World Cup 84- RP Thread (IC)

by **Lons** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 11:06 am

OOC: I have rejiggled the schedule below to fit the new groups and blanked the previous post for good measure

Welcome to Lons! With the group draw finished, the PLND has produced the scheduling for the games played in Lons. But of course, because of the World Cup qualifiers meaning the introduction of Lons to the international scene, the tourism board has drafted charismatic national treasure Wilmên Gêrds to bring a special report from Lons after each matchday, about everything there is to do in and arond the country. Let's hope football doesn't end up second to the beautiful landscapes of Lons. (If you couldn't tell from the way that sentence ended, it certainly will.)

It should be noted that these description are posted the day after the matchday they're mentioned as, as the football game that is being played at that time is included in the video!

by **Bears Armed** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 11:12 am

Location: the Council Groves home of renowned reporter-turned broadcaster Bark Brent and his wife — who is also a famous reporter — Florise Fane. ^[(1)
On one side of their private office, Florise is typing-up an article about an international crime syndicate’s recent attempts to extend its activities into Bears Armed. On the other side, Bark is rehearsing his analysis of the group into which the Bear-Belles have been drawn for these qualifiers.

_______________________________________

(Bark) “And so, the top seed in this group is Starblaydia, who are currently rranked at sixth in the worlds and have actually won the Cup five times… although none of those victories was verrry hrrecent. Not only that, but they might well have players and team staff who rremember not just those successful campaigns but also playing against the ‘Bear-Belles’ of those years as well! Their people — and players, and team staff — include not only Humans, and members of a race called the ‘Dwarves’ who are apparently comparable in many ways to our own ‘SmithFolk’, but also members of a verry long-lived race called the ‘Elves who are rreportedly comparable in some ways to our friends the ‘TrueBears’ ⁽²⁾ into the bargain! Those days’ line-ups of the Belles met Starblaydia’s team a few times, although without marked success and without those teams developing a strong rrelationship of any kind with each other.
“It was also Starblaydia that originated the competition for rrelatively young footballers called the ’Di Bradini Cup’ which our girls won last year.” ”
(He pauses briefly to think…)
“No, maybeso that detail would fit better somehwhere else in this report… Anyhows:
“Oh, and to make matters even more “interesting”, the Starblydi have a pre-match ritual of their own that serves a similar purpose to our own ‘Harrdiharr’: Called the ‘Raiigar’, this”

(Florise) “Hwhat are you talking about, honey? The group’s top seed isn’t Starblaydia, it’s Valanora: See?”

She holds out a sheet of paper:

Group 9 [= 11]
Bears Armed = (unranked)
Valanora = #8 (decimal) = #10 (octal); (last WC: quarter-finals)
Ethane = #32 (decimal) = #40 (octal); (last WC: play-offs, DNQ)
Kelssek = #47 (decimal) = #57 (octal); (last WC: group stage)
Xanneria = #56 (decimal) = #70 (octal); (last WC: DNQ)
Port Ember = #86 (decimal) = #126 (octal); (last WC: DNQ)
Lisander = #125 (decimal) = #175 (octal); (last WC: did not enter
Ouna = #132 (decimal) = #204 (octal); (last WC: DNQ)
Appalachian Nations = #182 (decimal) = #266 (octal); (last BoF: 2nd place)
Five Cities = #269 (decimal) = #415 (octal); (last BoF: ro16)
Razneta = (unranked)

(Bark) “Ehh? That’s not the same list that was given to me by BAAS…” ⁽³⁾
He picks up another sheet of paper, from the desk in front of him, and holds it out to her.
“Look..?”

Group 7
Bears Armed = (unranked); (last WC: not entered)
Starblaydia = #6 (decimal) = #6 (octal); (last WC: quarter-finals)
Taeshan = #26 (decimal) = #32 (octal); (last WC: group stage)
Squornshelan Remnant States = #36 (decimal) = #44 (octal); (last WC: DNQ)
Crystalline Caverns = #66 (decimal) = #102 (octal); (last WC: DNQ)
Eraman = #77 (decimal) = #115 (octal); (last WC: DNQ)
Anthor = #100 (decimal) = #144 (octal); (last WC: DNQ)
Bolgano = #140 (decimal) = #214 (octal); (last WC: DNQ)
Five Cities = #269 (decimal) = #415 (octal); (last WC: DNQ)
Fetra = #283 (decimal) = #433 (octal); (last WC: did not enter)
Petrovsky = (unranked; (last WC: did not enter)

As the couple look at these two sheets of paper in mild confusion, the text on Bark’s copy suddenly shimmers, and changes to match the wording on the sheet which Florise is holding.

(Bark) “Urrgah!”

(Florise) “Bear-on-a-stick!” ⁽⁴⁾

(Florise) “Hokay, now that was just…”

(Bark) “Weird?”

(Florise) “Ayyuh.
“It seemed as though the verry fabric of hrreality was suddenly changed around urrs…”

( Bark) “Poetic!
“Ayuh. And not for the first time, neither: The fact that hwhen the Bear-Belles re-entered international competition five years ago they were doing it in the present day hwhich meant that all of the nation’s previous history in international sport had taken place somehow during the period hwhile the very existence of our country was still successfully being kept a secret from the outside world…” ⁽⁵⁾

(Florise) “The fact that the I-D-U is now spread across parts of two separate ‘Earths’, even though certain nations on other one simultaneously have “always” been there and have some people in them who rremember us here — hrrather than just our ‘New Territories’ there — as their neighbours?” ⁽⁶⁾

( Bark) “The fact that some of the ‘contemporary’ newspaper reports about the Bears’ previous sporting activities, which now happened so many years ago, were apparently written by me or by you…”

Florise shudders…
(Florise) “Bear-on-a-stick!
“Don’t mention that detail again, hokay?”

( Bark) “… Hokay.
“So, maybeso this change might have been due to some kind of ‘aftershock’ as it were — from one or another of those earlier events? That is, if they weren’t all connected to each other — hwhich is hwhat I would hrrather think — anyhows?”

(Florise) “Ayyuh, maybeso. Have you over at Universal heard anything more from the experts about possible causes for all of this?”

(Bark) “No, not yet: How about you and our colleagues at “a great metropolitan newspaper”, then? Not you, neither, I gather?”

(Florise) “Ayyuh… No… Hwhatever. Not urrs, neither.”

The doorbell rings. It is currently set to play a short verse from a traditional Ursisomas carol “I Saw Three Birds (Come Flying In)”. ⁽⁷⁾

(Florise) “That should be Lurrsee and Karra, and maybeso two or so of their team-mates. Little sister phoned earlier, hwhile you were out at the studio for the mid-day news, and we agreed that they’d come over here for a meal before they set off for the ‘friendly’ match in Baker Park.” ⁽⁸⁾

(Bark) “Good, it's always nice to see the girls again.
“Ur’rmm, am I supposed to be cooking something special for this? If you mentioned it earlier then I’m afraid I forgot…
“Or are you cooking the meal, instead?” ⁽⁹⁾

( Florise) “Neither, we’re sending out for something.”

(Bark) “Hrright, hokay.”

There’s the sound of a key turning in a lock. The door into the flat opens, and — through their office’s already-open doorway — the couple see Karra, Lurrsee, Steffannee Bruin, and Hannorra Scarlett, walk in.

(Your view of this discussion, as an observer from beyond the ‘Fourth Wall’, fades to black…)

_______________________________________

OOC Footnotes

1. Bark Brent currently works for a television company called Universal Communications, but in his previous career he was a journalist with ‘The Bear Necessities’ [i](“a great metropolitan newspaper”) working — as Florise still does — under the supervision of managing editor Berry White. Despite sharing his name with the ‘secret identity’ of famous comic-books hero ‘SuperBear’, and all the other similarities between their lives (including the fact that he married a colleague with the same name as SuperBear’s long-time girlfriend & eventual wife), he denies strongly any suggestion that he might have been “rocketed to Urrth as a child from the doomed planet Krapton” and that he possesses superpowers… His cousin Karra is a football player, and is in the current version of the Bear-Belles.
(Do any of you rreally need me to explain this in any more detail? Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Superman, and so on… Okay?)
Footnote to footnote: It wasn’t until after I’d already used this character in my RP during several World Cup cycles that I discovered the name ‘Bark Brent’ had actually been used in RL for a character in a proposed television series whose pilot episode was filmed but not broadcast… ‘Superpup’, performed by actors in dog-headed costumes, was suggested as a successor to the1950s’ [live-action] ‘Superman’ series! (I’ve since seen part of it on Youtube…)

2. The ‘TrueBears’ are indeed similar in some ways, including parts of their history (although not in their origin, which I do know & will probably explain in RP at a later date) to one RL fictional concept of ‘Elves’… specifically, to the Elves in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Those of you who remember anything about the Bears’ previous ventures into international football might remember that for a while the team’s “mascot” (and advisor on certain matters) was a TrueBear named “the Wise Grorrfin”, whose back-story bore some resemblance to that of Tolkien’s ‘Glorfindel’.

3. ‘BAAS’ = ‘Bears Armed Association for Soccer’, which is the sport’s governing body in this nation.

4. “Bear-on-a-stick!” … This exclamation refers to the death by impalement of Artos Urrsios, who was the influential religion called Ursionity’s equivalent [approximately] of ‘Jesus Christ’.
c.f. ”Christ on the cross!”
It is a decidedly “stronger” exclamation than Bark’s “Urrgah!”

5. With the Bear’s originally having entered international sports in 2006A.D. (Summer Olympics) & 2008A.D. (‘Baptism of Fire’), IC as well as OOC; and running my RP for both Olympics and World Cups at 4 years IC per cycle — even though this meant that my “current” dates for the two sets of activities soon fell out of step with each other — their footballers had reached a date of around 2130A.D. before I dropped out of this forum for a while. When I restarted, though, it seemed preferable to do so “in the present day” again IC as well as OOC, rather than try to work out details of what the country would actually be like that far into its future… There is an explanation available in the IC context, but the characters haven’t yet managed to identify this…

6. The International Democratic Union has a new team of Cartographers, and a new regional map, with many of the region’s “newer” nations having claimed lands on the latter. However, because Bears Armed had history on the old map that I’d rather not lose, with “dormant” nations and even with CTE-d ones, I have left its main territories where they already were and am treating our claims in the “newer” Earth as a new acquisition IC too — rather than just as an OOC change — instead. My people were already familiar with the ‘Multiverse’ concept anyway due to, for example, seeing teams from Armed Bears in some World Cup qualifying series, and possessed people who were able to open routes between the IDU’s two Earths without (so far, anyhows!) too much trouble…

7. ‘Ursiosmas’ is the holiday celebrating the birth of Artos Ursios… which actually took place at the Spring Equinox, rather than the [nearer to the Bears’ current date, as well as to our own OOc date] Winter Solstice, but Florise has been experimenting with re-programming the bell and she got stuck at this point, okay? ^_^
The Ursion religion’s teachings say that the holy nature of Artos Urrsios was originally proclaimed by the trio of spirits ‘Eagle’, ‘Raven’, and ‘Owl’.
The tune of this Ursion carol is, of course, “coincidentally” the same as that of the RL Christian carol “I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing in)”.

8. Florises’ younger sister, Lurrsee Fane, plays alongside Karra Brent in the Belles; and they had already been best friends for several years before that football team was re-formed.

9. Florise, unusually for a Bear but like Lois Lane, is really not a good cook…

_______________________________________

All being [more-or-less] well, I intend to get a RP about at least one of the Belles’ two –pre-qualifiers ‘friendly’ games typed-up & posted before the first of their actual qualifying games, too…

(CONTINUED…): see viewtopic.php?p=36513824#p36513824 .

by **Squornshelous** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 11:20 am

Human Nature, Chapter 1

It was a brilliantly sunny afternoon in midtown Vogsphere. In the sprawling concrete plaza that lay before the towering bulk of the Imperial Ministry of Sport, sightseers posed for pictures. A taxi floated down out of the overhead traffic and settled, slightly askew, on the landing pad. Markkus Holmgren, Assistant to the Chief Undersecretary of the Squornshelan Football Federation stepped out, jabbing his thumb at the payment scanner and shutting the door quickly behind him. He did not glance up at the Ministry building above him. Nor did he spare a backward glance as the driver, no doubt annoyed at not receiving a tip, punched the throttle and skidded across the pavement past a group of startled tourists before lifting off. His long legs carried him, head down, to the front door which slid open, recognizing his biometric profile. He stepped into the marbled lobby beyond.

45 floors above, the sound of giggling filled the Chief Undersecretary's lavishly appointed office. The giggling floated past the tufted leather loveseat to the matched pair of wingback chairs flanking the well-stocked liquor cabinet. It brushed against the anachronistically costly artworks adorning the walls; genuine oil paints applied to canvas by a human hand. The giggling centered itself around, and in particular behind, the large cut-stone desk. A desk mercifully free of papers or anything that might suggest the one sitting at it might need to do work of any kind. Without warning, the office door opened, letting the giggling escape out into the hallway. Behind the desk, the Undersecretary himself, Kiril Melkochuk looked up, an expression of outrage on his face. A business mogul turned bureaucrat and, incredible though it may seem, once an accomplished athlete. Those days were three decades removed though, and today Melkochuk would be breathing hard just walking the length of a football field, let alone running anywhere. With a family fortune that dwarfed his own hefty earnings, Melkochuk had never wanted for anything, and his appearance bore out that fact. His face and body were composed all of curves, not an angle to be found anywhere from his rosy cheeks, to his short, fat fingers. Fingers that were currently wrapped around his teenage secretary's slim waist as she sat, still giggling on his knee. Melkochuk was no longer giggling. He opened his mouth to berate whoever had disturbed him, until he saw who had entered: Holmgren. Holmgren allowed the door to swing shut behind him, and waited, staring back.

"Elena dear, run along now. Uncle Markkus is here to bore me with some crisis or other."

"I'll still see you tonight, Kiril?"

"My driver will pick you up at 8, sharp."

There was no point in saying anything about Melkochuk's indiscretions, if they could even be called that anymore. They had been a fact of life at the Ministry before Holmgren had arrived, and would certainly continue after he was gone. Unless the old slob keels over before then. Elena shut the office door behind her, but Melkochuk preempted Homgren before he could speak.

"I simply don't see why you must always burst in unannounced like this, Markkus. It's terribly stressful to be interrupted so."

"My apologies Chief Undersecretary, but there is a serious issue that requires your attention."

"Yes, yes. The re-draw, I've already heard. It makes no difference who we must play, our team is composed of the Imperium's finest. Really Markkus, to get so worked up over so little a thing? I've come to expect better of you."

"It's not the redraw. I agree with you that who our opposition may be is unimportant. This problem is with our team."

"Oh Markkus, you always take these things so seriously. Whatever trifling impropriety the player has been caught in will be smoothed over. Honestly, I'd think you would have a little more faith in what we do here by now." Melkochuk chuckled amiably, "This will hardly be the first time one of ours has done something a bit . . . ah . . . off color shall we say?" His eyes were pinched nearly shut by the wide smile that spread across his cheeks, "Boys will be boys after all, and I suppose girls will be girls as well."

Holmgren steeled himself with a deep breath before continuing. Screaming in his boss's idiotically grinning face would be a bad career move. "It's their implants," he finally blurted out, "neurals, skeleto-musculars, there's been a serious malfunction."

"Don't talk nonsense, everything has been thoroughly tested. We've had the best techs and surgeons from the very top firms. Promised a lot of favors to get it done too, but you know all this already Markkus, I don't enjoy having to tell you things you should already know." The smile had faded from Melkochuk's face, replaced with the look of a man lecturing a particularly obstinate child. "I realize you've been under a lot of pressure these few months, I'll arrange for a three-day pass to Santraginus for . . ."

"Kiril!" The single word cut Melkochuk short, "They had never been tested outside the Imperium, not until today." Melkochuk's composure was shattered. It was as if all the circuits used to control his face had been cut. His mouth fell wordlessly open, and his entire face seemed to sag downward like a marionette with its strings cut.

"What?"

"Nothing. Works." Words began to spill out of Holmgren's mouth faster and faster, "do you have any idea what it's like to suddenly have your implants, all of them not just one malfunctioning chip, suddenly stop working? No, of course you don't, why would you? I won't go into detail, you can imagine for yourself what it's like when a team of players who've been training, relying on neural implants for their tactics and instincts, relying on implanted muscle fiber for their strength and speed have to face the fourth-ranked team in the world without all that."

"But why? How could . . . Emperor save us."

"As of this moment we have no team, we have three weeks to recruit a new roster, and none of them can use any implants of any kind."

"None at all?! You mean employ Luddites? Unthinkable! Why, people would . . ."

"It's either that or withdraw. Which would you prefer, Chief Undersecretary?"

Melkochuk gaped, paralyzed by horror.

"With your permission, Chief Undersecretary, I have already directed your staff to begin a search for suitable candidates for the new roster. With luck, we should be able to assemble a group of players by the end of the week." Holmgren paused, waited until Melkochuk broke off his thousand yard stare to look him in the face. "I will need a free hand in this, Chief Undersecretary. It will not be simple, and it will not be cheap." Melkochuk nodded, wordless. "I will keep you informed of my progress, sir," Holmgren turned to leave, then paused halfway out the door, turning his head to look over his shoulder.

"Enjoy your date tonight, Chief Undersecretary."

by **Ko-oren** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:02 pm

Let's play a game. This is...

NS World Cup Fantasy Qualification

and here is how it works.

Objective
The objective is to gain as many points as possible. You pick a set of national teams, and the better they perform, the more points you gain.

Starting out
1) Check the KPB rankings and look up the qualification groups.
2) You have to pick 15 national teams, one from each group, and remember: the better they perform, the more points you get.
3) Here is where the fun starts: you have 200 KPB-points to spend. If you choose Vilita, in Group 14, well done! They're sure to do well - but they also cost 47.11 points, so you don't have much left for the other 14 teams you have to pick. Unranked teams are free.

Scoring
For every matchday, calculate your points as follows:
1) For every win, you get three points. For a draw, you get one point.
2) For a win by three goals or more, you get an extra point. If a team wins by five goals or more, you get another extra point (so you get two in total).
3) If a team loses by three goals or more, you LOSE a point.
4) At the halfway point, you get six points for every team that's first in its group. You get five for every second placed team, four for each third placed team... down to one point for a sixth placed team. You get zero points for any team that's seventh or lower.
5) At the end, you get six points for every team that's finished first in its group. You get five for every runner up, four for each third placed team... down to one point for a sixth placed team. If a team finishes seventh or lower, you get no points. A team that finishes last (11th), LOSES you two points per team.

Can YOU find the next Baker Park that qualifies straight out of the Baptism of Fire? Do you pick a bunch of overperforming Pot Four and Five teams? Or do you stick to the famous names, sure to win their groups but leaving you with six unranked teams?

Here's my pick:

1  Aimena      0,9	
2  Trolleborg  2,7	
3  Starblaydia 40,29	
4  95X         17,08
5  Poafmersia  2,7	
6  Hapilopper  10,42	
7  Chromatika  15,92	
8  Ziwana      1,8	
9  Port Ember  8,71	
10 Juvencus    18,46	
11 Schottia    3,33	
12 Timuria     9,99	
13 Recuecn     16	
14 Zwangzug    19,39	
15 Ko-oren     29,66	
         TOTAL:197,35

We have:
1) some recent BoF graduates that I'm hyping (but also picking so I can get some massive teams in other groups): Aimena, Trolleborg, Poafmersia, Ziwana, Hapilopper, Port Ember
2) some rising teams (whose names we may or may not remember from the distant past): Schottia, 95X, Chromatika, Timuria - you guys are my greatest risks so don't let me down
3) some expensive bastards: Starblaydia, Zwangzug, Ko-oren, Juvencus, Recuecn

Please keep track of your own points...

by **Newmanistan** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:26 pm

THE ROCKET REPORT

AFTER FURTHER REVIEW

by Brianne Henry,

The group draw for World Cup 84 was apparently conducted a couple of days ago, and the Newmanistanian Soccer Association began making the beginning plans for the tournament. The first draw needed to be re-done, for reasons that had to do with rankings of other nations. The announcement to redraw was quick, and the NSA responded that, “Redrawing groups is not an ideal situation, but this was done so quickly that none of the stadiums had begun selling tickets yet for the matchups they could have had. Marketing departments may have begun drawing up some signage, but the fast response meant that no real time is wasted. We know who our real opponents are now.” That is true, but many nations will be looking back at what their group may have looked like and what it presently looks like, drawing opinions on whether or not their draw got harder, easier, or remained the same. For Newmanistan, as a pot 5 team, any group will be difficult, but we are not seeing any dramatic change in the difficulty of it. Let’s take a look at who’s out, and who’s in.

Pot 1:
Out: Apox (12)
In: Sargossa (13)
Opinion: Whoever Newmanistan got from pot one is a difficult matchup. However, Newmanistan did not have a team in the single digits of ranks before, and still won’t after. There is not much change in the rankings of Apox and Sargossa. Losing Apox, as an almost bordering nation in Esportiva is a downer in that it would have provided an easy road trip for the fans of both. Now, the nation loses that in favor of going to Rushmore to play Sargossa.

Pot 2:
Out: Audioslavia (24)
In: Audioslavia (24)
Opinion: It was obviously meant to be that we played Audioslavia. The random number gods put us in the same group the first time, and made sure it stayed that way the second time. Naturally then, the redraw is a non-factor in regards to Pot 2, and Audioslavia is a tough challenge regardless. They aren’t what they used to be though, maybe we can steal a point or three or six.

Pot 3:
Out: Eastfield Lodge (53)
In: Brusseldorf (48)
Opinion: Our group gets somewhat more difficult here, but again, a very minor change. I was looking forward to the Eastfield Lodge matches, due to it being the showdown of the past nation with the reputation of World Cup qualification failures to the long-time present nation with that distinction. Brusseldorf is not even a nation who’s name we recognize, and for a pot 3 nation that seems odd. In the minds of Newmanistanians, it would seem as though Eastfield Lodge would be the better ranked nation here. Should we fear the unknown, or conquer it?

Pot 4:
Out: Devonta (67)
In: Acronius (62)
Opinion: This is another very minor change in the way of the group seeming more difficult. This is again about familiarity, as we know Devonta. They regularly attempt the World Baseball Classic, and while they do not do much else in it other then show up, we at least know them. Acronius, in general, is someone we have no history with. Though we recognize the name more then we do Brusseldorf. Can we finish ahead of both Brusseldorf and Acronius? Don’t rule it out!

Pot 6:
Out: Tornado Queendom (107)
In: Islas Aaland (110)
Opinion: Each are close to us in rank, but each a nation that we need to beat. There are other nations in this pot that would have been more challenging for us. Who is Islas Aaland? They have been trying to develop their program, and are going about it the right way. They’ll see us as a beatable opponent, so this team must be ready to shine.

Pot 7:
Out: Indusse (141)
In: Pius Desurongcrandis (136)
Opinion: Pius has one of the better ranks from Pot 7, but Indusse is the more recognizable name. This is becoming a bit of a theme here, isn’t it? I am not looking forward to having to type out “Desurongcrandis” multiple times. No offense meant to their populace. Indusse was simpler, much like their press releases.

Pot 8:
Out: Castanya (221)
In: Kandorith (179)
Opinion: Gut feeling says Castanya was an easy six points. Kandorith, on the other hand, is one of the better teams to come out of the pot and seems like a more pesky opponent.

Pot 9:
Out: Casta Marina (301)
In: Aimena (283)
Opinion: The other “Casta” also seemed like an easy six points. Aimena should be very beatable as well, but like Kandorith, maybe a little more feisty.

Pot 10:
Out: The Ross Isles (349)
In: Greater Cebu (336)
Opinion: Neither team has shown much in their history. Let us hope that continues.

Pot 11:
Out: Mustardy (UR)
In: Joyea (UR)
Opinion: Some unranked pot 11 teams are really giants in disguise. That doesn’t apply to either of these. Must get 6 points.

Conclusion: In regards to the ranks of the opponents, the group got slightly more difficult but in reality it may have gotten a little easier. I think the trade off of Eastfield Lodge and Devonta in favor of Brusseldorf and Acronius is something that we will like, and that could see us be third in the group. None of the teams ranked below us were what would be considered a hot contender coming out of the Baptism of Fire. That was the case with both draws, so we get a little fortunate there. We also avoid teams like Schottia, Sarzonia, and Squornshelous, who will likely play far better then their pot assumes. Third place is a very reasonable goal here, though unfortunately that will not be enough. I think it would be welcomed by our fans to have a third place finish where we make Sargossa and Audioslavia keep checking up on us. It is not out of the question that we sneak by them, which intrigues me a little bit. I think it will be exciting.

by **Kita-Hinode** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:30 pm

HINODEJIN EMPIRE
Hinodejin Empire publishes Dreamplanetian Super Soldier Project Papers
Written by journalist Nanami Izaki.

THE ETERNAL GATEWAY OF TENTAI CITY - Usually not a regular in war-related news, the Hinodejin Empire found themselves in a bit of an abrupt awakening to such a side of foreign interactions with a short and rather brutal war where the Hinodejin, in an act of defence I might add, put down the nation of Dreamplanet before integrating it to their sizeable empire. With the conflict mostly done with, the Hinodejin Empire now has the task of restoring order and living standards to the survivors of the nation they conquered, which also included picking up whatever data remained in the banks of the defunct nation.

As per Hinodejin protocol, hundreds of data that were deemed "publishable" (ergo not featuring personal data that could be used to harm one in any way) found themselves online last night, which included a rather curious project. The Super Soldier Project, albeit sounding like something out of a superhero comic book, was deemed a "considerable threat" by the Empire, although it was considered too farfetched and lacking comprehension of reality. The project consisted of segregating a specific group of people (namely, those of caucasian skin) to breed among themselves while sacrificing any who didn't fit the capabilities of a super-soldier. The idea was that, once they had fully dominated the Hinodejin Empire, they'd use the realm as a breeding ground for their soldiers while laying low for a couple of years before attacking nearby nations like Damukuni.

Popular opinions regarding these confidential files were mixed, with many believing that these were planted by the Hinodejin Empire in order to make their former opponents look bad while the Empire looks to clean their image with other nations over what happened. When asked about it, the former Dreamplanetian president, kept alive and working in reestablishing his former nation as a Hinodejin province, chose to not comment about it, saying that whatever he said wouldn't really make much of a difference.

Empress Satomi shrugged it off herself before being diplomatic about it with the saying "I didn't have a say over what would be published, we don't believe in hiding things from others and the main reason we published all of that data was to make sure other nations wouldn't, accidentally, find themselves with criminals from Dreamplanet that may have escaped during the ruckus", while finishing it with the phrase "if they wanna believe we stuffed a bad kids' manga plot on official data, then they're free to do so. At least we know nobody is going to try that kind of crap."

by **Tamgu** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:45 pm

What's been going on?
A not-so journalistic rant/essay by Lada Elista
TL;DR: Quite a bit of stuff.

Tamgu, in the past month, has gone through a lot of stuff. What kind of stuff? Not the kind of stuff that would be discussed in a sex-ed class or a psychologist session. It's practical stuff. Before talking about these issues, I'd like to clarify that they will not affect the way our national team will play. So don't get any hopes.

Alright, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way. The election. Gosh, what a sh.tshow that was. I can't believe a few idiots that speak a lot can divide a country this much. Why can't we all just grill and live the moment? Anyways, I'm getting off-topic. So the Benovac-Otizno Presidency kept its power with another landslide win. That would mean there wouldn't be much of a problem in the government, right? Oh hell no. Here in Tamgu, we love to make things the hardest for ourselves, for some reason. 7 ministers were replaced and many other people left parties, transferred to others or made their own (I totally believe they will succeed). People are now talking about how the ruling party may have shot itself in the foot, but I don't think that's the case. Come on now, our growth has never been this great. They are keeping power for a while.

Let's move on to the blue rats up north. Razneta. Ugh, just when I think they are becoming a bit civilized, they go right back to being absolute .ssheads. The newfound oil source in the Tergaenean is clearly inside Tamguna sea territory, but these idiots think they can just come in there and set up an oil rig, and then get mad at US when we strike it down and take it as an act of war. YOU INVADED US, YOU BUFFOONS! Ugh. Can't believe they are actually mobilizing, as if anybody in GOFEGE (Goranian Economic Union) would allow that to ever happen. Even if they did, what are they thinking? Invading a mountainous nation with an army thrice as big as yours is basically committing suicide.

Ok, now let's get to what happened to the National Team. Another act of stupidity. Nerovod and Estogas got what they deserved. The board refresh was beneficial, also I'm actually glad Resak is head coach now, because I believe he made the difference when he retired and became assistant coach. His style of football, altough a tad inconsistent, is much more pleasing to watch. Some people are actually criticizing him in the 5-0 friendly loss to Equestria. He wasn't even there. Nor was the assistant. They were attending Resak Sr.'s funeral (Rest in peace, Godalo Resak.). You'll see him proving rankings are just numbers once more out there. Mark my words.

Fİnally, we have a minor issue that people are freaking out over. The price of natural gas increased. So what? There is electric heating available and people are actually condemning an encouragement of the usage of renewable energy. By the way, the increase in the price wasn't even too huge. Can't be more than a couple of bucks extra a month.

Aaaaand that's about it for me. Thanks for reading this piss-poor quality...uhhh...essay? rant? whatever. See you around.

by **Taeshan** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 4:14 pm

An interesting World Cup qualifying draw for World Cup 84 in Baker Park and Cassadaigua has the Purple Knights of Taeshan in an interesting group as they look to qualify for a second straight World Cup. The Knights find themselves with some familiar opponents, both within the region and around the world. The Knights were the second pot and have a semi-favorable set of opponents. On the first matchday of the campaign the Knights visit TJUN-ia in what is one of the lesser known outfits of Group 11. Starting with a less than fun away trip will likely get the juices flowing for a good campaign.

Matchday 2 sees a familiar opponent come to Taeshan in Balqia. The Balqia squad is the 5th ranked team in the Group. The Knights get a lot of the higher pot teams at home in the first half, and on the road in the second half and will have to grow a points lead if they hope to finish in the top 2 of the Group. Historically the Knights are 2-0-0 against Balqia, with 2 1-0 results in a previous qualifying camapign. The Knights then visit Welzat. Another interesting road matchup against a team not much is known about and that is a trend with some of the lower ranked sides in the competition.

Then the Knights have their bye before a big matchup with the Free Republics. The top two sides in the group face each other on the 5th matchday and the Knights have the honor of hosting the first of the two meetings. The Coliseum will be hopping as the Knights and Republican national team have played each other in qualifiers before but the men in Purple lost both of those matchups, and have failed to even manage a goal in either of the previous meetings. Luckily the Knights get extra preparation with some rest the week before, and won't, hopefully, fall victim to looking ahead without a true matchday before the biggest matchup of the season.

This is followed by a home date with the lone unranked side in the group Nahkistan. Nothing is known about this team, and any failure to win either game will be a major letdown for Miles Snavely's side in his first campaign. This will be a true early test of the new management team, and a lot of the young players whom have never been through a grueling qualifying campaign, and may not know better than to take a game here or their off. This game is followed by a visiting Savojarna side. A familiar Rushmore opponent whom the Knights have played and beat 3 times. All of those were in Copa Rushmori's. The regional rivals will likely be looking for cup revenge, and be gunning to qualify as the three seed in the group.

Next is the most familiar opponent of the group in Jeruselem. The Knights and Princesses will meet for the 32nd and 33rd time in this campaign. The Knights are the better team given current rank, but these are no friendlies and for only the 5th and 6th time this game will have points on the line. The Knights currently boast a poor 11-3-17 record in the matchup. The visit form Jeruselem is followed by a short Rushmorie trip to Schottia. Two Knights will play in familiar territory with both Nycolas Jackson and Yoshimi Hirahito playing in this country. The lone historic match saw the Knights knocked out two Copa Rushmori's ago by Schottia. This will be an interesting rekindling of the regional rivalry. The Knights then host Geektopia, and finish off the first half and second half against Galar.

The forecast for qualifying is an interesting one. The top seed in the group is as low as you could realistically hope for but Free Republics will look to make it a stretch of qualifying by getting to their 6th straight tournament. Savojarna is not the weakest side in Pot 3 and could look to be feisty, and seeing Jeruselem pop out of pot 4 is equal parts exciting, and worrying. The Princesses have a long World Cup history that shouldn't be discounted either. Schottia is a young squad, back on the international scene and will likely surprise, and this group looks to really be 5-6 teams deep of hoping to qualify. Many will think that the Knights are a weak 2nd pot team, and hopefully they can prove a lot of people wrong moving forward.

by **Trolleborg** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 5:48 pm

The qualifying matches of the World Cup will begin very soon. We all believe that our team will have a hard time, but our FA, together with the State Company for the Development of Information Technologies, presented a surprise to football fans. Tomorrow the latest computer game "World Cup 84. Tough Road to Victory" will be made available. At a joint press conference, representatives of the creators said that this will be a product that allows you to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a football fiesta. A player can, taking one of almost two hundred teams, both determine the composition and tactics of “his” national team, and personally participate in the matches as one of the players, in a three-dimensional immersion format. The creators brought into the game all the information that they could get - the size and type of stadiums, team uniforms, characters, capabilities and appearance of individual players.

You can either look from the stadium stand as just a spectator, or run-and-scold around manager’s bench or personally enter the field as any of the players. In the last case, 3D immersion give a gamer total control of player on the field. Experience how player feels in the midst of game. Try to be in the shoes of, for example, Morten Troll and make brilliant passes like him, when the best players in the world attack you. AI is real good, improved even compared with latest release of “On the Line of Fire: Day of Anger”, and computer-controlled players behave very naturally, passing and cursing when should. You have to seriously sweat to reach the final part! Do not broke and crash all the furniture in the apartment, whilst trying to avoid tackles or jumping to the ball coming from corner kick!

Unfortunately, due to lack of time, the pre-game atmosphere - fans chanting, cultural features, modeling odors and weather and so on, is available only for Trolleborg and the countries where the championship is held. But it is possible to make add-ons for other countries as well, with appropriate tailored covers for sales in local markets (contact us, if you find this idea attractive).

by **Bliuji** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:04 pm

The World Cup 84 qualifiers are among us soon. For the past month players have been practicing, staff has been strategizing and fans have been anxious for it to start. And with the group draw finished; lets see what Bliuji's first half schedule looks like for the 84th cycle.

by **Bliuji** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:46 pm

Volodymyr Onyshchenko: Good morning football fans all across the nation of Bliuji that are tuning in right now to another installment of Holvah.com's podcast. today we have none other than Bliuji manager the man the myth the LEGEND Andriy Voronin with us today and we are going to be talking about the World Cup 84 qualifiers that will be among us very soon and the overall state of the Bliuji national soccer team.

Volodymyr: Enough chit chat, lets get right into it, so tell me Andriy; what makes you think you guys have a shot at qualifying for the world cup with so many talented teams in your group

Andriy: It's not like the fans are expecting us too qualify, but we definitely have a good shot compared to other teams in our group. And yeah I do realize there are quite a few teams ranked significantly higher than we are, but at the end of the day any team can beat any team. And that's an important mindset that we need to keep throughout the tournament. We know our starting 11 is more than capable.

Volodymyr: Yeah I do see what you are saying, but are you willing to change up your play style against extremely good teams like South Covello?

Andriy: It's all about team work and adapting to their playstyle, we know that South Covello likes to play passive. We only need to change how we play if there is noticeable mistakes on the field that are strictly coming from our playstyle. I really don't think it should be an issue.

Volodymyr: But what's the thinking process like.

Andriy: It's all based on what we have seen from watching game film as a team to fix our mistakes.

Volodymyr: And how much film do you watch as a team.

Andriy: It's been about an hour a day for the past month.

Volodymyr: And how does players playing in their domestic leagues affect anything.

Andriy: Well obviously we aren't together all the time as a national team during the domestic league season. It's in small increments.

Volodymyr: Are there any lineup changes that will be coming depending on your opponent.

Andriy: If it's depending on injuries, then yes. Right now for example we have to bench Gabriel Kolesnikov because he was stabbed. But if a player is not injured we will not be making any changes to our starting 11. The subs will be consistent throughout the games as well.

Volodymyr: I think something the fans noticed was Lenoid Ozerov's performances on defense, how confident do you feel about him in your starting 11.

Andriy: He's nothing more than a decent defender that had a good performance in the IAC 8. If he doesn't play well in this world cup then oh well we still have Tim Kolesnikov who is capable of so much more. Kolesnikov was totally under performing in the IAC.

Volodymyr: But going back to the world cup how do you feel about the first game against Mustardy.

Andriy: They might be unranked but we still have to play to the best of our ability. We can't take any team lightly especially on the international stage. Every team has something special to offer. It's games like this where our players don't play to their full potential resulting in a loss.

Volodymyr: The same doesn't happen with better teams though.

Andriy: I mean yeah that's been a common theme. In the past we have shown that we can compete well with better teams. I think it's because players know that they are going up against better competition which is why they try harder.

Volodymyr: Right

Andriy: Oh gee look at the time I have to go to a meeting.

Volodymyr: And that about raps this one up folks, tune in text week to another installment of the podcast.

by **Port Ember** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 2:50 am

Port Ember Times
Sports Journal

The World Cup 84 Cycle - Scandal before the first whistle!

A scandal has erupted from the organsing commitee of the World Cup 84 hosts - Cassadaigua & Baker Park, as a critical mistake was made during the Group Draw process, which forced the commitee to redraw.

Many fans have slammed the commitee on social media for this situation, ranging from anger and insults to mocking memes. The Port Ember Football Association (PEFA) however showed sympathy as they released a statement, stating that the problem was fixed before it could cause any serious damages, and also that they do not care about being placed in a new group as a result. Head Coach Stuart Baxter also seemed unphased with the new developments - "We just want to play some football. It matters not who they choose to face off against us."

According to the now defunct draw, Port Ember was placed in group 5, and would have faced off against the following nations:

- Equestria (2)

- Cosumar (18)

- Chromatika (45)

- Acronius (62)

- The Sherpa Empire (96)

- Saintland (161)

- Poafmersia (204)

- Nomoterra (318)

- Hampton Island (UR)

- Yttribia (UR)

The New Group 9 for the Qualifier Season:

Lisander (125)

Ouna (132)

Valanora (8)

Kelssek (47)

Five Cities (269)

Xanneria (56)

Bears Armed (UR)

Ethane (32)

Razneta (UR)

Port Ember (86)

Appalachia Nation (182)

A Closer look at our opponents:

Valanora (Ranked #8):

This team is the obvious favourites to top the group and is one of the greatest footballing nations in existence, with a total of 5 World Cup trophies on their trophy shelves. This aggressive and oppertunic team with unmatched technical skills and experience will be the greatest test our young team have ever faced.

Ethane (Ranked #32):

This team has a long footballing history and posesses a strong and developed football culture and infrastructure. They are fielding a team with a sensible mixture of youthful and experienced veteran players, giving them a excellent and well rounded mixture of youthfull passion and technical skils.

Kelssek (Ranked #47):

This team has a long footballing history and posesses a strong and developed football culture and infrastructure. They are fielding a team with a sensible mixture of youthful and experienced veteran players, giving them a excellent and well rounded mixture of youthfull passion and technical skils. This team focusses on a solid defence with elements of deadly counter attacks.

Xanneria (Ranked #56):

This team, nicknamed "The Maroons" is yet another interesting team. Especially of interest is the fact that they employ nine international players within their squad, providing them interesting perspectives and oppertunities. This team favours a unique 5-2-3 (f-m-b) formation and a heavily aggressive playstyle, even moreso than our own Dragons'. They are also infamous for getting physical and violent during matches. Their unique formation might very well catch our traditional formation offgaurd, unless we can capitalise on their almost non existent midfield.

Lisander (Ranked #125):

This team has a long footballing history and posesses a strong and developed football culture and infrastructure. They are fielding a team with a sensible mixture of youthful and experienced veteran players, giving them a excellent and well rounded mixture of youthfull passion and technical skils. This teams ranking does in no way reflect their true skills and are expected to storm this qualifiers with unmatched zeal.

Ouna (Ranked #132):

This team has a long footballing history and posesses a strong and developed football culture and infrastructure. They are fielding a team with a sensible mixture of youthful and experienced veteran players, giving them a excellent and well rounded mixture of youthfull passion and technical skils. Their domestic league has created many talented and expetienced players in recent times.

Appalachia (Ranked #182):

This team, nicknamed "The Hillbillies" is an interesting team with some interesting players. Especially of interest is the fact that they employ six international players within their squad, providing them interesting perspectives and oppertunities. This team favours a 3-4-3 formation and a heavily aggressive playstyle, even moreso than our own Dragons'. The secret to beating this team would be to ensure play remains near their backline.

Five Cities (Ranked #269):

A newcomer to the footballing world who managed to reach the playoffs in the last Baptism of Fire tournament. Seems to have a long road ahead of them.

Razneta (Unranked):

Here is an unranked team and as a result and not surprsing is the fact that we do not know much about the team. What we do know however is that this team focusses and specialises heavily on a defencive game, and normally sticks to an overwhelming defencive formation of 5-4-1. This insane reliance of the backline might pose a problem for our own team's highly offensive strategy.

Bears Armed (Unranked):

A team whom is comprised of sentinent female warrior bears..? This author believes she is curtently high on drugs as she is writing this. Whaaaat???

Match Schedule:

The following lists the match schedule for the upcoming season:

Match Day 1: Port Ember vs Ouna (Away)

Match Day 2: Port Ember vs Valanora (Home)

Match Day 3: Port Ember vs Kelssek (Away)

Match Day 4: Port Ember vs Appalachian Nation (Home)

Match Day 5: Port Ember vs Five Cities (Away)

Match Day 6: Port Ember vs Xanneria (Home)

Match Day 7: Port Ember vs Bears Armed (Away)

Match Day 8: Port Ember vs Ethane (Home)

Match Day 9: Port Ember vs Razneta (Away)

Match Day 10: Bye

Match Day 11: Port Ember vs 11 Lisander (Home)

Match Day 12: Port Ember vs Ouna (Home)

Match Day 13: Port Ember vs Valanora (Away)

Match Day 14: Port Ember vs Kelssek (Home)

Match Day 15: Port Ember vs Appalachian Nation (Away)

Match Day 16: Port Ember vs Five Cities (Home)

Match Day 17: Port Ember vs Xanneria (Away)

Match Day 18: Port Ember vs Bears Armed (Home)

Match Day 19: Port Ember vs Ethane (Away)

Match Day 20: Port Ember vs Razneta (Home)

Match Day 21: Bye

Match Day 22: Port Ember vs Lisander (Home)

All Home games will be hosted at the Waterstad International Stadium, located in the capital city - Port Ember Megalopolis; Waterstad Borough. PEFA has announced that for these matches, 75% of all available tickets will be sold to Port Emberian citizens. Tickets for both nationals and internationals are now for sale.

Article by Erica Davies
The Port Ember Times

by **Vdara** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:15 am

VaiSports24
Moustakakos disappointing this season

Following an unlucky start to an abnormal season, FC Limassol and Vdaran international goalkeeper Markos Moustakakos has been disappointing this season.
Having already conceded more goals than last season already, sources close to Moustakakos day that he’s finding it hard to focus due to his teammates’ bad performance.
During a harsh loss to Paphos, cameras caught Moustakakos shouting “Idiots, idiots! Why can’t you trap a f*cking ball?! My dead grandmother could trap a ball, and she’s been dead for over 20 f*cking years! Come the f*ck on! Dipshits...” after the goal to make it 2-1 to Paphos was conceded, due to errors from the centre backs.

The Vdaran FA fined Moustakakos €100 for his fiery comments.

Moustakakos maintains the story that he did not say that about his defenders, and that he’s confident that form will return to the team that won the title last season.

Vdaran head coach Iosif Sideropoulos said in a press conference:
“He’s [Mustakakos] been disappointing this season, there’s no denying that. If he doesn’t buck up his ideas and perform well for club and country, I might have to give a chance to Metrakis.”

In other news, RSC Rethymno have appointed a new manager to replace the interim coach.
Untried and untested, he’ll be a strange choice, but anything is better than interim.

by **Jeruselem** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 6:27 am

Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas ("Kate") and Princess Bianca at the studios of Naked News Jeruselem

Kate: I'm Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas for Naked News Jeruselem and it's well ... WORLD CUP time. Number 84 or LXXXIV ... I'm with former World Cup player Bianca Dallas, or as she's known Princess Bianca Dallas. She also happens to be married to my cousin, you know who that guy is.
Bianca: Hello everyone
Kate: Well, you're retired from playing but you're still in the football system.
Bianca: Yeah, you know this motherhood business. Being the next potential Queen business.
Kate: Now, let's have a look at Group 11. Yes 11, not II. 11 as in XXI.
Bianca: What's with this Latin stuff?

Kate: We're in Group 11 as the 54th seed. I'm surprised we didn't slip in rank badly after last cup but hey, we're here not make up numbers.
Bianca: I'd prefer we didn't really delve to last cup too much, we know didn't qualify.
Kate: Well, it's Schottia ranked 158. I remember they used to be ranked a bit higher.
Bianca: Yes, maybe they've returned again. But they aren't the same Schottia of the past.
Kate: 104, Geektopia. Err, really no idea but clearly they haven't been around very long.
Bianca: You know Geeks and football, an interesting mix. Hopefully they aren't wearing glasses on the field.

Kate: Galar, 202. OK no idea
Bianca: Same here, might as well be unranked at 202.
Kate: And TJUN-ia, 295. Clearly like Galar a recent team to the cup with not much experience.
Bianca: We're going find a lot of teams like that I guess in the qualifiers.
Kate: Balqia, 91. I guess moving the ladder by now.
Bianca: Yes, so far a lot of teams we've never played at all.

Kate: Welzat, 318. Another recent team
Bianca: I guess we shouldn't really worry about this one either.
Kate: So far, I think we've met Schottia and then a bunch of teams we've never played. We come to the real contenders, excluding ourselves.
Bianca: For sure
Kate: Taeshan ranked, 26. Then Free Republics ranked 17. These are the real deal.
Bianca: These are the teams who will be the benchmark, they aren't top 30 by accident.

Kate: Nahkistan, unranked. I guess first time in the cup. And other threat Savojarna, 43.
Bianca: With 3 teams ranked above us, we're gonna need to play well.
Kate: So what's the key here?
Bianca: Not to lose ground when we play the best, and well we must beat the lower teams with maximum points.
Kate: Being real, the top two in the group your pick.
Bianca: Goes without saying, it's the usual suspects. Hopefully we can make the top 2 in the qualifiers but it's mountain.

Kate: I'll be covering the cup, my Mum covered it last cup. Of course, I'll be doing my best to support our team.
Bianca: Including that cousin of yours.
Kate: I'm used to him.
Bianca: I'll just be babysitting ...
Kate: It is your job
Bianca: I know

Group 11:
Jeruselem (54)
Schottia (158)
Geektopia (104)
Galar (202)
TJUN-ia (295)
Balqia (91)
Welzat (318)
Taeshan (26)
Free Republics (17)
Nahkistan (UR)
Savojarna (43)

by **Bears Armed** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:40 am

(Continued from viewtopic.php?p=36511282#p36511282 .)

Location: still the Council Groves home of star reporters Bark Brent & Florise Fane.
Time: about a ‘watch’ ⁽¹⁾ after the previous part of this account ended.

_______________________________________

Bark, Florise, and their four guests, are sprawled comfortably in the lounge.
The meals that they sent out for have been delivered and consumed.
Bark and Florise shared a dish of Beef Bourgignon, from a small restaurant that’s situated just a couple of buildings along the street from the one which contains their flat: This is actually Bark’s favourite main course, even though — to some people’s shock — he insists on adding tomato ketchup to it.⁽²⁾ The girls, however, had sent out to the nearest branch of a popular new fast-food chain that goes by the simple name of ‘Pizza/Cake’: ‘Pastrami & Chili Beef’ pizza (stuffed crust) for Karra, ‘Vegetarian Delight’⁽³⁾ pizza (deep pan) for both Lurrsee and Steffannee, and for Hannorra Scarlett who — like all of her [Vulpine] people, although unlike most of the nation’s ‘Bears’, is lactose-intolerant — a tub of ‘Herb-fried Bunny Nuggets’ & a portion of garlic bread.⁽⁴⁾
Now they are just finishing-off with some bits of fruit, and sipping from glasses of — because the girls are supposed to limit their alcohol intake this close to a game — apple juice, while they chat comfortably about this and that. A wireless set has been switched on, but turned down low, providing a gentle background of ‘Bearroque’ chamber music.

(Lurrsee) “and so hwhen the first opponents announced for urrs were Valanora I was pleased at first, and all “Heyyuh, we know that country” but then…”

(Karra) “But then she rremembered how long-lived the Elves are, so that it’s rreasonably likely many of their players and team staff would have been involved back when they played against our beforebears back in ‘the old days’, and got a bit more serious about this… Hrright?”

( Lurrsee) “Hrright.”

( Bark) “Ayyuh, that makes sense.
“So, for comparison, hwhat had all of you thought hwhen the first attempt at a draw gave you Starblaydia as the group’s top seed?”

(Karra) “Ur’rmm, hwhat “first attempt at a draw” are you talking about?”

Bark and Florise explain about how they had been confronted with two different sets of draw results earlier that afternoon, the first-delivered of which had mysteriously changed — while they were actually looking at it — so that it was now identical to the other…

(Karra) “Urrgah!”
(Lurrsee) “Fleas and fur loss!”
(Hannorra) “H’mmm, interesting…”
(Steffanne) By the Great Bear’s balls!”

(Karra) “Steff!”

(Steffanne) “Sorry…”

(Florise) “And so you should be, young lady.”

(Bark) “So we two noticed this alteration in Rreality, or hwhatever it is, but you four didn’t? Hr’rmm, I wonder hwhy…”

(Lurrsee) “Because you’re both so much older than urrs, maybeso?”
(She and Steffannee both giggle.)

(Florise) “Lurrsee…”
She rises to her feet.

(Lurrsee) “Florise…”
She adopts a more defensive posture.

(Karra) “Or maybeso it’s because both of you two, but none of urrs, somehow featured in those ‘olden days’ even though you aren’t neither hrreally old enough now for that to make sense?”

(Bark) “Hr’rmm, maybeso. That makes as much sense as anything that I can think of about this situation, anyhows.”

(Florise) “Actually, I think that there might have been a ’Steffannee Bruin' involved as a player back then, too… but that she was actually known to have arrived here, accidentally, from some other ‘Urrth’ instead of being a native of this world itself…”

(Steffanne) “Urrgah!”

There are a few moments’ silence, while they consider this. In the background, the music programme on the wireless ends and the news begins. A little while later…
(newseader: Moirra Keeper) “and now, over to Steffarn Hrrombarrhth with all of the latest Sports news…” ⁽⁵⁾

(Steffarn Hrrombarrhth) “Thank you, Moirrra.
“Top of the list is the news that the draw of groups for the forthcoming Soccer ‘World Cup’ qualifying series has had to be re-done. Owing to unexplained problems rrevealed in the system originally used, hwhich was called ‘Discord’, the organisers have turned to an alternative one — called ‘Esper’ — instead. As a result of this, the top-seeded team that our girls are scheduled to face has been changed from Starblaydia to Valanora, and…”

[/size](Lurrsee) “Awww… and there was I, looking forwards to seeing how the Starblaydian… is that the word?”

(Hannorra) “It’s just ‘Starblaydi’, I think.”

(Lurrsee) “Thanks..
“How the ‘Starblaydi’ pre-match ritual compared to ours…”

(Florise) “Ehhuh? A few moments ago, all four of you girls were saying that you had already thought that ‘Valanora’ were going to be your highest-ranked opponents at this stage…”

(Lurrsee) “Hwhat? ”
(Steffannee) “No we weren’t!”

(Hannorra) “Curiouser and curiouser…”

(Karra) “You know, I think that we were, for true...”

(Your view of this discussion, as an observer from beyond the ‘Fourth Wall’, fades to black…)

_______________________________________

OOC Footnotes

1. The usual Ursine system for measuring time divides a day into sixteen ‘watches’ rather than twenty-four ‘hours’, so this would be [i]“approximately ninety minutes”… except that they don’t use ‘minutes’, either, they actually divide each ‘watch’ into sixty-four ‘moments’ instead…
2. Beef Bourgignon with ketchup is also “coincidentally” the favourite main course of RL superhero comics’ character Clark ['Superman'] Kent… but not also for the character in the Bears’ own [IC] superhero comics who shares Bark’s name but is the secret identity of ‘SuperBear’…
3. Despite the usual jokes about it being “made with real vegetarian”, this actually featured aubergine [eggplant], green pepper, sliced black olives, and red onion.
4. The ability to eat garlic, onions, leeks, & related vegetables, without the ill-effects that their non-sapient relatives would have suffered, seems to have been acquired by both ‘Vulpines’ and ‘Bears’[/u] as a side-effect of the process that made them anthropomorphic… as also, presumably, was [most] adult Bears’ ability to consume dairy products without problems…
5. ‘Steffarn Hrrombarrhth’ is another character with a namesake in the ‘SuperBear’ comics; and that namesake, like him (and like ‘Steve Lombard’ in the RL ‘Superman’ comics) is a former athlete turned Sports reporter…

_______________________________________

(Continued at viewtopic.php?p=36517228#p36517228 .)

by **Squornshelan Remnant States** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 9:49 am

Three Things
Or maybe more like eleven
Salwan Mynhier

Yes everyone I'm back, and let me start off by saying how much I've appreciated all of the well-wishing and positive energy you readers sent me during my time away from the blog. Before I proceed to the actual post today, let me just take a moment to apologize, formally to the IAC Organizing Committee and all those involved in hosting IAC8 in Reçueçn. The allegation I made against you all were baseless. I would take them back if I could. Rest assured, nothing like that will ever happen again on Three Things. I feel refreshed, I feel energized, and I'm excited as ever to take a look at the Black-and-Reds' prospects for World Cup Qualifying.

After a few hiccups at the qualifying draw, taken very much in stride by our gracious hosts I might add, the Confederacy has been drawn from pot 3 into Group 8. It's definitely a tough group, with South Covello and Qasden at 3rd and 23rd internationally as the odds-on favorites to advance, and 59th and 74th ranked Filindostan and Vakolicci Haven and Celeria right behind your own 36th ranked Black-and-Reds. Some of these names will immediately be familiar to you, as we met Qasden, and with Vakolicci Haven and Celeria in the qualifying tournament for World Cup 81. Back then, we were the lowly newcomers, ranked at 198th, while Qasden were 27th and VH&C were 70th. As you can see, they are both around the same stature as they were, while the Black-and-Reds have very much moved up in the world. Even with the difference in experience and class, the Black-and-Reds were able to split home wins with each of those opponents, defeating Qasden at Flanoil Arena in Traal, and VH&C at Pheldagriff Stadium in Yassaca. While the past definitely isn't always an indicator of the future, this should be a sign of hope for fans dreaming of a trip to Cassadaigua and Baker Park.

In order to make that dream a reality though, the Black-and-Reds will have to be strong and consistent against the teams seeded below them, and steal a point or three against the two above them. Let's take a look at the group in rank order:

South Covello (3)
Third at World Cup 79, and Runners-Up to Vilita in World Cup 81, the ultimate victory has eluded South Covello thus far. They have followed this up, however, with a pair of second round exits, losing to Vilita again in the 82nd edition, and to hosts Banija in the 83rd. Is this possibly indicative of a rebuilding cycle for their national team? Not likely. They qualified with ease the past two cycles, and simply had the bad luck to run into a pair of very good teams in the second round. A far more likely explanation for their failure to advance to a quarterfinal in the past two editions is distraction. The political sphere in South Covello has been volatile to say the least, and the assassination of a sitting president and ensuing trial are enough to get anyone off their game. They should top the group without too much trouble, though the Black-and-Reds stand a chance to take a point off them at home, if all goes to plan.

Qasden (23)
Qasden seem like a team just on the edge of making the leap to genuine contenders, but then again, they've seemed that way for a few cycles now. They've made a respectable run of three straight qualifications, and would have made it five if not for losing the qualifying playoff for WC80. They managed to make the second round back in WC82, but have more often been bounced in the first round. Vulnerable to an upset? Possibly, but there's no recent precedent for Qasden letting a lower-ranked team finish ahead of them. Wresting a qualifying spot away from them will be no easy task. I anticipate we will likely split a pair of home victories, and performance against the rest of the group, both avoiding upsets and seeing whether either team might get a result against SoCo will determine finishing order here.

Filindostan (59)
While the Black-and-Reds eye Qasden ambitiously, the Pula Garuda will be doing the same to them. They are a team who have recently seen their fortunes decline, slipping back to 59th in the multiverse after hovering in the 40's for a few cycles. They will be out to prove that they are a better team than their ranking would suggest, and as Confederate fans know, there's no better way to do that than with a good old fashioned upset. The matches against the Pula Garuda should be every bit as exciting a nerve-wracking as the ones against Qasden, particularly when the Black-and-Reds visit San Marco on Matchday 6. The unpredictable behavior of the Filindostani fans should make for quite the event.

Vakolicci Haven and Celeria (74)
VH&C, sad to say, are a team that can be described, charitably, as stagnant. Their past three qualifying campaigns have generally seen a decline in play, and they have not earned an invitation to any recent Cup of Harmony. I see no reason why this trend should change, and they will definitely be vulnerable to the younger teams chasing them. Expect their slow but steady slide out of the top-100 to continue.

Bliuji (121)
A familiar face from the IAC, Bliuji are a steadily improving team that made their debut just last cycle in BoF 70. They had a modest, point-per-match performance in WC83 qualifying and an IAC 8 run that saw them reach the round of sixteen before narrowly losing to hosts Reçueçn. Quite the opposite of VH&C, this is a team trending slowly, but decidedly upward. They are, however, an exceptionally young team, with an average age among starters of just 23 years. One has to wonder if such a young lineup will have the poise to play with consistency over the long qualifying tournament to come. If they can continue their development though, the experienced gained will make them a much more dangerous team in the future.

Flavovespia (146)
Flavovespia also managed one point per match during the last qualifying campaign, and should probably be considered a team on the same level as Bliuji, despite the 25-position rankings difference. This is also a team that will have ambitions to finish above where rank alone would project them. It's an ambition they could very well accomplish. Their matches against Bliuji and VH&C will be of paramount importance for their final position. I expect these three teams to within just a few points in the final standings.

Ziwana (204)
The Leopards made their debut in the most recent Baptism of Fire, where they reached the quarterfinal before being eliminated by eventual third-place winners, Poafmersia. This team is even younger than Bliuji, with the majority of their starters not yet having reached the age of 20. They will be led by the captain and elder statesman, Wilder, and by center mid Haqawi, who emerged from the bench during the BoF to share the team lead for goalscoring. Keeping tabs on these two players will be vitally important, as any upsets the Leopards might mount will almost certainly involve big contributions from them.

Mitra and Soma (308)
Mitra and Soma also debuted in BoF71, where they nearly finished the group stage without a single win, finally earning one over fellow bottom feeders Greater Cebu on the final matchday, when both teams had already been eliminated. They shouldn't be very much of a threat

Furby Island (UR)
A nation that apparently made their debut back in BoF65, but has not (until now) entered a tournament since. Hard to say what to expect of them. They aren't complete newcomers to the scene, but years without a competitive match can't have done much for their form.

Mustardy (UR)
Beyond an apparent fondness for condiments, a declared desire to play spoiler (or banana peel as they so colorfully put it), and the apparently appropriate name of Red Herrings (despite the near total absence of red in their uniforms and emblem), I know very little of this small and unremarkable principality. Nonetheless, I must find a way to remark upon it. Here's a prediction you can take to the bank (or the trash can if you prefer): someone in the group top four will lose to this team, and it will cost them dearly in the final standings.

SRS Qualifying Schedule:

MD1:  SRS v Flavovespia @ Synesoft Arena (cap. 38,600), Syneca, Sivolvia, SRS
MD2:  Mustardy v SRS @ Johann Speck Nationalstadion (cap. 8,923), Héronne, Mustardy 
MD3:  SRS v Vakolicci Haven and Celeria @ Pheldagriff Stadium (cap. 45,620), Yassaca, Sivolvia, SRS
MD4:  South Covello v SRS @ Revolution Stadium, (cap. 42,000), Riverview, SCO
MD5:  SRS v Qasden @ Flanoi Arena (cap. 50,350), Traal, East Flania, SRS
MD6:  Filindostan v SRS @ Filindostan National Stadium (cap. 70,000), San Marco, Kabishawan, FID
MD7:  SRS v Furby Island @  Ralph Wilson Memorial Stadium (cap. 48,700), Han Dold City, Han Dold, SRS
MD8:  Bliuji v SRS @ TBA
MD9:  BYE
MD10: SRS v Ziwana @ Emerald Coast Colosseum (cap. 31,200), Vassilian, Algolia, SRS
MD11: Mitra and Soma v SRS @ TBA
MD12: Flavovespia v SRS @ TBA
MD13: SRS v Mustardy @ Overburg Arena (cap. 46,222), Damogran, Algolia, SRS
MD14: Vakolicci Haven and Celeria v SRS @ TBA
MD15: SRS v South Covello @ Raftel Park (cap. 59,870), Chalesm, Megabrantis, SRS
MD16: Qasden v SRS @ TBA
MD17: SRS v Filindostan @ Slavnarzeczpospolitastadion (cap. 61,230), Lublova, Molvania, SRS
MD18: Furby Island v SRS @ TBA
MD19: SRS v  Bliuji @ Chernov Stadium (cap. 57,600), Viltvodle, Megabrantis, SRS
MD20: BYE
MD21: Ziwana v SRS Izula National Stadium (cap. 55,750)
MD22: SRS v Mitra and Soma @ Henkmar Field (cap. 29,850), Brasta, Sivolvia, SRS

by **HUElavia** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 10:17 am

HUElavia is drawn into a new group after redraws, given a solid chance to make the World Cup!

HUElavia witnessed the draws done for the World Cup 84 Qualifiers that originally had some more difficult competition, but a redraw was done to aid other teams and a fairly favorable draw was given. HUElavia moved from Group 13 to Group 3, and there are a decent set of competitors for this cycle of Qualifiers.

HUElavia (55) will face off against the following teams: Starblaydia (5), Mercedini (28), Eastfield Lodge (53), Competitive Solitaire (81), The Sarian (112), Schiavonia (132), Magnaterrica (252), Tara & Cambray (269), The Ross Isles (349), and Folmara (UR).

HUElavia is a 4th Seed team, thus they are projected to finish 4th overall by ranking, but due to the competitive nature of the games versus Mercedini and Eastfield Lodge, it is expected to see HUElavia give both teams a run for their money for the direct qualification for World Cup 84.

Since the agreement with the HUElavian Football Association (HFA) and the Government of HUElavia, Los Amarillos will have their 10 home games span across the country, with 2 games being played in the Capital City, Curumba, and 4 games each being played in the Lusophone and Hispanophone section of the country.

The following venues will be used for these Qualifiers:
Matchday 1- San Ignatius, Itio (52,000) (HUElavia vs Tara & Cambray)
Matchday 3- Estadio da Selva, Natel (58,000) (HUElavia vs Folmara)
Matchday 5- Estadio Capital, Curumba (90,000) (HUElavia vs Mercedini)
Matchday 8- Estadio Acuático, Bello Mar (67,000) (HUElavia vs Competitive Solitaire)
Matchday 10- Takoroyama Kyougijou, Takoroyama (62,000) (HUElavia vs Schiavonia)
Matchday 13- Estadio Banco de HUElavia, Fuenteque (64,500) (HUElavia vs The Ross Isles)
Matchday 15- Estádio Salvador, Sao Salvador (85,000) (HUElavia vs Starblaydia)
Matchday 17- Estadio Nacional, Curumba (100,000) (HUElavia vs Eastfield Lodge)
Matchday 20- Estadio Internacional, San Rafael (82,500) (HUElavia vs The Sarian)
Matchday 22- Estadio Porto, Portimao (60,000) (HUElavia vs Magnaterrica)

Each stadium will give 15% of the available tickets to the visiting teams, while the rest will be available for the general public. It is expected to see each of the stadiums sold out for all the home games throughout these qualifiers.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

Images of the venues: https://www.nationstates.net/nation=hue ... /id=523858
Locations of the venues: https://www.nationstates.net/nation=hue ... id=1281499

by **Xanneria** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 10:47 am

Doby Bunkirk lives life in the fastlane!



Robie Bunkirk's team has seen a cash infusion from son Doby's connections to Schottia

PORT JAMES,SCHOTTIA - Of all the players who transferred in the off season, by far Dunkirk is the most successful so far. Bunkirk's footwork has earned him a spot in Port James Athletic's starting 11 and he dazzles the masses with it. But it has also helped his family business back home Bunkirks father is Robie Bunkirk, a former racing driver and current owner in the SCAR Stock Car series. Bunkirk's brother Dalton is the teams star Mechanic and Crew Chief. Together they had formed quite a team but funding is always a big deal in motorsports and has been something of a hit or miss for the Bunkirk family, but thankfully even with his busy schedule the year old Bunkirk has always kept close with his familya nd in the case helped find them funding. The big break was from Xannerian Automotive manufacturer Petty Motor Works. They had already developed a following among Schottians looking for sedan style autos (Mostly in less urban areas) and so the local branch of PWM was able to get onboard the 54 car. Another group who helped out was the Port James Tourist Authority, With Visit Port James on the car, a distinct Petty Blue and Green paint job was picked and they signed Lorenzo Broome from the XCAR Super Truck series, a decent driver but he too is bringing in some funding as he also has family connections to a Royal Chicken franchiser from Allendowa. DOby has stated that he hope after retirement he can help his brother and dad out more at the shop, Doby is known in the Xannerian National Team as "Motorhead" due to his love of cars. Last year he even brought fellow midfielder Lane Steagal to a race. As for the International career of Doby, things are looking up, with the Hailey brothers both rumored to be on their retirement tour, we'll likely see Dunkirk starting soon.

Clerical error leads to new groupings

XANNERIA - Issues arose with the grouping revealed last Saturday when it was revealed that the rankings that Baker Park and Cassidagua had been using were outdated. This re-orginized rankings and grouping have put Xanneria in a really tough group.
Leading off, are those immortal elves from Valanora. A tough point to grab, getting three points could be impossible, but if Xanneria is known for one thing its playing top teams tough (Just not Apox). Next are two teams way more evenly paired with the Maroons. Ethane and Kelssek. Both teams are on par with the worlds 56th best team and we can see 3-6 points in each pair of matchups. Next comes the teams lower than Xanneria, and here's where it gets tricky! Port Ember is seen by many experts as the dark horse candidate, they have a thoroughly strong up and coming team, with youth and youth with experience. Having made a literal Football Factory to do nothing but develop international talent they could seriously do some damage if we're not careful. Ouna is an interesting match up, their unstable domestic situation may be distracted in their play, they could be 6 easy points for Xanneria. Lisander you should not be here! Yes you had a clerical error last cycle that left you out of the Qualifiers all together, but you know full well you'll be playing above your weight! Just give us at least 3 points. ok? Appalachia got drawn in our group. Outside of Starcom Racing they are our second most common opponent. Will familiarity allow us to beat them? Hopefully so! Five Cities like Ouna has had domestic issues and Xanneria is ready to pounce on the distracted team. Another team that could do more than their rank (or lack of rank) shows is Bears Armed, and while they do have a bunch of issues with the governing body of the sport domestically, they could be a real force on the field! Razneta is the last team in our group and they are currently unranked but being Atlantian Oceanian, they could have potential, but there is one thing stopping them. THey are currently in a conflict with neighboring Tamgu so it is likely they might also fall under the category of distracted.

Xanneria Requests Neutral Site Game!

XANNERIA - With news of a possible conflict breaking out between Tamgu and Qualifying group mate Razneta, the FAX head Jeb Gyjorko has stated he wants the matchup of Xanneria at Razneta to be played in a "Neutral site far away from the conflict". Jeb went on to say "We want everyone safe, both us and our other group mates, we suggest everyone in our group try to play a home and neutral site game with them at least untill the conflict is over." No word from the WCC or the Razneta representatives.

by **Razneta** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:35 am

Outrageous Strike from Tamgu!

False news are spreading about how we, Razneta, are allegedly illegally extracting oil in the Tergaenean. These sources are biased and aren't based on facts. The following is information about the real face of the events happening in the sea.

Nov 19th- Raznetan ship Gakoslo A.K. is completed in the port of Salakko.
Nov 24th- Gakoslo A.K. starts operation in Raznetan water.
Nov 26th- Tamguna Government demands the removal of the oil rig.
Nov 30th- The second time Tamguna Government sends a demand. It is more threatening, sees this peaceful operation as an act of war.
Dec 2nd- Tamgu starts mobilizing their navy to strike down Gakoslo A.K.
Dec 5th- Gakoslo A.K. is destroyed. Razneta starts mobilization on all fronts.
Dec 6th- Tamgu releases sea territories map altered by them, to make it look like a defensive act.
Dec 7th- Sanctions against Razneta by a number of nations.
Dec 8th- International Court of Nations steps in. Trials start.
Dec 9th- Day 2 of trials.
Dec 10th- Day 3 of trials.

What are the falsely claimed areas? They are shown in orange outline, representing Tamgu.

^{Image 1.1 Sea Claims in the Tergaenean}

by **Ko-oren** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:25 pm

NS World Cup Fantasy Qualification

We're ready for what you've got! The website went down a few times yesterday due to overwhelming attention, not just from fans in Ko-oren but Multiverse-wide, but the website is back and more resilient than ever. Add your predictions on:

www.NSWCFantasy.kor/Signup - go to 'copy and rename this sheet' and do as it says. The basic rules are repeated in the document, but see the previous communiqué for more info: www.NSWCFantasy.kor/Rules

OOC: Please keep track of your own score... I can't promise to keep it updated

Home Stadium Announcements

@ Eraman
v Apox - Stade sur la Baie (70.000), Aminey
@ Barfleur
v New Lusitania - Orange Bowl (54.000), Schemerdrecht
@ Aldeveria
v Eshan - Rikalathen Arena (39.000), Maethoru
@ ZSeparatists
BYE
v Tarchusland - Estádio Marítimo (28.000), Santa Teresa
@ Grod Island
v Indusse - Suzumebachi Stadium (25.000), Katashi
BREAK
v Eraman - Armskirk Municipal Ground (26.000), Maynard
@ Apox
v Barfleur - Hazel Arena (18.500), Straudum
@ New Lusitania
v Aldeveria - Golhampton Grounds (23.000), Greencaster
BREAK
@ Eshan
v ZSeparatists - Stade Amandine (30.000), Étouille
BYE
@ Tarchusland
v Grod Island - Northern Arena (32.000), Aevanna
@ Indusse

This World Cup is for ALL of Ko-oren. From Top League stadiums, to amateur stadiums (that just happen to be very big). From polar Aevanna to subtropical Katashi. This is a tour of the country as much as it is a tour of the entire Multiverse. From spring in Aminey, summer in Katashi, autumn in Straudum, to winter in Aevanna...

Aminey
Expected weather: 7 degrees, 31% humidity, rainy
Home to soccer's Aminey CS, this is Ko-oren's prime stadium for any sport. Rugby league and gridiron are also contested here, and the stadium is the default host of the Champions' Bowl. Versus Apox, this is expected to be a sellout, but tickets will be expensive - especially on the reseller market.

Schemerdrecht
Expected weather: 10 degrees, 65% humidity, cloudy
The Orange Bowl, for how large it is and how prolific it is to its city of Schemerdrecht, only hosts Schemerdrecht SVV in soccer and the Admirals in gridiron. Its calm climate is on full show as well. Another expected sellout, again in one of the nation's pricier venues.

Maethoru
Expected weather: 11 degrees, 80% humidity, cloudy
Maethoru SC, Ko-oren's most successful soccer club, shares this ground with a recent rugby union powerhouse, in Mayara Wanderers-Vulpecula. Inheriting the legendary Vulpecula records, we suppose this makes the club a powerhouse of past and present... For how late in spring this match is, it's a cold one. Tickets are about as expensive as Aminey's, but the completely different market might not make this one a sellout.

Santa Teresa
Expected weather: 21 degrees, 61% humidity, cloudy
Only home to Branvón CD, this ground provides the best or second-best soccer experience, with fans close to the field, and everything decked out in the local yellow and brown. Santa Teresa's climate is nice to its visitors this day, just 21 degrees where 41 isn't out of the ordinary.

Katashi
Expected weather: 35 degrees, 70% humidity, windy
Even if this is normally a rugby league stadium, the city has embraced its Katashi-Kanatsu side as one of very, very few proponents of attacking play. Hopefully the rugby lines are out of view once the centre circle and goal areas are painted on... Definitely a sellout crowd, tickets varying wildly between corner seats and business boxes.

Maynard
Expected weather: 23 degrees, 80% humidity, rainy
Maynard AFC, recent Top League laughingstocks, occupies the Armskirk together with rugby union outfit Andromeda - who have also not been very successful as of late. Plenty of bad juju in Maynard, but it's a host city nonetheless. Given the rain, fans might decide to catch this one on tv. The temperature is very nice though, so plenty of reasons to visit Maynard regardless.

Straudum
Expected weather: 14 degrees, 89% humidity, rainy
Going into autumn, temperatures go down but stay within the 'nice' range between 10 and 25. Rain isn't a stranger to the city, and it should pour down again that night. The soccer-only stadium of Straudum (that's the entire name of the club) and the Sudaefjolluniversitet is a fun place to catch a game. Not the rabid atmosphere of Santa Teresa, but a very loud crowd either way. Given the small size of the stadium, it might be hard to get tickets.

Greencaster
Expected weather: 3 degrees, 49% humidity, windy
And we're into non-league territory. The Golhampton Grounds are used by Langward, down in Ko-oren's fourth tier, and the ground is shared with two rugby union clubs, on the second and third tiers. Greencaster is a massive city, so nearly everything is well visited, even in a non-soccer city. Given the small size of the stadium (compared to the size of the city), tickets will be gone fast.

Étouille
Expected weather: 2 degrees, 55% humidity, clear
Tanques AOÉ and rugby league's Vultures are in the Stade Amandine, a charming stadium that's honestly a little too large to be called 'charming', but with the picturesque surroundings still deserves the moniker. Take some time to hike up and down the coast or take a train between the settlements on the delta - but beware: it's going to be cold in winter once the national team rolls around. Enough tickets to go around, treat yourself and take a vacation to the Amandine.

Aevanna
Expected weather: -3 degrees, 53% humidity, windy
Aevanna is cold, but there should be a warmer spell where temperature isn't too far into freezing territory. The wind is still a factor. Watch yourself, do as the locals do, and protect yourself in the dome. Tickets should be plentiful, with 32000 seats in a small town and far from amazing weather.

by **The Sherpa Empire** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 1:02 pm

There had recently been a big shake-up at the Sports Department. Tensions had been building for a couple of years now, ever since Xue Gong retired. It started with the qualifiers for World Cup 83. The Sherpa national team made a terrible showing and several people connected to the Sports Department and the national football team had damaged their reputations. The manager of the national football team was told that he would not be allowed to return for the Campionato Esportiva or World Cup 84.

A fellow named Wangchu Mahato, who had been working in Major League Football for many years, was brought in. He didn't really offend anyone, but he didn't get dazzling results either, and the upheaval at the Sports Department was not over yet.

Namri Patel, the director of the Sports Department, picked a fight with national baseball team manager Sarang Oli, Khumbu Icefall Doctors general manager Kalden Wang, and a pitcher named Kami Akunjee. The fued made Patel look very stupid and eventually it got him fired.

Patel was replaced with a woman named Zora Shafi. She had years of experience doing office work at the department, but she had never had any hands-on experience as an athlete or a coach, and some people thought it was strange that she had been chosen ahead of people that had both kinds of experience. Shafi knew she had something to prove, and also that she had some fences to mend. She invited Sarang Oli, Kalden Wang, and Kami Akunjee to talk over a nice dinner.

Shafi also held a similar "peace talk" with some of the big names from IRACT, the national stock car racing league, which had been butting heads with government officials ever since it was founded. It went on longer than she planned because one of the drivers' wives got talking about her work on compact dialysis machines that could be implanted in the body so patients didn't need to come into the clinic as often. Shafi was interested, but because the conversation went on so long, and she had to get up early the next day, she didn't get enough sleep.

As for the national football team, they got a new manager: Tandi Ammini. He was a bit young and inexperienced to be given such a prestigious job, but he was coming off a very good season at the helm of Macau's football team. Like Shafi, he had something to prove.

by **Free Republics** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:44 pm

Sporting World

World Cup 84 Qualifying Preview
By: Rachelle Rocher

The groups have been drawn again and we now know who will be playing where in World Cup qualifying this year. Rumor has it that the World Cup Committee recently hired some incompetent elves as interns who provided the hosts with an incorrect set of rankings. However, Sister Maria Polus from WOLF News has another explanation. She recently claimed on her highly rated opinion program Sister Polus's Thots that "this is what happens when you invert the natural order and pretend that women are men and men are women", seemingly blaming Cassadaigua's female-centric society for the draw debacle. We may have 2 female consuls soon and, let's be honest, that would be a massive improvement over the status quo. Don't get me wrong, I think the attempt to impeach Kyle Bolton over his drinking and womanizing is asinine like everybody else does but even he would admit that he's just not very good at being consul.

Personally, I'm not complaining about the re-draw. The original draw had the Republican National Team playing in what many were calling the group of death. This re-draw instead has Soccer General Rule Theriault's troops playing in what is likely a much easier group. The stadium assignments were announced earlier today so I'll go over all 10 opponents in the order that they will play in the Free Republics and tell you where you can watch them play:

TJUN-ia: They're ranked 295th and were a BoF team. They reached the Round of 16 by winning 1 out of 6 matches. Played 4 draws and lost to somebody in extra time. They call themselves the Jaguars. Maybe they'll pick up a bunch of draws or something. Best case scenario for them is a Cup of Harmony invite. Worst case scenario is last place. Likely scenario is Cup of Harmony bubble team. You can see them at the MingleDome in Latroit though you're probably better off just downloading Mingle and getting yourself a date for that night instead.

Welzat: Ranked 318th, they're another BoF team. Went 1-1-4 in the BoF. I can't find a roster for them or any information whatsoever about them. In the best case scenario, they'll announce a roster and we might hear something out of their press. Worst case scenario, they'll keep their roster a secret and we'll never hear from them again after qualifying is over. I have no fucking idea which of those scenarios is the likely scenario. You can see them at the AllMartDome in Reco but why the fuck would you want to?

Nahkistan: Unranked and making their World Cup debut. They competed at the Wonder Cup, which was some minnow tournament that nobody gave a fuck about. They did not win a single match. Best case scenario for them would be winning a match. Worst case scenario would be 0-0-22. Let's say a draw or two for the likely scenario. If you live in Wortana and have nothing to do, go see the Republican National Team's reserves annihilate them at the MilaneseDome.

Jeruselem: Finally, an actual opponent. There are far too many minnows in this World Cup qualifying campaign. Why can't they just make the BoF a qualifying tournament for the no-hope nations so we don't have to watch so many of them play the National Team? As for Jeruselem, they're ranked 54th and were the runner up in the Cup of Harmony 19 years ago. I'm sure my dad was watching back then but I was probably too busy outside playing with the boys to care. They've been mediocre for a long time and I don't think this year will be any different but the best case scenario for them has to be qualifying for the World Cup. Worst case scenario would be a bottom half finish. Likely scenario is 4th or 5th place and a spot on the Cup of Harmony bubble. You can see them play at the Colosseum of the Crucifixion in Los Martires but odds are you probably aren't reading Sporting World if you live in Malifornia and, if you don't live in Malifornia, why would you voluntarily go there? I don't understand this scheduling decision though as Jeruselem are probably the most devoutly religious nation south of the north pole so they'll feel right at home.

Geektopia: Ranked 104th and a team that the Republicans have dominated in the past. Even they don't think their national team has a chance against ours. Best case scenario for them would be making a run at qualification and falling short. Worst case scenario would be finishing way towards the bottom of the table. Likely scenario has them limping to a mid-table finish. They play at Nejan Stadium in Oldston.

Balqia: Ranked 91st, Balqia looks like a team on the rise. While they probably won't contend this year, look for them to be a real threat to qualify in a year or two. Best case scenario for them this year would be a surprise qualification. Worst case scenario would be a bottom half finish. Likely scenario would be a race with Jeruselem and Schottia for 4th place. They will visit Gem of the Oceans Stadium in Republica.

Taeshan: #26 in the multiverse, Taeshan used to be a threat, finishing 3rd at the Cup of Harmony 24 years ago and qualifying for a number of past World Cups. Last cycle's return to the World Cup and win over Qasden might have been the beginning of their comeback or it may have been a fluke. Best case scenario for them would be a shock first place finish. Worst case scenario would be failing to qualify and getting left out of the Cup of Harmony. Likely scenario for them is probably falling just short and going to the Cup of Harmony. They'll be headed to New City to play the Republicans at CoCoCo Stadium.

Savojarna: The #43 team in the multiverse has quite a bit of buzz heading into this qualifying campaign. Many people think they can snatch one of the two tickets from Group 11 to the World Cup. Best case scenario for them would be winning the group. Worst case scenario would be a collapse that puts them in 6th place or thereabouts. Likely scenario is probably just edging out Taeshan for a spot in the World Cup. They will visit Baseton to play us at the Olympic Stadium.

Schottia: The #158 ranked team in the multiverse, Schottia were World Cup champions just 5 years ago but oh how far the mighty have fallen! Last year, they finished 2-2-6 in their qualifying group, which left them tied for last. Nonetheless, there's reason to believe that they could return to glory at any time. Best case scenario this year would be a shock return to the World Cup. Worst case scenario would be another tied for last finish. Likely scenario would be making a run at 4th place. They'll play us in our final home match at the Soccer Palace in Petrograd.

As for our heroes and heroines, we come into the World Cup ranked 17th, probably our lowest rank since we hosted the World Cup 3 years ago. We dropped quite a bit in the ranks after a second straight disappointing World Cup finals campaign and have something to prove this year. Best case scenario for us, of course, is winning the World Cup. Worst case scenario would be any scenario in which we don't make it to the World Cup finals. Likely scenario is probably another disappointment in the Finals. We normally make our deep World Cup runs on our home soil afterall...

Rachelle Rocher is Sporting World's new international soccer correspondent. Rachelle is a recent graduate of Petrograd Republic University and was a high school soccer star for Petrograd Christian. After tearing both of her ACLs in a game during her freshman year at Petrograd Republic, she realized she'd never be the same player again. Realizing that she would have to give up her dreams of becoming a professional player, Rachelle became the chief soccer correspondent for the Petrograd Republic Chronicles, the official newspaper of the university. Her coverage of Petrograd Republic, Petrograd Christian and Petrograd United matches brought her to the attention of Nova Hellstrom-Hancock, who recommended her to Sporting World's new editor Gloria Trentini.

by **Chromatika** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:59 pm

Football Part 1 - Group Preview

Jillian Nier, Football Correspondent

Hello, Chromatiks, and welcome to... My very first written piece after my retirement from the National Team. I've been asked to fill in while the government still tries to figure out where Jordan is, and it's my pleasure. It's a bit odd to write about this team after all that's gone down, but I will do my best to bring some insight to the team and what's going on while trying to also sound unbiased. No promises though - my Mother always told me that I was an opinionated woman.

What to say about the new Management? Konrad Evans strikes me as someone who isn't afraid to speak his mind, while being very kind about it. Forceful, great presence, yet approachable. Who else could have brought fifty, yes, FIFTY players in a qualifying pool? It's really time to see if Chromatika has what it takes to be a major footballing nation. Katherine Everdeen? Very similar to the previous Assistant Manager in Williamson. Easy to relate with, good with people. My friends on the team tell me she's not quite bubbly, but someone who is relaxed.

What to say of the pool? We'll get more into that as the matches go on. A few positions are relatively shallow - right back, defensive midfielder, and keeper behind Mia. Striker and wingers are stacked. De Aea and Ilya are stocky lads who will be around for a long time, and I cannot wait for the world to see what Hermaeus Mora and Enigma Armageddon can do.

But onto the foes that will be the Chromatiks' foes in this grueling twenty-two matchday campaign. (With help from our new friends from the Chromatik Football Statistics Institute)

1. Mriin (15) - (Historical record: Mriin 1-0 Chromatika, WC 80 Qualifying, Matchday 5; Chromatika 0-1 Mriin, WC 80 Qualifying, Matchday 14)
The satyrs have been around for a while and a half now, and remain one of those sides that we haven't defeated. In Atlantian Oceania, where most of the footballing elite reside, Mriin has carved its own path. An upset win would be huge for the Chromatiks' qualifying hopes, but really, it's going to be a challenge.

2. Main Nation Ministry (29) - (Historical record: Chromatika 1-0 Main Nation Ministry, WC 83 Qualifying Playoffs, Matchday 2)
What has Main Nation Ministry done since the Chromatiks won their group to advance to the World Cup Proper? Oh, nothing big, just win a Cup of Harmony. Chromatika has never won a World Cup sanctioned event, and MNM can actually say that now. Chromatika actually opens on the road at the Ministry in Matchday 1, a big showdown if the Chromatiks are to qualify. They will have to get more than three points from the Ministry to beat them.

4. Busoga Islands (69) - (Historical record: Chromatika 3-3 Busoga Islands, WC 83 Qualifying Playoffs, Matchday 3)
The Islands had a clash with the Chromatiks in the last world cup, and if they'd won, it'd have been them that made it to the Proper. They'll surely be looking for revenge. Busoga will be the first home match for the Chromatiks under Evans. Two wins are a requirement if they are to stay ahead of the Islanders and contend in the top two.

5. Kavagrad (79) - (Historical record: None)
Starting here are nations that the Chromatiks cannot afford to drop points to. However, with the fifty-man roster, there will be many instances of reserves playing in these matches. Is this where you draw the line? I wouldn't.

6. Lons (120) - (Historical record: None)
Sounds like a lovely place to visit.

7. Zealandiana (153) - (Historical record: None)

8. Northwest Kalactin (218) - (Historical record: None)
Been around the block a few times.

9. Bloing (301) - (Historical record: None)

10. Plane of Possibility (336) - (Historical record: None)
Literal Dungeons and Dragons characters? Are you kidding me?

11. Petrovsky (UR) - (Historical record: None)
The minnow. Beware of the minnow.

Looking at the overall schedule, it's very frontloaded. At Main Nation Ministry, hosting Busoga Islands, and at Mriin is the first three matches; the Chromatiks could start 0-0-3. With so many matches, it will be paramount to remain consistent. Let the madness commence, no?

Statistics (Provided by the Chromatik Football Statistics Institute)
Overall Record: 161 Wins, 47 Draws, 56 Losses, 592 Goals Scored, 362 Goals Conceded
Number of Clean Sheets: 81
Number of Losses without Scoring: 36
Number of Penalty Kick Losses: 5
Number of Penalty Kick Wins: 0 (Really, zero.)
Most Goals Scored: The New Telengana Rajj 2-8 Chromatika, World Cup 76 Qualifying, Matchday 6
Most Goals Allowed: Chromatika 4-6 Brenecia, World Cup 83 Proper, Matchday 3
Most Total Goals in a Match: The New Telengana Rajj 2-8 Chromatika, World Cup 76 Qualifying; Matchday 6, Chromatika 4-6 Brenecia, World Cup 83 Proper, Matchday 3
Least Total Goals in a Match: Kaboomlandia 0-0 Chromatika, World Cup 76 Qualifying, Matchday 10; Tidal Wake 0-0 Chromatika, World Cup 76 Qualifying, Matchday 12; Chromatika 0-0 Cosumar, World Cup 77 Proper Matchday 2; Chromatika 0-0 Tallaga la Falla, AOCAF 54, Matchday 3
Most Common Opponent: Cosumar (8), Valanora (7)

by **Jeruselem** » Wed Dec 11, 2019 4:34 am

Jeruselem Government News

Dazza Dallas Stadium completed ready for World Cup

Jeruselem's World Cup stadium Dazza Dallas Stadium was reopened today after long overdue renovations after World Cup 83 for the next one.

The stone lions which were a reminder of the previous royal line have been removed, replaced with three headed dragons for the new dynasty started by Queen Chloe I which does not have bloodlines from original royal line. A new set of stadium lights which are now completely LED were installed. Seating was changed to remove any problematic blind spots from past designs. The roof was extended further for better sun protection of inner seats. All cameras in stadium were changed to become wireless removing kilometers of unnecessary cabling. The bottlenecked entrance to the stadium was widened to handle more people entering at the same time. Additional toilets for disabled and transgender people were added. The catering area was completely rebuilt with additional capacity at the ready.

Security will be revamped with lots of "Princesses" patrolling the game who are in reality security staff in cosplay. These Princesses also act as stadium guides in case people get lost. Not to be confused with the few actual Princesses who could be there.

A new souvenir shop is near the entrance. A new product will be available from World Cup 84 of pencil toppers or Ooshies. This includes ones for Princess Kate, Queen Chloe, Princess Cassie (sister of Queen Chloe for those who are stupid), Prince Hamish and now Princess Bianca. There will be also ones for each of current team members. Yes cute baby dragon Ooshies are also available for those who love Dragons.

by **Sarzonia** » Wed Dec 11, 2019 7:17 am

The question from the young reporter was one Bryan Ostrom brushed off angrily with a terse, "that was our decision and that's it. Next question."

After he stormed out of the presser without giving the other reporters a chance to answer questions, he encountered his boss.

"Madeline! Hi, what are you doing here?"

He saw the look in her eyes and he could tell she wasn't pleased.

"The Board of Governors wants to know why you didn't have the team schedule any friendlies."

Ostrom's eyes briefly flashed anger, then annoyance, but then he realised it was the higher ups in the chain of Sarzonian football who were asking the questions now. He also knew Madeline Barkley. She wouldn't take a brush off the way the reporters in the room did.

Before he could answer, Barkley had another pointed question.

"And, Brian, I was disappointed with the way you handled that press conference. The decision of whether or not to schedule international friendlies is a valid one since this team has not played together against international competition. And it's a question the Board and I both felt you should have had a satisfactory answer for."

"Madeline," he said, giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts. "I'm as aware of Sarzonian footballing traditions as anyone. I'm sure a friendly against some of the more traditional powerhouses would have brought in some much needed revenue and would have given our team some badly needed experience, but I'm trying to ensure that the results this team gets don't discourage them. A loss, even in a friendly that doesn't hurt their qualifying chances, might do that."

He saw by the look in Barkley's eyes she wasn't buying that explanation.

"Those are friendlies, we're talking about," she said. "Anyone who wants to quit football because we lost a friendly shouldn't be lacing up their boots."

Ostrom then blurted out the real reason.

"We burned some bridges long ago," he said. "Plus a few of the teams out there burned bridges with us."

Finally, the real answer, she thought. This time, she took a few moments to collect her thoughts.

"There are enough teams, prominent teams, in this World Cup who weren't here for World Cup 57," she said. "They don't remember all the controversies surrounding our role as co-hosts. They don't remember all the back history that led to Sarzonia withdrawing from international football competition." And the ones that do, fuck 'em, she thought.

"The Board of Governors believes we should have played at least one pre-qualifying friendly to get us introduced to the pace of World Cup qualifying," she said, finally.

"As for your performance in that press conference, we can't afford for you to brush of valid questions like the one that young reporter asked. She asked a question that should have merited a legitimate answer."

After a few more housekeeping comments and relatively light conversation about room service, Ostrom went back to his room at the team hotel.

He reached into one of the drawers across from his bed and pulled out something he'd somehow sneaked through the hotel front desk undetected. He stared down, looking at it for a few minutes, pondering a lot of things.

Hours later, the team was assembled outside in the hotel parking lot with sirens flashing, media assembled. News media. The Woodstock Daily Mail. The Portland Press-Herald. SNN.

Police and SFBI investigators were coming the hotel until Woodstock Police Chief John Harlan, Jr. approached the dais.

"We've secured the weapon," he said. "There is no active shooting risk here. There was only one gunshot and it was self-inflicted."

He looked out at the assembled crowd after an aide handed him a slip of paper that came from Woodstock General Administrator Sierra Brentsen.

"We've just received word that Coach Ostrom has succumbed to the gunshot wound."

World Cup 84- RP Thread (IC)

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