trade Agreement and negotiate other free trade agreements with the various nations of the multiverse. Scarlett Nicholls was elected as the new Consul 2 years ago and has focused on a moderate socially progressive agenda, highlighted by her successful effort to legalize same-sex marriage, her push for gender equality in Republican society and her support of the FFR's famous sex-positive culture.

Transportation

Just about every mode of transportation is an option in the Free Republics. Visitors for the Baptism of Fire may arrive at any seaport or airport in the Free Republics. Planes and ships may also be used to travel between cities. As the Free Republics spans 4 continents and many thousands of miles, the use of planes is recommended for long-distance travel.

Several private companies offer high speed rail between cities. It is possible to travel through most of the Free Republics on high-speed rail, although in some places you may have to walk across the city to a competing company's station to go to your desired destination. There is a high speed rail network across the Malifornia Charter Society.

The use of bicycles, although unregulated, is not recommended. The Free Republics are simply too vast a nation, so players and fans that travel by bike risk missing a match altogether.

Taxis are available in every city that will be hosting Baptism of FIre games. Most bus services cover a radius of less than 100 miles, so the use of buses is only recommended for short distance travel.

Automobiles are legal in the Free Republics and can be rented near any airport or seaport. Travel by automobile is possible to any nation located on one of the 4 continents upon which the Free Republics are located. However, as the Republican continents are located in Lunia, it is not possible to travel by automobile to-or-from the Free Republics and any other nation participating in the Baptism of Fire. Anybody who intends to rent a car is strongly encouraged to get a Republican drivers license, as foreign drivers licenses are only recognized in certain Republics. Most Republics will hand out a drivers license to anybody that applies and passes the driving test. The difficulty of these tests varies greatly by Republics. The test in Nejax is notoriously easy while the test in Amolotopia is notorious as one of the most difficult. Despite this, all Republics are required by Federation law to recognize out-of-Republic drivers licenses as valid. A wide variety of cars are commonly available in the Free Republics, such as SUVs, sports cars and pick-up trucks. Those that have money to burn may rent luxury cars or limos. The vast majority of cars on the road are produced in the Free Republics. Many roads, especially long distance roads, are underfunded and in poor condition, so planes and high speed rail are much more popular in the Free Republics.

Lodging

There are numerous hotel firms throughout the Free Republics. Participating nations will be required to select their own lodging but will be provided with hotel vouchers from the Salvation Circle that will pay for up to 30 rooms per team. We encourage participating teams to visit hotels.co.republica and purchase rooms before the rush. Those that wait may very well end up staying in a cheap motel with holes in the walls and bedbugs under the sheets.

Those national teams that do not wish to stay in hotels may stay at various campgrounds outside of the host cities.

Weather

The Free Republics has a varied climate but as the Baptism of Fire will be held in the summer, the weather will vary from warm to extremely warm depending upon where in the country you are. Rain and thunderstorms may also appear anywhere in the country.

Language

The official language of the Free Republics is English and all government documents are printed in English. Most private businesses do not print anything in a non-English language. While the rise of xenophobia in the Free Republics has subsided, most Republicans still don't speak any languages other than English. The most common foreign language spoken in the Free Republics is Latin, due to the influence of the Church of Saintland in recent years, but its use is currently frowned upon outside of the Malifornia Charter Society because of the language's association with the former Kulseth dictatorship.

Currency

The Republican Thaler is the only widely accepted currency in the Free Republics. Financial institutions are generally willing to change Sanctii bullion, Acedonian Aces or Universal Standard Dollars into Thalers. Due to the large number of currencies in the world, it is impossible for financial institutions in the Free Republics to keep track of all of them. Therefore, it is highly recommend that everybody visiting the Free Republics get their currency converted into Thalers, USDs or bullion before entering the Free Republics. Non-Republican Thalers, such as the now-defunct Taxachusetts Thaler (which was notorious for its extremely high inflation rates), are not accepted as currency in the Free Republics and are not convertible into Republican Thalers.

Entertainment

There are a plethora of entertainment options in the Free Republics. Every quality hotel room comes equipped with cable or satellite television, including thousands of channels and an interactive program guide. No matter what your preferences, you can probably find something on Republican television that you'd want to watch. If you can't find anything to watch on TV, you can always log on to Sanctustube, a video sharing website from Saintland, and browse the uncensored version of the site, which has (illegal) copies of just about every television program and movie in the multiverse.

Virtually every town in the Free Republics includes a movie theater, which is a popular social hangout. Tickets are relatively inexpensive, to keep an endless flow of teenagers coming into the movie theaters. Concerts are held in the major cities on a near-daily basis and there are several popular groups in each major genre.

Nightclubs and bars are available in virtually every village, town or city in the entire Federation. The local laws do differ, but most Republics will allow anybody over the age of 15 or so to enter a bar or nightclub. Strip clubs and brothels are also popular, although the regulation of those establishments greatly differs in each Republic. Women should be forewarned that the definition of consent in the Free Republics tends to be somewhat looser than they may be used to. In particular, Republican law regards intoxicated individuals as 100% capable of giving consent to the same extent as sober individuals and holds such individuals fully responsible for their actions and choices while intoxicated. Republican law also applies a "reasonable belief" test under which non-consensual sex is lawful if the consenting party has a "reasonable belief" that the other party is consenting. Many bars and clubs also sell marijuana, which is legal throughout most of the Free Republics (despite the efforts of the Outlaw Marijuana Party to change this).

In the past, pro wrestling has been a popular form of entertainment in the Free Republics, especially among guys between the ages of 13 and 30. The wrestling company in the Free Republics put on extremely violent and sexualized shows. As their shows grew more explicit, their ratings steadily increased to the point where they were once of the most popular programs on television in the Free Republics. The Republican Wrestling Conglomerate attempted international expansion at one time, but the rise of Consul Kulseth and the restrictions he imposed on the content of their programming eventually drove them out of business. Abelino Sagese, their former owner, established the New Republican Wrestling Conglomerate, but it is not quite as popular yet as its predecessor. The issues of the NRWC have been exacerbated by its recent decision to fire an executive because his wife was a vocal critic of certain radical forms of Christianity on social media. This inspired the National Baseball Team to launch a campaign called "Stand Up to Sexism" to promote gender equality in Republican sports and eventually forced the NRWC to back down, apologize and offer the executive his job back. All-Taiyou Pro Wrestling of Noburu Taiyou has recently attempted to enter the Republican market and even held a number of events in major arenas earlier this year after purchasing arena dates from the National Basketball Team due to the numerous delays of this year's IBC tournament.

Republican entertainment has been hit hard by the Kulseth and O'Reilly regimes, but businesses in that sector are currently trying to revive it. The Republican video game industry, long dominated by the RepublicSoft Saint, a device created as part of a partnership between RepublicSoft and the Sanctii government, has been hit particularly hard due to RepublicSoft's extremely close ties to the Kulseth regime. Republican gamers are currently enjoying the Miktondo Flip, a Taiyouese import that was the first to release of a new generation of handheld gaming devices while increasing numbers of Republican computer users have begun migrating to open source alternatives to RepublicSoft's Doors operating system and Citrus Computing's cOS mobile operating system, particularly after the free upgrade to Doors 12 was discovered to contain numerous backdoors designed to aid the efforts of the Kulseth government to spy on its citizens and Citrus Computing was discovered to have collaborated with the O'Reilly regime. Even Googol's Cyborg mobile OS has come under much criticism of late for overly restricting the freedom of its users. One of the more popular open source operating systems is Perestroika.
Important Laws

For the most part, visiting teams and fans will not have to worry about any unusual laws in the Free Republics. While public nudity statutes remain on the books in many Republics and around half of the Republics restrict the use of hard drugs, pornography, prostitution, alcohol, tobacco and cannabis are generally legal. In fact, pornography is legal everywhere in the FFR, as it is recognized by the Federation courts as freedom of speech. While many of these activities were barred at the request of the Kulseth regime and later barred again by the O'Reilly regime, there has been a push since the fall of the dictatorships to legalize them as widely as possible. However, laws against abortion tend to vary between Republics and some Republics have made it a crime to utilize their transportation infrastructure to travel to another Republic to procure an abortion. Public opposition to abortion has been growing in recent years, so more and more Republics are passing laws restricting or outlawing abortion.

Some Republics have their share of silly laws. The Constitutional provision prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishment" does not have as strong of an effect as you might expect because the Federation courts use an 18th century definition of cruel and unusual punishment. While nobody's going to be hung, drawn and quartered or tortured for evidence, several backwater Republics do practice some rather bizarre punishments for crimes. If you're going to run into any legal problems, it will probably be in some backwater Republic, since they have historically been the main power base of extremist politicians in the Free Republics. You may also run into problems in the charter societies as they are not required to follow the Federation Constitution and are generally run by extremist groups. Even under the Kulseth and O'Reilly Consulships, the federal system remained largely intact, so many of these extremist politicians have been in power since the days before Kulseth's rise.

In particular, women visiting the Free Republics should be mindful that sexual consent is defined slightly more broadly than they may be used to. The Free Republics has traditionally had a very sex-positive culture for the most part and has tended to be suspicious at times regarding the reliability of accusations of sexual crimes. The different sexual norms in the Free Republics have caused several international incidents in the past. Sexual norms changed during the Kulseth regime and have yet to fully return to the way that they were. Given Kulseth's popularity among Republican women, it is doubtful that the old sexual culture will ever be fully restored but there are many Republicans who long for a return to normalcy, including the old sexual norms, and the nightlife industry is currently bigger and more successful than it has been at any point since the rise of Kulseth.

It should be noted that it is unlawful in Malifornia for a member of the Salvation Circle, True Church of Iesus Christus (a.k.a. Church of Saintland) or any other Christian organization belonging to the Ecumenical Coalition for Morality to smoke marijuana, enter a strip club or brothel, engage in sexual acts outside of marriage or otherwise violate the moral teachings of radical Christian groups (which typically include the requirement for women to cover their head while in public). It is also unlawful in Malifornia for an unbeliever to "corrupt" the morals of a radical Christian. While the Supreme Court of the Free Republics has been ruling a number of charter society laws unconstitutional of late and most legal experts believe these laws are unconstitutional as well, they have yet to strike down these laws. Many Malifornians have joined the Salvation Circle out of economic necessity and are not necessarily true believers so clashes with these laws happen fairly often though most of those who clash with the religious laws tend to be poor as wealthier Malifornians are able to survive without joining the Salvation Circle (and the Republican legal system is known for being biased towards the wealthy).

Stadiums

Note: The city of Los Martires greatly resembles RL Los Angeles and the city of El Fierro greatly resembles RL San Francisco. Like the Saintland half, group stage tickets will be for an entire day of group stage matches from that group.

Fierro del Infierno Stadium

Fierro del Infierno Stadium, formerly known as Organic Solar Stadium, is a 93,204 seat stadium in the city of El Fierro. El Fierro is part of the Charter Society of Malifornia, which is a Charter Society governed by the Salvation Circle, a religious movement led by Delmar Lavallee that is secretly a front for the Church of Saintland. After Malifornia participated in the ill-fated Leftist Republics Rebellion, Consul Nicholls decided to sell off governing rights to former Leftist Republics to extremist groups within the Free Republics and the Salvation Circle, as the most well-funded extremist group, purchased the largest and most populous former Leftist Republic. The stadium was once sponsored by the solar energy company Organic Solar, which produces most of the electricity in Malifornia but after the Salvation Circle took over, they renamed the stadium to Fierro del Infierno which means "Fires of Hell" in the Spanish language that was once spoken in Malifornia. The stadium is the home of the El Fierro Gold Diggers gridiron football team and has also hosted religious events in recent years.

Hosts: El Fierro Group, Matches in Round of 20, Round of 16 and Quarterfinals

Coliseum of the Crucifixion

The Coliseum of the Crucifixion, formerly known as the Los Martires Memorial Coliseum, is a 97,457 seat stadium in the city of Los Martires. Los Martires is part of the Charter Society of Malifornia, which is a Charter Society governed by the Salvation Circle, a religious movement led by Delmar Lavallee that is secretly a front for the Church of Saintland. After Malifornia participated in the ill-fated Leftist Republics Rebellion, Consul Nicholls decided to sell off governing rights to former Leftist Republics to extremist groups within the Free Republics and the Salvation Circle, as the most well-funded extremist group, purchased the largest and most populous former Leftist Republic. The Circle almost immediately funded a full renovation of the run-down Coliseum and renamed the venue the Coliseum of the Crucifixion. Besides being used for (gridiron) football and soccer, the venue is also utilized as a massive outdoor cathedral. Malifornia is located in the south western portion of the Free Republics.

Hosts: Los Martires Group, Matches in Round of 20, Round of 16 and Quarterfinals, Free Republics Semifinal

Barteaux Stadium

Barteaux Stadium is the home stadium of the Barteaux University Elite soccer and gridiron football teams that seats 73,421. It is located in San Hacienda, Malifornia. San Hacienda is a college town in the Charter Society of Malifornia, which is a Charter Society governed by the Salvation Circle, a religious movement led by Delmar Lavallee that is secretly a front for the Church of Saintland. After Malifornia participated in the ill-fated Leftist Republics Rebellion, Consul Nicholls decided to sell off governing rights to former Leftist Republics to extremist groups within the Free Republics and the Salvation Circle, as the most well-funded extremist group, purchased the largest and most populous former Leftist Republic. Prior to the Salvation Circle's takeover of Malifornia, Barteaux University was known as one of the most progressive and most expensive universities in the Free Republics. Today, thanks to the Salvation Circle, members of the Circle or affiliated religious organizations can attend Barteaux University at no cost. Malifornia is located in the south western portion of the Free Republics.

Hosts: San Hacienda Group, 2 Matches in Round of 16

CoCoCo Stadium

The CoCoCo Stadium is a high-tech stadium in New City, Orlandiana constructed with funding and materials from Vilita-based companies CoCoCo, Arcticala Electrical and Lighthouse Lightworx. It is a domed stadium with a solar powered retractable roof and an artificial surface that provides power to the displays in the stadium utilizing energy consumed by the players on the pitch. It was constructed on the site of the run-down 103-year-old RT&T Stadium in the run-up to World Cup 81 and has a capacity of 151,732. New City is widely believed to be the most populous city in the Free Republics. Orlandiana is a mid-northern Republic.

Hosts: Baptism of Fire 70 Final Match

[West Phoenicia]

Full nation name: The Confederate Empire of West Phoenicia
Trigramme: KWP
Nicknames: The Stampedes
Team Colors: Purple, Black and Red



Head Coach/Staff:

Manager: Yusuf Weir
Assistant Manager: Jacqueline Busset
Head Coach: Patrick Newman
Assistant Coach: Colin McQueen
Goalkeeping Coach: Symon Parkinson
Trainer: Lazarus Sharma
Physio: Melinda Fall
Chaplain: Father Michael Vikkers
Spiritual Guru: Vishnu Sharma
Priestess of Nortia: Avalon Neo-Nortia




Team:

Forwards
#22 Jason Summer- Striker

Midfielders
#3 Luis Cavera - Attacking Midfielder/Central Forward
#17 Chandler Goodwin- Left Wing
#5 Ricardo Latin- Right Wing
# 27 Marcelo Devier - Defensive Midfielder
#34 Ashley Butler - Defensive Midfielder

Defense
#2 Clayton Danes - Leftback
#8 Vince Young - Center Back
#10 Manpreet Siva - Center Back
#31 Ron Eccles - Rightback

Goalkeeper
#1 Daniel Fozter- Goalkeeper

Bench:

#29 Was Shortcrop - Striker
# 11 Renaldo Newmano - Striker
# 24 Ricardo Guitera- Midfielder
#19 Emilo Franz- Midfielder
#20 Paris Tomei - Midfielder
#15 Count Jefferson La blonc - Defender
#7 Wei Du Fung- Defender
#13 Gabe Alexander - Defender
# 15 Thomas Singh- Goalkeeper
#40 Pedro Rodriguez- Goalkeeper

Line up



Team Uniform




My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes- nothing serious
Godmod injuries to my players:no
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes
Godmod other events: Yes

[Hapilopper]

The Hapilopper National Football Team

Full nation name: The Dominion of Hapilopper
Trigramme: HAP
Nicknames: The Thrashers
Team Colors: Blue, Green and White

MANAGER: Thom Perkins
Perkins, 53, was recently named the manager of the national team, and is known for his ability to rally a team together. The former manager of The Soldiers, Perkins rallied the troops together a year ago to help The Soldiers score the HFA Championship. Perkins likes to rely on an attacking form of football, and will likely rely on the 4-2-3-1 formation for most of the time. Perkins's staff includes:
ASSISTANT MANAGER: Buddy Martinez
ASSISTANT COACH: Charles Waters
GOALKEEPING COACH: Duke Wright
TRAINER: Marc James
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Jim McNeil
PHYSIO: Russ Oliver

Typical Lineup:


Uniforms:

From left: The team's primary kit, the secondary kit and the goalkeeper's kit.

TYPICAL STARTING PLAYERS:
#1 | Cooter Harris | Hapilopper City Soldiers | Goalkeeper
Cooter Harris, the captain of the Hapilopper National Football team, is the last line of defense for The Soldiers of Hapilopper City, the top team in Hapiloppian football. Considered the most effective goalkeeper in the top level of Hapiloppian football, Harris registered a remarkable one goal allowed per 175 minutes of play in last year’s HFA Championship, which helped The Soldiers win the title last year. Away from the pitch, Harris enjoys going off-roading in his 1979 Major M-200 pickup truck, hunting and listening to country music.

#2 | Nick Seward | United Hampton Cities | Defenseman/Right Fullback
Nick Seward, the right fullback of United Hampton Cities and of the national team, is one of the strongest defensemen in all of Hapiloppian football. His tackling ability from the right side of the pitch helped get UHC out of a few unfortunate situations, but unfortunately, that same tackling ability can go too far, as Seward is known for getting in card trouble. In fact, he was suspended twice last year due to yellow card accumulation, and unfortunately, it happened when UHC needed Nick the most.

#3 | Colin McLain | Hapilopper City Highway Patrol | Defenseman/Left Fullback
Colin McLain, the Highway Patrol’s left fullback, is one of the more aggressive players in Hapiloppian football, and one of the more temperamental players, too. McLain will tackle players with impunity, regardless of if the player actually has the ball, or if he’s going for the ball. McLain was given a straight red in Highway Patrol’s match against The Soldiers a year ago for clotheslining striker Ernie Stevenson, precipitating a large-scale brawl between the two clubs. McLain has been warned by the Hapilopper Football Association to be on his best behavior.

#4 | Scott Dukes | Kingsland Warriors | Defenseman/Centerback
Scott Dukes, one of two centerbacks for the national team, is the Kingsland Warriors’ top defensive man, but he typically plays on the left side of the pitch. Dukes has been asked to move to the center position, and has been extensively practicing from the center of the pitch. One of the cleanest defensivemen in Hapiloppian football, Dukes has been asked on multiple occasions to turn up the aggression, and hopefully he’ll do exactly that on matchday for the Hapiloppians.

#5 | Nathan Ellis | FC Buckridge | Defenseman/Centerback
Nate Ellis, FC Buckridge’s ill-tempered centerback, was a late addition to the team following injuries suffered by Garvinson defenseman Paul Dibble. Ellis is an aggressive defensiveman, but is known just as much for fits of anger, most notably last year when he kicked UHC midfielder Steve Erickson in the stomach in retaliation for Erickson diving in an attempt to draw a foul. Ellis was given only a one-game suspension, likely due to the fact that, yes, Erickson had very obviously dived, something the HFA has been trying to stamp out.

#6 | Pancakes Taggart | Capital City United | Defensive Midfielder
Richard “Pancakes” Taggart, a defensive midfielder for Capital City United, one of Hapilopper City’s multiple football teams, is the first line of defense for Capital City, and can kill the momentum of an opposing team’s offensive run. Taggart got his nickname after eating 25 pancakes in one hour at an International House of Flapjacks on the outskirts of Hapilopper City.

#7 | Kelvin Beverly | West Hampton Sports Club | Defensive Midfielder
Kelvin Beverly, a defensive midfielder for the West Hampton Sports Club, at 36 years old, may be nearing the end of his career, but for the work he has done with the WHSC, to keep him off the national team would be a crime, honestly. Beverly is known for putting his entire body in the way of an attack, which sometimes means a kick to the ribs, or a ball right in the face. But, strangely, it gets the job done.

#8 | Murray Hunnisett |West River FC | Central Midfielder
Murray Hunnisett, the younger brother of HC Nationals star third baseman Leroy, is a central midfielder for Hapilopper City’s West River Football Club and the national team. Hunnisett can attack, and has three goals to his credit, and he can defend, getting the ball away from carriers at the first instance. Away from the pitch, Hunnisett is known as a ride-share driver on the “Mega” rideshare service around Hapilopper City, benefitting the “Drink, Drive and Die” campaign to stop drunk drivers in Hapilopper.

#9 | Steve Erickson | United Hampton Cities | Playmaking Midfielder
Steve Erickson of United Hampton Cities is a playmaking midfielder and striker, but is being used as an offensive midfielder for the national team. Erickson scored 19 goals last year for United Hampton Cities, but is unfortunately known for his tendency to “simulate” injuries at convenient times that may draw penalties. In other words, he’s a flopping jackass. This flopping drew the ire of Buckridge defenseman Nate Ellis in a match last year. Ellis and Erickson were jockeying for position. Erickson hit the deck. Ellis turned around and kicked Erickson in the stomach. Needless to say, the two don’t like each other.

#10 | Bobby East | Garvinson Trojans | Attacking Midfielder
Bobby East, Garvinson’s quiet attacking midfielder, is one third of the “Midnight Express” trio that led the small-town Trojans to a stunning second place in the HFA Championship. East, more commonly known as “Beautiful Bobby,” leaves the talking to his teammates and is just happy doing what he does on the pitch. Known as one of the nicest players in Hapiloppian sport off the pitch.

#11 | Ernie Stevenson | Hapilopper City Soldiers | Center Forward
Ernie Stevenson, the younger brother of racing driver Drake Stevenson, is one of the top strikers in all of Hapiloppian football, scoring 33 goals last year for The Soldiers en route to their HFA Championship a year ago. Stevenson is a strong center forward and can bring the ball into the net from any angle. Away from the pitch, Stevenson and his wife, Wendy, lovingly take care of four dogs – a bulldog named Willie, a terrier named Drake, a Labrador named Precious and another bulldog named Princess.

TYPICAL BENCH PLAYERS
#12 | Rufus Weeks | Hapilopper City Highway Patrol | Center Forward
Rufus Weeks, the Highway Patrol’s chief striker, scored 26 goals last year, primarily from point-blank range. Rufus, known as “Judge Weeks” by the Highway Patrol’s fans, is one of the biggest showboats in Hapiloppian football, and his goal celebration commonly consists of him pointing at the goalkeeper and shouting “GUILTY AS CHARGED!” for whatever reason. Unfortunately, Weeks is also known for his diving, which put him down to fourth on the four-man depth chart on the national team as the HFA has tried to stamp out diving as much as it could.

#14 | John Cornett | Garvinson Trojans | Center Forward
John Cornett, Garvinson’s foul-mouthed striker, scored the second-most goals last year, scoring 31 goals as the Trojans finished 2nd in the HFA Championship. Cornett can be a threat from all sides of the pitch. Cornett, meanwhile, has an unfortunate reputation as one of the most ill-tempered players in all of Hapiloppian sport. Two years ago, Cornett was suspended for half the season for threatening to ram a broken beer bottle up a rear orifice of a referee. Rumors also exist of a video of Cornett threatening a drive-through worker of a Fat Chuck’s Tasty Fried Chicken restaurant.

#15 | Patrick Morris | Pinkerton City SC | Forward
Pat Morris, one of Pinkerton’s top strikers, scored 23 goals last year, but was put #3 on the striker’s depth chart due to the diving of teammate Rufus Weeks. Morris is a threat from primarily the right side of the pitch, and defenders would be very smart to trap him on the left side, as his usefulness typically goes downhill very quickly on that side of the pitch.

#16 | Stan Long | Garvinson Trojans | Playmaking Midfielder
Stan Long, one of Garvinson’s “Midnight Express” trio, is the more charismatic of the two Midnight midfielders. Long, a creative playmaking midfielder, will elude defenders any day of the week and twice on Sunday as he sends the ball to John Cornett for a Trojans goal. Reportedly has a black belt in karate.

#17 | Brandon Herbert | Peoria City FC | Midfielder
Hybrid defensive-offensive midfielder Brandon Herbert is a multi-purpose threat for Peoria City. He can either stop an attack or he can start one. How he plays depends on the players he’s with, and Peoria City is not known as one of the top teams in the HFA Championship. However, experts agree that their poor standing is in spite of Herbert, not because of it.

#18 | Steve Swindlehurst | Raceway Football Club | Midfielder
Steve Swindlehurst, who can be placed anywhere ahead of the midpoint of the field, is a strong midfielder for Raceway Football Club in Buckridge. Swindlehurst actually scored two goals last year in incredibly lucky circumstances, one from 55 yards out when nobody was paying attention.

#19 | Doug Morse | FC Buckridge | Midfielder
Doug Morse of FC Buckridge is a defensive midfielder and will likely be a fixture on the bench to be put on as a mid-match substitution. Morse is known as a player that can stop offensive momentum when needed.

#25 | Clive Blackburn | Hapilopper City Soldiers | Defenseman
Clive Blackburn, a right fullback for The Soldiers, is a strong defenseman and will likely be named as a constant bench player, eligible to be subbed on. Blackburn, 29, is one of the more efficient defensive players in Hapiloppian football.

#28 | Donnie Armistead | Hapilopper City Highway Patrol | Defenseman
Don Armistead, left fullback for the Highway Patrol, will also be considered as a bench player to be subbed on. Constant injuries have plagued Armistead’s career, and this alone has placed a question mark on his playing time.

#30 | Rod Hughes | United Hampton Cities | Goalkeeper
Rod Hughes, the second-string goaltender for the national team, is a strong figure in front of the net, and is also a strong figure to keep the team motivated. Hughes registered one goal allowed per 143 minutes last year.

#35 | Paul Garrod | Washington FC | Defenseman
Paul Garrod, centerback for Washington FC, is on the team primarily as a last resort. Garrod was one of the last players selected to the national team. Expected to receive very little playing time in either the BoF or the World Cup qualifiers, and if he does make it in, it will be after the game is out of reach for either team.

#37 | Peanut Carlisle | Surrey United | Defenseman
Peanut Carlisle, another centerback for Washington FC, could see some time on the bench and potentially some limited time on the pitch in the later minutes. Carlisle is known for being one of the biggest country bumpkins on the national team, and has been asked to curb his chewing tobacco habit.

#60 | Colt Delaney | West Hampton Sports Club | Goalkeeper
Colt Delaney is the third-most efficient goaltender in Hapiloppian football, registering one goal allowed per 141 minutes last year. Delaney, however, has been also plagued by injuries and his playing time could be non-existent.

Style Mod: +3

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes, but TG me if you want to do something serious
Godmod injuries to my players: TG me first, or ping me on the NS Sports Discord, and we'll talk about it
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: TG me first, or ping me on the NS Sports Discord, and we'll talk about it
Godmod other events: Yes, but TG me first

[Timuria]

BoF Squad Unveiled as Football Federation Announces Former Agriculture Minister as Manager

By the editors

As the groups for the Baptism of Fire were revealed, the TFF revealed their choice for manager, who then revealed the 23 man team to be taken to the tournament being hosted in Saintland and the Free Republics. We provide this papers sports teams assessment of the staff and the team they have put together, as well as the starting lineup, bizarrely announced by a very confident coaching team. Firstly the new kits were revealed shown below from left to right representing the Home/Away/Goalkeepers kit:

The coaching duo who will hopefully be leading this team to glory, especially after the government put so much money into beginning a professional football league:

Coaching Staff:

Manager: Bekir Altingunes
Age: 44
Bio: A surprise appointment, given that two managers from the Superleague were expected to be appointed. Though there is suspicion that some kind of pressure was exerted by the government to get Bekir Altingunes this job. This suspicion is fueled by the recent troubles faced by the government, who are experimenting with investing in organised professional sports, which began with the TimLig's inaugural season. He is known to favour the 4-2-3-1 formation and has stated that he would prefer the team to enter the tournament with a positive and aggressive system, intending to utilise the firepower upfront.

Assistant Manager: Senol Tarimcioglu
Age: 59
Bio: A statistician by trade, he was the director of football at league champions Hisar FK. His analysis of the players in preseason is said to have led to the construction of the league's best defence as well as an offence that had enough goals in them to lead them to the inaugural title. His hand is seen in many of the selections, with factors such as age, appearance and even raw talent, being ignored for the sake of fitting Altingunes's scheme. Time will tell whether this method of applying statistics to the national team will be a successful hypothesis, but regardless he will be a valuable asset for the manager who personally requested his hiring.

The squad is organised here by their primary position:

Goalkeepers:

1. Saban Inekci (Hisar FK) Caps: 4
Age: 28
Bio: The goalkeeper who kept the most clean sheets and conceded the fewest in the Superleague last season, Saban Inekci was expected to be penciled in as the starting goalkeeper and that's exactly what's happened. A reliable handler of the ball, who marshaled the league's stoutest defence. At international level he will face new challenges that are perhaps more gifted than the his typical week-to-week competition however, he's a reliable pair of hands for this first ever tournament entered by our nation. His career prior to football was working as a receptionist for a museum in the nation's capital.

12. Iskender Nur (Altin Akademisi) Caps: 4
Age: 18
Bio: A surprise inclusion in the squad and a bigger surprise that he's penciled in as the primary backup to Saban Inekci. He was the only goalkeeper in the country to concede single figures who played all 22 games conceding a mere 8 over the Development League season. Iskender Nur is a sought after commodity, but is taking his time in choosing where to go as his youth career comes to an end. There are doubts about his attitude and some of his off the field antics, but clearly Altingunes has seen something he likes to put him as the number 2 man in goal.

23. Hasan Kocaeli (Demirspor) Caps: 1
Age: 39
Bio: Another surprise inclusion on the surface, but given how weak the defence in front of him was Hasan Kocaeli had a great season. He made by far the most saves of any goalkeeper in the Superleague. While he likely wont see the field and has been brought into the squad more as a player-coach than a player his surprising reflexes and ability to command the defence will mean if he gets on the pitch there would not be a substantial decline in quality from Saban Inekci. Prior to the Superleague season, he worked as a teacher.

Defenders:

2. Ozbek Sarikaya (Uryanspor) Caps: 8 Goals: 0
Positions: DL
Age: 30
Bio: Ozbek Sarikaya was the anchor of the league's second best defence in Uryanspor, who surprised many by clinching a Globe Cup berth. A solid tackler, if unspectacular going forward him being designated the starter indicates that Bekir Altingunes really doesn't want to replicate the Superleague's nasty habit of sloppy defensive play. While not the fastest player, his strength comes from his anticipation and concentration. His career prior to football was as a teacher.

3. Tuna Rustemoglu (C) (Hisar FK) Caps: 8 Goals: 0
Positions: DC
Age: 35
Bio: It surprised and continues to surprise many that Tuna Rustemoglu is going to be part of the starting centre-back pairing, especially when two players who made it into the team of the year who can play at centre-back are occupying the bench. However, his selection, both as captain and as a stabilizing force next to his club partner Osman Hasanoglu makes a lot of sense especially for this tournament. Tuna will provide much stability and good leadership for the defence and will be able to provide cover for his more technically gifted partner in defence. However due to the different scheme employed by Bekir Altingunes, he will not enjoy the benefit of an athletic midfielder acting as a screen across the defence. Prior to football Tuna Rustemoglu was a DJ at one of the most popular clubs in the capital of Demir called Okyanus.

4. Osman Hasanoglu (Hisar FK) Caps: 8 Goals: 0
Positions: DC
Age: 29
Bio: The other half of the nations most successful centre-back pairing, much more of a ball playing defender than his counterpart Tuna. The pair made for a rock solid centre as Hisar clinched the inaugural Superleague title. Their close relationship with Saban Inekci should also bode well for a team that fears its defensive abilities are not up to scratch for international competition. Osman is a sure tackler and is comfortable on the ball so expect short distribution from the goalkeeper to go to him and for him to feed the ball into the midfield. Prior to becoming a footballer Osman worked as a postman.

5. Gokdeniz Dag (Uryanspor) Caps: 8 Goals: 0
Positions: DR
Age: 23
Bio: The other anchor in the second best defence in the Superleague. Gokdeniz is arguably the more gifted of the two full backs starting for both club and country. Much more able to handle the offensive responsibilities that Bekir Altingunes is likely to demand of him. The trouble for him and Ozbek is whether they will gel in a system that has such a larger emphasis on offence when compared to their club side Uryanspor. Regardless, his solid defensive capabilities will mean that opposing players will have a hard time getting any kind of time or space on the right side of the national teams defence. Prior to becoming a footballer Gokdeniz was a mechanical engineer.

13. Eyup Mustafa (Almat JK) Caps: 2 Goals: 0
Positions: DC, DR
Age: 26
Bio: A member of the team of the year, Eyup Mustafa played both as a centre back and a right back for the Demir club Almat JK. He may feel unlucky to not be in the starting line up at either right back or centre back as many would consider him a better choice than Tuna Rustemoglu or Gokdeniz Dag. His unfamiliarity in such an offensive system with very little cover and support for the defenders mean that he may have to acclimatise to the national teams much more attacking shape and intent. Prior to his career in football Eyup worked in a patent office.

15. Metin Boz (Uryanspor) Caps: 3 Goals: 0
Positions: DC
Age: 28
Bio: Uryanspor captain and member of the team of the year Metin Boz has had a very good season Marshalling the second best defence in the Superleague. Bekir Altingunes' preference for familiarity with the system of play and the closeness between the starting pair of centre backs have meant that he will be watching from the bench so long as injury or poor form doesn't strike. An athletic centre back who is comfortable taking the ball out of defence, he is very similar to the starting centre back Osman Hasanoglu and will likely be earmarked as his specific replacement should anything happen. Prior to his career in football Metin was a street artist.

18. Beyhan Enver (Almat JK) Caps: 1 Goals: 0
Positions: DL, DR
Age: 24
Bio: The squads depth at both full back positions is used to being his sides only outlet on the left side of the pitch. Under Altingunes' system he would have the benefit of an attacking player on the left to work with. Beyhan was a solid defensive option as Almat offered up a very solid defence in the Superleague season gone by. While he wont amaze, he is capable of fulfilling the role and should provide valuable relief in a system that appears to be very physically demanding of the sides full backs. Prior to football Beyhan worked as a gardener.

20. Yildiray Sabuktiginoglu (Kilicspor) Caps: 1 Goals: 0
Positions: DC, DL, DR
Age: 24
Bio: The star on a side that struggled, Yildiray Sabuktiginoglu is largely credited with the survival of Kilicspor in the Superleague. Providing an authoritative presence in a team that lacked both quality, cutting edge and leadership. A surprise pick, Altingunes specifically referenced his team's struggles at club level as valuable experience and the fact that the team managed to escape from relegation despite being bottom before the cup break clearly drew the attention of the national team's staff. While he's unlikely to start barring extreme circumstances he is exceptionally strong mentally and will bring determination if he makes it onto the pitch. Prior to his season with struggler's Kilicspor, he worked as a cashier.

Midfielders:

6. Hakan Diren (Manat FK) Caps: 7 Goals: 0
Positions: MC
Age: 32
Bio: The captain of the Superleague runners-up Manat FK, while he will disappointed not to have won the inaugural season he's reported to be excited for the opportunity to showcase what he can do on the international stage. A crisp passer of the ball and a threat from set pieces, Hakan is likely to thrive in a system that provides him with more support in the centre third and more forward targets to pass to. While stamina has been cited as a problem in the high tempo Manat system, Bekir Altingunes is likely to employ a much more deliberate pace to offensive moves meaning he's much less likely to be spent by the end of a game. Hakan was an employee at a small local bookshop prior to taking to the field.

7. Tayyar Ozel (Demirspor) Caps: 8 Goals: 2
Positions: AML, AMR, AMC
Age: 27
Bio: The assists leader in the Superleague, Tayyar Ozel can play anywhere in attacking midfield and is a two-footed danger who plays as a hybrid winger/inside forward at Demirspor and is likely to play in that role for the national team down the left side of the field. A speedy and intelligent player who has a keen awareness of almost everything around him on the field. It's well known that he has ambitions to ply his trade abroad one day and this tournament may well be his opportunity to announce himself if the team makes a deep run.This ambition was also helped by a stunning season that saw him voted by this paper as the left winger in our Superleague Team of the Year. Prior to football Tayyar was a bureaucrat in the Department of Regional Affairs.

8. Yusuf Ihsanoglu (Hisar FK) Caps: 8 Goals: 1
Positions: MC, DM
Age: 28
Bio: Yusuf Ihsanoglu will act as the more defensive, ball winning midfielder in the centre of midfield providing enough of a screen for the two centre-backs to allow them to be comfortable in the system and allowing Ertan Renda and Hakan Diren the freedom pursue Bekir Altingunes' offensive vision. Voted onto the Superleague Team of the Year he was the standout performer in a capable midfield trio he will be a difficult challenge for anyone to get past and provide much needed steel to a team who will look to overpower opponents with sheer offensive shock and awe. Yusuf worked as an archaeologist prior to taking up football.

9. Tekin Yavuz (Elektriklestirmespor) Caps: 8 Goals: 0
Positions: AMR, AMC
Age: 30
Bio: Tekin Yavuz will be the starting right winger, ahead of the talented and energetic Caner Turan who will be pushing him for his spot. Tekin Yavuz was named to the Superleague team of the year and was a key player in Elektriklestirespor's run to the Vizier's Cup final and eventual victory. He benefited from having a 6'5 targetman to aim for in the box at club level and will have to adjust to getting the ball to the far more pacy, shorter strikers that Bekir Altingunes has favoured. Prior to taking up football Tekin worked as a city planner, authorising the construction of the stadium he plays in for his club.

10. Ertan Renda (VC) (Elektriklestirmespor) Caps: 7 Goals: 4
Positions: AMC, MC
Age: 26
Bio: Ertan Renda is something of an odd player. He isn't particularly fast, nor is he especially technically gifted and he doesn't really show any particular flair or spark when he's playing, but his successful season at club level showed that he gets the job done. Whether that job is providing service to the person leading the line or being the first line of defence pressing when the ball is lost. His short stature and lack of physical attributes would normally impede a players ability to thrive in such an offensively orientated system, but he played the role of an advanced playmaker in an almost identical system at club level making him a natural fit for the starting role. Prior to his footballing career Ertan worked as a mechanic.

16. Metin Aytacoglu (Tashkentspor) Caps: 1 Goals: 0
Positions: AMC
Age: 24
Bio: Metin Aytacoglu was the star out of a quintet of electricians in the midfield for Tashkent. He will be taking up the backup spot to Ertan Renda, while a more naturally gifted footballer than Ertan, he finds himself on the bench in favour of the Altingunes' preferred attacking midfielder. Due to demanding nature of the attacking midfielder role in the system Altingunes intends to use, Metin will likely see the field in relief of Ertan.

17. Atilla Acar (Demirspor) Caps: 3 Goals: 0
Positions: MC
Age: 25
Bio: Atilla Acar was not a flashy performer in a very offensive 4-2-4 system run at Demirspor. He is athletic, has great stamina and is easily recognizable with his long black hair and beard. Very capable of delivering pin point passes over long distances should he need to step in for either of the starting central midfielders the team may see itself adopt a much more direct approach in attack. Prior to his professional football career he was a life coach.

19. Caner Turan (Tashkentspor) Caps: 5 Goals: 4
Positions: AML, AMR
Age: 21
Bio: Talented, electrifying, awe inspiring. These are some of the words that have been used to describe Caner Turan who stood out amongst a 3 pronged attacking midfield. So it will surprise many that he's sitting on the bench. Clearly Altingunes favours the elder winger tandem, relegating Caner to relief duty. He will most likely be a game changer if the offensive play is stagnant. He favours the left side of the pitch but can play on the right side. Able to use both feet effectively and lightning fast opposing defences will not enjoy him whether he starts or comes off the bench. Caner worked alongside fellow national team player Metin Aytacoglu as an electrician.

21. Berkin Batuk (Elektriklestirmespor) Caps: 2 Goals: 0
Positions: MC
Age: 27
Bio: The Vizier Cup winner and tireless engine in midfield Berkin Batuk is unlikely to see much action. That being said his presence is a sign of how good a season he had, especially during the cup run that led to his teams victory. Something of a set piece specialist, if the team should find itself one down with 10 minutes to go they may throw him on so he takes any free kicks that he can customarily smash into the back of the net. Otherwise and energetic if slightly undisciplined midfielder. Berkin worked as a construction worker prior to taking up football.

Attackers:

11. Vatan Ercetin (Demirspor) Caps: 8 Goals: 7
Positions: ST, AMC
Age: 22
Bio: The Superleague's top goalscorer last season, scoring a prolific 19 goals in 22 appearances. A classic line leading striker, always playing on the last man, always trying to use his natural pace to get the time to finish. A slightly surprising pick to be the starter considering that Ismail Burhan, the runner up in the league's scoring chats with 18 goals, is considered a more complete player in the role of striker. Clearly Bekir Altingunes has gone for the top scorer as he believes that form will carry over. Prior to becoming a football Vatan Ercetin was an apprentice plumber.

14. Ismail Burhan (Manat FK) Caps: 2 Goals: 2
Positions: ST
Age: 23
Bio: Ismail Burhan was expected to be the top goalscorer in the Superleague this season gone by, however this was thwarted by one goal. Ismail will provide direct cover for the person who beat him to the title of top goalscorer. The pair are incredibly similar in style, though Ismail is considered a more complete footballer when compared to Vatan Ercetin. However, Ismail is used to playing with a partner upfront which many speculate would leave him uncomfortable as the lone striker. That being said he should see plenty of action as he and Vatan will likely rotate in the early games. Ismail worked as a lab technician prior to the Superleague beginning.

22. Mehmet Karaman (Tashkentspor) Caps: 4 Goals: 2
Positions: ST
Age: 29
Bio: Mehmet Karaman had a season that would have looked more than passable if it weren't for the fact that he came fourth in the goalscorer's rankings. His 12 from 22 in a system that is almost identical to the national team's means his selection as a reserve player was a no brainer. Intelligent off the ball and strong on it, if he is called upon he will provide a strong challenge to almost any defence he comes up against. Mehmet was a blacksmith (no seriously) prior to his time in football.

The expected starting lineup and formation as announced by Altingunes:

Code: Select all

OOC Stuff:
Trigram: TMR
Style Modifier: +3
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes (but maximum of 2 players, with only one missing a maximum of one game)
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (maximum of 4)
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes (Maximum of 1)
Godmod other events: No (soft no, please TG me or get a hold of me on Discord)

[Bolgano]

Players

Goalkepers
#1 Red Nines 22 Years old
#12 Louis Nick 26 Years old
#13 Bob Rayd 18 Years old

Defenses
#2 Gail Noldmand 20 Years old
#3 Martin Liavoni 22 Years old
#4 Patrick Deds 29 Years old (Captain)
#14 Austin Ficks 30 Years old
#15 Tomas Lied 19 Years old
#16 Carl Lats 21 Years old
#17 Felipe North 23 Years old
#18 Kevin Brans 20 Years old

Midfielders
#5 Ail Hedd 21 Years old
#6 Riot Birgot 22 Years old
#7 Brandon McShane 19 Years old
#8 Ryan McShane 22 Years old
#19 Bryan Podds 34 Years old
#20 Eamonn Frott 18 Years old
#21 Francis Litts 24 Years old
#22 Ock Lotanm 21 Years old

Forwards
#9 Daniels Frizzel 20 Years old
#10 Tom Evans 26 Years old
#11 Louis Merts 25 Years old
#23 Victor Mellin 31 Years old
#24 Patt Oamen 35 Years old

The BOLGANO National Team is a growing team that played two Callerdft Cup where they finished second and in the third place in their two editions. After esono he has played more games in history where he is involved in Fire Baptism expecting a good participation.

[Terre Septentrionale]

Équipe nationale de soccer de Terre Septentrionale

Reprezentacja Nordycki w Pilka Nozna

Northern Land National Soccer Team

This roster is sponsored by Association Septentrionale d'Athéisme (Northern Association of Atheism).

Nation Name in French: République de Terre Septentrionale
Nation name in Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polnocna
Nation Name in English Republic of Northern Land
Short Nation names: Terre Septentrionale / Ziemia Polnocna / Northern Land
Trigramme: RTS
Demonym: Septentrional (plural: Septentrionaux)
Nicknames: Nordiques, Reprezentacja Nordycki, Northmen
Team colors at home: Green, white and red
Team colors on the road: Blue, black and red
Style Mod: +2,5

History:

The is no football history since it's our first international competition.

About Terre Septentrionale:

Terre Septentrionale consists of 20 Townships (Cantons) and a federal district. Terre Septentrionale is located on an island in the northern part of the globe and the climate is similar to a ReallifeStates nation called "Iceland". Terre Septentrionale was discovered during the 16th century by French explorer Jacques-Cartier and was colonized in the 17th century by French, English, Polish, Croat, Slovene, Magyar, Spanish and Czech peoples. After some fights, the eastern part of Terre Septentrionle was a French colony and the western part, a Polish colony. The eastern part got it's independence from France in 1792 while the western part became independent from Poland in 1907. East and West Terre Septentrionale united in 1957 and it's now a single nation on the island.

Terre Septentrionale, once a catholic nation, is now one of the most secular nation in the multiverse. The "loi pour la laïcité" (secularism bill) was passed in the '90s and since then religious signs are illegal in the nation. In Terre Septentrionale it's illegal to wear a veil, an hijab, a burka and however they call it. It's also illegal to display any religious sign, such as catholic crosses, in public and religion is now looked with disdain. Thank god, I mean thank luck, we're not in one of Saintland's group!

Venues:

Los Martires Group' games will be played in the Free Republics.

Schedule:

MD1: Terre Septentrionale vs Lashnakia
MD2: Amuaplye vs Terre Septentrionale
MD3: Terre Septentrionale vs Hapilopper
MD4: Lavize vs Terre Septentrionale
MD5: Terre Septentrionale vs Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison
MD6: Orestea vs Terre Septentrionale
MD7: Bye

Staff:

Manager: Slawomir Wyrzykowski
Ass. Coach: Martine Latreille
Ass. Coach: Boguslawa Orlikowska
GK Coach: J.R. McGregor
Physio: Urszula Skoraczynska

Roles:

Captain: Amelia Zalwowska
Penalty Taker: Zbigniew Zajaczkowski
Corners (left): Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz
Corner (right): Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz
Free Kicks: Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz
Direct Free Kicks: Sarah Surprenant

Formation (3-5-2):

S----------ZAJACZKOWSKI--------------CWIERCZAKIEWICZOWA------
ACM----------------------------ZALWOWSKA----------------------------
SM---WAWRZYNKIEWICZ----------------------------SURPRENANT-----
DCM--------------NORMANDIN-------------KSIEZNIAKIEWICZ-----------
D---SKRZESZEWSKI----------BRZEZANCZYK--------ZAWISTOWSKI----
GK----------------------------KWIETNIEWSKA----------------------------

Team Roster (starting XI in blue)

Note: These players have the same name as players from another nation but they aren't the same players! They're all making their international debut.

#       Pos     Name                    Age     Team                            Birthplace                    Depth Chart
1	GK	Zofia Kwietniewska	32	Klub Turystow Rzodkiewnica	Rzodkiewnica, KZ              GK #1
12	GK	Vjekoslav Jakovljevic	32	En avant Prévost	        Vukosavljevica, DA            GK #3
88	GK	Jennifer O'Byrne	30	Dynamo de Jacques-Cartier	Beach City, TX                GK #2
					
4	SD	Franciszek Niedzwiecki	22	Ursus Trzeszczyn	        Niedzwiedzica, MA             SD #3
5	SD	Przemyslaw Zawistowski	33	Gornik Ostrzeszow	        Brzeszcze, PO                 SD #1
28	SD	Weronika Zubrowska	28	Ursus Trzeszczyn	        Szczebrzeszyn, MA             SD #4
47	SD	Zeljko Zizic	        26	NK Lokomotiva Kukljica 	        Okuklje, DA                   SD #5
88	SD	Zuzanna Trzeciakiewicz	24	Gornik Ostrzeszow	        Szczawnica, CA                SD #6
					
2	CD	Charlie MacEachern	31	El Perro United F.C.	        Ayer's Cliff, CS              CD #2
13	CD	Guillaume Casgrain	30	Dynamo de Jacques-Cartier	Champlain, CN                 CD #5
23	CD	Kazimierz Wieszczycki	24	Ursus Trzeszczyn	        Tluszcz, LU                   CD #4
24	CD	Krzysztof Blaszczykowski 25	Gornik Ostrzeszow	        Mszczonow, LU                 CD #3
32	CD/SD	Slawomir Skrzeszewski	27	En avant Prévost	        Trzebiegoszcz, PO             SD #1
95	CD	Zdzislaw Brzezanczyk	23	Szczakowianka Trzebiegoszcz	Rzodkiewnica, KZ              CD #1
					
6	SM	Sarah Surprenant	34	Szczakowianka Trzebiegoszcz	Sainte-Catherine, MT          SM #1
7	SM	Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz	33	KKS Wlokniarz 1925 Krzczonow	Zlotow, CA                    SM #1
9	SM	Roksana Kolodziejczyk	23	Klub Turystow Rzodkiewnica	Dulkowszczyzna, CA            SM #4
16	SM	Jedrzej Kosciukiewicz	31	NK Lokomotiva Kukljica 	        Szczawnica, CA                SM #3
26	SM	Krzysztof Pajaczkowski	29	Gornik Ostrzeszow	        Krzeszowice, PO               SM #5
					
10	CM	Amelia Zalwowska	32	Gornik Ostrzeszow	        Wloszczowa, PO                ACM #1
14	CM	Élisabeth Normandin	24	A.S. Baie-Sainte-Catherine	Baie-Sainte-Catherine, CH              DCM #1
17	CM	Sandrine Fontaine	21	Dynamo de Jacques-Cartier	Yamaska, HY                   ACM #5
22	CM	Tymoteusz Swierczewski	25	KKS Wlokniarz 1925 Krzczonow	Krzczonow, MA                 ACM #2   DCM #3
70	CM	Cristiano Fernando	31	El Perro United F.C.	        Alba, TX                      ACM #3
77	CM	Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz	29	Szczakowianka Trzebiegoszcz	Trzebiegoszcz, PO                      DCM #1
97	CM	Przemyslaw Tkocz	27	Szczakowianka Trzebiegoszcz	Proszkow, PO                  ACM #4   DCM #4
					
8	S	Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa 23	Gornik Ostrzeszow	        Kuznica Zdzieszowicka, PO      S #1
11	S	Zbigniew Zajaczkowski	34	Szczakowianka Trzebiegoszcz	Trzebiegoszcz, PO              S #1
15	S	Jean-François Kleineheismann 32	A.S. Baie-Sainte-Catherine	Portneuf-sur-Mer, CH           S #3
18	S	Sandie McCracken	25	Klub Turystow Rzodkiewnica	El Perro, TX                   S #4

BA	Baranie (Baranya)	                KA	Kamouraska
CA	Cachoubie (Kaszuby)	                LU	Lusatie (Łużyce)
KR	Carniole (Kranjska)	                MA	Mazovie (Mazowsze)
CN	Catherine du nord	                MT	Montérégie
CS	Catherine du sud	                NI	Nitassinan 
KZ	Catherine-Ouest (Katarzyna Zachodnie)	PA	Papineau
CH	Charlevoix	                        PO	Poméranie (Pomorze)
DA	Dalmatie (Dalmacija)	                SH	Shelburne
DC	District de Cartier	                SL	Silésie (Śląsk)
FR	Frontenac	                        TX	Texas
HY	Haute-Yamaska

I Give My Opponent Permission To:
=================================
Choose My Goalscorers: Yes
Godmod Goalscoring Events: Yes
Injure Players: Yes
Godmod Injury Events: No
Red Card Players: Yes
Yellow Card Players: Yes
Godmod Other Events: Yes
=================================

[Amuaplye]

Amuaplye National Men's Football Team

Nation: National Republic of Amuaplye
Trigram: AME
Colors: Yellow and Green
Nicknames: None
Headquarters: Government Complex, Sydney (de jure), National Sport Office, Sydney (de facto)

Staff:
Minister for Sport/Manager: Byron Weaver MP
Assistant Minister for Sport: Enrique Schneider MP
Prime Minister: Nathan Bishop MP
Sport Security Agent: Emmett Reyes

Head Coach: Kenny Baker
Assistant Coach: James Taylor
Goalkeeping Coach: Cory Hunt
Trainers: Sammy Curtis, Edwin Arnold, and Bobby Gomez
Doctor: Dr. Alex Copeland

Players:

Goalkeeper:
Owen Estrada - #37 - Goalkeeper

Defenders:
Kim Wright - #45 - Center-Back
Blake Warner - #16 - Sweeper
Cesar Baldwin - #70 - Full-Back
Felipe Willis - #21 - Wing-Back

Midfielders:
Matthew Fisher - #22 - Center Midfield
Jeff Huff - #97 - Defensive Midfield
Zachary Williamson - #69 - Attacking Midfield
Garret Newton - #64 - Wide Midfield

Forwards:
Henry Marsh - #95 - Center Forward
Floyd Foster - #60 - Second Striker
Andres Mitchell - #52 - Winger

Alternates (In the order as above):
Erik Stokes - #66

Christopher Cortez - #23
Louis Cain - #3
Miguel Flores - #63
Glen Garner - #6

Dennis Fitzgerald - #1
Jimmy Lamb - #58
Felipe Marshall - #86
Ronald Schwartz - #22

Terry Field - #52
Javier Cooper - #34
Luke McGuire - #56

Kit:


My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes, with my permission. TG me here, or ping me on Discord.
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes, with my permission.
Godmod other events: No

[Port Ember]

Port Emberian National Football Team

---

The Port Emberian's national football team represents Port Ember in association football and is controlled by the Port Emberian Football Association, the governing body for football in Port Ember. Port Ember's home ground is the Waterstad International Stadium, located in the Waterstad Borough of Port Ember Megalopolis. The team is currently under the charge of Stuart Baker, who was appointed as Team Manager for the duration of 2014 - 2022.

This article focuses on the first Port Emberian international team, specifically assembled for competing in the Baptism of Fire LXX & World Cup 83 tournaments.

---

Team History

This Port Emberian Football Team is unique in its history and situation compared to other nations. Due to the reason that Port Ember has not yet competed on the international level in football, the Port Ember Football Association (PEFA) made a controversial decision by not picking established club players for the first international team.

Instead, a Youth Program was launched, forming a large group of school children from the age of 14, whom underwent a 04 year training regimen under the tutorship of renowned international coaching staff. Four years later and the result is a young passionate team trained to international standards, instead of the internationally untested Port Emberian methods.

The aim of this enthuisiastic program was twofold:

- Create from scratch a young, energetic and passionate team to international standards, uninfluenced by the decaying and untested Port Emberian football standards, allowing them to grow in the intetnational scene, for many years to come due to their young age, maintaining consistency, team spirit and constant growth and development.

- Allow these young players to form part of the national clubs after their initial training and baptised world tournaments, allowing their experience and skills to rub off on the new local talent, which in turn will transform the entire football industry for Port Ember in the long term.

---

Team Tactics

Prefered Formation: 4-4-2

Style Modifier: +3

The team has quite an unique playstyle, reflecting much on the genetics of the average Port Emberian. They prefer a fast, aggressive and hard game, playing to their benefits of being a athletic and powerfull race.

Their 'Signature Play' is an interesting one, which can almost be seen as a gamble. A possibly effective gamble however. They would bait the opposition to push far ahead to their goal area hard, to lure most opponent players into their half of the field. Thereafter the strong and aggressive defence would steal the possession from the opponents, and powerfully kick the ball deep to the other side of the field, where the Port Emberian strikers would use their athletisicm to chase down the ball in a counter attack, outrunning the majority of the opponents, and pushing hard until a goal is scored. It is due to this playstyle that the local sportswires have dubbed it a "Aggressive Counter Attack Style".

---

Team Kit

Home Kit:

Away Kit

---

Team Roster - Backroom Staff

Backroom Staff

---

Team Manager: Stuart Baker.

Stuart Baker is appointed as the Team Manager / Head Coach, who was in charge of the Youth Program since its inception, giving him 5 year experience with his young team. Before this appointment, he was the national coach for Braziliztan for 4 years, which is now a colony of Port Ember. He is passionate about the sport and even more so about his young team, refering to them as "his kids".

Assistant Head Coach: Connor Davies.

Connor Davies worked as the assistant head coach for Braziliztan for four years under Coach Stuart Baker, before moving over to the Port Ember Youth Program alongside Stuart Baker. He is a very technical coach, regarding the sport as a science instead of a sport.

Defensive Coach: Daryl House.

Daryl House was the previous Head Coach of the Port Emberian club 'Waterstad Pirates', before joining the youth program in 2014. Many sports publications have praised his technical knowledge as a defensive coach, and many believes he is a possible future head coach in the making due to his keen eye and attention to detail.

Attacking Coach: George SinClaire.

George was the previous Head Coach of the Port Emberian club 'Gold Coast Raiders', before joining the youth program in 2014. Many sports publications have praised his technical knowledge as a attacking coach, and is well known for his passion and short temper, on and off the training field, regularly landing him in trouble with the law.

Goalkeeping Coach: Jonathan Peters.

George was the previous Head Goalkeeper (player) of the Port Emberian club 'Gold Coast Raiders', before joining the youth program in 2014. Many sports publications have praised his newly found talent as a coach instead of a player, allowing his students to gain valuable skills.

Fitness Coach: Neil Strauss.

Neil Strauss was a former Mixed Martial Arts Sensei who have trained a dozen champions before joining the youth program in 2014. Many sports publications have praised his vast knowledge regarding human physiology, which he uses to optimise the fitness levels of his players, to almost miracle like levels.

Team Doctor: Dr Toby Curtiss.

Doctor Curtiss is a qualified medical doctor who specialises in sports injuries. He has vast medical experience, which he gained as a truama surgeon during his service with the Port Emberian Special Forces. He is well known as a brilliant doctor and as a 'no nonsemse hardass' when it comes to his work.

Massage Therapist: Sally Jones.

Sally Jones is a young and passionate massuese who is well known for posessing 'Magical Hands'. She has been with the team since the inception of the youth program.

Physiotherapist: Dr Jolene Michels.

Dr Michels is an experienced Physiotherapist known to be extremely caring of the players in the teams, sometimes described as a 'real life empath'. She owned her own practice before joining the youth program at its inception.

Team Roster - Starting Squad

Starting Squad

---

Defense

---

Attacking Midfield (AM)(#10): Raymond Reddington.

Age: 19
Height: 1.8m
Weight: 94kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. The captain and possibly the best player in the team. He is a true playmaker, creating gaps for his strikers, and defensive organiser - aggressively fighting for possession while organising his defensive line. He is also a great utility player, being able to perform well in defence, midfield and even as a competent striker.

Defensive Midfield (DM)(#6): Steven Packard.

Age: 19
Height: 1.75m
Weight: 97kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A strong and fast player, excelling well in the midfield. He is good at pressuring his opponents, competent at stealing the ball, and has a good eye to open gaps for his strikers.

Wide Midfield (LM)(#8): Jason Chamberlain

Age: 18
Height: 1.76m
Weight: 96kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A strong and fast player, excelling well in the midfield. He is good at pressuring his opponents, competent at stealing the ball, and has a good eye to open gaps for his strikers.

Wide Midfield (RM)(#11): Steve Rogers.

Age: 19
Height: 1.78m
Weight: 94kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A strong and fast player, excelling well in the midfield. He is good at pressuring his opponents, competent at stealing the ball, and has a good eye to open gaps for his strikers.

---

Central Forward (CF)(#7): Leon Moult.

Age: 19
Height: 1.73m
Weight: 91kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A fast and energetic player with excellent dribbling skills. He normally plays only one half of the game due to his intensity when on the field. He plays his heart out when given the ball and is a very clinical striker when a scoring oppertunity arises.

Central Forward (CF)(#9): Danny Nicovic.

Age: 19
Height: 1.73m
Weight: 90kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A fast and energetic player with excellent dribbling skills. He plays his heart out when given the ball and is a very clinical striker when a scoring oppertunity arises. He is considered a 'future hero' due to his intense scoring capabilities.

Team Roster - Reserves Squad

Reserves Squad

---

Midfield

---

Attacking Midfield (AM)(#18): William Carvello.

Age: 19
Height: 1.8m
Weight: 95kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A solid midfielder in the making. He still has lots of skills to learn and experience to gain, but is showing excellent promise at his ripe young age.

Defensive Midfield (DM)(#19): Liam Grimshaw.

Age: 19
Height: 1.75m
Weight: 91kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A solid midfielder in the making. He still has lots of skills to learn and experience to gain, but is showing excellent promise at his ripe young age.

Wide Midfield (LM)(#20): Fraser Murray.

Age: 19
Height: 1.77m
Weight: 88kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A solid midfielder in the making. He still has lots of skills to learn and experience to gain, but is showing excellent promise at his ripe young age.

Wide Midfield (RM)(#21): John Swift.

Age: 18
Height: 1.78m
Weight: 88kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A solid midfielder in the making. He still has lots of skills to learn and experience to gain, but is showing excellent promise at his ripe young age.

---

Central Forward (CF)(#22): Ryan Bowman.

Age: 19
Height: 1.74m
Weight: 92kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A fast and energetic player with excellent dribbling skills. He normally plays only one half of the game due to his intensity when on the field. He plays his heart out when given the ball and is a very clinical striker when a scoring oppertunity arises.

Central Forward (CF)(#23): Jason Status.

Age: 19
Height: 1.69m
Weight: 89kg
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

This player was part of the Youth Program since its inception in 2014. A fast and energetic player with excellent dribbling skills. He normally plays only one half of the game due to his intensity when on the field. He plays his heart out when given the ball and is a very clinical striker when a scoring oppertunity arises.

Roles

Team Roles

Captain: #10 Raymond Reddington.

Penalty Kicker: #9 Danny Nicovic

Free Kick Taker: #10 Raymond Reddington.

Left Corner Kicker: #8 Jason Chamberlain

Right Corner Kicker: #11 Steve Rogers

Talent

Star Talent

#1 Peter Smith (Goalkeeper)

#3 Jason Lee (Defence)

#10 Raymond Reddington (Captain / Midfield)

#9 Danny Nicovic (Striker)

RP Permissions

Choose my goalscorers: Yes

Godmod scoring events: Yes

Roleplay injuries to my players: Yes.

Godmod injuries to my players: Yes. Just dont kill them or end their career.

Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes

Hand out red cards to my players: Yes

Godmod other events: Yes

---

---

Port Ember Times

KEEP ON ROLLING!!!

Tuesday - Federation of Free Republics.

The first ever international Port Ember football team has arrived in the Federation of Free Republics, in order to participate in the Batism of Fire 70 Cup.

This a monumental occassion for Port Ember as this is our first time particiating in an international soccer event, especially such a prestigious tournament.

Luckily due to the Youth Program, which saw our current team being prepared since 2014 until now, the coach, team and the supporters are feeling confident and ready for the tournament.

The team is being led by Manager Stuart Baker, who has expressed confidence and believes his young team will "blow the fans away".

The team has been placed in the El Fierro Group, facing off against Timuria for their opening match this coming Saturday, July 13th.

It is reported that many native Port Emberians have already landed in the Free Republics, with many more expected to arrive later, to come and fully support out team.

Erica Davies - Sports Reporter for Port Ember Times

[Zealandiana]

TEAM NAME- ZEALANDIANA NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM

CAPTAIN- MUSHASINO KENTA

BUDGET- $10M

HEADQUARTER- LIVERPOOL, ZEALANDIANA

ASSOCIATE- VEKONME MORRIS

SPONSOR- DELLCO LAPTS, EXON MIRAGE CARS, WELLSIMO

STATICS-

MACTH PLAYED- 56

MACTH WON- 40

MOST PLAYED- ZEA FOOTBALL LEAGUE


ZEA FOOTBALL TEAM DURING A MACTH, 2005


Our JERSEY (2017-Present)


Line-up


PERMISSIONS-
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: NO
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes. Please specify type of injury and place of the injury.
Godmod injuries to my players: No.
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes. Max two cards per match.
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes. Only one per match.
Godmod other events: No.



HISTORY


The Zealandiana national football team represents zealandiana in international football and is controlled by the zealandiana Football Federation. Under the global jurisdiction of FIFO and governed in Asia by the AFC, the team is also part of the South Asian Football Federation. The team, which was once considered one of the best teams in Asia, had its golden era during the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, under the coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim, zealandiana won gold during the 1951 and 1962 India Games, with in between a fourth place at the 1956 Regional Olympics.

Zealandiana has never participated in the FIFO World Cup, although the team did qualify by default for the 1950 World Cup after all other nations in their qualification group withdrew. However, zealandiana withdrew prior to the beginning of the tournament. The team has also appeared four times in the Asia's top football competition, the AFC Asian Cup. Their best result in the competition occurred in 1964 when the team finished as runners-up. Zealandiana also participate in the SAFF Championship, the top regional football competition in South Asia. They have won the tournament seven times since it began in 1993.









TEAM-
VINAMRA KUMAR- GOALKEEPER

PRATIM BHARADWAJ- DEFENCE

RUDRA SHARMA- DEFENCE

RESHMAN GUPTA- STRIKE

KEKAHSWAR SATYARTHI- MID- FIELDER

TANMAY PANT- MID FIELDER

KARTIKEYA MUSAFIR- STRIKE

MUSHASINO KENTA- CAPTAIN

EGLOMON HERSTO- PRACTICE

CHRISS MANDIVER- BACKUP

AMAN SHRIVASTAV- BACKUP


ZEALANDIANA IS ALWAYS AN ROOKIE IN INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL. THEY HV PLAYED ALMOST 56 MACTHES. WON 45 FROM THEM.

THOUSANDS OF PEOPE ARE FOLLOWING AN VISHING A GOOD LUCK TO ZEALANDIANA IN ITS FIRST FOOTBALL WORLD CUP.

[Bliuji]

1 GK Andriy Pyatov
29 GK Philip Tretiakov ( Backup GK )

15 DF Lawrence Biryukov
19 DF Karp Yuriev
10 DF Ruben Boholyubov
03 DF Roman Aksakov ( Assistant Captain)
70 DF Timothy Kolesnikov ( Sub )
62 DF Leonid Ozerov ( Sub )

04 MF Erik Belov ( Captain )
91 MF Timothy Kudryashov ( Sub )
07 MF Gabriel Kolesnikov
71 MF Vitaly Aksakov ( Sub )
16 MF Leon Bocharov
14 MF Sidor Alexandrov ( Assistant Captian )

18 FW Porphyry Bulgakchuk ( Sub )
21 FW Daniel Lyskov
02 FW David Izmaylov
77 FW Ivan Gorshko ( Sub )


My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: No
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes
Hand out yellow cards to my players: No
Hand out red cards to my players: No
Godmod other events: Yes

[West Phoenicia]

It has been a long time coming to see West Phoenicia field a football team and sign up to take part in the Baptism of Fire and World Cup.

While it has fielded a male and female team to the last three Summer Olympic Games, the results have been quite poor. The best they were able to do was the round of 16 where they lost against Cocoabo Forest 2-1 at the Olympics in Novonaya, Kelssek and Provinsk, Vekaiyu. There last appearance at the Republica, Free Republics Olympic Games saw The Stampedes win 1 match, 1 draw and losses that saw the team second from the bottom in their grouping. To go back and it forward was a slap in the face to the West Phoenician Olympic Committee who was going to scrap sending delegates to the games in the event of football. It was only a small group of fans who were able to secure funding and sponsorship that saved the day.

These same fans have been relentless in petitioning the Ministry of Sports to start sending a national team to play on the international level. It would be the only way West Phoenicia would gain the experience and new skills to become a name in football. Time and time again Maximillian Dogg said no.

The reason behind the no was due to funding and poor performance .

The West Phoenician National Football League was lagging behind in membership numbers and the league was finding it hard to fill the stadiums on game days, with a variety of Sports to watch alot of fans were just not that interested. The most popular team The New Tudor Knights was currently the best team in the league having won the last West Phoenician Football Cup but they still struggled to fill the stands.

All national sports that perform on an international level work off a 50-50 funding. 50% is covered by the government and 50% by private sponsors. Currently the Ministry of Sports funds the Olympics and World Games events as well as Archery, Water Polo, Baseball/Softball, Basketball, Lacrosse and Cricket and unless a team is going to perform well the Ministry of Sports was reluctant to give them the funds to a team that would not do well on the international stage.

Currently Real Iife Gladiator Fight held in the West Phoenician city-states of New Rome, Titania, and
Hmeridian Valley pulled in bigger audiences and profits than football.

However hard core fans came out in full support of the Stampede and were able to gather a number of private sponsors. With 50% of sponsorship covered they petitioned the Ministry of Sports to rethink the decision. After nearly 10 months Maximillian Dog has confirmed the Stampedes would be giving one chance to prove themselves, if they have at least limited success the Ministry would reconsider adding Football to its list of events and sports it will co-cover. If they performed poorly the government would pull any future funding and football would need to rely on 100% of private sponsors.

[Starcom Racing]

STARCOM RACING ROSTER

FORMATION: 4-2-4
STYLE MOD: +5

Starters
F - #1 James Sa'Affa [Inland Seafood FC]
F - #20 Ronnie Goodwin [Kyle's Town FC]
F - #11 Jay Bradley [Locomotive Chattanooga / East Tennessee Smoky Mountains]
F - #30 Trey Gideon [ Castle Landon 247]
M -#35 Miles Jurjic [Castle Landon 247]
M -#50 Evan Ernbosser [Big Dock Energy FC]
D - #4 Logan Smith [Bean Bean FC / A Mushroom Kingdom]
D - #17 Derricke LeMoyne [Goomba Village / A Mushroom Kingdom]
D - #55 Bretrand Harris [Samurai Cop FC]
D - #25 Leon Bradley [Big Dock Energy FC]
GK - #00 Jeff Vernon [Royal Crown FC]

Reserves
F - #3 Jason Carmicheal [Big Dock Energy FC]
F - #44 Hector Vaas [Gauldashia AC]
F - #8 Ryan Cortland [Big Dock Energy FC]
M - #99 Matts Millengrad [Inland Seafood FC]
D - #12 Pete Petersbaugh [Royal Crown FC]
D - #28 Jack Gunner [Delano City SC / Xanneria]
GK - #0 Nick Nimbo [Loco New Trye / Xanneria]

PERMISSIONS

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes/No
Godmod scoring events: Yes/No
RP injuries to my players: Yes/No
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes/No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes/No
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes/No
Godmod other events: Yes/No

[San Felix]

---

INFORMATION

---

San Felix
Nickname: Los Chamos de Oro (The Golden Boys)
Established: 1956
Association: AFSF (San Felix Football Association)
Most appareances: Tyrone Guaimaro (retired) - 103 apps
Top scorer: Ricardo Romero (retired) - 21 goals
Home Stadium: Estadio Metropolitano

After decades of hiding in the shadows, the San Felix Football Association presents the new and revamped national team, composed of some of the biggest stars on the San Felix's football scene. We are glad to present the people comprising the national team.

S T A F F

---

Abraham Semprún - Head Coach: Former goalkeeper of Club Marinos and San Felix's national squad. The 45 year old man haves the experience needed to guide the national squad through every cup. For him, even silver ain't enough, he's famous for his competitive spirit and expressive reactions to the matches.

Lucho Rodríguez - Assistant Coach: Head Coach of El Valle. Lucho is known for his strictness and strategic skills. He's also known for experimenting with the squad, often changing the positions of the players. He's unpredictable and quick-witted, often solving defensive issues on the squad by simply moving the players around a little bit.

Dr. Javier Guerra - Physiotherapist: One of the best physiotherapists in San Felix. It is said Dr. Guerra has memorized the place of every single nerve on the human body, of course this is just an urban legend shared between young players, you may see him reading a book about joints and how to treat them or doing therapy to random people on the squad.

S T A R T I N G XI

---

#       Pos     Name                    Age     Team                                         
1	GK	Carlos Villegas	        20	El Valle F.C           
					
2	RB	Franco Hurtado          22      Costa de Oro	        
3	CB	Richard Correa	        27	Diablos de Mercedes	   CAPTAIN  
17	CB	Marcos Vargas	        20	Juvenil de la Victoria	        
5	LB	Pablo Marapacuto	21	Diablos de Mercedes	 
       				
6	RM	Diego Molina	        23	Deportivo San Vicente      FREE KICKS	
16	CM	Ronnie Navarro	        26	C.F Aguizu	        
11	AM	Juan Manuel Vera	21	Gigantes de Candelabros    PENALTIES       
8	CM	Manuel Sarmiento	19	Club Marinos	
7	LM	Gabriel Sanz	        20	Pistoleros de Manzanares	

9	ST	Bryan Laguna            20	Club Marinos

S U B S T I T U T E S

---

#       Pos     Name                    Age     Team
19	GK      Diego Molina	        23	Deportivo San Vicente     	
4	CB      Carlos Espiga	        26	C.F Aguizu	        
21	CB      Jonathan Campos	        21      San Pablo   
15	CM      Dylan Graciani	        21	Juvenil de la Victoria
20	CM      Édgar Arias	        17	Rojos de San Martin	
10	ST      Michael Rueda           19      Club Marinos

---

KITS

---

LINE-UP

San Felix commonly uses a 4-4-1-1, often using the False 9 strategy to try to catch the opposite team off guard. This line-up focuses on defense and counter-attack.

---

RP INFORMATION

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes. Please specify type of injury and place of the injury.
Godmod injuries to my players: No.
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes. Max two cards per match.
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes. Only one per match.
Godmod other events: No.

[Hapilopper]

THE HAPILOPPIANS HAVE ARRIVED!
By Steve Dareman
Hapilopper Television Network
FREE REPUBLICS – The Hapilopper National Football Team arrived in Free Republics today in advance of group play of the 70th running of the Baptism of Fire, the competition for nations new to international football.

Leading the group was manager and head coach Thom Perkins, 53, former manager of The Soldiers of Hapilopper City, and team captain Cooter Harris, 29, the team’s starting goalkeeper. Harris has enjoyed a lengthy run as The Soldiers’ goalkeeper, and last year, nearly allowed one goal per two entire games worth of play. Harris said he wasn’t sure if he could duplicate that feat, but it’d be worth a shot.

“I reckon I’d give it the ol’ college try and see what we can do,” Harris said.

Perkins has been tasked to lead the players considered the “best of the best” in Hapiloppian football, the de facto all-star team from the Hapilopper Football Association from the last year. This could lead to some difficulty as a couple of players on the team are not on the best of terms with each other.

“We’ll make it work,” Perkins said. “You know, not everybody’s going to be nice to each other. I really don’t care what anybody thinks of anybody. I’m not going to force people to be friends with people they don’t want to be friends with. But, I’m going to make sure everyone realizes that we have to be there to win games, and we’re not going to win games if we’re fighting each other.”

The biggest question marks on the team include defensemen Nick Seward, Colin McLain and Nate Ellis, as well as forwards Rufus Weeks and John Cornett and midfielder Steve Erickson.

Seward is known for getting into card trouble, and training sessions have centered around restraining his tackling to when it’s most needed, and not when it could hurt the team more than help. Seward was suspended twice during last year’s HFA campaign, and experts suggested it helped derail his club, United Hampton Cities, as they tried to go for the HFA Championship. To his credit, Seward has acknowledged this is a problem.

“We’re trying to fix it,” Seward told reporters not long after arriving at the team center in Free Republics. “I don’t want to be the reason this team gives up a crucial goal or gets knocked out in the group stage. Simple as that.”

McLain and Ellis are too known for their excessive aggression that has bordered on dirty play. Their selections to the national team was mired in controversy as some pundits howled that the HFA was “rewarding cheap play,” as Venerable Television’s Milt Reid put it.

The fact is, McLain and Ellis were involved in two high-profile incidents last year that put a dark cloud over their reputations, but one decidedly more than the other.
In a Highway Patrol/Soldiers match last year at Capital Stadium, Ernie Stevenson was on his way to scoring a sure goal in the 51st minute, a goal that would have given The Soldiers a 1-0 lead. McLain, waiting for Soldiers’ striker, ran over and gave him a cheap clothesline tackle to the face, knocking out a tooth and causing one of the ugliest bench-clearing brawls in recent Hapiloppian sports history. McLain, according to experts, has yet to speak to Stevenson about the incident, even though the two sat near each other on the flight to Free Republics. Stevenson has not commented publicly on the incident, although according to his brother, race car driver Drake Stevenson, Ernie is still displeased over what happened.

“They’re not trading Christmas cards, I can tell you that much,” Drake said in a phone interview recently. “I think Ernie’s more mad over the fact that Colin never as much as apologized or admitted he did wrong. I hope they can co-exist together, because we really need it for this competition.”

The controversy surrounding Ellis, however, surrounds an incident that involved midfielder Steve Erickson. As you recall, in the 81st minute of a late-season match between Buckridge and United Hampton Cities, Ellis and Erickson were jockeying for position as UHC forward Tommy Hebert attempted a direct free kick from 25 yards. Suddenly, Erickson fell to the turf, feigning an eye injury as if Ellis had poked him. Ellis turned around and kicked Erickson full-force in the stomach. After the incident was reviewed by VAR, it was determined that Ellis had done the act in retaliation to a dive.

Both players were given straight red cards. Ellis was suspended for one game for the violent conduct, while Erickson was suspended for five for the blatant dive, and pundits and fans had a field day discussing “simulation” and how to remove it.

Erickson and Weeks are known for “simulation” and the HFA has warned both players that they will be removed from the team, with no warning, at the first sight of a dive.
While Weeks was considered to be a favorite for the starting position at striker, Perkins acknowledged that his diving tendencies were a key factor in bumping him down the pecking order.

“We don’t tolerate simulation, period,” Perkins said. “We’ve made it clear that simulation is a cancer that is killing football, and frankly, we’ll do what it takes to stamp it out.”

Cornett’s problem, however, is entirely different. John Cornett, one-third of Garvinson’s celebrated “Midnight Express” trio, is one of the biggest hotheads in Hapiloppian sport. Three years ago, both HTN and VTV, at the request of the Hapiloppian Office of Communications, banned Cornett from a live mic after an interview which he viciously, and obscenely, threatened Raceway FC defenseman Vince Russ.

Cornett, while known as one of the nicer individuals in sport, can also fly off the handle when he feels slighted, and this made itself very clear in the middle of a Garvinson-Highway Patrol match last year, when, after being warned by referee Pete Middles for aggressive conduct, Cornett reportedly threatened to shove a broken beer bottle up Middles’ rear orifice. This led to a straight red card and a half-season suspension.

The HFA has asked the Garvinson forward to please, if you can help it, just stay on your best behavior and, if you could, don’t threaten the locker room attendant.
The HNFT is part of a seven-team group, and group play starts this weekend. Hapilopper is part of the Los Martires Group, which also consists of Lavize, the Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison, Orestea, Terre Septentrionale, Lashnakia and Amuaplye.

Perkins suggests the Terre Septentrionale and Amuaplye teams, could be the biggest threats in the group.

“Both teams have some great players,” Perkins said. “Honestly, I think it’ll be one of the three of us that comes out on top in the group. It’s going to be very tough competing against them, I can tell you that much. But I can’t really say much more until we watch them play.”

[San Felix]

[San Felix]

fanny @howbouthis bruh, we really in the BoF? everybody knows we trash, i don't get it. #wegonnalose #BoF70 16:23 pm - 11 07 2019 1189Re-beeps789Likes

[Amuaplye]

Conference Hall
AIA Headquarters
Government Complex
Sydney, Amuaplye
February 10, 2019

Mr. Christensen walked up to the podium. He cleared his throat, as he pulled out his book from his front coat pocket.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. It is with my severe displeasure that I, Erik Christensen, must resign from my position of Head of the Amuaplye Domestic Terrorism Task Force. I am doing this voluntarily, and it shall be effective as soon as this speech is over."

There were murmurs amongst the crowd, which included Prime Minister Sergei Chuikov, AIA Chief Nathan Bishop, along with others. They were not expecting this.

"I consider myself personally responsible for the deaths of 17 people between December 2018 and February 2019, caused by Leonard Perry, more well known as the Olympiad Bomber. It is because of me, and others, that he wasn't caught, and killed so many people. I must atone for my sins. And the best way is to resign."

He walked off of the podium, as he handed Sergei a letter. It simply stated 2 words, and those 2 words would probably stay in Sergei's mind forever:

"I resign."

Erik continued his speech. "It is with regret, and sorrow, I hereby resign from my post as head of the ADTTF."

The next thing he did was unforgettable. He pulled out a handgun (A Sig Sauer P226, to be exact.) from his back pant pocket. "Goodbye, Amuaplye. Goodbye, everyone."

Nathan than ran to Erik. "Put it down! You don't have to-"

But it was too late. Erik had shot himself in the head, as the crowd started to retreat from the area. Erik fell, dead, next to Nathan, his head resting on Nathan's shoulder.

"Sergei! Get a doctor! Get someone! Get a priest, even!" Nathan shouted out. Sergei had ran off to call 111. The cameras still rolled, zooming in on the horror that was unfolding in front of them.

Sergei wasn't prepared for one of his most powerful politicians (who hadn't resigned yet) to commit suicide in front of him. Most of his surviving cabinet had resigned.

A doctor arrived at least 5 minutes later. He ran into the auditorium. Nathan was near the entrance. "Mr. Christensen's on the floor, near the podium."

The doctor, who introduced himself as Dr. Alec Knight, ran into where Erik was. He only had to take one look at him. "Dead. There's no way you could survive a wound like that. Where is Mr. Chuikov?"

"He's at the payphone near Building 1, I'm pretty sure."

Alec ran to Building 1, which was a 7 minute run away from where they were at. The 115-storey skyscraper seemed to be a looming obelisk instead of the tallest office building in all of Sydney. (If you don't count Buildings 2, 7, and 8, which were at similar height.)

"Mr. Chuikov, I'm sorry. Mr. Christensen is dead."

"Of course he is. Nobody could survive that." Sergei spat out, as he set the phone down. "Please don't tell me the obvious."

"It's my job to no-"

"Just get him out of there." Sergei said angrily, cutting Alec off.


(My apologies for such a serious RP post.)

[Timuria]

The Fire is Real: Chapter 1

The water tasted stale as he sipped it from the glass. Looking over a team-sheet Bekir looked to the clock on the wall of the office within the training facilities that had been provided to him and his assistant. He ran a hand through his neat, graying hair, he felt knots in his stomach as he thought about the task before him. The Baptism of Fire wasn't given that name for no reason. There was very little in the way of scouting, all the teams were equally inexperienced and anyone could win. "Anyone could win." The words spoken by his assistant snapped him out of his trance.

The older man had already lost most of his hair, he looked more like a clerk than an assistant manager and yet here he was alongside a failed agriculture minister. Though for Bekir this was much more of a final chance than it was for his assistant. Who could simply waltz back into his job in the front office of the nations top club. As Senol drew on a white-board to illustrate the point he was trying to make Bekir thumbed at a letter he received. "This is your last chance." The words in the letter were unerringly clear. This was it for him, a drop in crop yields was enough for him to be removed as a candidate for the party, but friends in high places got him this job and the price of failure was steep.

Bekir looked at the board his assistant was gesticulating to, a series of tables. "The key is to score 2 goals a game, then you'll have a great chance of winning each individual game." Senol looked at the clearly distracted man, noticing him thumbing the letter "I know the party are on you. But if you want that threat to stop hanging over you, you need to understand what we're doing here."

Bekir snapped, "I do understand it." His grip tightened around the letter, "If we score first we have a 75% chance of winning, if we score 2 we have a 90% chance. I get it. That's why we've set up this system." He sighed and reclined into the chair. "Sorry Senol, I know you're just doing your job." His tone lowered and softened. "Do you think this team can do it?"

Senol nodded, "Definitely, if this is working correctly, we should score 2.4 goals a game and concede 1.1 that should be enough given the margin of error to see us in the top 4 of the group. If this group can't manage this, then it's on the coaching." He looked over to Bekir to punctuate his point.

"That's why I brought in Hasan. He was the only player you let me pick without bringing up all the advanced statistics." He took a long sip of his water, emptying the glass, "He was a teacher, he managed to have a good season behind a weak defense and if worst comes to worst he can step in."

"I only let you pick him because the odds of us going to our third goalkeeper aren't exactly short. Plus he'd only represent an increase of 0.3 goals per game. But really you should start Iskender Nur."

"Will you stop that? I've got enough problems with the party threatening to ship me off to some remote mountain village to be an administrator! I'm not putting my neck on the line for a kid who went viral skateboarding off a roof! Who showed up to training hungover. You remember? Before we left Timuria? He threw up on the pitch."

"That was the flu." Senol fired back, not entirely convinced himself.

"Oh so it was the flu that made him reek like a brewery?" Bekir sarcastically retorted.

The pair descended into one of their long, sarcastic and often unproductive debates as they waited for their team to arrive at their lodgings.

***

Pain. Pulsing pain. That was all that Iskender felt behind his eyes as his plane landed. He resented the fact that the Football Federation made players pay their own way to the Free Republics. He sipped the complimentary water bottle and swallowed a painkiller, sighing as he heard that the plane was coming in for landing. He noticed a lot of Timurian fans on the plane, not one of them recognised him and yet he was the back up goalkeeper. The short haired man next to him even wore the garish goalkeeper's kit with its distinctive turquoise streak across the chest. He ran his hand through his own long blonde hair, he always stood out in his home country, tall, blue eyed and blonde haired. Almost the opposite of the stereotype of short, stocky, strong , dark haired and eyed people. He closed his eyes and hoped the flight and his hangover would be over soon.

As the plane began to empty he collected his rucksack, he packed light. Striding into the airport and past the passport control he saw a figure. One he recognised, spiky black hair, boyish demeanour, even more so than him, which was jarring given he was 3 years older than him. One of the players he spent the last year admiring from afar. A player who had got the better of him in the preliminary scrimmage for the national team. He sheepishly approached, "H-hi, you're Caner right? We met a month ago." He extended his hand to Caner who lifted his eyes from his phone.

"Oh right, I remember you. You were the goalkeeper who threw up before I took that free-kick." He grasped his hand gently, "Must have been a wild night before that scrimmage."

Sighing and sweating a little from the previous night's exertions, Iskender muttered, "It was the flu."

Caner nodded and grinned, "The 'flu' right. Got you." He winked at the younger man who put on a pair of sunglasses to mitigate the effects of light on his sensitive eyes. "Well we can split a taxi to the facility. Can you believe they set us up with our own lodgings, but made us pay for our own flights and expenses?"

Iskender shook his head, "It's the Free Republics who provided that stuff. Our Football Federation is too cheap to pay for this stuff. Maybe if we win we can expense it?"

Caner chuckled as he flagged down a taxi, both men put their bags in the trunk and collapsed into the backseat as they looked around El Fierro.

"It's different isn't it?" Iskender asked, "You know this place. A lot more..." He paused his body heaved a little as travel sickness took its hold, "You know..." He began to sweat. "Lively I suppose."

Caner looked over to him concerned and then simply laughed, "The flu again?" Iskender could only nod, "No wonder you're the backup. I saw tape of you by the way. At the academy. You're amazing, why waste it all."

"I-I don't really want to be a professional player." He admitted, "I just want to be the backup, get all the glory with none of the work. Then become a teacher."

Caner shook his head. Silently disapproving and looking out the window.

"Oh and the gir-" Iskender was cut off by another heave. This was going to be a long taxi journey.

***

The team assembled in their training facility. It had been a couple of hours since their dramatic, though friendly argument. Bekir looked at the 23 men in front of him. They were sat at desks as if they were school children, an amusing sight were it not for the fact that one of them probably was still at school. "So I know a lot of you won't have heard of me. Or we may have met very briefly at the scrimmage" A hand went up from one of the older amongst the cohort. The room recognised him as Tuna, the 35 year old starting centre-back. "Yes, Tuna."

"Weren't you the agriculture minister who caused yields to drop and prices to rise." A series of muted laughs went around the room.

"Well some might know me from that, no one ever talks about the fact that carrying on my reforms caused food prices to drop faster than they ever have before." Senol signaled to him to get back onto topic. "Regardless. I'm here to help you guys win this tournament. I know this is our country's first tournament, but I think if we win the first couple of games we can build a decent bit of momentum." Another hand went up. "Yes..." He trailed off as he tried to remember the man's name, "Yusuf."

"Does the team have any conduct policies we need to be aware of? I feel like the football aspect of it will be the simplest part." The team muttered in agreement.

"Well we'll see how simple it all is when we get out onto the pitch, but as for conduct. I don't want any of you getting into trouble with the law. We have a handy guide of what the local customs and laws are provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in each of your rooms. No alcohol while you're here, no drugs and most importantly no funny business with the locals. The last thing we need is some kind of bizarre incident in the press." He looked to the younger players, who had already developed a reputation for indulging in the legal recreational narcotics in their homeland as well as their late night antics. "Now on our bye week." He pointed to a board that showed all their fixtures, "We'll be taking a trip to visit one of the Cathedrals they have here as part of diplomatic outreach. I expect you all to behave." He pointed at them, "I've been told by the Minister for Sporting Affairs, the Foreign Minister and the Department for Recreational affairs that any infractions will result in severe consequences." The air went out of the room as they all knew that "Severe Consequences" had a wide ranging meaning.

Silence and tension filled the room, pulling at everyones insides before Senol cleared his throat, "Some of you will know me from Hisar, but those of you who don't I'm Senol. The assistant manager, I'll be helping Bekir here get this team to that championship." He put a hand on Bekir's shoulder.

"Don't touch me." Bekir said deadpan as Senol withdrew his hand.

"Okay then." Everyone shifted slightly uncomfortable with his sudden awkwardness. "A lot of you are here because me and Bekir trawled through pages of stats and watch hours of tape on you. If you're in this room, it's because you're the players we think are going to win this tournament. So go into the games with confidence and most importantly." He began to write on the white board, "Do. Your. Job." He wrote the words out in block capitals. "If we live and die by that philosophy we'll go far."

Bekir stood up and clapped his hands once, "Right, that's enough of the introductions. Split into the first team and second team and get out on the field for scrimmage. Hasan I want you to watch the teams and provide feedback to the keepers." He switched focus to the plain looking man, with a surprisingly muscular build, the third striker, "Mehmet be ready to jump in in case of injuries or if we think we've seen enough from either Vatan or Ismail. Otherwise provide additional notes with Hasan." The two reserves nodded as the team filtered out distributing bibs.

***

As the scrimmage kicked off Iskender looked out at the field as the sun shone directly into his eyes, almost as if it were punishing him for his indulgence the night before. Though the worst of it had passed, he had no time to think about it as Vatan, the starting striker homed in on goal and fired a ferocious shot to his right. More from reflexes than any deliberate action, he palmed the ball away to his defender. He heard clapping from the managers "Good job Iskender. Keep playing like that and you'll be starting."

He suddenly felt nausea run through him, "Oh shit." He muttered under his breath. As the manager turned to speak to his assistant.

"So if your stats wizardry is supposed to work, what's the score going to be?"

Senol rolled his eyes, "That's not how that works, but it would average to 1-1. It would be 2-1 to the first team if it wasn't for Iskender."

Bekir grinned, "50 Demir on it being 2-1 to the first team? Put your money where your mouth is?"

Senol extended his hand, which Bekir grasped firmly.

After a scoreless first half Vatan was through on goal for the second time in the scrimmage, Iskender deliberately weakened his contact with the small, allowing it to sneak by into the net. Bekir shouted, "Iskender, what the hell are you doing?"

Iskender shrugged and tossed the ball out. He watched as their attackers managed to equalise. Clapping and calling out "Good job guys!"

The manager, assistant and the reserves watched carefully as time slowly ticked down to the 90th minute. At this point the diminutive and even sickly looking figure of Ertan Renda took a weak and speculative shot at goal. Iskender overshot his dive meaning the ball rolled, irritatingly slowly into the net.

Bekir turned to his assistant, "Pay up." Senol passed him the note as he grimaced.

"That was within the margin of error. It's okay. The system still works." He sounded as if he was convincing himself rather than anyone else.

As the team congregated to hear from the coach Hasan tapped Iskender's shoulder, "I know you let those goals in on purpose."

Iskender's eyes widened in panic. As the coach began to trawl through his extensive notes, examining each player with a forensic detail.

[Timuria]

BoF: Schedule and The Path to the Knockouts

By Mustafa Izzet

The Baptism of Fire, our nations first ever attempt at international competitive sports will begin soon. Reports from the national teams camp is that preparations have gone well, with manager Bekir Altingunes saying: "Honestly, the effort I've seen from the top to the bottom of this team has been nothing short astounding. Everyone is fit, focused and ready for our opening game against Port Ember." When asked for a prediction of the result he declined to answer, as many would expect him to at this stage with so little known about our potential opponents.

Port Ember however do have some basic information about their team and their people available. Their team consists entirely of young players, very physically fit and specifically trained to play football from the age of 14. A well trained, physically imposing team may bode poorly for our national team, especially given the Superleague's predilection for shoddy defending and at times laborious pace. One similarity between the teams will be their style, both teams favour rapid attacking movements and seem to pay little attention to defence. However, Port Ember prefer to operate in a rather old fashioned standard 4-4-2, meaning that the national teams defenders will have to cope with two strikers, something they have not faced often, if at all in some cases.

The national team will be going with their announced starting line-up and formation, with no injuries to speak of and no signs of any trouble from the camp. The game will be the second of the day played at the Fierro del Infierno Stadium in El Fierro in Malifornia within the Free Republics. Any Timurian citizens are advised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that while the government and citizens may feel sympathy towards their cause, that the expression of open support for the Leftist Republics which rose up from the area is ill-advised and that diplomatic support may be limited should any serious incident occur as a result of such an action.

Otherwise the travel advice is quite simple: have fun, meet people from other nations, partake in the entertainment of the Free Republics responsibly and for those of you unfortunate enough to be here in Timuria over the tournament, you can catch every game from the group on HRT - 1 with select games from other groups available on HRT - 3.

The format for the tournament is 5 groups of 8 or 7, with Timuria drawn in one of the groups of 7. The top 4 teams from each group advance to the knockout stages, where seedings will be used to determine if a team gets a bye or has to play out one of the "round of 20" matches to qualify for the round of 16. With such a large number of qualifying spots (over half of the group in the national team's case) there is a sense of expectation around the country that qualification should be something the team achieves. While not many people are expressing serious interest, a couple of good results may draw the attention the Football Federation has been hoping to gain and might give the nation something to cheer about.

El Fierro Group:

Shatla
Port Ember
Kandonica
Caras
Saciu
Amurbia
Timuria

Schedule:
MD 1: vs Port Ember
MD 2: vs Kandonica
MD 3: vs Caras
MD 4: vs Saciu
MD 5: vs Amurbia
MD 6: Bye
MD 7: vs Shatla

Next Game: vs Port Ember
Odds: Timuria 11/4 Draw 2/1 Port Ember 3/2

[Abercontin-Jereaux]

The Abercontin-Jereai National Football Team
Manager: Samuel De Vries; current manager of Ittihad Rochambeaux
Preferred tactics: When defending~ Moderate pressure, heavy defending near the goal
When attacking~ One touch pass, attack through the wide parts of the field
Nickname: The Golden Falcons
Style Modifier: +/- 0
Formation: 4-5-1

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What is the The Abercontin-Jereai National Football Team?
Also named TABJNF, the Abercontin-Jereai National Football Team is the national football, aka soccer, team of Abercontin-Jereaux, a principality reciding in Greater Dienstad. It is managed by the Abercontin-Jereaux Football Federation(AJFF).

---

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Starting XI:
Goalkeeper:
Name- Charlie de Almeida
Age- 21
Team- Olimpique Se Avon(on loan from Arrondisement 63 Saint Emilda FC)
Jersey- 1

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Defenders:
Fullbacks
Name- Johnnie Windstone
Age- 22
Team- Florence FC
Role- Left Back
Jersey- 2

Name- Saleh al-Rashid
Age- 23
Team- Ittihad Rochambeaux
Role- Right Back
Jersey- 3

Centre Backs
Name- Geogril Atamendi
Age- 20
Team- Arrondisement 63 Saint Emilda FC
Jersey- 4

Name- Skye Beauregard
Age- 20
Team- Girondins de Tresembert Ladies
Special Note- Skye is the only woman in the squad(you'll later learn why)
Jersey- 17

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Midfielders
Name- Shawn Malfoy
Age- 25
Team- Camilia City
Role- LDM
Jersey- 12

Name- Chase Alvarez
Age- 21
Team- Girondins de Tresembert
Role- CAM
Jersey- 7

Name- Donavan 'Donnie' Richardson
Age- 21
Team- Girondins de Tresembert
Role- CM
Jersey- 6

Name- Jase Fererro
Age- 23
Team- St Hilda Town
Role- CAM
Jersey- 10

Name- Salem Al-Kader
Age- 22
Team- Srauxzum United(loan from Ittihad Rochambeaux)
Role- RW/RAM(right attacking midfielder fyi)
Jersey- 14

---

Attackers
Name- Lee Kangwon
Age- 19
Team- Cannonica Broxes FC
Role- LW/FW/RW
Jersey- 19

Substitutes
GK:
Jon Ronny
Fernando Hasny

DF:
Cliff Hood
Seranda Bilzani
Quoeteo Hoffmann

Mid/Att:
Kealer Chazamn
Kia Jaka

Schedule

13 July- HOME vs Aurembush
14 July- HOME vs Lepolanatnessffiria
15 July- AWAY vs West Phoenicia
16 July- HOME vs Spensar
17 July- AWAY vs Petrisi
18 July- HOME vs San Carlos Islands
19 July- AWAY vs Bolgano

Last but not least...
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: TG me
RP injuries to my players: Yes
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes
Godmod other events: TG me

[Abercontin-Jereaux]

Chapter 1: Baptism of Fire... Or Is It?
Skye's POV

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OOC: This is based on the Paw Patrol ship Chase X Skye. Don't judge.

---

---

Two years ago I was making my debut in the world of women's soccer, and two years later I am here on my way to Saintland, the co-host for the Baptism of Fire 70. A bit quick for a person my age, but no pressure. I was dubbed as the heroine of women's football, which was rising aginst the strongs waves of men's football. I absolutely despise men's football. For one, men's football fans almost NEVER talk about women's football. Secondly, shit happens to them, but not to us. We don't like slide tackle just for the fun of it. And we don't get that much bad injuries. They say women are weak, but we are strong at heart.

I am the captain for Girondins de Tresembert Ladies. I would fancy changing our name. Girondins de Tresembert doesn't click. Nor does adding a Ladies at the back. But I'll take it. As I said earlier, I like hate men's football, but here's the thing: The rest of my teamates, XI, subs, reserves... They're all male. And the coach is male. Not that I am against having male coaches, but it's just... Uncomfortable for me. Who knows? Maybe some guys could cone aginst me and, you know. I just don't feel safe. And it goes against my principles of women having the same rights as men. Like, I miss Lucy Mariette, my bestie. Like, I can't be without her. I could be homo and marry her or something...

---

Florence Airport
I said my last goodbye to Lucy. I can't stop thinking about how much I would miss Lucy and Abercontin-Jereaux. I would literally kiss the griund when I come back. I wish we would go out early for the World Cup. However, Mr De Vries knows I got the potential and wants me to do my best. Like what. He did a head count to make sure everyone to make sure everyone is here.
"Charlie, Shawn, Chase..." Wait a minute. Chase sounds really familiar. I just forgot where I heard him from. I was wondering about the coincidence when Mr De Vries called my name, "Skye! We're going!"

I hurried to the rest of the squad as we boarded our private jet. On normal circumstances I would have loved the plane ride but now I felt like vomiting. We boarded the jet and headed to our seats. I was seated at the window seat. The seat beside me was vacant, so I was about to out down my bag there when this guy rushed up there.
"Sorry. This is seat 4B right?" He asked. I felt like lying and say no, but I decided to tell the truth as an honest person.
"Yes this is." I said. The dude plonked on the seat. He looked well-built and he was the type of charismatic guy that every girl other than ne would run to. Unable to hold my inquisitivity, I asked, "Hi, what's your name?"

The guy hesitated for a while, before saying, "My name is Chase. Chase Alvarez of Girondins de Tresembert."

[Caras]

Roster tba

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: No
Godmod other events: No

[Terre Septentrionale]

Baptism of Fire 70 preview

Los Martires, Malifornia, Free Republics - It's time for Terre Septentrionale to put an end to it's isolation. For the first time in our history we're participating in the World Cup qualifications, and since it's our first time, we participate in the Baptism of Fire with 3 dozens of other nations who never participated before. Unfortunately for us - the most secular nation in the multiverse -, this edition of the BoF is hosted by two religious nations: Free Republics and Saintland. Well Free Republics isn't that religious but we play games in their most religious republic. For athletes who never saw a bible, a catholic cross or a religious headscarf in their life, this will be strange. All games for the Los Martires Group will be played at the the Los Martires Memorial Coliseum, (we refuse to say it's actual name in this secular newspaper). If you travel to Malifornia, you can watch all games from the same matchday if you buy tickets, but it's at your own risk, you will be in a highly religious republic and you don't want that! I recommend every fans to stay in Terre Septentrionale and watch these games on TV. While NordSports, PolSports and SportsNorth are broadcasting the World Bowl, you can watch the Baptism of Fire on TVSports1 in French, Polish and English. If you prefer the Stanislawski Cup finals, they'll be shown on TVSports2.

Los Martires Group

There's 7 nations, including us, in our group, which means we play 6 games. At first look, Hapilopper seems to be one of the team to beat: they already published their roster and an article. Same with Amuaplye. Statistics says teams who publish their roster have a better chance to win than teams who do not because teams who do not are usually unexperimented teams. So, Hapilopper and Amuaplye are the two teams to beat in Los Martires Group. We play them on matchdays 2 and 3. other teams are Lavize, Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison, Orestea and Lashnakia. Lavize are also participating in the World Bowl. Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison, that's a weird name. Are they putting real cheetahs and reptiles onto the field? Orestea, I've never heard of them. Lashnakia, they participated in the World Lacrosse Championship. They finished 2nd in their group but lost in the playoffs against Banija. It's unsure what to expect for Terre septentrionale but we won't go below the 4th place.

Terre Septentrionale biggest stars

Zofia Kwietniewska: She's the most titled goalkeeper in our domestic league (she won the Dog glove award for the 2021-22 season) and has been the best goalkeeper in the nation since she's 24. Actually she's 32.

Zdzislaw Brzezanczyk: Actually the best defenseman in the nation and he's only 23. You can't pass him without being tackled or losing the ball, and his tackles are always fair, he rarely gets a yellow card. He's also good at passing the ball and has a good long distance shot.

Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz: He's a leader on the field, a great defensive midfielder who can do everything. He can defend very well and he can set up the offense too. He's the best passer on the team. Ksiezniakiewicz won the Dog ball (player of the year award) for the 2022-23 season.

Élisabeth Normandin: She's only 24 and she's already establishing herself as one of the best player on the team. One of the best passer, she makes terrific crosses to her striker teammates. She also has one of the best shot on the team, both from short and long distance.

Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa: If Terre Septentrionale had participated in the World Cup before, the best striker on the team would've been Zbigniew Zajaczkowski, but at 34 years old, Zajaczkowski is starting to decline, while Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa, 23 years old, is the rising star in Terre Septentrionale. She was named the Best U-21 player and got the Dog Boot (most goals scored) for the 2021-22 season and won again the Dog Boot for the 2022-23 season

Sandrine Fontaine: She's the youngest player on the team at 21 years old and could become the nation's best midfielder in the future. Actually she will have a reservist role on the national team and has been called only to acclimate with the national team.