World Cup 88- Roleplay Thread

by **Busoga Islands** » Wed May 19, 2021 2:40 pm

Busogan national team manager Alexander Bumba at his media appearance the day before Busoga's visit to Ancherion

Alexander Bumba was having a blast. This qualifying campaign could not be going better than it is right now. Busoga is ranked in the lower 70s, and has never qualified for the World Cup before. Busoga had came close- one strike of the ball away from making it in World Cup 83, and we were in serious contention entering the final day of World Cup Qualifying for World Cup 85. Still- neither time was successful.

Just like Banija in their early days- 7 times entered, 7 times failed. Bumba knew this, of course- he was a Banijan himself. And most Busogans knew this too- they were Banijan as well for that period of time. But the last few Qualification campaigns did not give anybody much hope in this team. A pair of fifth place finishes in World Cup Qualifying did in Bumba's predecessor, the Brenecian, Bethany Donnell. Unbeknown to most others, he came back from club football in Cobrio to try and get himself front and center in the Shango-Fogoa Basin, to try and get a S-FPL job. Busoga simply wanted an ambitious manager.

And so far, it seemed to be a match made in heaven. 7 games in, 5 won and no losses. All three teams ranked ahead of the Busoga Islands had fallen to Bumba's squad- Pasarga losing 4-2 at the Dukuma Oval, while his side earned one goal away wins against the Blouman Empire, and the World Cup 87 co-hosts, Ethane. Those two away wins came in about as different fashion as they come. The Blouman Empire was an up and down fantastic affair, and we scored a very late winner to earn a 3-2 win. Whereas against Ethane, a Busogan corner kick in the 5th minute saw the Ethane defender man marking Servet Ornet slip, and Ornet pounded the free header into the back of the net. And that was all she wrote, as this defensive minded team suffocated Ethane for all three points.

It was the perfect time to take a victory lap over his early successes as Busoga's national team manager. Talk himself up to market himself to the S-FPL clubs. Hell, Busoga was winning their group! This was Busoga's brightest moment ever on the world stage. Just as nations were starting to take notice, of course... the world fell apart. Not literally, of course. But the news cycle would not be how this small island were suddenly taking it to the big boys in World Cup Qualifying. The stories were about the AO/Anaia split. It sucked all the oxygen out of the room in Atlantian Oceania, and Bumba knew, frustratingly, that the hometown journalists would try to stick to that story.

So he came into the press conference with a plan to try and divert focus to where it should be- not the greater political happenings, but on his own team. The more people talked about his team, the more they'd talk about him. And the more they talked about him? Well, Bumba would force Jinja City to come crawling to offer him his old job back.

Busoga Chronicle Reporter: "Coach Bumba, what are your thoughts on the footballing ramifications of the AO/Anaia split? What will this mean for our players, for this team?"

Alexander Bumba: "Well, it is a major split. I'm not qualified to comment on the politics of it- that's above my paygrade. But I can talk about the football, and it is a sad day when these long-term footballing links are broken. Nations like Audioslavia, Starblaydia, Krytenia, etc... Have participated in well over 100 AOCAF Cups between them, for over hundreds of years, and the fact that we will no longer have the opportunity to play them in the regional tournament is quite sad. We had memorable battles against those big boys- we lost in penalties to Starblaydia in the knockouts of the last AOCAF, and recorded one of the greatest wins in our history against Audioslavia, beating them in the AOCAF Round of 16 the previous cycle. We have a memorable history against Chromatika, whom this team considers a key rival."

"Those opportunities for competitive matches will be fewer and fewer, but we are still hopeful and excited for the future what the AOCAF will be. This is still the most competitive region in the multiverse- with nations like Baker Park, Farfadillis, Vilita, and Valanora, just to name a few, there is still elite quality to measure ourselves up against at the start of every cycle."

Lakiska Post: "How does this split affect your team? Has this had any direct effect on the players?"

Alexander Bumba: "Most of our team is home based. 19 of our final 23 play professionally in the Banijan soccer pyramid, so at least that is good. Artem Kohut is the only player who plays for a club currently in Anaia, with him lacing up his boots for Unamaꞌkik Inverness 1877 in Quebec every weekend. Fortunately, in this country, Commonwealth ties, by my understanding, supersede regional ties in terms of law. It's still early days, but by our reading from what has come out of both Lakiska and Quebec City, he should have the ability to keep his job."

All-Banija Sports Magazine: "Mr. Bumba, a question about your team's performance." (Alexander Bumba smiled at this, clearly happier to be talking about on the pitch happenings, as opposed to off the pitch.) "The unity of this team has been unlike anything we've ever seen this team do before. They are playing both together, and above themselves. There is still plenty of time to go, however. Can Busoga keep this up? Can Busoga qualify?"

Alexander Bumba: "I think it's too early to say whether we can or cannot qualify. We're only 7 games into an 18 game qualification campaign- not even halfway through. I'm not thinking about the table until Matchday 12, 13. Of course, we live in the world- we know where we stand. But at this point, it's just about finding your form, building your team out, and winning games. We have done a great job of finding a way to turn close games into wins. Clutch finishing against the Blouman Empire and Ethane. All sorts of energy against Pasarga. And as the team has performed, you can see the nation gather behind this team. More energy from the fans, greater energy on the road."

"Whether we can qualify or not will be answered eventually. All we can do is not give ourselves too much pressure by thinking of the bigger picture at this point. If that's all we're worried about, we'll get too nervous and we certainly will not reach Cassadaigua & Chromatika in World Cup 88. All that matters right now is implementing the strategy we have for Ancherion, and working as hard as we can for three points tomorrow night."

With that, Bumba took a few more questions and then ended the interview. Yet another big game on the way to World Cup Qualification. Could he steer his team to what would be yet another big time road win that could keep Busoga in the conversation for pulling off what would be the miracle among miracles- qualifying for the World Cup?

by **The Grearish Union** » Wed May 19, 2021 2:54 pm

The Flux

Cricket Grearia HQ, Forsho
10 am

"Did you hear the news?" said Micah Pollock, trying to be as discreet as possible in his expression of alarm. The CG lobby is definitely not the most convenient place to show any sort of emotion. Let alone panic.

"No, what do you mean?" the Board President, Mr. Harry McComish, replied without looking at his deputy. Pollock seemingly got the memo, you'd imagine, as he passed his phone on to his superior. There was still ample need to suppress his emotions at that point with the press being there, and a lot being at stake. Receipt of this news did them no good in that regard.

"Here," said Pollock. McComish had only read the headline on the news app before the pair stopped dead in their tracks while going upstairs to attend their meeting. Nobody needed this problem at Cricket Grearia.

'"There is absolutely no way that this is true!"

"The Plough Islands, Ko-oren and Krytenia," the President thought. McComish had gotten himself used to the idea of surprises ever since the became the CG leader-of-sorts but this one was quite unlike anything he had ever seen. A mighty secession from AO by some of the most storied nations in the multiverse to create their own region — now christened Anaia. One would be inclined to think that it wouldn't and shouldn't be much of an issue, given how peaceful the proceedings have been, up to this point in time. There has reportedly been no violence in the secession and some Quebecois citizens were even quoted to be saying, "It's business as usual in Quebec City."

It was indeed business as usual, just that the name of region had now changed. Perhaps there would be some immigration confusion at best, in terms of troubles, which might be coupled with some sort of inter-regional troubles in inter-regional borders and waters before treaties are reached in the area. Again, that is something which ought not be seen without the context of the fact that the overall secession thing is, eventually, peaceful.

Yet, somehow, McComish found himself rather fidgety at the headquarters. All of this shouldn't be affecting sports and related things — least of all a serene morning in Forsho. Yet, there he was. The palpitation was easily explained by the fact that he had Sylestonean cricket board members waiting in the board room, who come over just after the final test match got over in the East-West. There was supposed to be a meeting about a probable Esportivan regional cricket tournament, which should still go on as planned, but variables contributing to that discussion have now completely changed.

Pollock feared for his job for a second. All the slides, presentations and files that he prepared overnight for the meeting were now for naught. Not to mention, he prepared them foregoing the MagicMobley show which was supposed to have some fun twist. How a twist remains a twist even after getting to know about it beforehand is a debate for some other time.

The most natural question to arise from this situation would be: what is the problem after all? Let us try to explain (for those of us who understood) and understand (for those of us who need explanation): The Esportivan cricket championship is still not an actual entity, and is very dependent upon what the cricket boards of Sylestone, Damukuni, The Licentian Isles and Ethane think about the prospects of such a competition. It is no secret that cricket is driven by economic opportunities these days, and it will be the money that will, in all probability, call the final shots in the making or breaking of a tournament. Till here, Pollock and McComish were very prepared and had presentations and slides to prove their point to Sylestonean stakeholders to eventually get them on their side.

The Anaian split changed that perception.

With three large powerhouses of world cricket now in the new region, there have been threats of a regional cricket competition within their folds. It wouldn't generally matter to us, a proud Esportivan nation, what people in Anaia do — but these are hardly normal circumstances. In the case that Anaia does come up with a regional cricket competition before we Esportivans do it, there is serious fear among the stakeholders of losing very important TV money to the aforementioned competition.

It is up to McComish to address the issue that is raised out of this secession — he could, perhaps, show it as a potential reason to fast-track cricket developments in the region to get more up-and-coming nations into the Esportivan game — but more importantly, to get the big boys of the region the big bucks.

Before Anaian cricket takes it all away, anyway.

by **Kandorith** » Wed May 19, 2021 2:56 pm

Shinonome Kyoai - International

Kandorith shines once again.
The Juniper Union no match for Narehiko.
By Natsumi Miyasaki
Sports

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TENKYO, KANYORI — Mixed feelings is the first thing which comes up when people are asked about Watanabe's national team, yet the match against The Juniper Union was a pleasant surprise. A very dominant Kandorese side kept the control throughout the match and left no place for the opposition to even play football. Attacking prowess was the name of the game and keeping the opponent to their own half seems to be the trademark in the very strange formation which Watanabe believes in.

In brilliant display the Kandorese were able to keep The Juniper Union at bay and make sure that they could not get close to the goal; yet one mistake of the defence costed the team a single goal against them. A brilliant free-kick, which was deserved after a foul from Hakimoto, soared passed the young goalkeeper Michiyo Shimamura. Other than that Kandorith kept their composure and ended the game in a brilliant five to one scoreline and are back on track towards qualification once again, a bounce back might very well happen this time. With the qualification almost halfway, the Kandorese team is looking stronger than ever and is facing two formidable opponents in the last three games of this part of the qualification.

Facing both Tumbra, the current number one of the group, and Drawkland who are ranked twenty-third the Warriors are up for quite the challenge in the upcoming games. One thing is certain; Watanabe knows what the mission objective is.

"The team played brilliantly, there were still some mistakes here-and-there, but in the end the team played like they should. I know that Juniper Union is not the most formidable opponent yet we have shown what we are made of ourselves. The free-kick against us was unlucky, yet a daring challenge which shows the spirit of this young team and I think it is a good learning moment for the young Shimamura. He was excellent throughout the match but still needs more game experience for sure.

"The upcoming match against Tumbra will be an exiting one. They are currently ranked first in the group and have been performing brilliantly throughout the campaign so far. We are not afraid however. I think we should be able to beat them and break the disappointing streak we have been in for the passed I do not know how many years. The players' morale is very high and surely we will be performing like the players expect from us. Two difficult games will be coming up and the team is in tip-top shape and will surely be able to face whatever comes their way."

For the fans the win against Juniper was a much needed relief and puts a bounce back in Kandorith's campaign, the question is if they can keep it up. With the qualifiers almost at the half way point, the battle for the gilded number one and two spot is heating up and there are still quite a few contenders; Kandorith surely is one of them and will be trying to do anything in their power to try and reach the first place in the upcoming games.

Game against Tumbra brings Kandorese in striking distance
Bushi Narehiko press on in the attack on the group table.
By Natsumi Miyasaki
Sports

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TENKYO, KANYORI — Tension was in the air as the Kandorese team readied themselves against the team leading Group 1. The must win mentality of Watanabe and the national squad would be put to the test here. The fans surely would not take another defeat in the likes of Marigred and Tumbra would be the next obstacle in the team's attempt to bounce back in the qualifiers. With thousands of prayers and hopeful fans the team would walk onto the field and steal the show in a tactical display of awe.

The Kandorese players were the stars on the field when it came to the match and pretty much played around the stunned Tumbra, who respectively tried to stop the storm that headed their way. Where Tumbra was valiant and courageous in holding attack after attack; their defence would eventually crumble to the Kandorese midfield playing around the ball mostly on the Tumbra's side of the field. The Kandorese saying goes that 'rocks and mountains are nothing to a flowing river' would become reality as the 4-3-3 system of Watanabe seemed to glide across the field like a surging river during the monsoon.

Where Tumbra would hold one flank, Honda would move to the opposite flank to create space and push the rest of the midfield forwards leading to a fluent and very attacking style of play not unusual to the great teams of the beautiful team. Where their defence has to be applauded for keeping up their heads for most of the game, in the end they were unable to stop the Kandorese attacking play and their quick possession based style of controlling football.

Cole would open the score for Tumbra in the eighth minute, causing mild gasps from the Kandorese crowd as Michinori Tamatsuki completely missed the save and was left in the grass as Cole would claim the goal for himself. Within seven minutes however, Honda would show attacking prowess and cancel out the goal and bring the two teams level. The Honda goal was followed by a clinical goal from Fujiwara; using the confusion of a corner kick to position himself next to the goalkeeper to receive the ball from Matsumoto, just on the edge of the offside. In the second half Hakimoto and Honda sealed the win for the Kandorese and relief was on the faces of the fans, the players and Watanabe himself.

"Absolutely brilliant" Watanabe reacted to the press. "I think in the last couple of games we have truly shown that we can make it work and are back in business for the qualification. Tumbra was a respectable foe and I must compliment the, Black Eagles they are called I think? They play with such fire and passion I think they can still get very far in the upcoming games. They have been at the first place for most of the first round of qualification so far and I think I can see why. They are passionate about their game and are not afraid to take risk to try and take the game back in their own hands.

"Honda was absolutely vital in this match and it is players like these who are the engine of our team. It is not just him however; but his playing style and creativity electrified the entire team and caused them to play better and a more controlling football than we have seen before. I truly think the previous game gave us hope and inspiration to dominate this game too. We are back on track and the players have been brilliant in the last two or three games. I truly think we can keep building on this to face our next two challenges."

For Watanabe the next challenges will be vital, facing Garbelia away and the last match of the first part of qualification: Drawkland at home. Garbelia should be a win for Kandorith on paper: Drawkland is where the challenge is. The number twenty-three in the ranks is one of the most experienced teams around and surely will be looking for a win. Where Kandorith has previously excelled in the underdog status, this is a match-up on a whole new level. For Watanabe; this will be where the team has to shine. The more favourable outcome right now would be losing with minimal margin in goals yet, a draw or win are of course a more unrealistic but preferred outcome.

For the team it is important they once again play at their very best and take on their underdog status for the upcoming match-up, for the Kandorese and Narehiko one of the most important matches of the qualification campaign. The game is on and Kandorith has to show why they belong to compete in the highest level of football once again. For now, the Kandorese remain in reach to top the group and this is exactly what Watanabe will be looking for. The competition is tough however with Kelssek, Saltstead and of course Drawkland looking to take the number one and two spot, all these teams are realistic contenders for these spots next to Kandorith and these teams have proven in the past that they are excellent at doing so. The name of the game right now for Watanabe's squad is survival, survival and trying to keep the larger teams at bay and saving energy in the games against lower ranked teams while not conceding any more defeats.

Group 1                                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Drawkland                                   7    6   0   1    24   17   +7    18
 2 Tumbra                                      7    5   1   1    19   16   +3    16
 3 Kelssek                                     7    5   0   2    15    7   +8    15
 4 Kandorith                                   7    5   0   2    19   10   +9    15
 5 Saltstead                                   7    3   1   3    13    7   +6    10
 6 Marigred                                    7    1   3   3    17   20   −3     6
 7 Gyatso-Kai                                  7    1   3   3    15   20   −5     6
 8 Garbelia                                    7    1   2   4    15   21   −6     5
 9 The Juniper Union                           7    1   1   5     8   18  −10     4
10 Revlona                                     7    1   1   5    18   27   −9     4

by **The Licentian Isles** » Wed May 19, 2021 2:57 pm

The Licentian Isles 1-4 Independent Athletes from Quebec

Licentian Goals – F. Watson (61 mins)
Quebec Goals – E. Hanson-Conavacio (4 mins), K. Huitema-Omeasoo (23 mins), E. Hanson-Conavacio (64 mins), B. Djaozandry (82 mins)

Damukuni 0-1 The Licentian Isles

Damukuni Goals – N/A
Licentian Goals – T. Weiling (26 mins)

When I sent my reply to Professor Jurado, I wasn’t expecting to hear from her particularly soon. I certainly wasn’t expecting a knock on my door at five the next morning.

When I woke from my fairly restless sleep, I rushed to my door in the same way I’d rushed to my laptop at any sound of noise recently. I hadn’t realised that I was still in my pyjamas; even if I had, I’m not sure I would have cared at that point.

There was a woman at the door.

“Hi.” I was nervous, not sure what to say. Was this her?

“Hi, you’re Mhairi right?” Oh gods it was her.

“YES!” I realised immediately that I was shouting. “Sorry, this is just a lot. You must be Professor Jurado?”

“Indeed. May I come in?” She said, as she walked into my flat, still not particularly well lit in the early hours of the morning.

“Yes, of course! Can I get you something?”

“Water please, it’s been a long journey. Then let’s chat…”

“Okay, I’ll get changed and then bring some water through for you.” I quickly ran out of the room to get changed into something more formal than my nightclothes. I had a feeling that things could move quickly here. That seemed to be the Professor’s style.

I spent a decent amount of time explaining everything I knew so far to her. It may not have had some of the detail that she would need, but I hoped it would be sufficient for a start.

“So that’s all I know so far.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know if any of that is particularly helpful, or even if this is something that is in your area of expertise. I guess I just made a jump between all the stories about Wight from when I was younger and what was happening now.”

“I think it makes a lot of sense to me.” The Professor had been taking notes this whole time. “I’ve noticed a lot of strange activity recently in the multiverse. Certainly the way that things are aligning would suggest that it is back.”

I didn’t know quite how to feel about this. Everything was happening so fast, and I felt incredibly, incredibly out of my depth. Here was a woman who had travelled far across the multiverse to talk to me about what was happening. She seemed to think that all my experiences had lined up with those other situations that she was describing. Even if she was right, what could I do about it all?

That’s not the way to think Mhairi. We keep fighting.

“So is there something that we can do then? Something that would give an idea if this is something to do with Wight?” I looked at my own notes, sprawled out on the coffee table in front of us.

“I certainly have a few ideas.” The Professor tapped a pen to her forehead, seemingly considering the best option. After about ten seconds of silence, I wasn’t sure if she was just taking a long time to consider it or if she was expecting me to put the idea forward.

“Would it help to see the Isles?” I said it without even thinking: what an impractical suggestion. But it seemed to be something that the Professor latched onto.

“Oh I think that would help an awful lot. At least then we could see what is there, or what isn’t.” This seemed something very casual to the Professor, but suddenly the thought of seeing the missing space where home used to be hit me. This would be difficult, but I’d have to keep myself together.

“Okay, let’s do that then. I’m not sure how we would get out there though…”

“I’m sure we can figure something out,” the Professor said, in a tone that certainly didn’t make me feel sure. I would just have to trust in this strange woman, I supposed.

Cyan-and-Gold Squad to face Siapa ya at Barton Software Arena, Colesham:
Starting XI: S. Heijnis/M. Reilly, H. Shaw, F. Watson, C. Spijker/S. van Duuren/S. McKenzie, J. Williams A. McGregor, W. Tuininga/A. van Oers
Substitutes: L. Wood, S. Maartens, L. Allen, A. Graham, T. Hughes, C. McMillan, T. Weiling

Cyan-and-Gold Squad to face Treekidistan:
Starting XI: C. Fraser/R. Findlay, L. Allen, F. Watson, C. Spijker/A. Graham/M. Henderson, T. Johnston A. McGregor, L. Hughes/T. Weiling
Substitutes: S. Heijnis, M. Reilly, T. Ferguson, S. van Duuren, T. Hughes, S. McKenzie, R. Grant

by **San Ortelio** » Wed May 19, 2021 3:05 pm

“So yeah, Vesele is an animal so there is no way you can put pressure over there – Gagliano just stayed back for more than usual just to cover for that. But by letting Favaro target the opposite wing together with Moreschini in the first minutes, the Goldhorns had a major problem. Hughes could either drop back one of the central midfielders, but that’s not their style – so Jager had to step in and that opened up the space Garofalo used for…”

The salt shaker still in hand, Dennis looked up.

“I’m boring you, ain’t I.”
“No, no… It’s… I can’t always follow but it is marvelous to see you being passionate.”

Elisa smiled over her slice of pizza. Dennis had eaten his part in a minute or two before using the cutlery and everything else – even grabbing the oil bottle at the adjacent table, much to the astonishment of an elderly couple enjoying their escalope – to explain how on earth San Ortelio could beat a nation like Siovanija and Teusland. It was their third date now already and so far, only one thing was sure, Dennis was nothing like her previous boyfriends, he…

Wait.

Was he her boyfriend now? Elisa watched him whilst he showed why Pepper Ilev couldn’t escape the attention from Salty Moscati. Usually, the guys she dated were artistic, dreamy and wanted to discuss obscure seventies bands and arthouse movies. She loved that – or at least, she thought she loved that. Elisa was one hundred percent sure that Dennis never had seen Notti di Canabria or ever heard about the funky Ferro Centrale Band. And probably never wanted to either. But when he explained her this, this strange middle ground between arithmetic and freestyle dance, there were sparks in his eyes. He stopped taxis by shouting, not by waving. He made small talk to the waiters, usually whilst signing a napkin for an imaginary nephew. And every once and a while, he chewed with his mouth open. When Chiara had cross examined her after the first date, she had almost recommended Dennis to her instead.

In general, Chiara had the boyfriends that picked her up with an overpowered motorbike which shifted in higher gear trice before the end of the street – Elisa’s last guy asked her to meet up at a nearby bus stop. But… Dennis might be loud, but never obnoxious; charming but not in a slimy way. And whilst he showcased how Confalonieri kept the balance even when the Goldhorns put the pressure on, she saw what she liked about him: it was the first one who didn’t find himself that interesting, even if the rest of the world did so.

“… and so, the game was won. Del Prete was pissed of course that he was taken off for Buglia instead of Giacomo. In the dressing room, he kicked over the physio table! But hey, three points in the bag! Against all odds and human logic,” Dennis added with a grin.
“A midnight miracle,” Elisa smiled.
“Yeah, it’s crazy.” Dennis waved for the check – with a wide but natural gesture, “How was your day? Any out-of-the-blue appearances from Eugenio?”

That, actually. The best of her previous ones would ask her about her day, but he was the first to remember the names of her colleagues.

“No, I haven’t seen him all day. I think he actually considers retiring for the first time…”

Once he paid the bill – again – they walked up to the seaside. Dennis bought her an ice cream cone. It was far too cheesy for words but… Then again, also nice? Standing at the edge of the pier, looking at the lights of the passing ships, Elisa ogled him up and down. Dennis looked good with his strong jaw and smiling eyes. He was a gentleman, in his way, and honest. Maybe tonight she should kiss him. A message beep brought her back from her reveries.

“Oh, it’s the SOCCER… It must be Di Tane. That must be the official selection: with Canova injured and Gozzi in a bad place,” he whispered, almost to himself – but when she softly put her hand in his, he gave it a little squeeze, inviting her to his joy.
“Dear mister Spaviero,” he started to read it aloud, “we must inform you that for the upcoming double header against Bluecliff League and Jeruselem you… have…”

Dennis looked left and right, seemingly finding something to smash.

“It’s… No…” Elisa squeezed back in his hand, but no reaction followed.
“… been withheld from the selection of twenty-three,” he completed flatly. He scrolled a little more, biting his lip. “Luca f’ing Cadili instead,” he only mumbled while scrolling through before putting away his phone.
“Hey, once you get some goals for Pesari, they…” Elisa stopped as she realized she was just rubbing salt into the open wound. So far, the only road for Dennis had been up, but with two strong internationals – Tikariotian Haney and Cassadaiguan Murphy – blocking his path for his club, he had discovered the other side of the medal.

“It will get better,” Elisa whispered and for a second she thought of the only way how she could help it, but the mood felt too ruined.

“Palamalotel… Jezus Christ, the names of these folks from Bluecliff are quite ridiculous,” Pasquale snuffed, with his usual disdain for those he considered lower life forms – which usually consisted of everyone but himself.
“First of all, it’s Bluecliff League – they’re quite adamant about that. And secondly, just the shorthand will suffice, I’ve highlighted them.”

Six weeks into her internship, Elisa had discovered that Pasquale’s bark was far worse than his bite. Whilst he flourished over people eating out of his hand and left no opportunity out to humiliate those, she had noted that if and since she replied sternly to his unending list of complaints, he acted quite differently to her. Admittedly, he was enough of a sleazebag to enjoy being talked off by a woman twenty years younger than him a little too much but still, she rather had it this way. Eugenio, whilst often witty about the many flaws of the flamboyant presenter in his absence, had chosen for the other road – duly accepting Pasquale’s endless stream of snides and snarks.

“Why they make me do this,” he sighed, “this is so far below my level it’s just outrageous. I’ll take this up with Salvatore! Why couldn’t Ginevra take this up, this is more of… Her type.”
“Her type?” Elisa remarked, trying to ignore his whining whilst doing some last checks – in three minutes, the previous show from Romeo would wrap up and the preview would commence.
“We are talking about a woman who invites people named Oceania Atlantico and Anaia Ferrera into her show to discuss how being named like a region affects your life and relationship as neighbours. So this… triviality,” he waved in the general direction of the monitor that would show the game soon, “is straight up her alley. I’m complaining to Salvatore!”
“Well, he’s off today anyway, so unless the kind people of Bluecliff League want to wait another day, it will have to do.”

Elisa couldn’t hide a smile. She was quite sure that Salvatore, the studio manager, would let Pasquale rant a bit, pat his shoulder a few times, maybe throw in a “but you’re our best, who else could do it?” and then simply book him again for the next game. Ironically, despite Pasquale’s limitations when it came to empathy, the “you’re our best” was not even that far from the truth. Valerio had been a disaster who just rambled about anything but the game – Bernardo had been worse. Still, the broadcast with Ginevra could be considered as the ultimate low point but it did get a very positive call from someone who was genuinely interested in the knitting tips she had given, based upon the pattern of the logo of I Spada. Let’s not discuss the other 176 calls to the studio, who complained she had not even mentioned the equalizer against Valladares.

With that, almost all broadcasters had tried their hand and failed miserably. Pasquale showed a genuine disinterest in the game and its actors and more often than not, voiced it during the game. Anyone who simulated an injury got a stern talking-to and those with tattoos got a firm lecture after the national anthem. But by now, he did manage to call them by their name, informed the audience and, well… The stream of complaints had died down a little. Whether that was because people had given up on following the national team via the radio or because Pasquale brought it properly enough, remained a mystery.

One had to add – almost all broadcasters. For reasons unclear to Elisa, Romeo had not yet been thrown in the lion’s den. The youngest of the team of presenters, it seemed as if the decisions and changes made had no impact whatsoever on him: he did his evening block with – for the regular playlist of the channel – modern and alternative music, and otherwise couldn’t be bothered. Even Eugenio, who knew the dirt on all those in this building, kept his mouth shut about Romeo.

“Allright, Elisa,” Pasquale sighed once more as he looked to the notes she had prepared, “let’s hope these guide me through – but they look complete.”

Was that… A compliment? From him? Elisa tried to shake it off and remained focused in her seat – the outro of a show, moving into the commercials, was always one to keep your undivided attention to. As such, it came very sudden that Pasquale stood stooped over her.

“How long you’ve been her now? Five weeks? Six? I think we should discuss the next changes over dinner… I have some very creative ideas and could use some young inspiration for them. For the good of the shows, of course.”

She was a little stunned, only noticing the disturbing combination between his overpriced eau de cologne and his garlic breath.

“Hey old stallion, you’re up,” Romeo said a tad louder than usual, whilst slapping Pasquale on his behind. The sheer comedic value of made even Pasquale lose his words and almost docile, he took his spot behind the microphone.

“Don’t worry about him,” Romeo flashed his toothpaste commercial assets, “he sometimes thinks he’s thirty and talented.”
“I…” I can handle him alone, Elisa meant to say, but now it was just a hackled vowel.

Romeo threw back his blonde hair and grinned over a visibly disgruntled Pasquale doing the last checks on the equipment.

“I’ve thrown the headphones a little off, just to mess him,” Romeo chortled.

Elisa looked up and smiled. How many women had drowned already in those blue eyes, she wondered, whilst hanging on to a bit of driftwood.

“You’re doing well, Elisa,” Romeo said, “We should make you stay. If you want to?”

It was hard saying no to him, so she just nodded – did she just got offered a job.

“Good… Good,” Romeo continued his monologue, “but you better give Pasquale your notes – he forgot them in his inglorious retreat.”

Another nod and Elisa quickly walked over with the bundle of paper.

“Thanks,” Pasquale muttered, still a bit disgruntled, whilst waving at the screen, “Favaro and Del Prete, Del Prete and Favaro, what is it with those two?”
“Not the best of friends,” Elisa remarked and because she felt a little sorry for Pasquale who looked ten years older after the taunting of Romeo, “allegedly, Del Prete knocked over a physio table after being subbed instead of Favaro, last time.”

It was out before she knew it but as Pasquale nodded absently, she didn’t make much of it.

by **Banija** » Wed May 19, 2021 3:16 pm

OOC: The below post does not reflect my OOC views about the establishment of the Anaia Region, and only reflects Banija's IC views regarding these developments.

Kabaka Mwanga at Mujaguzo Palace, preparing to leave Busukuma the Stelburg Conference

"One hour!" The schedule yelled into the room. The extraordinary cabinet meeting had just ended. It had been about a week since the Declaration of Foxchester sucked all the energy out of the room and the air, and had dominated both schedules and headlines. It meant a potential sea change of legislation, as sectors from all over the country, from non-profits to importers to immigrants advocates, demanded to know what Anaian secession would mean under Banijan law. And then, of course, from a diplomatic standpoint- what could Banija say to provide clarity and certainty to the situation?

And to be fair, there was not much Kabaka Mwanga could say. Banija's opening statement had been issued. Anaia nations were not expected to be given regional partner status, which meant something in Banijan law in terms of ease of imports, and ease of immigration. Banijan politicians were working on legislation to ensure that foreign Anaia citizens inside the country would not be deported, while at the same time ensuring that priority immigration status given to AO residents would extend to Anaia residents.

But there were not many answers the Kabaka could give until he got to Stelburg and hammered out a solution with AO's leaders. This was probably the most important AO summit that a Banijan Monarch had ever been invited to. Mwanga has been the Kabaka for a while now, but there will still plenty of leaders he'd never met. The Empress of Valanora. The leader of Vilita. Just to name a few. They'd be at this conference, a bunch of heavy hitters and names.

For two days, the Banijans had been in overdrive focusing on one question- how in the world did they get blindsided by such a move? The Kabaka had fired the High Commissioner to Quebec almost immediately. Mwanga obviously prioritized Banija's relationship with Quebec. He expected to be reasonably informed. And so, in that aftermath, he knew that he needed a heavy hitter in that role at Quebec City. Somebody who was good at getting their ear to the ground, somebody who could be trusted, somebody who'd have heft there to make sure Banija's voice was heard as these long-term decisions got made.

Mwanga met with his younger brother, Basamula, who was 70 years young. And they had come up with an easy solution- and the man walked through the door. "Kizza!" Mwanga said. "Great to see you."

"And you as well, your Majesty." Kizza Makoni said while bowing. The most recent Katikkiro. Mwanga had run the decision by the present Katikkiro, of course- the two were political opponents. But with Makoni retired from politics, Azizi had given his blessing. Mwanga had to avoid any pretense of favoring one political party or another, of course.

"I'm about to leave for Stelburg." Mwanga said. "I'm scrambling. But here are your diplomatic credentials." And Mwanga found them on the big desk in the room, and handed them to Kizza Makoni. "You're not going to be there long- that role will go to a career diplomat. But I need a smooth operator. I've seen you on the political scene here- there was never anything you didn't know about first. You got along with everybody. We're going to need those skills in Quebec City. You won't be there long- 180 days should be enough time. By that time, we'll either have everything sorted out with Anaia, or we will be set up for long-term negotiations. Which, in that case, you can return home and we'll send out a lifer."

"I understand, your Majesty." Kizza Makoni said. The instructions were essentially simple- make sure Banija's concerns were voiced. Ensure regular contact with the Quebecois over these happenings. And, most importantly, no more surprises.

There wasn't a politician in the world who liked a surprise, and even though Mwanga was a hereditary monarch via divine right, rather than elected, this was true about him as well. After his team had poured through for multiple, they had reached a conclusion that there was no way they could have known about it. Anaia nations had simply done too good a job at keeping the venture secret. Political secret-keeping was a dying art in the age of social media and the 24/7 news cycle, but not in this.

And then, for a day, the old Kabaka had felt it- betrayal. Old in age and old fashioned, he valued hearing from people about things like this directly. Of course, it was probably an impossible ask. But for one day, for probably 24 hours, internally, he had taken it as a gut punch. That neither Quebec or Chromatika had told them about it, even as a courtesy- that he had to find out via the news. He had told his sons exactly how he felt- "betrayal of the highest order."

It had taken his sons essentially a full day to talk him down from that position. They reasoned with him that something like that simply could not be told beforehand. These nations had their own interests. And the risk of leaks were too high. And while the secrecy aspect was a key cause at why this split had turned into a fast motion crisis, his sons reasoned with him that once Quebec had agreed on secrecy, even if the secrecy was serious mistake, they were honor bound to keeping that secret. And that extended to Chromatika as well. And that, ultimately, was what brought Mwanga's anger levels down. You could never hold grudges as a head of state, and he determined there would be no need to hold any grudges against Christine II and her government in Quebec City, or Premier Aart in Chromia.

This didn't mean that nothing could happen- things were not the same as they were before. But Banija's relationships with her strong allies in Quebec City and Chromia would be maintained. And Banija still had to look after her own interests, and the interests of AO. So as Mwanga prepared to go to the meeting in Stelburg, he needed to figure out exactly what he'd say. Tighten the bonds and focus on the rest of AO? Close the ranks? And ultimately, was Anaia as a whole a friend or a foe? While Banija had long-term friends and allies there, the formation of NEATO was still something that had to be addressed.

It had left Mwanga's mind churning. But as he left the Palace to get onto the airliner that would jet him down to Stelburg, he knew that these were the sort of conferences that could decide the fates of nations. Mwanga said a prayer to his God, and lifted himself up to his God. He intended on leaving this Conference with tangible results, and enough of a framework to chart the way forward in these crazy times.

by **North Japan** » Wed May 19, 2021 3:25 pm

HOKUTOU-KO DAILY
The Voice of The People

Statement on Bollonich

HOKUTOU-KO (JCNA) — With the Democratic Republic hosting the game against Bollonich a political statement was expected but not a web of deceit and lies. The Bollonich government has accused the divine government of the People's Republic of heinous crimes and are framing the entire nation for political gains. The Department of Justice and internal affairs have convened together and decided to release a joint statement addressing the Bollonich government.

"It is unthinkable how we have hosted the sports game between our nation in good faith and in complete accordance to international laws to get accused of such heinous crimes. We deny to have any involvement in the disappearance and apparent murder of three nationals from Bollonich who happen to be part of the delegation which visited our glorious nation. To even consider that the fair and democratic government was behind this is beyond outrageous and we, therefore, condemn these statements in any possible way.

Even insisting that our government had any involvement in this event shows how deluded by your own believes you are as there is no way there is any benefits to this. The Democratic People's Republic believes in fair play and considers international sports to be one of the greatest feats of man. We want to address our disappointment and outright anger towards the statements made by the Bollonich media. Furthermore we are appalled that such a statement would even be made, to accuse our fairly elected government of murder and corruption.

The State Department of Foreign Affairs would like to issue the following statement to the nation of Bollonich; We warn you about a crisis beyond control if they keep insinuating such foul lies unto other nations to attempt and strengthen their position in the views of their nationals. This political chicanery will not stand and the people of Bollonich will look through it eventually. We will consider these accusations from the human wastes of imperialistic forces as a high and serious provocation to our state and surely we will retaliate with a corresponding action.

In no way can we hide our displeasure over these sordid acts and deceptions by the dirty human scum who spread these rumours. This blunder will go down in history as one of the largest mistakes in modern times and harks back to times when Communism was shunned in the name of greed and corporatism. Our nation stands undivided behind the Great Chairwoman and we shall not bow to this blatant deception and attempts to falsely inform the rest of the world, especially the World Assembly, in such a way.

Whatever decision we make and actions we take in the future, the responsibility for the consequences of these will entirely rest on the Bollonich authorities who stopped short of holding proper control and discipline over their scum who are deluded by false ideologies and perverted ideas. Do note; these lies and accusations will not divide our nation in any way, nor make the Japanese people waiver towards your corrupted evil which you call a governmental system.

In light of these recent accusations we inform you that we will take this to the World Assembly and protest this behaviour in the most of firm ways. This endless bullying and lying to try and put the Democratic People's Republic in a bad daylight has to stop and has to be accounted for. Therefore we would kindly request for the Bollonich authorities to cease all activities within our borders or indeed face the consequences. We shall give all your remaining nationals two days to leave the country or be apprehended in the name of crimes against humanity and the glorious state of Japan. Failing to comply with our requests and failing to consider a formal apology to repair relations will lead to further actions towards the Bollonich authorities and it's nationals.

We hereby denounce the Bollonich state as legitimate authority and will consider them to be an enemy of the state, an enemy to human rights and certainly an enemy to fair and free press. We are highly disappointed in the fact that a nation which has visited our glorious nation for a sports event had the arrogance to try and spread such blatant lies about our nation, the state and our people. Furthermore we hereby speak out our utter condemnation for these corrupted and perverted ideas to try and hide corruption and criminal activities in such a way.

by **Mytanija** » Wed May 19, 2021 3:31 pm

Jasno Odonelec almost had to laugh. The opposition goalkeeper scoring an injury time header to take a crucial three points. It was made a little bit worse by the fact that Adab were unranked, but he had to remind himself that Mytanija had been prior to World Cup 87 qualifying and they had caused similar grief for teams ranked around where Mytanija were seeded in Group 4 then too. He had been elevated to national team captain due to his performances during the World Cup 87 qualifying campaign, but his tenure was currently at risk of sliding towards dismal mediocrity. Group 4 was always going to be tough to progress from and most Mytanars knew it was an unlikely prospect. Very few would have believed that such a poor start to the campaign would have been what actually happened though.

It all started with the two dropped points at home to Deniria on the opening match day. That was as poor a start to the campaign as they could have hoped for, with the second worst – if you went off the NSWC rankings – team in the group getting a famous point on Mytanar soil. The next international break came along and things began to look a little brighter. A brilliant 2-2 draw in Valanora got Mytanija off to a good start with an unlikely point, Jasno had actually scored the equaliser in the 87th minute. They had then beaten Atheara quite comfortably at home and most in the team thought that that was the real start of the campaign. They had taken a while to get going but those two games had given many players a lot of confidence and they felt they could put a good run of results together from there on.

It didn’t exactly happen like that. The next international break was atrocious. A 2-1 defeat at home to Geektopia wouldn’t usually have been too bad, particularly given their recent rise towards the top of the rankings. It had felt like a potential scalp for Mytanija though and both Jasno and the gaffer, Lev Repin, had alluded to that prior to the game when trying to motivate the team. Jasno half believed that if it had been the team from the previous qualifying campaign that they would have taken all three points from that particular game. The loss against Electrum which came afterwards was similar, although Mytanija’s fellow Rushmoris had started the group off unbeaten as they won one of their first four and tied the other three. A narrow 1-0 defeat wasn’t horrendous, it was a game Mytanija had been well and truly in throughout, but once again the points escaped them.

Jasno had to take a look at himself after that particular game. He was a proud individual and he had captained teams with passionate supporters in the past. He didn’t like feeling like he was letting people down and he wasn’t 100% certain that his leadership was helping the team. They hadn’t been quite so ineffective under Mojmir Anac’s captaincy last time out. When Jasno had captained Atletik Thessia and Clichy-sous-Bois in the past he had dragged those teams with him onto success and now he was facing a slightly different challenge, with a group of players who seemed out of form. Only meeting up and playing together once every couple of months hadn’t been a problem when Mytanija was riding the wave of a first World Cup qualifying cycle in a long time, perhaps that had been why they had done so well. Now the team looked like a team which didn’t quite have the same fluidity in attacking areas, possibly because they were less familiar with one another.

He wondered whether to speak to Lev Repin about it, perhaps even volunteer to give up the captain’s armband and offer to just focus on his own performances rather than all the responsibilities which came with captaining Mytanija’s national football team. Jasno decided he would come back to it after the next international break, following the games against Eastfield Lodge and Adab. It seemed an eminently winnable pair of games with Eastfield Lodge presenting an always spiky Rushmori derby but also being consistently inconsistent during World Cup qualification. Adab were unranked but had achieved some promising results, they had reminded Jasno of Mytanija, he wasn’t to know just how real the analogy between the two nations would be.

Things got off to a good start with a 1-0 victory over Eastfield Lodge at a bouncing Olujastadion, Jasno wondered if their support pushed the team onto the win as much as his first-half penalty did. It probably influenced the referee to give the penalty in the first place. They had been quite lucky really, with Dejan Zgela deputising for Jezdimir Ocokoljic who was out with a minor knock. Ocokoljic was expected to be back for the Adab game, but their effectiveness in attacking areas suffered without his presence. The three points were the key thing, though, they just now had to replicate the feat against Adab. Mytanija sat 6th in the group and with a win they would move up to 5th, if other results went their way they could be right back in the fight for a top four position within the group. That would represent a good cycle and Jasno felt it would be a good reflection on his captaincy too.

It wasn’t exactly how things panned out though. A fantastic game between two teams who didn’t give each other an inch. Jasno’s reflection about Adab was correct too, they were very much a team who were in the Mytanija mould. It was just a shame for the Hoops that it was in the Mytanija mould from World Cup 87 qualifying when the Mytanija team that was out on the pitch was one which was much more ponderous and lethargic. The Mytanija team of that vintage probably would have made light work of this sort of fixture, but as it was they let Adab dictate the terms of the game and despite Ocokoljic, Fejzuli and Smajic getting on the scoresheet Mytanija got punished for that. Jasno smiled wryly, he never would have expected it to be the bloody goalkeeper who punished them for it.

Mytanija sat 6th in the group, largely chastened and red-faced. Adab were four points clear of them in the top-half of the group and that really would have been the minimum goal for the team prior to the tournament. Jasno didn’t want to be accused of the national team’s captain’s armband being too big for him, for being the player who gave it up because the going got tough. He also didn’t want to be the man who held onto it when it was hindering his team. It was a quandary.

Maybe he’d wait until the halfway point of the campaign. At least that way he could take stock and discuss things with the gaffer properly. Jasno got on well with Lev Repin, he liked the depth of the manager’s tactical analysis and it was reciprocated. Repin liked Jasno Odonelec, his tactical flexibility and leadership skills made his job a lot easier. Jasno didn’t quite feel like his leadership skills were paying off at present though. Last time around the next two games wouldn’t provide him with much fear, but the thought of Abanhfleft travelling to Mytanija before a trip to the Grearish Union didn’t sound like much fun given the current form of the Mytanar national team. Jasno hoped he could prove to himself that he was capable of captaining the team to vital wins. They absolutely needed them at this point.

MYTANIJA NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION FOR GAMES AGAINST ABANHFLEFT (H) & THE GREARISH UNION (A)
Goalkeepers: 1. Pedja Kasun (Ararat Severyan), 12. Semir Besak (Olympic Thessia), 24. Zafer Muminovic (Tekstil Ibon)
Defenders: 2. Srdan Vukovic (1896 Ebor), 3. Grigorij Savicevic (AC Izotz Zubia [AUD]), 4. Mojmir Anac (Olympic Thessia), 5. Patrik Odonelec (Atletik Thessia); 13. Damir Milcic (Tekstil Ibon), 14. Dino Racic (1923 Esca), 15. Kamil Jernejec (Chromatik [CMT]), 16. Petr Isaev (Crvena Zvezda)
Midfielders: 6. Alen Hrdaljko (CDSA), 7. Tahir Fejzuli (Mâ Âlâmëómë [FFD]), 8. Brajko Gavrilovic (1896 Ebor), 10. Jasno Odonelec (Atletik Thessia), 11. Kemal Gajic (FK Arsika); 37. Zijad Kurtcehajic (Litala ’93), 30. Mersudin Smajic (Liria Prizren), 32. Itzhar Yvjoev (Olympic Thessia), 20. Maks Shishkin (Maethoru SC [KOR]), 21. Boris Kalinic (Workers Union [EUR])
Forwards: 9. Jezdimir Ocokoljic (Energija Chernovets [STL]), 33. Anton Derajevic (Nyva Zvornik), 38. Damien Gannot (Atletik Thessia)

by **Krytenia** » Wed May 19, 2021 4:30 pm

Anaia? I Hardly KnAO Her!
By Rami Niblick in Bromham

SO, let's get this straight. The political situation between Atlantian Oceania is...I feel "complicated" is oversimplifying. The Government is a complete dumpster fire, the Vanors have basically noped us out of their purview of existence, half of Atlantian Oceania is on alert to shoot down anything coloured purple...yup, seems like the perfect time to play the group's top seeds. Especially as said top seeds are a) AO old blood and b) our oldest rivals. Turori are on their way to the Cygnus - and to hell with the politics, they're here for the points. Of course, humiliating an Anaian powerhouse along the way would be the icing on the cake, but there you go.

Glib generalisations of geopolitics aside, this truly is a tie with history - and that history is decidedly not on the side of Krytenia. It seems apt that these two sides would be drawn in Group 15, considering where this all started. Krytenia and Turori met not once, not twice, but thrice during the World Cup 15 cycle; a draw in the Baptism of Fire helped the Eels advance from the group stage in a tournament they would go on to win, whilst our own side would end up leaving early, eliminated in third place in the group after three draws. That was, for both teams, their second-ever match. The two would meet again on the other side of qualifying; a Cup of Harmony on home soil, though, would not help the Krytenians as they could only draw in the group stage. Turori would take victory over the Dragons later in the tournament, as Krytenia stumbled to finish fifteenth of sixteen.

By the time the teams next met, in qualifying for World Cup 28, Krytenia were approaching their first imperial phase. Tell that, though, to the team in brown. The Dragons may have qualified for the finals, but they did so despite losing both matches to the Eels. Revenge would be earned - with change - four cycles later when Krytenia recorded what is, to date, their only two wins over the side from the Vilitan Cove, doing so in style with 4-1 and 5-0 victories. Just three meetings have occurred since then, with two Turori victories against a fading Krytenian team in qualifying for World Cup 66 followed much, much later by the Eels winning 2-0 in the recent Eagles' Cup.

History suggests, then, that the Dragons are in for a tough time. That said, we seem to play better when our backs are against the wall - and that's certainly the case at the moment. Qualification hangs very much in the balance, and we don't even have the luxury of being seen as the lovable underdog. Anaia is the wrestling heel stable in international terms, so there's nothing else for it but to use the ropes for leverage, grab the tights, steal the win, and leg it to the back before anyone realises what happened. Onward!

by **Squornshelan Remnant States** » Wed May 19, 2021 5:00 pm

Lifted Lamp, Chapter 5
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

Ailen Koirala was trying to keep her exasperation from showing in her facial expression and posture. She was pretty sure she was failing miserably. She could no longer remember why she'd thought Anoop's suggestion of a meeting with Lyyti Vang had been a good idea, nor why she'd decided to invite Tyra Volam along as well.

It had started well enough. Empty pleasantries to begin, and some speculation about whether Vang, who would soon complete her fifth year of residence in the Confedercy, intended to seek citizenship and national team eligibility.

Vang had pushed the conversation past that before long though, and was as tenacious in that arena as she was on the field. Operating under the, admittedly reasonable assumption that Koirala wouldn't have invited them for a meeting unless she was prepared to do something, Vang was becoming visibly frustrated. Ailen could feel herself slipping into what she thought of as "problem handling" mode. She wanted nothing more now than to smooth things over and get these two out of her office with a minimum of negative consequences, but also to avoid doing anything to endanger her already precarious position.

She couldn't disagree with any of the main points that Vang was making. Yes, the Imperium was a hideous, oppressive state, and in a just world it would not be permitted to exist. But this wasn't a just world. If something could have been done about the Imperium, it would have been. It had been nearly a century since the war after all, did Vang really think in all that time that no one had thought the same way she was now?

"It's not good enough for you to agree with us here over a desk and then deny it later in the press. To do nothing. Do you know what the problem with you Confederates is? You've gotten too comfortable. Sure, the Imperium's terrible and all, but it's not your problem is it? You're living over here in paradise, and fixing the other half of the country your government claims just seems so hard."

"I think you're seriously overestimating the capability of a football association president to influence the policies of the WCC, let along to effect political change. With respect to you and Ms. Volam, and not to minimize your experiences at all, the Imperium isn't any less terrible now than they were ten years ago. The WCC permitted them to participate then, and there's no reason they won't do so again now. Banning a nation from competition over domestic policies, however reprehensible, is simply unprecedented."

Vang rose abruptly from her chair, "If that's your attitude I don't know why you even invited us to this meeting. I don't expect you to fix everything on your own, but I do expect you to do something more than wring your hands and think of reasons to do nothing. I don't see any point in continuing this conversation, but I'm sure there are some journalists who'd be eager to talk with me about it."

"Lyyti," Volam had hardly spoken until now. Obviously, she was used to deferring to her older, more outspoken teammate. "Let me try to help her understand."

"Vang thinks I'm a coward, and now apparently you think I'm stupid? What is it I don't understand."

"I'm not here to attack or insult you Ms. Koirala, and I'm not your enemy."

Ailen rubbed a hand against her foreheard, "No, you're right. Sorry, please continue."

"You know what I went through because it made the news as it was happening, but have you really stopped to think about what it meant? For me to be imprisoned for voicing dissent? Not many people know what Lyyti went through when she left, but it was every bit as terrible. The Imperium is systemic oppression and exploitation, and its football team is the main way it legitimizes itself to the world. I thought here in the Confederacy, of all places, people might understand that. We didn't come here to fight you, we came to ask for your help."

"I sympathize with you both, I really do, and with all those still under the Imperium. But I don't know what it is you think I can do."

Vang spoke up again, somewhat more composed, "Look, we realize you have a lot to lose, but if those in positions of power and influence don't speak up against oppression, nothing will ever change. I thought I had done something courageous when I left, but after watching Tyra's story, I realized that all I did was run away. This woman is so much braver than me, braver than you can imagine, and after I talked to her for the first time, I realized that I couldn't be content with just getting myself and my family out. I know it isn't easy, but someone has to be the first to say enough. I know nothing will change, not right away, but someone like you, with power and influence. I know you can't move the WCC or topple the Imperium by yourself, but people will listen to you, they'll start thinking."

Volam leaned forward, "The SCFA has been so ready to support the movement for a Free Qusmo, and I admire you for that. All we're asking is that you do the same for your own people who are still trapped under the Imperium."

"You're right." Ailen felt, more than heard the words leave her mouth.

"What?"

For one terrible moment she thought Vang was mocking her, and prepared to dig her heels in anew, but the two footballers looked genuinely confused. They simply hadn't heard her. She cleared her throat, "I said you're right. I don't know why I wanted to argue the point so badly."

"Thank you, that's not an easy thing to admit."

"I'll need a little time to prepare something, I do have to consider the fallout you understand, but I think we can arrange a joint press conference. I'd like the two of you with me when we do eventually make our statement."

The two exchanged a quick look, and Vang spoke for both of them, "We'd like that."

Qualifying Schedule and Results:

MD1:  SRS 2-2 VIL @ Radlov Arena (cap. 76,800), Brantisvogan, Megabrantis, SRS
MD2:  USD 4-6 SRS @ TBA
MD3:  SRS 1-1 SDG @ Killough Grove (cap. 31,400), Han Wavel, Han Dold, SRS
MD4:  PSI 0-3 SRS @ TBA
MD5:  SRS 3-3 SVJ @ Overburg Arena (cap. 46,222), Damogran, Algolia, SRS
MD6:  HTK 0-1 SRS @ TBA
MD7:  SRS 2-0 LIS @ Flanoil Arena (cap. 50,350), Traal, East Flania, SRS
MD8:  SRS  v  TFS @ Smolak Systemy Stadion (cap. 31,200), Sjerezo, Molvania, SRS
MD9:  ESH  v  SRS @ The Eshialand City SuperDome (cap. 75,000), Eshialand City, ESH
MD10: VIL  v  SRS @ Tivali-Ring Stadium (cap. 87,000 ), Alikki-Cora, VIL
MD11: SRS  v  USD @ Sunergy Field (cap. 37,550), Hunian, Algolia, SRS
MD12: SDG  v  SRS @ Stadium Persekutuan (cap. 40,000), Kambang, SDG
MD13: SRS  v  PSI @ Old Flamarion Stadium (cap. 26,405), Flamarion, Megabrantis, SRS
MD14: SVJ  v  SRS @ TBA
MD15: SRS  v  HTK @ Pheldagriff Stadium (cap. 45,620), Yassaca, Sivolvia, SRS
MD16: LIS  v  SRS @ TBA
MD17: TFS  v  SRS @ TBA
MD18: SRS  v  ESH @ Chernov Stadium (cap. 57,600), Viltvodle, Megabrantis, SRS

Team Selection against The 14 Stars:

Starting 11: Drenel; Kazarov, Buczvarov, Ciernik, Storsjo; Marrish, Hashemi; Feidhlim, Damnagoras, Storrev; Stienno
Subs: Shimski; Savo, Galdra, Szimon, Malgos; Sonari, Tabur; Dast, Takala, Starosta; Verhulst

Team Selection against Eshialand:

Starting 11: Krieven; V. Harkhan, W. Harkhan, Buczvarov, Achthoven; Marrish, Hashemi; Naqvi, Takala, Yonte, Petrov
Subs: Drenel; Kazarov, Dalso, Ciernik, Storsjo; Lomidan, Arslan, Vladcik, Damnagoras, Storrev, Gerstlauer

by **South Newlandia** » Wed May 19, 2021 5:01 pm

Morale wasn’t great in the South Newlandian camp. After the Trischuk injury, things had gotten badly for the Elephants, and Rigby, attempting to replace Trischuk as best he could; Trischuk, a man that, honestly, no one could possibly replace. Rigby surely couldn’t. The campaign was derailing. After getting crushed by Muralos, a game where Rigby conceded five, he conceded four more in a draw against Sahuarita that was simply not enough, not on home field. After getting back on track with narrow wins over the Natanians and Nosts and the Bigtopian Isles, the team followed that up with a loss in Ranoria where they were simply the weaker team, only to narrowly escape with a 5-4 win at home against Xanneria. Rigby had conceded 16 goals in six games. At this rate, there was no way the Elephants would return to the World Cup.

It wasn’t all over yet. The Elephants sat only three points behind the Krauts, who were in second place. However, with tough matches against Eura and Qasden coming up, it would be difficult to stay within reach of the qualifying spots.

The match in the Dome against Eura would be the biggest match of the year for South Newlandia, at least in games with this kind of ball. Olly Evans was sitting in his hotel room in Elephant Valley. Evans, the same age as Rigby (24), was on the national team for the first time. Following the Trischuk injury, he laddered up into the 2nd spot, but with Braveheart called up from the reserves, playing time seemed unlikely to him. He’d never played for the national team before, and he earned his money in Graintfjall with Korsbach. A respectable team, sure, but compared to Barnley or Libertas Bergheim?

Evans heard a knock on his door. Evans wasn’t really in the mood to talk to his teammates, so he remained silent. “Hey, Olly. I know you’re in there”, he heard the familiar voice that belonged to his coach, Robert Wolverine. “Oh, sorry, coach, come in”, he answered. What would this be about? Evans had no idea. “I’m going to make this short – you’re starting against Eura.”
After Evans had collected his jaw from the floor, he still couldn’t believe it. “Are you serious, coach? You’ve got to be screwing with me?” “I assure you, I am not. You’re playing. You got this.” “But – It’s Eura! This would be my debut! Woakes, Tomlinson, Walker, they’ll break me in half like; I don’t know.” Evans was sure there was something going on in current affairs with something breaking in half, but it didn’t really matter. “You’re a good player. That’s why you’re here. And, you see; most of this team has made the World Cup. They’ve beaten Brenecia there, they came home as heroes. Their hearts aren’t in it anymore. They’ve already done it once, why spend energy on a second time? But I need players out there who fight with all they have. And I know you will do that.” “Wow, coach. That’s a big responsibility. A great honour. Thank you. You really believe I can do it?” “Sure.”

NEWS
**Doric claims to have big plans, won’t actually say what they are**
**Guerra hopes everything will remain civil, sees strongly worded letter as last resort**
**Owlephant numbers up by 14% from last year, environmentalists happy**
**SNL to start Evans – Nguyen, Wu, Gurero, Barker – Lowe, Lancaster, McMora, Wallis – Irving, Cohen**
**Poll: 72% in favour of more Esportivan collaboration, highest number of people in half a decade**

by **Muralos** » Wed May 19, 2021 5:03 pm

From another page in Georgo Zhong's diary
Translated from the Esperanto. Georgo Zhong is also a student at the Havenurbo Institute of Technology, where he takes a variety of science courses.

May 17, 2021
I skipped a day yesterday, which was a bit unfortunate as it means I'm going to "have to" cover two matches in one diary entry. The first was against Xanneria and the second against Sahuarita.

Xanneria 0 - 1 Muralos
no scorers | Abramovich 25'

It is definitely a shame that I didn't write about the match against Xanneria right after we played it, because emotions were running so high. I was feeling so much excitement at the thought that we beat yet another team ranked so far above us. It didn't come easily, though. I do like to say that we have more fun playing against attack-minded teams, but Xanneria's team is so attack-minded that it scares me. Imagine a team that is always ready to launch a counterattack. You're advancing the ball forward and voilà – a Xannerian midfielder has kicked the ball far, far, away from you. Such is my life right now during World Cup qualifying, but oh well.

Carlton Brower is ridiculously fast, too. I counted three shots on goal from him that he fielded after out-maneuvering Koralo and Aleksandro both. It's truly a wonder that Rodion and Tanya didn't let those shots through.

Xanneria's offense really is its best defense. The defense is so good that it not only keeps the ball from getting near your goal, but it also propels the ball toward the opponent's goal. So, Johano was right to take a shot from range early in the game, because we really had no chance at getting closer to goal – also, he pulls those shots off amazingly!

Muralos 3 - 2 Sahuarita
Brava 3', Lumin '21, Lin 88' (assist Zhong!!!) | Sáez 44', Covarrubias 81'

Today, back in Havenurbo, we played Sahuarita – this edition's Baptism of Fire semifinalists. (I also used this opportunity to stop by Havenurbo Tech to ask Prof. Arutyunov a last-minute question about my final CS project... which I will finish up after writing this.)

BoF semifinalists. Scary, right? I watched the Baptism of Fire quarterfinal match a while back where Sahaurita's team scored two goals in extra time to beat Qzvarkian Qaz (spelling?) 3-1. That squad has a ton of grit. Unlike us in the last World Cup qualifiers, they seem to be well aware of how difficult every qualifying match is, and they don't hold back in any way, shape, or form. I swear there was a lot of intensity to every Sahuaritan player's expression during our game today.

So, they really gave us a run for their money. I played the entire second half, and the entire time, I couldn't shake off the... fear of sorts that the scoreline could change in Sahuarita's favor at any time. But this wasn't the sort of fear or nervousness that makes you play worse; I think I managed to transform most of the nerves into excitement, as I have learned to do. Still, there was that feeling of "yo, if you want to win today, you'll have to put in a lot."

I'm also pretty proud of myself for not losing all morale when Sahuarita's Covarrubias scored so late in the game. Part of me was like "that's it, we're not getting 3 points today," but another part of me was like "nope." I am so glad that the latter part won over.

Tomorrow we travel to Natanians and Nosts. While they might not be doing as well as us, they have worked their way to a high rank, and they opened brilliantly against Xanneria, drawing 4-4 (I swear I haven't seen that scoreline before in my life; it's really impressive that both Xanneria and N/N pulled that off). The name of the game is to expect absolutely nothing but still be in the zone.

Update: I just remembered seeing that Sahuarita had drawn 4-4 as well with South Newlandia. What are they feeding these players?!

by **Sylestone** » Wed May 19, 2021 5:06 pm

Al Qurija - Sylestone

Al Qurija (4-3-3): Maksimovic; Al-Ghazzawi - Mufti - Popovski (Najm 45’) - Abdulrashid; Krstevski - Mohammed - Gim; Gonzalez (Dimitrov 28’) - Carpi (Nikolovski 60’) - Kang (▮ 87’)
Sylestone (5-3-2): Brick Wall; Ironing Board - Toilet - Washing Machine (Drawer 82’) - Sofa - Dishwasher; Stove - Bar Stool - Fridge; AC Vent - Mixer

Coming off a loss against Rangers FC, the Sentients were up against Al Qurija, a side stung by a series of losses at their home ground, the Petro Mohammed Stadium in the capital, Al Qurija. It was a game the Sylestoneans were looking forward to, as they had not dropped a point in the two games away from home thus far in the tournament and weren’t going to want to start now.

At this point in time, the Sentients were in fifth place in group six, forfeiting what should have been a victory over Rangers FC when the ball popped in the 50th minute. Yeah, don’t ask. But after a rigorous training regime in between matches from the Sentients, they were up to the task of facing the last-placed team in the group in front of a packed home crowd.

They started off strong, however. It was only the sixth minute of the match when the Mixer opened the scoring, setting the game off with a bang. A pass from the Stove was intercepted by right-back Jun Abdulrashid, but he performed a bad touch as the ball went to the Bar Stool, anyway. The Sentient then made a lovely long pass into the box, straight to the Mixer. Al Qurijan goalkeeper Mahmud Maksimovic had no chance as the star forward used its blades to successfully deflect the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal, putting Sylestone 1-0 up.

Al Qurija had their chance to equalise in the 10th minute of the match when a brilliant pass from right-midfielder Abbas Gim up the line to Seokjin Kang in the right-forward role. However, with the Ironing Board and Toilet hot on his heels, Kang had no choice but to take the ball right up to the goalline before having to attempt to cross it past two determined Sylestonean defenders. However, it wasn’t impossible. Threading the ball through the Ironing Board to centre-forward Modevideo Carpi, Kang ran around to take the resulting pass. With a singular touch, the forward shot for goal. It was a wonderful curling effort, but the Brick Wall was prepared. A superb last-second deflection ensured the ball was handed back to the Sentients.

However, Al Qurija made sure to put away their second chance, this one in the 21st minute. Noticing a gap left in the centre-midfield, Stojko Popovski made a good run up from the halfway line into the Sentients’ goalmouth before passing to Gonzalez. With the Sentients’ defences in shambles, all the forward needed to do was make his way around the ever-reliable Toilet before being in a one-on-one with the Brick Wall. It wasn’t hard to do, with Gonzalez passed back to Popovski, who controlled the ball and expertly netted it, hitting it to the right of the ominous Sylestonean goalkeeper. Al Qurija had equalised and the game was back in the balance.

In the 33rd minute, a pass from from goalkeeper Matsomovic was threaded up the line to Ayoub Najm and realising that Nursultan Dimitrov was in space up the front, made a long pass over the Fridge and Bar Stool and effectively straight to the feet of the forward. Once again, the Sentients’ defence line was in shambles after this wonderful pass and all Dimitrov needed to do was slot it past the Brick Wall. The refreshed forward, only coming on in the 28th minute for the injured Gonzalez, immediately showed his class, netting the ball into the top-right corner, bare centimetres above the Sylestonean goalkeeper. What was a 1-0 deficit was now a 2-1 lead for the Al Qurijans, much to the excitement of the home crowd.

Sylestone nearly got their own back barely two minutes later when a good save from Maksomovic after a shot from the AC Vent was parried out of play over the goalline. The Stove, as always, took the corner and struck it to perfection. The ball curved and dipped, directly to the Fridge, who attempted to deflect the ball over Maksomovic and into the goal. The Sentient’s captain nearly pulled it off, too, but alas, not quite. The ball instead hit the crossbar and rebounded out of play as Al Qurija remained in the lead.

When the half ended, the Sentients may have been 2-1 down but the spirit was there. They still had 62% possession and were always threatening. It was just that the were much better at slotting home their minimal chances. However, as some rando once said, “If you’re playing better, the results will come”.

Those words proved to be true, especially in this case. It was the 51st minute of the match and the Sentients had regained possession for the vast majority of the second half already, completely outclassing the Qurijans left, right and centre. Finally, with a cross in from the Stove. It paid off. With Popovski and left-back Al-Ghazzawi in the road, alongside Maksomovic, the AC Vent had a very limited chance of scoring. But these feats are what defines the AC Vent. A lovely shot at goal bisected the two Qurijan defenders and curled away into the post. Maksomovic had no chance. A desperate dive could not stop the shot as the ball rebounded into the goal. Sylestone was back.

The partnership the Mixer and AC Vent had fortified playing in the forward line for Kohnhead’s Swisston City was ever-visible after this moment of brilliance from the latter, playing its second game of the tournament in place of a rested Tumble Dryer. There might have only been two of them and with four defenders, they were up against it. But when you’re on song, you’re on song. The two Sylestonean created countless chances over the next twenty minutes, but it was the 73rd minute when one was finally converted. A pass from the AC Vent to the Mixer was surprisingly poor as the deadly forward had to pass the ball back to the Bar Stool, who shot for goal. It was a poor shot, but the ball still rebounded off Maksomovic and went straight back to the Mixer. Determined to make the most of the second chance, the Mixer controlled the ball and slotted it home, with Maksomovic on the floor and unable to do anything about it. The Sentients were in the lead. Again.

Then, in the 85th minute, they took a virtually unassailable lead. The Fridge had the ball on the right wing and after threading the ball through Zlatan Krstevski and Al-Ghazzawi, passed to the Mixer. The forward then dribbled past Najm and Popovski and passed it back to the Fridge on the right wing. With two Qurijan defenders hot on its heels, the Fridge passed the ball to the edge of the box, where the Bar Stool was completely unmarked. The centre-midfielder took advantage of the ensuing mayhem and shot for goal. The ball moved hard and fast right to the bottom right corner. Too fast for Maksomovic. He managed to get a finger on it, but it simply wasn’t enough as the ball bounced beyond the line. Sylestone were 4-2 up and they had all but taken three points.

It was in the last minute of injury time when the Qurijans had their final opportunity. Dimitrov had the ball and was just about to make a shot when the Ironing Board came in with a slide tackle. It took the ball off the centre-forward, sure, but yet, also managed to foul Dimitrov at the same time. A penalty was awarded as the last play. Dimitrov himself took it and with all the time in the world, slotted it beyond the Brick Wall. But it didn’t matter. Sylestone had won and scored more goals than in the five previous games. For fuck’s sake.

AL QURIJA - 3
Popovski 21’
Dimitrov 33’, 90+5’

SYLESTONE - 4
Mixer 6’, 73’
AC Vent 51’
Bar Stool 85’

Schedule:

MD1: Sylestone 0-0 Talkasa @ Sunlife Stadium, Halpenley (cap. 52,000)
MD2: Trolleborg 0-1 Sylestone @ 1th December Stadium, Trolleborg City, Trolleborg (cap. 100,000)
MD3: Sylestone 1-1 North Japan @ The Trees Stadium, Pesfield (cap. 62,000)
MD4: Bollonich 0-1 Sylestone @ John Lennon Football Stadium, Vreton City, Bollonich (cap. 100,000)
MD5: Sylestone 0-1 Rangers FC @ Sentient Oval, Kirkham (cap. 29,275 toilet seats)
MD6: Al Qurija 3-4 Sylestone @ Petro Mohammed Stadium, Al Qurija, Al Qurija (cap. 98,000)
MD7: Sylestone 0-0 Sannyamathland @ Ground of Dunkirk, Dunkirk (cap. 43,000)
MD8: Tequilo - Sylestone @ Home of Los Pitxileros, Tapalupe, Tequilo (cap. 81,810)
MD9: Sylestone - Zwangzug @ Chamberley Institute of Sport, Chamberley (cap. 109,300)
MD10: Talkasa - Sylestone @ TBC
MD11: Sylestone - Trolleborg @ Carson Stadium, Cleorough (cap. 80,000)
MD12: North Japan - Sylestone @ TBC
MD13: Sylestone - Bollonich @ The Bay Reserve, Betham (cap. 68,420)
MD14: Rangers FC - Sylestone @ Stadio Ibrosikis, Rangers FC (cap. 50,800)
MD15: Sylestone - Al Qurija @ The Furnace, Dodle (cap. 37,500)
MD16: Sannyamathland - Sylestone @ The Big Bowl International Stadium, Rowling City, Sannyamathland (cap. 100,000)
MD17: Sylestone - Tequilo @ Avondale International Sports Stadium, Avondale (cap. 99,000)
MD18: Zwangzug - Sylestone @ Wayr Stadium, Rackham Range, Zwangzug[/size]

by **Audioslavia** » Wed May 19, 2021 5:29 pm

THE HISTORY OF

ANAIA

Chapter 1: Spring 2013
Champagne Supernova
Linco McPahan spreads himself too thinly

When unheralded electric chair manufacturers McPahan Racing announced that Mertian driver Roger Bunn would be partnering Audioslavia’s own Alec Lund in the team’s first season of Grand Prix racing, nobody could quite expect what would happen that year, let along that the new found sporting partnership of an Audioslavian and a Mertian would have such enormous consequences for the sporting world.

This car, officially called the McPahan LMP12, usually called a bullshit deathtrap fractal shitbox,
somehow won the World Drivers' Championship for Alec Lund. Linco McPahan would have been delighted, had he lived to see it.

Charles McPahan had earned himself a reputation for building impossibly light, wonderfully manoeuvrable yet lethally dangerous racing cars, before advances in the sport and a growing guilty conscience encouraged him to prioritise driver safety over straining to the chequered flag before a rival. When son Linco took over the team, that progress was halted. Corners were cut wherever possible to ensure the car would survive until the finish line and no further. If it could possibly drive another lap, then it clearly hadn’t been light enough.

McPahan made it all the way to WGPC level motor racing, where they maintained their unsafety record, racking up a number of pointsless finishes and pointless finishes, including a moment where a front wing replacement was fitted with the aeros upside-down, resulting in Alec Lund’s car moving out of the slipstream of another, picking up a big gust of air and taking flight, staling out and landing after a heart-stopping seven seconds upside-down on a bridge. A few seconds later, the second McPahan of Roger Bunn would round the same corner, and the iconic photograph of a stricken Audioslavian and a bewildered Mertian, both staring at one another as one accelerated through fourth gear and the other one hung helplessly from his seat-belt, would be taken.

In later years, after the international community saw it fit to give the nation of Audioslavia WA Moderation status (a largely ceremonial title that merely acknowledged that, of all the soullessly centrist nations, Audioslavia were one of the more boring), various commenters would point to the photo, note that the only person who could possibly have put an Audioslavian in such a high position was a dangerous idiot, and chuckle to themselves.

When the car actually did finish, it showed it was capable of going fast. Roger Bunn would pick up podiums as Lund floundered, searching for the safer end of the ragged edge. Linco, with no regard for safety, would take his own measures to try to get some more performance out the car.

Introducing Rubidove.

Anyone with any sort of qualification in chemistry would argue that Rubidove was the sort of chemical that absolutely had to have been made up on the spot by someone who knew absolutely nothing about chemistry. It does, apparently, exist, and was used by Linco McPahan to line the car’s fuel nozzle, saving at least four grams from the usual technique of just using basic mechanics. The result was a car that was a tiny bit faster of the course of a race - perhaps up to seven millionths of a second over three hundred kilometres, which to Linco made it clear that it was worth the risk of putting a five metre crater in the middle of the track if the sealant ever made contact with water.

Yes. Stupid.

The sealant was put on parts of Roger Bunn’s car, with Bunn unaware as the cars took to the grid and the clouds gathered overhead. Fortunately for Roger Bunn, he would escape with his life that day, with the rain abating, but an incident in the garage post-race would result in old Linco losing his. So the story goes, Roger Bunn would return to the McPahan garage with a jubilant Alec Lund, celebrating his first ever podium finish in a WGPC race. Lund, ecstatic, shook his over-sized bottle of champagne and sprayed it towards a car that, apparently, Linco McPahan was sitting atop. Some onlookers would see a small, balding slavic looking man somehow rugby-tackle the two pilots out through the door, with others seeing all other present members of staff but Linco sprinting towards the back exit before…

Bang.

In the aftermath, as Liventian organisers picked through the wreckage of the garage, the walls of which having apparently recently been painted black and red, the truth of the situation was reported to only have been known by authorities in Audioslavia and Mertagne, and neither were giving anything away but to one another as they pieces together the events of the Linco McPahan Incident. It would be the first time that the governments of Audioslavia and Mertagne would work together.

Over the coming months, the two nations would start to work together more closely. Close enough for a nickname to come about to describe the brotherly relationship the two nations seemed to have. The word for ‘brother’ from the language used in south-eastern Audioslavia. Anaia.

These days the word gets bandied about the world’s press as if its usage is somehow a slap in the face to Atlantian Oceania, like it's a word designed to exclude them. Instead, Anaia is a word that described burgeoning friendship between two north-eastern nations, has nothing to do with Atlantian Oceania at all, and yet has its roots in the suppression of very important information from relevant sporting authorities.

Apt.

Let's have a closer look at that car though.

Back then, Audioslavian sporting teams would display both the flag of their nation
and their new region together, but the practice wouldn't last long.

by **Sharktail** » Wed May 19, 2021 5:54 pm

Audioslavia-1
Zozaia '54

Sharktail-2
Gaby '24
Nik Akif '75(Azaim)

X1 vs Audioslavia:
Asra(GK) • Harold • Yusri • Harizul • Irfan(Haizul m 56)
Chandra • Nik Akif • Azaim • Balang
Gaby(c) • Win Aziz(Haziq m 68)

Sharktail-3
Azaim '24
Virman '48(Chandra)
Gaby '63(Badhri)

X1 vs Suimede:
Maxter(GK) • John • Fiqal • Hidawi • Haizul •Chandra(Rafdi m 60) • Badhri • Azaim • Rawilson
Gaby(c) • Virman(Win Aziz m 71)

Siumede
Striker1 '45
Striker2 '72

This is My Story
Me-Gaby(9 y.o)

Pagi akhirnya menjelma. Satu lagi hari yang akan ditempuhi. Mungkinkah akan jadi hari yang bagus? Atau meungkin hanya seperti hari-hari biasa. Maybe i can feel a littlr bit free and relax when i finish my study. Hmm, maybe. But after that aku terfikir, no matter school or work, all have their own way of fun and problem. Runninh away hoping for it to be better not the real way. Facing it with open minded, and keep relax, seem like that the best. What to expect from 9 y.o boy. If i were say like that in front of older, they just say you are just kid, just focus on your school and go play.

"Want to wear a school uniform take a long time?" A voice from behind startled me. I looked and saw it was my uncle. "Oh nothing, thoughts drifted out." I said while smile. " Hmm, just be faster, or you're late for school." I looked at the watch. It's 6.46 am I need tp catch the bus at 7.00 am. Luckily, the station is not far from here. For breakfast, I always stop by a convenience store next to the school to buy snacks such as bread or biscuits.

Today is the first day for third grade students to participate in club activities. All students from grade 3 to grade 6 must attend. However, the fate of this year’s students is a bit less good as the club will be determined. We dont have choice but to go along with it. The club activities start at 3.00 pm until 5 pm. Some sport clubs may extend the time. For now, I have to just go on and do my best with my current club. There are something i may be able to achieve if i doing my best. The last time when we separate student to club, i receive a paper i will be in track club. I dont know, but i feel a bit relieved beacuse i not be in other sport club like basketball, Volleyball or something like that. At least, i can build a stamina and speed while running and work out. But that's not the only reason for me. There's another one that makes me need to do my best. The last time ...

T: Gaby, you will be in track club, hope you are ok with that.

Me: Oh okay madam.

T: Can i know what the club you aiming to join?

Me: It football club.

T: Football? Wait a minute. (a few minute passed) Ok, i have something to tell you. It not just you i tell. All the other who i believe they have potential in other club, i will tell this. Ok, all of us teacher will meeting once again before the mid break. We will discuss about the co-curriculum. As you know about what happen this year. We know some are not satisfied. So we decide to give them chance. Want to hear it?

Me: Am i eligible to change to football club?

T: Possible

Me: Yes.

Teacher: Ok, so we all teachers have decide that we will help students to be in the club they wanted. But with some condition. The have to do well with their current club and also have a good record in attendance, discipline and also follow all club activities.

Me: What i need to do?

T: Ok, so i will just go with track club because with them. Until the mid break, i want you to go to all club activities, joining everything that you possibly doing there, listen to what advisor there said. Also i hear they will be some tournament they may join before the mid break. Rest assured, it not a qualifying tournament for Sharktail National high school track competition. Just small tournament for preparation. So basicly, the new member will be selected. If you doing good in all this, rest assured, i will help you to be in football club. But it will not take place this year, but next year. Ok.

Me: So, after the mid break, i need to be with track club until the end of year?

T: Yes. You will not joining qualifier. You will only joining small tournament. You just need to do good. Ok?

Me: Sure. If i able to be in football club, no matter how long i have to wait, i will wait. Thank you teacher. I feel relived now.

T: No worries. Good luck.

...
I straight to locker room. I greet some senior from grade 4 and 5. I change to my sport short. Today is the start of my journey in track club. Football club will be in my reach if able to do best. I need to do my best. "Hello all new members and old members, i am Sir Haziq, i will be track club coach. Do your best. Keep working hard. It will not just help you in track club but will help you with your life." Now, it start. Let's go.

X1 vs Graintfall:
Asra(GK) • Harold • Yusri • Hidawi • Irfan
Chandra • Nik Akif • Azaim • Rawilson
Gaby(c) • Haziq

X1 vs Galeanna:
Ahmad(GK) • Harold • Yusri • Hidawi • Haizul •Chandra • Badhri • Azaim • Rawilson
Gaby(c) • Virman

by **Vdara** » Wed May 19, 2021 5:55 pm

Moustakakos’ Men March On

Following two high-scoring games against the Communist Republic of North Yorkshire and ZSeparatists, the second lineup was on a roll. While the first team had only managed to win against Frestovenia and get hammered by HUElavia, the youngsters had won all three of their games - and they certainly didn’t look like stopping as they arrived in Delaclava. Before this game, they had only ever played against Delaclava once before, with that game finishing as a 4-3 victory for the Vdarans. Would the result be repeated, or would the Phoenixes finally get their revenge?

Away Team Dressing Room
Olympic Field, Catherina
Moustakakos was not his usual self. In fact, he seemed jittery, and easily angered. This could probably be chalked down to the 4 empty cups of coffee that had been crumpled on the floor, but you never truly know what’s up with someone.

Moustakakos: “God, is it me or it it really fucking warm in here? Anyway, yeah, football. You play it, I shout at you. That’s how we roll, yeah? Yeah? Good, good. Football. I used to play football, and I still do. You know this already. I know this already. Can someone turn the air conditioning on? It’s too fucking hot. Football. You like football? I like football. What I don’t like, however, is losing the football. That is wrong. We must win, and we must win in a manner which is good, y’know? Am I rambling? I feel like I’m rambling. I need to ramble though, otherwise you guys don’t play well, and that isn’t good. So, anyways, football...”

At this point, the players stopped listening to his incoherent rambling, and just kind of shuffled out of the room when the match neared kick-off. The things that coffee can do to a man, eh?

The match report is as follows:
(Roster Info Obtained here: viewtopic.php?p=38452525#p38452525)

1: The game is kicked off by the home side, and excitement awaits! Moustakakos’ youngsters will be hoping to continue their great run of form, but can they?
13: Ooft, that’s a badly mistimed tackle from Zane Davis, and he’ll be getting a yellow card for that.
24: Tantalopoulos has the ball in midfield, and he’s lobbing it over towards the left side. Muleas looks to try and receive it... but Meñica gets there first, and headers the ball away. That move ended before it even started!
29: Zaharias Frangoglou is taking a goal kick, and he’s launched it forwards. Petras looks to receive it, but the ball bounces straight over. In fact, the ball’s bouncing even further... and it’s bounced over Soler and gone in! What a goal that is! Vdara’s goalscoring goalkeeper adds another one to his growing tally of wondergoals, and puts his team into the lead!
36: It’s a corner for Delaclava, and Dathan Ingram is there to take it. Ingram hits the ball with more power than placement... and it’s soared over the box and rolled out for a throw-in. Wasted opportunity there, I’d say.
45: The whistle blows for halftime, and the away fans seem quite happy with the way things are going. The happiest of everyone in this stadium seems to be Zaharias Frangoglou, however - with his goal being the only thing separating the two sides.

At halftime, both teams returned to their respective dressing rooms. Did anything of note happen? Eh... not really. Let’s just get back to the game, shall we?

46: The match restarts, with the Vdarans starting off the second half.
65: Themistoklis Muleas has the ball outside the box, and he’s going to take the shot... but it’s tipped over the bar by the keeper and gone out for a corner.
66: Manousos Scafididis steps up to take the corner, as usual. It’s about time this squad actually got designated set-piece takers, dontcha think? Anyhow, Scafididis swerves the ball into the box... and it’s volleyed in by Andrianos Petras! The away side lead by 2-0 now, and they look like they’ve got a firm grip on this game!
74: Delaclava seem to be sitting off the ball, letting the Vdarans keep possession. Quite an odd move for an attacking team to make, honestly.
80: Zaharias Frangoglou receives a yellow card for time wasting. Not that he needs to waste time, mind - he just can’t be fucked doing much else.
90: The whistle blows for full time, and the Vdarans are victorious once more!

Another matchday, another victory for Moustakakos and his youngsters. More and more, people begin to wonder if he should be appointed manager of the first team, because of how well he’s doing. That won’t be happening for a while, though - Lükækš Væñøœrëñbérghüïś is still doing a phenomenal job with the main lineup, and his work can’t be discredited because of how well the youngsters are doing. Nonetheless, Vdara would go on to win their next game against Txakhaxi 1-0, placing them at the top of the group. Would their place at the top last forever? Probably not, considering their next game is against first-seed Ko-oren. Does it feel good anyways? Fuck yeah, it does!

DELACLAVA - 0
Zane Davis (yellow card) 13’
VDARA - 2
Zaharias Frangoglou (goal) 29’
Andrianos Petras (goal) 66’
Zaharias Frangoglou (yellow card) 80’

by **Twicetagram and JYPe** » Wed May 19, 2021 5:59 pm

Home >> International >> AO

What will this Anaia split actually do to us?

By Kanni Vartov

Everyone knows what's happened over the past few days. A region split from AO(that's where we are!) to form their own nation, Anaia. It's brought great controversy, especially amongst those who split, and the remaining nations in Atlantean Oceania. Though Twicetagria may not be directly affected by this change, we can still talk about how this might affect us.

Domestic
What?

Regionals
Some of the heavyweights, such as Audioslavia, Chromatika, Krytenia, and Starblaydia, amongst others, have left to join the newly-founded Anaia. While that will most possibly greatly reduce the amount of AOCAF participants(and potential winners), wee still have a couple of high-profile teams, such as Vilita, Valanora, Equestria, and Siovanija and Teusland amongst others.
The next few AOCAFs will feel a bit empty with so many huge names missing. Though, there's no doubt later on as new nations grow their roots in AO, we'll be working in full capacity.

Geopolitics
Though this is a sports tabloid, politics does play a part in sports. As a small island nation with only Siovanija and Teusland, and Torisakia as their nearby neighbours, not a lot of Twicetagriens see why this affects them in the slightest.
And truth be told, they're correct in a sense. While the government has condemned such a "preposterous and secretive move"*, if you look at a map, Twicetagria is quite distant to the countries who have moved over. Twicetagria isn't a prominent feature of AO history in any way, so you can't really consider us as someone who's affected by any of this. Though, this may spur Twicetagrien politicians and leaders to pursue diplomatic ties with our other neighbours.

*This is not my OOC view by any means

by **Rangers FC** » Wed May 19, 2021 6:15 pm

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by **Omerica** » Wed May 19, 2021 6:33 pm

The Twii Thread Unroller
Thread from @DamianMonaghanSFRD

Big news you may have missed thanks to Anaia: the OPSL’s new international qualification rules officially go into effect next season. (1/10)
Champions League qualification remains unchanged: the top X teams in the Premier Division champions take the X spots (X being 1 atm). (2/10)
League B Champions Trophy qualification remains unchanged as well, with the top 3 Second Division teams entering. (3/10)
The Federation Cup winners take the top Challengers Cup spot, the Premier Division runners-up the 2nd and League Cup winners the 3rd. (4/10)
The Premier Division will no longer have an IFCF playoff, given logistical challengers and the regularity of CC EPRs. (5/10)
As for the FFI, the top 2 teams in the Premier Division enter the LV (as w/all associations) and the League Cup winners the CT. (6/10)
If the League Cup winners finish top 2, the 3rd place team in the Premier Division get the berth instead. (7/10)
If the League Cup winners are in the Second Division and thus ineligible under FFI rules, the CT berth will simply be vacated. (8/10)
And finally, the Federation Cup winners continue to qualify for the Cup Winners Cup and can qualify for 1 other IFCF + 1 FFI tourney. (9/10)
TLDR: The biggest news is (a) OPSL clubs in the FFI LV/CT and (b) the end of a long-running playoff tradition in Omerican football. (10/10)

United Republican Soccer Federation
6 Jacques la Rouge Road
Port Alexandre, MS 18-A40
UNITED REPUBLICS OF OMERICA
Omerica v Darkmania
World Cup 88 qualification — Matchday Eight
Londonderry Court, Londonderry, Coleraine
— and —
Flavovespia v Omerica
World Cup 88 qualification — Matchday Nine
Highland Road, Hadford Hill, Flavovespia
Omerica lineup (4–3–3): Valentine Augustin (captain); Alphonse Notley, Charity Kayode, Raphaël Martin, Sacha Sepulveda; Maxime Fournier, Fearchar Mac Cléirich, Thom Magalhães; Jessie Beckett, Alexis Chrysanthos, Jamal Ahmad
Substitutes: Alexandra McGuire, Annelise Betancourt; Darcy Francis, Frédérique Marquetti, Justin Thyme, Felix Zanetti; Alphonse Fontaine, Soraya Archambault, Christian Marts; Maïa Bustos, Malcolm Beauchesne, Adélaïde Argyris

by **Gatchingerrak Union** » Wed May 19, 2021 6:36 pm

The Quebecois Prime Minister and the Quebecois Commonwealth Secretary at the Prime Ministerial Residence

It was early Thursday morning at 149 Hwangdo Boulevard (Imperial Road in Korean), when Arsene-Pierre Pineau Kim, Prime Minister of Quebec and Shingoryeo and Felix Gustavsson, the Secretary-General of the Quebecois commonwealth, met. Under normal circumstances the Prime Minister would have scheduled this as a full cabinet meeting with the Secretary-General, but that was not the purpose of this meeting.

One of the most underrated facts about the relationship between the Yeongeuijeong and the Yeonbang-samuchongjang is that when one calls him via cell phone, the other will respond right away. It was almost thirty years ago when the twenty-year old Kim, then a womanising junior at Trinity College, University of Kingston, was on exchange at the Svanboergs Universitet during his junior year. While busy travelling with his friends and colleagues, he, the son of two St. Croix professors of Acadianan origins, had kept close eyes on the political activist and youth party circles at the university. That was where he, who held particular interest in the Norsk health reform policies, had met the young, short man with scruffy hair named Felix.

Friendship was formed quickly, and it would continue to follow each other's trails as they had pursued their respective turfs back in their home countries. Arsene, the charismatic, ambitious, second-generation immigrant, had found himself rising quickly in the Quebecois politics, starring for a decade as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Farrer-Century Mile, before his stunning 2046 election victory that had brought Parti Justice et Liberal du Quebec (PJLQ) to its first cabinet in 24 years. Felix, on the other hand, entered the Norsk foreign service, spending decades abroad before eventually being selected as the Commonwealth Secretary-General in a somewhat surprising manner that, if we have to be honest, did require manoeuvring among certain parties.

Now, they were sitting in the Cabinet Room of the Prime Ministerial residence, as they were watching the Independent Athletes from Quebec face the fearful opposition in the Licentian Isles, on a trip to Montfort. Fortunately the game ended with a successful Quebecois victory, a 4-1 victory where the Grim Reapers relied upon their experience to outpower the valiant Licentian opposition.

After that, they had a glass of Vodka, the finest Stoly of Petrogradian essence, before getting themselves back into calmer selves for the topic of contention. After a busy week of meetings, media conferences and assembly sessions, the Secretary-General and the Prime Minister finally had a nice drink without much company to be bothered about, and now they were ready to talk of more intimate matters of agenda. After the clock struck twelve on the clock, the Prime Minister began speaking.

'Well, I know it hasn't been the easiest of times for you,' said the Prime Minister in unease. 'Nor has it been for me. With that, I guess I will have to apologise to you, for once and all, in person.' The Secretary-General sighed, the wrinkles on his face already indicating the weight of almost three decades he had spent in service for Norrehavn, the Gatchingerrak Union and the Quebecois Commonwealth. 'I know it's not the easiest of times after all, but some things had to be kept quietly so, else there would have been even greater opposition before the Accords were to be even agreed upon.'

'I am aware,' The Secretary-General responded, 'The reactions coming back from other places, whether it be Hapilopper City, Raynor City or wherever the underwater Sarzonia may be located, would have suggested something similar on my part as well. And with those who felt vile intent out of those whose decisions were made on perfectly acceptable grounds, by which mean you had made it in agreement with the Ko-orenites and the Huayramarcans as the matter of solidarity among those still standing in the Northwest, then so be it.' Then Felix gave Arsene a pat on his left arm.

'Now, I know the Commonwealth Assembly hasn't been the happiest about what this may lead into. You may wish to brief me, for the parliamentary proceedings and my children's troubles have come before me. Besides, you are my friend after all and I trust you to tell me what is happening out there.'

'From what I am seeing, the issue appears to be over where do the Commonwealth states and our agreements, that has bound us together since the Year 1927 in Gatchinovo Conference (OOC note: different than the Gatchinovo Conference of 2030 that established the Gatchingerrak Union), stand.' Felix responded. Arsene nodded along, being completely aware of the context he was talking about. 'The move does make sense in every shape and form, and Anaia will bring closer cooperation between Quebec and its other allies there, beyond that of your friends in Emberton, Chromia or Ramusok.'

'But where do we belong in that case?' The Secretary-General continued. 'The Commonwealth Assembly is confused not because of the move, but because of what it may come to us, as the union of twenty-seven nations. The twenty-seven whose forces have liberated the Felixian Kaji from the massacring fiends of General Forstner and his death squads. The twenty-seven who have made the unholy alliance with Gregoryisgodistan to liberate the innocent lives of the Holy Republican Empire. Our compatriots, from one corner of the Multiverse to the other, have voiced their concerns about the possible loss of ties we have held so closely together, that have bridged worlds apart, for so long, and that is where we, actually no, you will have to provide a firm answer.'

The room was silent for a minute. Arsene was thinking, carefully analysing the situation and thinking of best words. Arsene Pineau Kim, the son of Commonwealth immigrants. The one who had grown up attending Korean-language schools based upon his father's insistence that he be educated in the language of the Parliament and the Intelligentsia. The one whose allegiance to the Shingoryeoite state was doubted early into his career, even though that was quickly squashed shortly after. The one whose wife happened to be from another Commonwealth state that had remained in Atlantian Oceania. The one whose three ministrial positions under the current cabinet happened to include the Commonwealth Office Minister. He knew this affected him personally, and knew whatever he was going to do moving forward will affect the state of relationships between dozens of nations for a long time.

After that minute, the Prime Minister turned to his friend. 'I think the best move is to do nothing.' He said. 'Our ties run stronger than that of the thin red line between the hot-blooded nations of the fence that now exists between Atlantian Oceania and Anaia. Let the students continue to study in our finest institutions, and let the businesses continue to employ one another under fairer labour regulations in foreign factories. Unless we are all blinded by hatred, our ties with our allies down south, whether it be Busukuma, Stelburg or Belle Haven should stand strong even under those daring times.'

And folks, it is best not to fix something that's not broken, and it was this that Felix had realised what Arsene had in mind all this time. He considered for a second or two, before opening his mouth. 'I think that makes sense,' the Secretary-General agreed. 'And I think Penrith, Porte-Blanche, and Busukuma will want to hear that as well. At least, we all know Busukuma will be bringing Kobe Azizi as their new ambassador for the time being, and it won't be risking censure and getting the man recalled for a second straight dismissal. We gotta be clear with what we have in mind for the Commonwealth states, and certain allies that are not of the Commonwealth, to be clarified.'

'Exactly,' Arsene responded. 'Let life go on, our policies remain the same, and watch the world react and rethink their policies.' He then cleared his throat before asking, ‘Has Concord Heights said anything about this by any chance….?’

by **Valanora** » Wed May 19, 2021 6:41 pm

Lathwen Raynor had desired to preside over a period of peace and prosperity for the Eternal Empire, much like her cousin before her and the interim Emperor that had held the throne between the Raynor monarchs. While she had been shrewd and used cunning and no small amount of political squeezing to ensure that her claim to the throne would be recognized, the years since had been relatively quiet and the domestic turmoil had been smoothed over with the displays of Lathwen maintaining the status quo that most in the Empire had come to enjoy now for many decades. Indeed, the biggest talking point of Lathwen's reign was not a matter of policy but that of her social life and the procurement of a suitable match and eventual children to ensure that the line of succession would be secured. Her status as an elf, one of the few of her kind that remained in the lands that once was founded and colonized by them, meant that such a matter was not entirely pressing regardless of what gossip magazines would write about and the urgent need for her to have children.

Instead she was now residing over an Empire that was in the middle of political turmoil as those that they had once thought friends and comrades had decided to turn their backs on those relationships and did so in such a divisive manner that it had required a hard response. While she did not have the same in depth feelings that some of her staff and consultants did, the Foxchester declaration had left her seething and the decision to remove all citizens of the new Anaia nations and the withdrawal of Vanorian citizens and political staff from those nations as well. It was a hard line stance and drastic measure to be sure but the sense of betrayal by nations and leaders that were supposed to be friends and allies of the Empire ran so deep that the action was deemed necessary. The question of whether her cousin would have performed the same action had kept her awake the past few nights as she prepared for the trip to Stelburg and the conference that would soon be taking place to try and determine the fate and future for those who had remained behind, or in the case of Baker Park had stayed loyal to, in Atlantian Oceania.

In another life this trip would have been one that would have allowed her to sight see and get to know one of the Empire's neighbors far more closely, to develop a deeper understanding and bonds with that of her neighbors. The United Republics had an interesting and deep history from what she was aware of and it would have been quite the trip to get a better understanding of how the events of their past came to shape the status of their nation today. She was sure that there were wonders to behold in the nation and that the people would have been intriguing to meet and interact with, to sample the culture of something that was so different and yet so near to the Empire. Yet the meeting's conditions were that of necessity rather than that of pleasure or social diplomacy, they leaders gathering in Stelburg were going to have to answer some tough questions and figure out what way there was for the entirety of the region to move forward when nearly two thirds of its standing members decided that they no longer desired to be of the region and even laid claim to lands that were not rightfully theirs.

When it was her turn to speak, whatever nerves there were that had been plaguing her in the past few days were well hidden behind a gaze that exuded confidence and certainty. There would be no cracks in the image of strength that she was going to present, the people of the Eternal Empire needed a leader who would not waiver nor blink the face of the growing adversity that was circling overhead.

"The future of our great region is in peril, it has been cast into a maelstrom by those who were supposed to be its defenders and pillars, leaving the region on the precipice of disaster from the storm. They speak of peace and yet lay claim to land that is not theirs, that has never been theirs, and yet it is supposed to somehow be inside their claim? They speak of friendship and yet they prepare for conflict after having depleted many of the standing forces that would be there to defend the region from threats, both foreign and domestic. There can be no normalizing relations when they attempt to shake your hand with one hand held open and yet the other preparing to stab you in the back. It is to this end that the Empire will hot harbor any citizens from this breakaway region, as for all we know they are agents of the respective governments."

by **Turori** » Wed May 19, 2021 6:46 pm

Clean Sheet Eels March on with Pair of Group 15 Victories

Almintora National Stadium, Almintora, Turori :: Shutouts are not a rare occurrence for a Karela-influenced team like the Turori Eels. In fact, approximately 50% of the matches Turori has played since the World Cup 81 Cycle have resulted in Turori shutting out their opponents. So starting with three shutouts in five matches wasn't a particularly noteworthy occurrence. Just one cycle ago during World Cup 87 Qualifying the Turori National Team pitched 12 shutouts across the 18 match campaign or two shutouts for every three games played - including a stretch in the middle of the campaign where they had 8 shutouts in 10 matches.

When the Eels got on the road against Hispinas they were going in with two shutouts but would soon add a third with a comfortable high possession victory against Hispinas. Much of the match would be played on the sidelines and it was a stop-start affair with a total of 21 corner kicks between the two sides. Turori would get all three of their goals from set plays with Meldi'ita Mungwaii's opener coming a corner kick delivered by Kentu Umaka'a late in the first half and then Moumouni Verre'elali would get another goal off a corner kick mid-way through the second half. After delivering the first two goals of the game from the corner flag, Kentu Umaka'a finally got on the board themselves fifteen minutes from the end of the game on a free kick from 20 yards out as Turori ran off to a comfortable but perhaps not terribly exciting 3-0 victory over 186th ranked Hispinas.

 Turori [3] - [0] Hispinas
				
	GOALS:	Turori 	:: 37' Meldi'ita Mungwaii:: 70' Moumouni Verre'elali:: 76' Kentu Umaka'a            		
	STATS:	Turori 	:: Possession: 63%:: Shots: 7:: Corners: 14	Hispinas 	:: Possession: 37%:: Shots: 3:: Corners: 7
	Lineup:	[GK] Wiyauw An'maude, [D.] Yitizo Mpala'a, [D.] Lulu Pumaziiri, [D.] Mikki Mayelli, [D.]  Moumouni Verre'elali, [ML]  Kentu Umaka'a, [MC] Kinabo Telioa, [MC]  Naraiza Ruaplal, [MR]  Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki, [FC] Meldi'ita Mungwaii			
	Bench:	[FC] Kala'a Yuliizala, [FC] Turakia Diijelhma, [M] Lati'ala Giaoka, [M] Daliora Toru'u, [U ] Karek Edgeli, [D] Amakli Inuro'o, [GK] Derizi Amatopa

With three shutouts in a row, Turori had now equalled the mark that they had set a number of times recently with three straight clean sheets. Perhaps even more impressive than that was Turori's performance during World Cup 84 Qualifying. The defensive minded Eels found a way to string three consecutive shutouts together not once, not twice, not three times but on four separate occasions in the campaign. 12 shutouts in 15 matches. Yet you had to go all the way back to the qualifiers for World Cup 81 for the last recorded time that Turori had recorded Four consecutive shutouts. It started with a tight 1-0 victory against 272nd ranked Central Shaneville. A pair of 100-something ranked nations later in Beepee and Michine and Turori now had 3 straight shutouts. Then 89th ranked New Lusitania was held goalless as the competition was getting harder but Turori continued to hold strong. 63rd ranked Jeckland. Shutout. 4-0. Take it up another notch; 44th ranked Valladares. 3-0. Shutout. Six in a row. Unranked Ndaku. Seven. 252nd rank Petrovskia. Eight in a row. Eight straight shutouts, six by Turori's National Citizen Squad and two by the Cocoabo Squad. The streak would finally end in a 4-1 victory over Unranked nation Gudalajara with Cocoabo #85 between the sticks and Turori were denied the double-digit shutout streak. It was the second 4-1 victory of the campaign over Gudalajara which also meant the Unranked side were the only team that Turori failed to shutout during the entire campaign after nearly blanking the entire Group Table in order.

Entering their match at the Almintora National Stadium against Queenisa having already earned three consecutive shutouts, the Turori National Team were still well short of that mark of eight but with one more shutout the streak would climb to four and the Eels would have achieved their highest shutout streak since the World Cup 81 Cycle.

Of course for a Karelan side that want to also win games, 1-0 is the ultimate result. However playing against lower ranked opposition as a top seed, the expectation on a team like Turori - even with their defense minded tactics, is usually to be able to find a way to score multiple goals just as they did against Hispinas on the previous matchday. When Wiztsana Iretziia put Turori up 1-0 on the very first attack of the game the commentators and fans alike instantly began speculating - either privately or openly - whether this would be the game that Turori break their all time most goals scored mark of 7 achieved most recently in the Eagle's Cup Bronze Medal Match. With an unranked opponent in front of them, many thought the possibilities on the scoreboard were endless. Tarek Edgeli and the Turorian coaching staff had a completely different idea, however. Having opened up a comfortable two-game lead in the Group 15 Table, Edgeli decided it was time to test the Eels defenders. Off came the goalscorer and on came another defender. The name of the game was posses and defend.

Yes, the Eels still managed to get their chances over a Queenisa team they showed clear talent over. The players stuck to the game plan, however, shutting things down and shutting them down cleanly only allowing a single second half corner kick to their opponents and otherwise defending confidently and cohesively to secure a shutout for Wiyauw An'maude that the Cedniavella Turori goalkeeper barely had to work for. When the final whistle came the Eels were 1-0 winners and had recorded their fourth consecutive shutout in Group 15. It was the first time they had recorded four clean sheet matches in a row since World Cup 81 Qualifying and now the Eels were just half way to the all time record of eight-straight shutouts. Their next match would come on the road against long time neighbors and rival Krytenia. There were absolutely no storylines heading into the match that were more relevant than Turori's 4 match shutout streak and whether the Eels would continue the trend. After a long stretch without playing a meaningful match against their neighbors in Cyan, for many of the players on the Turori National Team it would be the third time in the past season alone that they would step onto the pitch against Krytenia.

Could Krytenia wear Historic Ketchup & Mustard Kits against Turori?

For some of the squad, they would play the single most important match of their careers to date against The Dragons - the 50th Di Bradini Cup Final. Of Course the combined Vilita & Turori team would defeat Krytenia. Shortly after, the full Turori National Team would have their own chance to play a knockout round match against Krytenia in the 10th Eagle's Cup Competition. Now the Turorians would get another opportunity through a home and away with Krytenia who had re-introduced into their Color Pallette a Red and Yellow Kit courtesy of JMC similar to one of their original World Cup uniforms (shown right) made by Vilitan kitmaker 3WD. While it is not known whether the Dragons will where the Red and Yellow against Turori - there had even been some talk of whether the Cocoabo Squad could make an appearance in the match due to their even-closer proximity in the Cocoabo Forest to Krytenia, one thing is for sure the match would have big implications on the Group 15 table with two of its highest ranked teams clashing for the first time in the cycle as the competition headed towards its half way interval.

 Turori [1] - [0] Queenisa 
				
	GOALS:	Turori 	:: 1' Wiztsana Iretziia              		
	STATS:	Turori 	:: Possession: 59%:: Shots: 6:: Corners: 8	Queenisa  	:: Possession: 41%:: Shots: 4:: Corners: 1
	Lineup:	[GK] Wiyauw An'maude, [D.] Amakli Inuro'o, [D.] Moumouni Verre'elali, [D.] Biliki Rona'atu'i, [D.]  Mikki Mayelli, [ML]  Kentu Umaka'a, [MC] Daliora Toru'u, [MC]  Naraiza Ruaplal, [MR]  Lati'ala Giaoka, [FC] Meldi'ita Mungwaii, [FC] Wiztsana Iretziia			
	Bench:	[FC] Nua'oma Aikiki, [FC] Kala'a Yuliizala, [M] Cuoabaza Orani’aoa, [M] Kinabo Telioa, [U ] Karek Edgeli, [D] Lulu Pumaziiri, [GK] Cocoabo #86

by **Oberour Ar Moro** » Wed May 19, 2021 6:53 pm

“What name are you going by these days?”

Jean wondered as he contemplated this question: That’s how you say hello to someone you haven’t seen in years? One who is soaking wet from running through the rain to make this lunch meeting at an absurdly expensive restaurant along the harbor? But to be fair, it was an extremely legitimate question for his line of work. “Jean Calvaire,” he responded.

“Well, Jean, you’re here on a day it's actually raining on Côte d'Saphir. Bad luck on your part.” The large man sitting at a table laughed heartily in a way that expressed no sympathy at all. He stood up and walked to the maître d'hôtel, and gestured to Jean. “I got a private room, I thought you might appreciate that.”

“I’m sure you do as well.” Jean responded, handing off his soaked coat and umbrella, and starting to walk to the rear of the restaurant with his company.

“I’m not supposed to be meeting with you and I’m definitely not supposed to be speaking to you about our topic. So I might as well get an ethics-violation trifecta and have you buy me lunch.” The large man laughed heartily, with an edge of malice. Jean knew this was going to be an expensive meal.

“So just what is my old friend Guenegan de Chastiaufort even doing in beautiful Côte d'Saphir?” Jean asked as they sat down and the door clicked closed behind them.

The large man, Guenegan, laughed and puffed his chest out. “They sent me here to be a positive, encouraging voice to our Atlantian allies alongside the Ambassador. Oh, this Atlantian Oceania/Anaia nonsense. It’s scared the hell out of the locals so they’re leaning on the Dominion. The Côte economy is tourism and shipping so they’re worried that border closures and visa denials and whatever else is going to hurt them. Meanwhile, the Ministry likes the idea of Côte d'Saphir becoming a central hub in what's left of Atlantian Oceania. God knows there’s a lot of Oberour investment in the Côte.”

“Crisis and opportunity, right?” Jean wryly noticed.

“Yes! Crisis and opportunity.” Guenegan laughed. “I’ll have to remember that.”

“Glad to be of assistance.” Time to get down to brass tacks. “I understand you have some knowledge on a man I’m looking for. Phelipes la Galeranne.”

Guenegan stretched out his legs and leaned back into his chair. “Phelipes la Galeranne,” he said with theatrical contemplativeness. “I had not been expecting to be hearing his name around here before I got your message.”

“Why not?”

“Because I expected he'd be buried in a shallow grave in a desert somewhere by now.”

Jean chuckled. “He still might be. But why would he be in such a state?”

“Well.” Guenegan leaned forward, over the table. “Phelipes la Galeranne worked in oil exploration for Pensirot. Now, there’s oil in the east of the Dominion, near Tirista and the like. But to get more, and cheaper, you’ve got to look outside the Dominion, internationally. But that’s harder to get. The old style was to find some third-world hellhole and rip them off. But no one is stupid enough to give up their vital natural resources for a few argenteus these days.

However, one thing la Galeranne was good at was finding colonels and tribal chieftains with ambition in unstable countries. I don’t know how that becomes a skill, but he had it. He could promise Oberour support in their particular uprisings in exchange for future mineral rights in the future regime. And then after the civl war, while the head of the previous President is still on a pike, Pensirot would rush in, drill as much petroleum as they could carry and then who cares when what’s left is nationalized?

It seems though that la Galeranne’s promises got bigger and bigger and harder to fulfill over time. Selling some small arms through third parties to some guerillas? Sure, who cares? Everyone wins there. But giving away guns? Sourcing anti-tank guided missiles? Providing satellite reconnaissance? This was going way beyond anything anyone in Regium would approve of. Not that he was telling anyone.”

“Then where was he getting this equipment?” Jean asked.

“The fool was becoming a free-lance arms dealer. Or at least a B2B arms dealer. Moving guns from X to Y, laundering money, apparently organized some thefts of military shipments. Man was insane.

Then, word comes to the Ministry that he was involved in helping some psychopath sitting on an oil deposit get chemical weapons which got used on some rival group. Word gets back to Regium, and his paperwork is immediately shredded and Pensirot is told in no uncertain terms that la Galeranne no longer works for them. To the Dominion he’s now persona non grata.”

“He seems like he’d be somebody the Dominion would want to bring back and and punish,” noted Jean. “I can think of some laws of Oberour Ar Moro he probably broke.”

“Sure, but Oberour Ar Moro or Pensirot don’t want him back. Why would they want to get tangled in his headwires? It’s easier to wash the Dominion’s hands of him, say Phelipes la Galeranne was an unaffiliated war criminal if anyone asks, and let someone else worry about it. Besides, there is plenty of blood on his hands that very angry people would like to get some revenge for. He’ll get his. If he hasn’t already.”

“So if I told you hypothetically that la Galeranne not only had not got his, but was funding some kind of business operation in Oberour Ar Moro now, one that he thinks Pensirot will pay money for. What would that tell you?”

Guenegan ran a fat hand through thinning hair. He looked almost thoughtful before he spoke. “He doesn’t need money, he was surely doing alright for himself as a war profiteer. The only thing he doesn’t have now he had two years ago is the protection of Oberour Ar Moro. So that’s what my hypothetical guess would be: He’d want to come back. But there’s no reason Oberour Ar Moro would want him. So square that circle.”

He then immediately switched back to his real focus. “Shall we get a waiter? I am starving. The loup de mer, crème d'oursin et jus de moule is supposed to be divine. And of course we’ll get a bottle of wine as well.”

Jean forced a smile upon his face. “Of course. Nothing but the best.”

by **Montana Verde** » Wed May 19, 2021 6:54 pm

Santa Margarita. These events take place many weeks after Eraman have departed and before Legalese have arrived.

¡revolución!

Doscientos cincuenta mil.

soldado

sargento

walked

~~Professor Bernabé Gayoso Tamayo.~~
Salgado Huerta.
~~Senator Rufo Ávila Quintana.~~
Father Nolasco Guerrero Laureano.
Freya Serrato Batista.
~~Chairman Arthur Espinal Benavidez.~~
Saúl Santángel.
Esperanza Santángel.
Jazmín Santángel Hurtado.
~~Vicente Céspedes Águila.~~
Ana Sofía Piñón de la Cruz.
~~Nicolás Inhué Gálvez.~~
Jeremías Fernán Martí.

~~Sebastian Mariano Ruiz~~

by **New Lusitania and the Algarves** » Wed May 19, 2021 6:57 pm

A WIN KEEPS THINGS GOING
New Lusitania 2-0 Netop
@Estádio do Mondego, Coimbra (Att: 46 501)

Lessons, stores and all closed early as Coimbra played host to the second home match in a row, against Netop. Lopes returned to goal and Pereira got a chance in midfield as the rest stayed exactly the same. The match against Netop was a fairly straightforward affair that didn’t really seem to be a particularly exciting match with New Lusitania doing a good enough job to keep their adversary at bay. A first goal would come by within twenty-five minutes of play, Mendonça finding another good assist onto Silveira, which headed it into the net without much thought. A second goal later on in the fifty-second minute saw Veiga take another good run to hit the post, before Guerra got it in on the rebound. Netop did play a good game on their end, creating some threats, but in the end it all felt like an uneventful game. They happen sometimes. New Lusitania were happy to collect the three points nonetheless and the young Coimbrense audience were as passionate as ever. If only it were always this simple…

CHOICES TO MAKE
Le Choix 1-0 New Lusitania

Le Choix was, admittedly, a debacle from the very start. During training, Cancela contracted an injury and Silveira wasn’t feeling up to it. Whilst squad depth is something that New Lusitania would like to think they had, they would also have to make other changes to strategy. The team would also be stuck in the country due to bad weather, meaning their travel to their away venue was extremely late. With that part over, the Selecção finally got to their destination attempting to put all of that behind, though of course, it can affect a team. Patríce returned to the sheet, Pedralva had to come in to solve one of their issues with Paciente solving the other. A stormy night in Le Choix seemed to only be lit by the floodlights gleaming over the pitch. With all that in mind, a tough match commenced against a team that had an excellent start to the qualifying road. Fernando would quickly be out of the match after pulling a muscle attempting to take a long-range shot. Caldeirão entered the fold once more in the position so many expect him to fill in the team in a couple of cycles team and he did actually do a pretty decent job of it. A revitalised team try to ignore some of the signs it might not be their day to triumph and pressed on. Jota tested the abilities of the keeper during the first half well and it was unlucky not to get a goal from one of them. The left-wing were providing good balls but nothing came of it. Le Choix were playing excellently and sometimes it clearly seemed like the defensive line had no idea what to do with them. This was never more evident than when the goal itself surged at the start of the second half. Dior spurred on a long ball to Lavigne which really took the keeper well. Great play overall and the frustration on Grilo’s face was evident. Pellier shone for the remainder of the match for the hosts as the Lusitanian midfield tried to feed the ball in the opposite direction to no avail. Azinheira and Vilarinho were late entries into the squad but the scoreline remained immovable. A Equipa das Quinas had suffered their first defeat of the cycle, but it was one that whilst respectable in all perspectives, considering form, also raised a lot of eyebrows about some of the ineptitude, to go so far, at certain times. There was most certainly work to do…

IT ALL STARTS CRUMBLING DOWN…
New Lusitania 0-2 Yuezhou
@Estádio da Anta do Dragão, Porto (Att: 49 206)

The January Internationals Week rolled around fairly quickly. Fernando had unfortunately had a terrible injury that kept him out until possibly March. Silveira was back though and Cancela was just back though seemed to be looking match fit. They integrated the team again, as was the case with Lopes. Gama too returned, along with Horta. It seemed to be all set to play at the Invicta, home to so many surprising losses of points. It started off well for both teams with real end-to-end action going on. Huiying Liu almost got an early lead for the Dragons but the Lusitanian goalkeeper managed to get there in the knick of time. It would come however and not that later. The same Corvistone forward would lead a nice attack before doing the handover to Huang Shedong that really had some technique going as the defence just seemed to open a direct line between him and the calling goal. There was no debate as he swung it to the top left corner of the net, triumphantly putting Yuezhou in front. Gama had a nice aerial ball for Palhagueira at one point but nothing substantial came of it as the conservative defence of the away side scurried to get it out of their box. It wouldn’t even take it to the second half as per usual to see New Lusitania crumble as Xiaohui Wen scored another for their homeland. As halftime neared, Grilo understood the necessity for change and Vinagrete was back on as left-back and Luís Miguel would enter the pitch for the first time this cycle in Veiga’s stead, creating a more balanced line. Whilst we did see some mild improvement from the Selecção, Yuezhou were just going in circles around them at times – what had happened to the New Lusitania of the first few matchdays?? So, at the end of six matches, the Equipa de Todos de Nós had dropped down dramatically to fifth with ten points. Farfadillis naturally led supreme with nothing it their way, with Le Choix somehow behind them with a five point gap with fifteen. Both Equestia - now seemingly better - and Yuezhou had leapfrogged the Lusitanians. Arklanda had overtaken Sapim after a brilliant 5-6 victory against them away with Tolanka somehow ahead of Netop and a downtrodden Havynwilde which had managed their first point meanwhile. However, with a travel to Havynwilde being the next big match, how can a team in such bad form lately turn things around? The Selecção must remain hopeful in such a crucial time in their cycle’s fate… Vamos Selecção.

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