FOOTBALL
Football is the most popular sport in Savojarna in terms of pure viewership and player numbers. The Savojar football league, called the Savojar Futbol Serien, belongs to the medium-to-lower tiers of the Multiverse though. It is composed of 18 teams, most either sponsored by state entities or by private cooperatives. Historically, these were indeed worker teams, but since the 1970s, the league got increasingly professionalised and is now fully professional. Savojar football is generally known for physical strength and speed. The second tier is called the SFS B, and consists of 18 teams as well. Every year, two to three teams get promoted to the SFS. The Nationalligaen (National League) is a semi-professional league with 16 teams, and also promotes two to three teams to the SFS B. Lower end Nationalligaen teams are typically amateur sides with a core of a few professionals; higher end teams are fully professional and often strive for promotion to the B. Below this structure, there are multiple regional amateur divisions; promotion from the Regional Division 1 (divided into the groups 1A: Ejana, Norderholmen and North Vestrholm, and 1B: Russica, Sumanen and South Vestrholm) to the Nationalligaen is possible but requires prior application and approval to ensure clubs are equipped to run a semiprofessional team. The RD1's top three of each group contest a final tournament, the winner of which is crowned National Amateur Champion of Savojarna; RD1 clubs also participate in the Savojarsk Cup.
Transfer Permissions
Teams in the SFS A are making use of international transfers via the TW. By signing their players to an SFS A team, users agree to the following:- SFS A teams are ranked according to past performance (with some adjustments by me). There are no rescorinations. Teams can therefore underperform, and your players can be missing their goals.
- Foreign players are treated the same as Savojarsk players - they may get benched, or underperform. If a foreign player is benched, they still can expect regular playtime through rotations, injuries, suspensions etc. and may also gain back their spot. If a player no longer sees regular play perspectives, I will talk to the person in control. While your player is in Savojarna, I have complete creative control over their sporting fate.
- Players in the SFS A regularly get light injuries and suspensions due to the rough and scrappy nature of the league. I will not treat foreign players differently in that regard; however, thanks to wobbly timelines, you may ignore that for international competitions (WCQ, WC, regionals) if you wish.
- Players that get relegated to the SFS B will be placed on the TW automatically unless you express different wishes.
- Players are getting cut according to IC considerations. Players getting cut are placed on the TW. If you want to remove a player of yours from an SFS A team, you can put them onto the TW yourself or request a move via Discord.
- I will place a bid on the TW to move players between SFS A teams.
- I don't make a Foreign Players sheet; however, you're welcome to ask for information about your players' fate. I don't keep detailed statistics, so please don't ask about number of appearances/goals/cards/pies eaten
Permissions for Savojar players:- You get the same rights in terms of creative control as I am claiming for myself (see above).
- Savojar players can only be transferred via TW or DM; do not move them without my permission.
- If you no longer want a player, please put them onto the Transfer List. You don't have to contact me about it.
- If a player is older than 35 and you don't want them anymore, feel free to retire them (it would be nice to give me a heads-up, but you don't strictly have to)
- You can always bid on every Savojar player in the SFS system, even if they are not officially listed.
- Every Rushmori nation has permission to generate dual nationals or Savojar migrants (Savojar names can be generated by using a namegen for Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Icelandic or Russian names). Non-Rushmori countries should ideally contact me first to establish some IC reason for migration.
ICE HOCKEY
In terms of attendance percentage, ice hockey is the biggest sport in Savojarna. However, due to the smaller stadia and the higher obstacles to young players, it still is number 2 behind football in terms of sheer numbers. The highest - and the only professional - league of Savojar ice hockey is the SHS, the Savojar Hockey Serien. It has 24 teams and is a completely closed league, with many teams having their own youth development as well and collaborating amateur teams. Following a 46-game-season, the SHS enters a 16 team playoff to determine its champion. Like in football, the championship is dominated by state supported teams, even though some union teams could break the phalanx. Savojarna's national team is also highly regarded in world ice hockey and made the KO phase of the WCoH in its two previous attempts. Their biggest rivals are Vilita and Turori, a team that they lost to multiple times, most notably in the World Cup of Hockey 34 finals, on home ice. The Savojar hockey scene is dominated by tactical, not overly physical play.
HANDBALL
The third of the Big Three team sports in Savojarna. Handball is the favourite sport of Ejana, whose two top teams ESK Storevik and BHK Kjefla usually dominate the league. The highest Savojar handball league, the SHL, has fourteen teams, with the SHL B consisting of sixteen more. The SHL A culminates in a playoff final game in Sjoedrhavn every year, which has been dominated by ESK recently. ESK has reached four consecutive finals and won three of them, only dropping the title to BHK once. Internationally, the Savojars belong to the world's elite. The HWC 20 in Abanhfleft, contested without previous dominators Red Blackiland, was the first international team sports title that Savojarna had ever won, and could be followed up by another victory at home in HWC 21.
RUGBY
Rugby, despite being not extremely popular, has quite a following in Savojarna because of its long tradition as a preparation for war. Rugby-ish games were played since more than 300 years on the islands, and they have gradually formed into international rugby. Savojarna only plays Union and Sevens, in a rather archaic mode. The Savojar rugby championship is a special tournament of fifteen semiprofessional teams representing the old provinces of Savojarna. The teams are technically allowed to trade players or get foreign players, but this is extremely frowned upon. The eight teams that end the season highest up get invited to the summer Sevens Series, which is a series of four sevens tournaments with twelve teams (the four extra teams get invited by the hosting province). The eight teams that do best across these four tournaments qualify for the Savojar Sevens Championship, contested in Sjoedrhavn, which crowns the inofficial kings of Savojar rugby. Internationally, the team competes in the Rugby Union World Cup and in the Sevens Series.
MOTORSPORTS
Motor sports, for a long time, meant rallye in Savojarna. There are four major rallye events in Savojarna - the Rallye Sumanen, the Rallye Ejana, the Russica Challenge and the Jarnstad Rallye - which are considered the most important domestic events in the sport. Famous rallye drivers are revered and highly popular. However, recently the dominance of rallye got somewhat broken due to a massive development program with the goal of getting established in the WGPC, the multiverse's main open-wheel racing series. Sigur Bjarnason started his career for Mattijana's MRT in the WGPC 16 and won the constructor's title along with his teammate Rustom Ibuna of Filindostan. The next steps for Savojarna's WGPC program are the establishment of a WGP2 team and attempts to get a Savojar Grand Prix in the next WGPC season, with the establishment of a Savojar team in the top flight of GP racing being a long-term goal for the program.
SKIING
In winter, skiing is the most popular individual sport. Savojarna had an important part in the creation of the Alpine Skiing World Tour and hosted two races as well as the season finale in the ASWT's inaugural season. The Savojars fought a tough rivalry with Dunnes, which they ultimately lost but could somewhat strike back in the Winter Olympics in Prescott, Electrum. Cross-country skiing and biathlon are also quite popular and received a huge boost thanks to the Savojar successes at the Winter Olympics, where the Savojars won multiple medals, including golden ones, in both disciplines. Domestic competitions in skiing are considered top-notch, although there is criticism that its lack of international competition harms the competitiveness of Savojar skiing.