Independent Associations Championship 14 | Everything Thread

[Saterun]

Saterun National Team

Nation Name: Saterun
Trigram: STR
Demonyms: Saternalian
Nickname: The Claws

Staff
Head Coach: Martin Freeberg
Assistant Coach: Lisa Lleget
Offensive Coordinator: Ahmed al-Takar
Defensive Coordinator: Sebastián Vecenes
Goalkeeping Coach: Ethan Treh

Starting XI
GK|Ralf Abiatti #1
RB|Saveli Holst #4
CB|Alojzy Addams #22
CB|Timothy Shannon #3
LB|Ayaan Toole #18
LM|Hans-Jürgen Becker #13
LCM|Andrei Coiro #8
RCM|Glenn Lundquist #15
RM|Kaka Sarabola #44 Captain
LF|Thiago Esparza #9
RF|Mitzinho #11

Substitutes
GK|Rahul Marković #12
RB|Claudio Pavic #21
CB|Alex Kovač #5
CB|Cipriano Dalca #31
LB|Gael Harrison #27
LM|Orlando Otxoa #14
LCM|Timuçen Sydney #72
RCM|Gage Keegan #63
RM|Albert Conley #19
LF|Simão Líston #99
RF|Bjorn Dubicki #7

Permissions
Style Modifier: +3

My Opponents, if they RP first. Can do the following:

Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes, but contact me first
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes, but contact me first for approval
Godmod other events: No

[TJUN-ia]

After a major shake-up of the team during the off-season, the first in TJUN-ian football history, the Jaguars of TJUN-ia arrived back in time (somehow) to a Castle Keep in the 14th Century to play at IAC14, a tournament that will certainly be historic for our sake. The retirements of The Nine left a few holes in the main 23-man squad that needed to be filled and David Seems and Li Xiu Ying felt like they did that responsibility pretty well, filling the ranks with Galarian and former-U21 talent that they felt would "do the nation proud". The new setup will certainly be put to the test here in Belnegau and with some of the best in the world coming to this HRE Member for a sport that didn't even exist in this time period, with fans from 600 years in the future and TV cameras as such, you better believe that the locals here may decide to "Konsultiere den Herrn selbst" once this tournament is over.

With temporary "stands" fixed to the walls and lines painted just in time, the bard here at the Ziegelstein Castle Keep welcomed all to the contest between "Die Jaguare und Die Klauen" - The Jaguars and The Claws. Our first opponents would be Saterun, ranked 60th in the IAC and managed by Martin Freeberg - who prefered a more attacking game compared to our own and played in a 4-4-2. Unfortunately for them, they wouldn't really get an opportunity to show themselves today as the Jaguars put up "vier tore" compared to the Claws' null. We managed to score 2 goals in each half but the new back wall played their part as well, with new captain Harold Gylfisson (no VP until the WC) helping the new starters settle in and they certainly played their part in keeping the shutout intact. Aron McKenna was his brilliant self, Axel and Percy Pearson was an effective back wall, Orion Reynolds was a good threat at RB and Preston Chapman was a good playmaker at LM. They all helped with holding off players like Thiago Esparza and Mitzinho and that allow plenty of time for those 4 goals to fire past Ralf Abiatti. Vladimir Podolov and Joe Green score in the 1st half, Kepo Ulawaya and Archer Andrews in the 2nd - as simple as that.

With the 1st Sieg of the campaign claimed (here's a quick German lesson - we want a Sieg, can tolerate a Unentschieden and will not want a Niederlage), the main mission now here in Ziegelstein is to try and claim as many points as possible no matter what - and our toughest test on paper in IAC #12 Sannyamathland will certainly be an interesting test. GO JAGS! GEHEN SIE JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group C, all matches at Ziegelstein Castle Keep, Ziegelstein)
MD1: vs Saterun (60IAC) W/S 4-0 (1st)
MD2: vs Sannyamathland (12IAC)
MD3: vs Cakranegara (UR)
MD4: vs Montana Verde (25IAC)
MD5: vs Sajnur (31IAC)

[Montana Verde]

Sajnur – 0 (0)

Montaña Verde – 0 (0)
Dolfo; Roberta, Arquímedes (57’ Magdalena ), Jairo, Justin; Ana-Ximena; Valentinha (57’ Naomí Berrocal ), Primitivo (70’ Julia Varela ), Kristjana; Verónica Ximena (53’), Osito

This takes wild liberties with the host nation, for which I don’t really apologize because I’d rather try this than describe a 0 – 0 draw.

Justin ducked his head under the tent flap. Osito was seated at the hearth, long legs crossed over one another, dolefully watching as a small capon hissed and sizzled its way to something approaching edibility in the small fire. The Condors were being put up in a couple of hostelries in Ziegelstein castle town, but Osito was too tall to fit through the doors without ducking and after ricking his back in the first few days the Verdeans had been in Belnegau, had decided to move to a tent on the castle grounds where he could stretch out his near seven foot frame at greater leisure. Justin handed over a wineskin and took his seat on the other side of the fire.

“How is Arquímedes?” asked Osito with concern evident in his features, his great caveman brow creasing. Despite his height, there was a certain unrefined quality to his physiognomy that made him alone not stick out when walking about town, unlike the rest of the short, swarthy Condors in their colourful outfits (that probably violated all manner of local sumptuary laws). Julia Varela, who'd opted for a top that showed off her midriff, lower back tattoo and all, had been chased through the town by a friar wielding a belt and shouting what sounded a lot like rites of exorcism.

“He’s fine. He’ll be fit to play. Not a sprain.” The playing surface against Sajnur had been quite uneven: though the farmhands had done a decent enough job with their scythes of levelling out the grass, the soil underneath was packed and divoted. Arquímedes, attempting to bring the ball out from defence, had taken a tumble and been left clutching his ankle. There were fears he might be out of the tournament after less than an hour. To make matters worse, no ice packs had been available; eventually, he’d been stretchered off to a hedge witch to have a foul-smelling poultice applied while the team medic tried to rustle up some leeches.

The chicken fat spat into the fire, which sparked a bright orange shower that turned to grey-white ash. Osito leaned in and rotated the skewer, trying to make sure the meat was cooked evenly. Food poisoning was just as much of a concern as physical injury; Primitivo had taken an ill-advised drink of well water at the half and left the field in some distress twenty minutes later; his anguished screaming (“Dios mío, it’s like lava!”) had echoed across the field from the latrine pits that were, regrettably, upwind, during the closing moments of the game in which both sides had resigned themselves to cautious play, not wanting to risk long passes or dribbles on the bumpy turf.

“No running water or plumbing. No electricity. Unheated rooms and tents. Stands that are rickety fire hazards. Priests and monks and nuns everywhere telling everyone what to do.” Justin grinned at Osito. “It’s just like home, isn’t it?”

“I know! It’s like we never left!”

[HUElavia]

The Yellow March

HUElavia opens IAC 14 stomping all over Berdeng Bundok in an 8-goal beatdown.

HUElavia 6-2 Berdeng Bundok
(Chanca 4', 52', Noffke 18', 43', Uzochukwu 71', Yamane 86' | Faron 45+2', Alicante 90+1')
(Ostfeld Fields, Ostfeld, Belnegau)

Entering the opening day of IAC 14, the team and the few hundreds of HUElavians that paid a fortune for the tickets to the matches, as well as to make the trip back in time, had quite a bit of a culture shock to behold. With no running water, electricity, or comfortable resting areas, the HUElavian Football Association and HUElavian Government knew this had to be changed urgently. Thus, travelling through time in large spaceships, the team, staff and fans were given constructable tents that would be split between players and staff, while the fans were given their own to themselves. These tents were also with air conditioning, portable toilets, and a shower area that had running water, but got hot water only through using solar panels to heat it up. Plus, a special set up was made to broadcast the matches back home in the present using a special connector that spanned through time and the universe itself. These contraptions did shock and confuse the local populace to where extra security was sent in to guard and protect the materials at all times, with a rotating security staff to guard all the HUElavians present. For Matchday 1, the team was out to play in a fairly patchy field in Ostfeld, where hundreds of HUElavians took up one of the endzones to cheer on the team. The B-Team was opted to start the opening match in order to give rest and acclimation for the A-Team, with Moura in goal and Font as the Captain, all while the Special Uniform was being worn (while Berdeng Bundok wore their Home Uniforms).

The opening goal came in the 4th minute, when Mazon gave a long pass to Lopes Lemos, who was running unopposed towards Haas, coming one-on-one, when she passed it to her right, allowing Chanca to tap the ball into the empty goal, making it 1-0. The HUElavians in the crowd cheered with applause and hugs, avoiding the jump to not collapse the stands, while Chanca celebrated with a dance with her teammates. The second goal came in the 18th minute when Chanca was fouled by Gellner and Noffke was given the chance to take the free kick. He ran up and curved the ball over the wall and past the reach of Haas into the corner of the goal, making it 2-0. Noffke celebrated with a salute and dance with his teammates, while the bench was applauding the goal, along with the fans. The third goal would come in the 43rd minute, when Font dispossessed Bartolo and took on a shot towards Haas, who stopped it, but it rolled out in front of him, allowing Noffke to pounce on the ball and tap it into the goal, making it 3-0. Noffke did a Traditional Breitzen Dance in celebration, while the HUElavian crowd was applauding and cheering in approval. In the 45+2nd minute Berdeng Bundok did get an opportunity, a cross from Alicante did get into the box, where Faron won the header over Pillpe and headed the ball past the fingertips of Moura into the goal, making it 3-1 at the half.

The second half saw HUElavia continue to dominate the match, taking shots wherever they could. In the 52nd minute, Morquecho had the ball and gave a long pass to Chanca, who was being covered by Tanjutco, where she dribbled past him, then Barrameda, and Gellner, before going one-on-one with Haas, giving a low shot between the legs of the goalkeeper to roll into the goal, making it 4-1. Chanca was mobbed by her teammates and the bench for the spectacular control of the ball and goal, while the crowd got up to applaud and cheer the goal and effort. In the 71st minute, HUElavia won a corner, and Mazon took the corner, where it curved into the box, and Uzochukwu won the header over Barrameda, heading the ball past Haas into the goal, making it 5-1. Uzochukwu went to the ground to give praise for his first ever international goal, while his teammates went up to hug, pat and give high-fives to him for the goal. Late in the game, substitutions were made, with Yamane, Nazario, and Coentrao coming in for Yom, Mazon, and Pillpe respectively. In the 86th minute, Nazario was on the ball, being covered by Rogelio, when he saw Yamane all open to his left, giving a pass to her, and she moved some steps forward, before letting out a blistering, curving shot that went past the reach of Haas into the top corner of the goal, making it 6-1. The crowd got up to applause the goal once more, while Yamane celebrated with hugs with her teammates. Berdeng Bundok would end up closing the game, as in the 90+1st minute, a lapse in a pass by Font towards Coentrao allowed Alicante to get the ball and shoot it past a diving Moura into the goal to make it 6-2. Regardless, it was a consolation goal, and HUElavia opened the IAC with yet another victory.

With the victory, HUElavia takes total control of Group A with 3 Points (1-0-0) after their beatdown over Berdeng Bundok. The two main rivals of Group A for HUElavia, Abanhfleft and New Lusitania and the Algarves, took on each other and Abanhfleft won 1-0, while Magnecia upset Muralos, 1-3. The next match will be Abanhfleft, where the A-Team will start, with Casillas in goal and Fonseca-Mantovani serving as the Captain, all while the Home Uniform is worn for the match. The fans have had some interactions with the locals, with the locals mainly looking curiously at their clothes and mannerisms, with very few German-speaking fans serving as interpreters between the locals and visitors. Some HUElavians have taken up the chance to help out the locals with activities around the town, including helping prepare food (and exchanging culinary ideas), take time to pray in the local churches, learning about one another. Despite this, the fans are watched under a bit of an eye by the security, as a note was given to all who travelled to "Do Not Copulate with the Populace" per the orders by President Barbosa Fagundes prior to their voyage. Up next is the first main challenge of Os Amarelos/Los Amarillos, where they look to make a statement with a favorable result and continue their quest for the coveted IAC title.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Omerica]

Style modifier: +π (or +3.14 if you can’t fit all the digits)
RP permissions: Your RP permissions are mine, short of death, disease or career-ending injuries. In case of reciprocal “no u” permissions, you may do anything short of death, disease or career-ending injuries.
Pandemic exception: I do not recognise the existence of any international pandemics, which will be construed as a series of unrelated outbreaks and will not under any circumstances extend to or from the United Republics of Omerica. Any attempt to introduce new disease outbreaks to Omerica will be immediately nullified by the Federal Secretariat for Defence’s “Instantaneous Godmode Neutralisation by Optimised Revision of Events” (I.G.N.O.R.E.) system.

---

United Republican Soccer Federation
6 Jean-Jacques la Rouge Road
Port Alexandre, MS 18-A40
UNITED REPUBLICS OF OMERICA

---

---

About Omerica
National anthem: “Hymn of the Avonian Martyrs” (Anglian version — Gallic version)
Association code: OME
IAC seeding: 8th (9.455)
All-time record: 206–101–155 (44.6% win rate; 1.56 points per game)
Independent Associations Championship record: 29–11–13 (54.7% win rate; 1.85 points per game)
Record under Alexis Stephanidis: 63–21–25 (57.8% win rate; 1.93 points per game)
[Results from amateur and youth selections are excluded.]

Last cycle, one of international football’s longstanding qualification droughts was successfully broken: not content with being overshadowed by Astograth and Squornshelous’s well-deserved returns to the finals in 87, the Incorrigibles broke a nearly three-decade drought by qualifying for World Cup 88 on a drama-filled matchday eighteen. Despite losing all three games to a brilliant Savigliane, a determined Cassadaigua and an existent Kelssek, Omerica headed to Poafmersia for the IAC with a nearly unprecedented degree of self-confidence and belief. Ultimately, a largely unproven squad won all three of their group games and were only knocked out from the spot from a remarkable Felinetopia side, capping off a respectable Championship performance and one of the most successful two-year spans in Omerican international history.

Unfortunately, the historical record paints a bad picture for the Incorrigibles and gives the superstitious among the Omerican faithful reason to worry—what with the team’s first trip to the World Cup finals immediately followed up by the Omerican Football Federation’s spectacular implosion. Thankfully, rioting is almost unheard of, the taxman has been properly paid and Omerican football looks healthier and better off than ever before. Besides, bucking the historical record is just something the Incorrigibles have been doing a lot of lately…

---

Staff
Manager: Alexis Stephanidis (age 53; b. Brétolles-de-l’Ouest, Westavon)
Alexis Stephanidis is a tactician in the traditional vein of Omerican football, who came to fame by rebuilding Malavan Romainbourg from their failed campaign to qualify for the OPSL Premier Division—winning an OPSL Second Division title, a Federation Cup and a OPSL Challenge Cup in the process—and winning her hometown club Andreaskruis promotion in the Second Division playoffs. Stephanidis is a managerial idealist who believes in the time-honoured tradition of “the best defence is a good offence” and whose sides are known for their flair and (outside trips to Cobrio) for coming in “clutch”. Originally met with skepticism when she replaced George Kostas after Omerica’s disastrous IAC X campaign, Stephanidis has quickly become the consensus pick for the Incorrigibles’ greatest ever manager after getting Omerica to the 87 qualifying playoffs ahead of Equestria, securing Omerica’s best IAC campaign since Anne-Sophie Groothuis’s departure and becoming only the second manager (after Ryan Pritchard) to lead Omerica to the World Cup finals.

Assistant Manager: Christina Tedesco (age 47; b. Kingsmouth, Mespalia)
Longtime assistant manager under George Kostas and Alexis Stephanidis, Christina Tedesco has well and truly earned her redemption for Omerica’s disastrous World Cup 85 qualifying campaign and infamous collapse at IAC X. Tedesco has served as acting manager of Omerica on three occasions—taking charge for the second half of World Cup 85 qualification, all of Eagles Cup 10 and the first stage of Independent Associations Championship 13—and has endured as a key confidant and partner to Stephanidis to the point where she has come to be seen as a credible possible successor.

Fitness coach: Jean-Pierre Marchetti
Goalkeeping coach: Stéphane Rousseau
Medical lead: Tahira Bousaid
Physical therapists: Alexandria Stavros and Christiane Michaud

---

Players
Per Omerican custom, the number 12 is reserved to supporters and will be not worn by any player.
№12—Incorrigibles Supporters (X, age ∞; b. Everytown, Everyrepublic)

Goalkeepers
GK Annelise Betancourt (F, age 28; b. Cougoule, Marche Rouge); Royal Michaeltown [SAL]
GK José Calvo (M, age 25; b. Notre-Dame-de-l’Ouest, East Calaverde); Ever Grande
GK Zavier Street (M, age 20; b. Goldbridge, Mespalia); Londonderry FC

Defenders
RD Kara Félix (F, age 25; b. Stonehaven, Northavon); Andreaskruis
RD Sean van de Laar (M, age 22; b. Southall, North Hesperia); Ever Grande
CD Jacques Laurent (M, age 27; b. Ville-de-la-République, East Calaverde); Corona Christiana — Vice-captain
CD Sydney Collins (X, age 25; b. Ramhill, Eastavon); Falcon United
CD Noah Clement (M, age 30; b. Forestia, Northavon); Forestia Cricket
CD Noémi Belmonte (F, age 26; b. Rivaut, Altomare); Grand-Océan FC
LD Felix Zanetti (M, age 29; b. Saint-Jacques, New Vaucluse); Londonderry FC
LD Zane Smith (M, age 27; b. Newtown, Mespalia); United Philibiscostal — Second vice-captain

Midfielders
CM Jacques-Pierre Castell (M, age 27; b. Les Viviers, New Vaucluse); United Philibiscostal
CM Máel Coluim Mac Ealair (M, age 26; b. Twinleaf, Emerald Isles); Londonderry FC
DM Fearchar Mac Cléirich (M, age 29; b. Londontown, Coleraine); Baraldhur AFC [TKT] — Captain
DM Alexandrine Bourreau (F, age 23; b. Engolesme, South Provence); AS Lacédémonienne
CM Christian Marts (M, age 28; b. Borg-an-de Gränse, Saltstead); Cherrygrove City [SAL]
CM Ronan Neuville (M, age 25; b. Sainte-Lucie, Westavon); Andreaskruis

Forwards
RW Ollie Tate (M, age 27; b. Cherryfield, Free State); Corona Christiana
RW Erica Walsh (F, age 22; b. Bishophill, Free State); Capital Dragons
ST Malcolm Beauchesne (M, age 27; b. Queenstown, Northavon); Forestia Cricket
ST Jean-Lucas Babineaux (M, age 26; b. Sablonrose, Westavon); Andreaskruis
LW Adélaïde Argyris (F, age 29; b. Romainbourg [Port-Louis]); Corona Christiana
LW Terrance Parker (M, age 27; b. Saint Anne, Seafoam Islands); United Philibiscostal
Notes: Labels reflect most likely position in the lineup.

---

Formation

From striker to goalkeeper:
Argyris/Parker . Beauchesne/Babineaux . Tate/Walsh
Marts/Neuville . Mac Cléirich/Bourreau . Castell/Mac Ealair
Zanetti/Smith . Clement/Belmonte . Laurent/Collins . Félix/van de Laar
Betancourt/Calvo/Street

---

Kits (expertly crafted by ediraf)
The Incorrgibles will display one bronze star on the back collar to symbolise their triumph at IAC 7 in Drawkland; any theoretical future World Cup or Cup of Harmony titles would likewise be worn on the collar instead of the usual position above the crest.

---

Who we are
The United Republican Soccer Federation is the national football association of the United Republics of Omerica. The URSF is organised as a federation of twenty-six republican and seven regional football associations, with special membership status for the Omerican Professional Soccer League and Omerican University Sports Association. The URSF responsible for overseeing association football in Omerica, organising Omerican representative teams and—with the cooperation of the Federal Anti-Doping Authority and Omerican Council for Sporting Integrity—ensuring the integrity of Omerican football.

---

Conformément au droit fédéral omericain, ce document est disponible en gaulois sur demande. — In accordance with Omerican federal law, this document is available in Gallic upon request.

---

---

[Berdeng Bundok]

HUElavia – 6 (3)
Chanca (4’, 52’), Noffke (18’, 43’), Uzochukwu (71’), Yamane (86’)

Berdeng Bundok – 2 (1)
Hass; Barrameda, Bartolo Sardido, Gellner, Tanjutco; Balangao, Hertzfeld (60’ Weinhaber ); Alicante (90+1’), Jónarsson (58’ Buenavidez ), A. Rauscher (58’ Chincuanco Labrador ); Tsukuda (45+2’)

“Captain, sensors are detecting… something.”

Commander Threva Dewspark leaned forward in her seat. “Ensign Mornwulf, please clarify.”

“I’m sorry, Captain. The readings are all over the place.” The tall young ensign frowned as his hands flew over the controls of the DSS Poseider bridge science station; his empathic captain could detect frustration from him, and even embarrassment as he flailed about trying to isolate the source of the readings.

“Ensign, calm down. Take a breath, and tell me what you’re seeing.”

At the conn, Ensign Luna chimed in. “Captain, I can confirm, we’re detecting strange gravimetric readings. Navigational sensors reporting 0.0001093% course correction… now 0.0001337%.” S/he continued to read off the numbers; very small, but still cause for alarm. S/he was panicking, as evidenced by the needle-sharp spines s/he sported all over quivering and standing erect.

“Yellow alert.” The bridge was bathed in amber alert as Threva stood and paced up to the helm, studying the reasons over Ensign Luna’s shoulder. “Ow.” She took a pace back, rubbed where a spine had caught her.

“Captain, I’m not sure how to correct our course.” Ensign Luna turned around in panic, spines nearly raking Threva across the face. Threva resisted giving the young officer a pat on the shoulder, but smiled encouragingly: she valued officers who knew when to call for help. She punched her combadge.

“Lieutenant Nysathusa to the bridge.” She turned and walked back to the command chair, awaiting the senior navigation officer’s arrival. Yet when the turbolift doors opened, they revealed not the graceful blue of the Aqua-Desiccant, but the rocky brown of a Crag. Henoxah Drelalt, ship’s passenger, galaxy-famous musician, walked onto the bridge.

“Ms Drelalt, it’s an honour as always, but this may not be a good time. We’re at yellow alert, I’d like to request all civilian personnel remain in their quarters…”

“The music.”

Henoxah was staring at the viewscreen. “I dreamed I heard – such beautiful music. Like brothers, chanting in harmony.”

Threva frowned. She had trouble reading Crag but knew them to be a highly sensible and unsurprisingly grounded race; she had never known Henoxah to invent wild fantasies. This was most unlike her. Behind her, the turbolift doors opened again, and Nysathusa entered. She was dripping wet – she must have been sleeping when called, Threva realized guiltily – and had only just strapped on her breathing equipment. Threva nodded to the helm, where Ensign Luna was panicking over the controls. Nysathusa glided down, trailing water behind her; Threva then gestured to the command centre, where Henoxah could join her.

“These are very odd readings, Captain,” confirmed Nysathusa, her bubbling speech translated through the universal translator chip in Threva’s long, translucent ear.

“So Ensign Luna tells me. The question is, what kind of readings?”

Ensign Mornwulf and Lieutenant Nysathusa exchanged a glance.

“Well?”

“It’s like something is… sucking.”

“Sucking?”

“Yes. Sucking so hard, so powerfully, as to cause a rift in space-time. The gravimetric distortions are pulling us in.”

“What is it? A white dwarf?”

“No, it sucks more than that.”

“A supermassive black hole?”

“Captain, it sucks even more than that.”

“Not…”

Lieutenant Nysathusa nodded grimly. “Yes. It’s… the Bundoko national football team! They suck so badly they’re going to pull the ship into a singularity!”

“Red alert! Brace for impact…!”

[Eshialand]

The Paradise Affairs
Part V: Against All Better Judgement
Prologue | Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV
Poafmersia 2-3 Eshialand

"So, I'm willing to bet that you've all heard about the recent vote on the isle of Aleirave..." the king stated in his address on the matter on the lawn outside the parliament building.

King William was sweating buckets despite the -6°C cold on that fine early March day, an announcement like this being quite unlike anything else the country had seen. He was quite conflicted about what he wanted to do in relation to the island's election, and every single word would be harder than the last to say.

"So... I've decided that we... cannot follow the election results..."

"What the hell kinda seagull shit is that?" An older man wearing sunglasses and a parka that seemed far too heavy even for this weather said as he stood up.
"What?"
"This island decided that they wanted to, of all the options, join Eshialand, and this is the kind of thanks you show?"

"I'm sorry, but who even are you?" the king asked, thoroughly confused as to what was going on.

The man took off the sunglasses to reveal his identity. "My name is Refilene Adari'ena, and I helped run the Aleiravan referendum vote!"

"Okay, Mr. Adari'ena, mind explaining what this is all about?"

"With all due respect... are you nuts? We chose to join Eshialand because you were a charismatic and fair leader, who fights for everyone's wishes and desires, whether they be your citizens or not, and here you are telling us that we don't have the right to choose what we want? That we can't exercise our human right to self-determination? I'm sorry, but... what the hell??"

"So you're saying that your island truly, voluntarily chose..."

"Yes! Yes! This is what we want, believe me! Come visit the island, see for yourself! I know I may sound crazy, but you saw the results, you saw what we chose. This is democracy at work!"

The king was still quite confused about this. Why would they choose to forgo independence... for Eshialand? What about this made any sense at all? "You know what, then?" he replied. "Bet. I'll go to Aleirave with ya, why not?"

And so, for the second time in the last month, it was time for the king to travel many a mile away... this time willingly.

Poafmersia - 2 (REDACTED 36'; REDACTED 71')
Eshialand - 3 (Carroll 9'; MacDougall 23'; Habisbrauer 84')

[Adab]

Sunday, June 8, 2036 / 13 Rabi ath-Thani 1458
Adab 6-3 Britonisea
Adab scorers: Yargab (27’, 39’, 48’), Akaptaha (68’, 87’), Sinmuballit (79’)

A Dance with Football
Snapshots of the lives of the people involved in Adabian football and those associated with them
For a full list of chapters click here. To read all the chapters in one go click here
For an (incomplete) list of major/prominent characters in this story click here and scroll down to the ‘Football’ section

Chapter 43: Privy Council

May 2036
Adab City

He watched on from his high seat with weary eyes as the legislators babbled on with unending vigor - and, more irritatingly, unending vitriol. One by one they spoke, taking turns according to longstanding procedure, and one by one they spewed out filth ranging from the vacuous to the outrageous. Communism, socialism, immorality, unity, harmony, all words of some standing and significance (and, depending on who you asked, danger) now long dissolved into a haze of vote-getting, demagogic platitudes.

He didn’t even have to be there if he didn’t want to. Both the Emperor and this Privy Council had the power to initiate legislation; anything proposed by the Privy Council had to be approved by the Emperor and vice versa. The Emperor was always welcome in Privy Council deliberations. In theory it was a cooperation. In practice, as his grandfather of blessed memory reached an advanced age during his extraordinarily long reign, he began attending Council meetings less and less and leaving it to the Council to propose most of the laws. By the time his health began to decline around his centenary, there already was an expectation that the Emperor would approve whatever the Privy Council put before his table. With his advancing years and declining health came more and more natural concessions to democracy.

His passing at the extraordinary age of 115 left his 97-year-old son on the imperial throne. But he, too, was in the sunset of his years having suffered two strokes. And when Allah, the Most Gracious, took him away from this world a few years later, it was his son’s turn, an octogenarian assuming a throne searching for its place in an increasingly democratic government.

That son was the Emperor today. That octogenarian was now 91, and as his eyes scanned the width and length of the Council chamber, Sarrukin II barely moved from his seat, a silent, white-haired, stone-faced presence as the councillors who professed loyalty to him proposed everything from banning interreligious marriages in any way, shape, and form to formally banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in workplaces and removing Islam as the state religion because “we all know it’s a farce anyway, we have so many religions being freely practiced and preached here we don’t even know if Islam is supposed to be the state religion’.

Proposals which, in their most extreme manifestations, would cause even more division in an already increasingly divided country. And all because two footballers from different religions were dating.

Such was the vitriol and the division on this matter that the Emperor felt he had to once again attend Council meetings, going against the increasingly accepted convention from his grandfather and father’s time when, driven by their age and health, they gradually withdrew from Council deliberations, leaving much of the lawmaking to the body which actually answered to the people (well, half of them anyway, the other half were appointed by the Emperor).

Below him the Lord Speaker in his smaller seat struggled to maintain decorum. Shouts of “Order! Order!” were increasingly drowned by councillors of different persuasions rising to their feet and speaking out of turn, shouting at each other as if haggling at the fish market. And when several councillors from Muslim and Christian parties were thrown out after declaring in unison that interreligious relationships were a “disaster” to the country, followed by one socialist who vaguely threatened violence against the religious councillors (“The masses will rise and throw you out of your seats, your houses, and we will build a just and free society for all without all these petty divisions!”), the Emperor decided that he had seen enough.

With decorum restored somewhat as the Council resolved to move on to other matters, the Emperor made a mental note to call the one person that he knew - if only barely, for they had not talked in some thirty years - that could help him bring this festering matter to some sort of closure.

Adab lineup for MD2

Starting lineup: Chandrasekar, Altun, Enmerkar, Issou, Frangieh, Arthur (VC), Sinmuballit, Orlev, al-Kufa, Yissakar, Yargab (C)

Substitutes: Shulgi, al-Tikriti, Sharkalisharri, Akshak, Thomas, al-Muntar, Samanu, Emmita, Uhwan, Zambiya, Akaptaha, Barzani

[United Adaikes]

As what the United Adaikes national football team collectively call themselves, the Panthers went off to a good start in the fourteenth edition of the Independent Associations Championship.

With one of the two unranked teams in their group, the Adaikesians pulled off a close 1-0 win against Silver Beach. Defender Van Burgess scored in the 52nd minute from the center of the box to the bottom left corner with a header, following an assist from substitute midfielder Vincenzo Sweeney with a cross following a corner.

Silver Beach was then handed a golden opportunity to salvage a draw in the 84th minute when the referee awarded them a penalty, but UAD's Dexter Marsh saved their forward's effort.

The Adaikesians' next match will be against the defending champions, Indusse, who also won easily in their first matchday against the other unranked team, New Zhengguo, which looked like a tennis score 6-2.

The Panthers head coach Dylan Burke will be tweaking with the defense and set plays to ensure they will not suffer the same fate.

[Belnegau]

This is the RP Cutoff for Matchday 2!

As you await the results, I invite you to look through the folia of the Psalterium Florianense or Saint Florian Psalter. It is a book of the psalms with each verse written first in Old Polish, then Middle High German, then Ecclesiastical Latin. While originating some 50 to 80 years later than the current year in Belnegau, and of still uncertain origin and ownership, it gives evidence to cultural exchange between German and Polish-speaking communities, at least at the level of nobility and royalty, an interesting contrast to some two centuries of near constant conflict between Poland and the Teutonic Order. The Saint Florian Psalter is also the earliest known translation of the psalms into Polish.

RP Prompt: A visitor has arrived! Komtur Dietrich von Marienwerder, a captain of the Teutonic Order has heard of the grand tournament being held by Landgraf Hartwig, and hopes to find worthy recruits for his Order's war against Poland, which has already dragged on for two years by now. Needless to say, he is shocked by what he finds. Does he have a particularly memorable run-in with your team or their supporters? Are there some among them who might be sympathetic to his cause, or are his proposals rejected?

Results:

Group A
Berdeng Bundok 2–0 Magnecia
New Lusitania and the Algarves 1–1 Muralos
HUElavia 3–1 Abanhfleft

Group A                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 HUElavia                         2   2  0  0    9   3  +6    6
2 Berdeng Bundok                   2   1  0  1    4   6  −2    3
3 Magnecia                         2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
4 Abanhfleft                       2   1  0  1    2   3  −1    3
5 New Lusitania and the Algarves   2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
6 Muralos                          2   0  1  1    2   4  −2    1

Group B
Eshialand 3–3 Omerica
United States of Great America 1–0 Annyeong Oppa
Poafmersia 1–0 Juvencus

Group B                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eshialand                        2   1  1  0    6   5  +1    4
2 United States of Great America   2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 Poafmersia                       2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
4 Omerica                          2   0  2  0    3   3   0    2
5 Juvencus                         2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1
6 Annyeong Oppa                    2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1

Group C
Montaña Verde 0–0 Cakranegara
TJUN-ia 6–0 Sannyamathland
Sajnur 1–4 Saterun

Group C                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 TJUN-ia                          2   2  0  0   10   0 +10    6
2 Saterun                          2   1  0  1    4   5  −1    3
3 Sannyamathland                   2   1  0  1    1   6  −5    3
4 Montaña Verde                    2   0  2  0    0   0   0    2
5 Cakranegara                      2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1
6 Sajnur                           2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1

Group D
Kingdom of Atlania 2–7 Alumzahara
Squidroidia 0–1 Kriegiersien
Garbelia 0–2 The 14 Stars

Group D                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kriegiersien                     2   2  0  0    3   1  +2    6
2 Squidroidia                      2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
3 Alumzahara                       2   1  0  1    8   4  +4    3
4 The 14 Stars                     2   1  0  1    2   1  +1    3
5 Garbelia                         2   0  1  1    2   4  −2    1
6 Kingdom of Atlania               2   0  1  1    4   9  −5    1

Group E
Drawkland 2–1 Britonisea
Kohnhead 0–2 Adab
Space 1–0 Belnegau

Group E                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Adab                             2   2  0  0    8   3  +5    6
2 Drawkland                        2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
3 Space                            2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
4 Belnegau                         2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
5 Kohnhead                         2   0  0  2    0   3  −3    0
6 Britonisea                       2   0  0  2    4   8  −4    0

Group F
United Adaikes 0–4 Indusse
Trolleborg 3–0 New Zhengguo
Silver Beach 3–4 Reçueçn

Group F                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Indusse                          2   2  0  0   10   2  +8    6
2 Trolleborg                       2   2  0  0    6   0  +6    6
3 Reçueçn                          2   1  0  1    4   6  −2    3
4 United Adaikes                   2   1  0  1    1   4  −3    3
5 Silver Beach                     2   0  0  2    3   5  −2    0
6 New Zhengguo                     2   0  0  2    2   9  −7    0

[Abanhfleft]

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ABANHFLEFT
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL TEAM - MEN'S

What is even the point anymore? Abanhfleft has lost out on so many football tournaments that it's practically a law of nature that Abanhfleft cannot ever win a football trophy. No matter if it is the junior or senior level, Abanhfleft just cannot win a single football trophy to save their lives. Why are we still here? Just to suffer? Anyway, here's a taste of more disappointment. The Independent Associations Championship, while it is officially being treated as a series of tune-up games for the Fleftic national team, is still very important to the Samahang Futbol ng Abanhfleft. Win or go home; that is the objective.

BASIC INFORMATION
Name of nation: Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft
Demonym: Fleftic
Team colors: Blue, orange, and green
Style modifier: +3
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Head coach: Levi Baak (62 y/o, Abanhfleft)

STARTERS
GK: Guildenstern CARDEW 30 y/o, Sporting Ceneisis , captain
Under Vaughn Palladino, Guildenstern Cardew has turned into the clear number one choice between the sticks for Sporting Ceneisis. He may not be the player who shipped the least goals in the Premier League this season but he stopped enough shots to help the Blues to their fourth FPL title. Now it's time for Guildy to do the same for the national team.

RB: Masakazu CHIBA 27 y/o, Riuwiee United
Masakazu Chiba is one of an ever-growing number of football players in the Democratic Republic who trace their lineage back to the Japanese nations such as Flardania and, in Masakazu's case, Aji No Moto. Although he was never capped for any of Abanhfleft's youth teams, Ranulph Bustamante is apparently convinced that Masakazu will be able to handle being a bench option for the senior national team for the current World Cup qualifiers. Chiba-san will now get the chance to show his stuff under Levi Baak.

RCB: APOLLOSCLEIYALI 33 y/o, Rosenpfelblatz City
Though he was brought into the Rosenpfelblatz City setup at the relatively young age of 16, Apolloscleiyali Rarlingson Crausileine still plays with that curious mix of Daineri and Sunrisian street football. The Citizens may not have been consistent challengers for the title ever since Abanhfleft integrated into UICA and now IFCF, Apolloscleiyali remains one of the constants of this team, almost never putting a foot wrong. Because of this he was given Fleftic citizenship via the Alternative Football Program as a candidate for the Fleftic national team, but this is only the first time Apollo will actually represent the Revolutionaries, strangely enough.

LCB: Paco MATUNDAN 30 y/o, Xemlice Rovers
Paco Matundan must have thought his footballing career was over when he was released by Malabon SC following the Ravens' shock relegation from the FPL at the end of the 2025-26 season. Luckily a club from Greythrone called Air Force Superstar decided to take a chance on him, but sadly the club did little of note other than gaining promotion once before Greythrone itself collapsed into anarchy. Paco was only saved from falling into obscurity by a timely move to Xemlice Rovers where he has now settled down and made a name for himself, even if it is choking on title races.

LB: Caleb WAYNE 33 y/o, Wanda Island Wanderers
Another one of the generation of Fleftic defenders who also liked bombing up and down the wings who discovered that sticking to defending was actually what he does best. It was as a full-on left back that Caleb Wayne became instrumental in the Wanda Island Wanderers side that won the Fleftic Premier League in 2027-28, and is now one of the first names written down on Artemio Peres' starting eleven. Caleb also became the starting left back for Abanhfleft after Daisuke Ogigayatsu started putting in more time down the right side for Ludogorets Markovsky.

RM: Andor GAÁL 33 y/o, Malabon SC
Andor was one of those who stuck with Malabon after they were relegated and helped them get back up into the FPL after only one season in Unang Liga, but so far his only reward has been getting to play in the Challengers' Cup. Formation changes and new managers have turned him from a defensive midfielder to a right-sided one. He's still very much a box-to-box midfielder, but this does tend to leave his team a little short-changed in the middle of the park. He also became a dead-ball specialist during his time in the Fleftic second tier.

LM: James CARMICHAEL 30 y/o, Xemlice Rovers
James Carmichael is a Xemlice Rovers youth product who rose to significance after he stood in for Fabrosu Nyema during the 2028-29 season after the latter was injured. James does a little bit of everything here and there such as breaking up attacks in the middle of the pitch and pinging in those diagonal passes. He's usually well disciplined, but when he goes in for a tackle, boy does he go in for a tackle.

RW: Marcus TABAREZ 30 y/o, Arsenal de Releinthi
Without a doubt the most expensive Fleftic player of all time. Marcus Tabarez cost Arsenal de Releinthi a whopping 120 million new penenks (80 million NSD) just to get him from Xemlice Rovers. The start of Marcus' Gunners career was not the best, coinciding with one of the worst seasons in the club's history, but slowly Tabarez is starting to justify his hefty price tag. Last season may not have been the best for Arsenal as a club, but it was a good one for Tabarez, chipping in 20 goals and 13 assists. Ranulph Bustamante now hopes that Marcus can do the same for the national team.

CAM: Jayden SCHOLES 26 y/o, CSKA Tiraspol (Pridnestrovia)

LW: Arthur MacALISTAIR 33 y/o, Wanda Island Wanderers , vice-captain
Arthur finally completed the transition from midfielder to winger under Artemio Peres, and people are already saying it's the best move Arthur's ever done in his whole football career. Of course it helps that his first full season as a winger was also the season that Wanda Island Wanderers finally won the Fleftic Premier League. But MacAlistair's starting spot in the national team may no longer be as secure as before now that there's a new contender for the spot in the form of Riuwiee United's Elmo Bevan.

ST: Mustafa BENSOUSSAN 28 y/o, Bananas FC
Bananas may have been relegated from the Premier League, but if that's not making Mustafa turn his head then nothing probably will. The young man is dedicated to the cause of bringing Bananas right back up, but unlike some of the other sides to have been relegated from the league in previous seasons, Bananas don't look like they would be able to do it as quickly. Nevertheless, Mustafa is still scoring goals for fun, and will now fill in for the aging Kareem Dagen for the men's national team starting from this Independent Associations Championship.

RESERVES
GK: Howard ABAYAN 20 y/o, FC Effelenendro on loan from Riuwiee United

GK: Shaun SACE 19 y/o, Zenit Novograd on loan from Ludogorets Markovsky

RB: Antonio GALINDEZ 20 y/o, Pawwazim on loan from Sporting Ceneisis

RCB: Ram WALIA 33 y/o, Sporting Ceneisis
Who would have thought that little Ram Walia from Hithamandhoo in the Trendstart Colony would become the first man from his island to win the Fleftic Premier League? Certainly not Ram himself. From humble beginnings at AFC Hithamandhoo, Ram made his way into the youth academy of Sporting Ceneisis, where it looked like he was going to go the way of the rest of the Blues' infamous "loan army" until he showed what he was capable of as first a substitute for Naftali Singerstein, and then later on as the Fhulghamousian international's replacement. There's a reason why Ceneisis finally won their fourth title this season, and one of those reasons is Ram Walia.

LCB: Kenneth OWOBOWALE 36 y/o, Rosenpfelblatz City
Another former national player brought back into the fold after a decade or so in the wilderness. Left-sided center backs seem to be a particular weakness of the Revolutionaries at the moment, and while there's a decent crop of those rising up the ranks of Fleftic clubs, at the moment Ranulph Bustamante apparently believes that Kenneth is the best out of this bunch.

LB: Vipin NAGARKAR 33 y/o, Admiral Porcusces
Vipin Nagarkar wasn't that well-known outside of Admiral fans when they were relegated at the end of the 2028-29 season. He could have gone to any other team that he so chose, but he decided to stick it out with the Foxes in their campaign to get back into the top flight. He did just that, and he cemented his place in the side after solid and impressive performances at left back, and then VIpin sealed his place in the history of Admiral Porcusces by scoring the 78th minute goal that won the Foxes the 2031 SFA Cup Final. Safe to say that this is a call-up two years in the making.

RM: Max PIERCE 35 y/o, Rosenpfelblatz North End
Another area of the pitch where Abanhfleft are currently a bit thin is at right midfielder, and after much deliberation Ranulph Bustamante decided to put Max Pierce in as Andor Gaal's backup. There's nothing to separate the two aside from the fact that Pierce is slower and has the defensive subtlety of a nuclear bomb. But apparently Max is the best of the rest of Abanhfleft's right midfielders. This is going to end so well for the country.

LM: Trevor IÑIGUEZ 33 y/o, Ludogorets Markovsky
The backup left midfielder was actually a tough choice to make for Ranulph Bustamante because there were two players who could very well have fitted into that spot on the national team: Travis Sevilla and Trevor Iñiguez. Both of them were gifted technical players with bags of skills with an eye for finding teammates in the final third. In the end, Bustamante opted to go with Iñiguez because the Fleftic Air Force didn't want Sevilla outside of the country in the event of an attack on the Democratic Republic.

RW: Palmer HICKS 25 y/o, Locomotive Imgortur
In a team where the system doesn't have much use for a winger, how is one such right winger in one such team supposed to get game time? On loan to another club, of course! Palmer is entering the second year of a two-year loan deal to newly promoted Electric Yugal with an option to buy for the Bolts. He did well for Electric during their promotion campaign in Unang Liga, but can he do the same in the Premier League? Ranulph Bustamante believes Palmer can do it with the national team, so there's that.

CAM: Clifton DESPUJOL 20 y/o, Imperial Markovsky

LW: Elmo BEVAN 32 y/o, Riuwiee United
Like many a youth before him, Elmo Bevan didn't really know where he wanted to go, what he wanted to do. He played in the middle of the park. He played as a forward. He played in the wings. And it was there on the left that Elmo finally found his calling, the place where he could put all of his talents on display. After helping Airbus Fhulghamous Besanza to another Fhulghamousian Premier League title, Riuwiee United activated his buyback clause, and the son of Owen Bevan has been doing a great job in the capital. Not good enough to break into the starting eleven of the national team, but a great job nonetheless.

ST: Bradley AQUINO 21 y/o, Kimmirut Panhandle


FORMATION
First Team (Slightly Outdated)


KITS (by Adidulas)


SCHEDULE
TBA

RP Permissions
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes, but I decide the severity and length of time out
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (maximum of 6 per game)
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes, but only 1 per 2 games
Godmod other events: Contact me via TG or Discord first before proceeding

[Indusse]

IFA NEWS NETWORK
March Forward Mercenaries!

---

After the first match of the season against New Zhengguo, Indussean National Team faced the team from United Adaikes. United Adaikes who also won their first game was on all hope that they may be able to win this match also. Alas! But that's not what Margaret left for them, maybe they didn't have enough rubber chicken sacrifices or production. Whatever the reason is the result cannot change. United Adaikes was defeated by the Blues for a score of four against none. With the victory over United Adaikes, Indusse once again secures it's group top position. United Adaikes at the start played really well sending the match to a 0-0 draw in the first half. The Panthers suddenly lost all their charm as they came to the ground for the second half, within three minutes indusse scored their first goal against them by a header from Goblin Grundjee. Goblin Grundjee who was in the bench at the first half started his match with a fabulous header goal! Baskar H Kumar (69') and Mersiás (77' and 87') scored the goals after Grundjee establishing a strong lead against the Panthers. The Panthers tried to score back and came to full activeness around the eightieth minute of the game. But ten minutes weren't enough for them to win over Indusse.

Looking at the rest of the group matches, Trolleborg defeats New Zhengguo for a score of three against zero. With the win against New Zhengguo, Trolleborg has secured second place with the same points as Indusse. Indusse is leading the table due to the Goal Difference of +8. The third match of the group was between Silver Beach and Reçueçn. Reçueçn, who lost the last match against United Adaikes was facing Silver Beach who had a similar record of losing but against Trolleborg. Reçueçn defeats Silver Beach for a close margin of four against three and secures the third position since they led United Adaikes in terms of Goal Differences. Silver Beach and New Zhengguo, is currently fighting among themselves and trying to grab the last place of the group. New Zhengguo is currently in the bottom since they conceded nine goals in just two matches.

Another Spotlight of the last day was the visit by Captain Komtur Dietrich von Marienwerder. Captain Komtur serves the Tuetonic Order and visited the stadia after hearing about the IAC being hosted and trying to get recruits for his war against Poland which had already been dragged as far as two years. The IFA after hearing his arrival has circulated a notice that no staff should go with the captain to fight any wars. It also contained the wording "Try to keep him away, but don't be rude." A majority of the supporters left to the homeland since the venues lacked facilities. The Existing Supporters weren't so inclined to his ideas and politely rejected the offer to participate in the war for the Tuetonic Order.

[Berdeng Bundok]

Berdeng Bundok – 2 (1)

Burger; Barrameda, Sigurgíslisson, Gellner (88’), Tanjutco (73’ Weinhaber ); Balangao, Hertzfeld; Alicante, Jónarsson (73’), Buenavidez (51’ A. Rauscher ); Bernardino (40’) (53’ Tsukada )

Magnecia – 0 (0)

A psychic howl of fear and confusion almost knocked Commander Threva Dewspark to the deck as her ship, the DSS Poseider, was sucked into the singularity. Warning systems beeped, red light bathed the bridge in a ghoulish illumination, bulkheads moaned; the collective tumult of the crew’s heightened emotions were tearing the powerful empath apart just as the astonishing interstellar forces were tearing her ship apart. She let out a wail of horror as the all-engulfing black rushed up and swallowed her and the ship with it…

“Captain. Captain? Captain!”

Threva awoke groggily. An immense thistle appeared to be waving in her face; as her eyes refocussed, Ensign Luna’s spiny features sharpened into view.

“Captain, are you alright?”

Threva accepted a hand and sat up. “I’m fine, thank you. Ship status report?”

“All calm,” reported Ensign Luna. S/he clearly wasn’t ready to accept the Captain’s swift and recovery and ran a medical scanner over her.

“I’m fine, Ensign,” Threva repeated. “Please, the ship…”

“The gravimetric distortions are over.”

“The Bundoko national football team has stopped sucking?”

“I wouldn’t go that far but at least they’ve stopped sucking us.”

“Were we dragged far off course?”

Ensign Luna hesitated and glanced over to the navigation console. Lieutenant Nysathusa was stood at the panel, tapping away with long blue fingers and a look of faint concern behind her breathing mask. Luna’s spines rustled as s/he helped Captain Dewspark to her feet.

“That’s what we’re trying to work out, Captain. We’re in orbit around a planet. Its inhabitants call it…” Luna took a deep breath.

“Earth.”

Threva blinked at the young navigator. “They call it ‘Earth’? Ensign, every species in the galaxy calls their home planet ‘Earth’. That doesn’t tell me anything!”

“It’s a Class M planet.” The voice belonged to Lieutenant Ksetaksa Killhunt, a geologist. S/he clacked hir beak at the Captain and then continued. “It’s in the habitable zone of an unremarkable G-type main sequence star. Atmosphere 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen. Population estimated at 390 million sapients.”

Captain Dewspark looked at the viewscreen. A little blue blob, wreathed in clouds, and speckled with green-brown landmasses.

“Have we made contact?”

“Negative, Captain. They’re pre-industrial. They aren’t aware of our presence.”

“Pre-industrial? Then the First Directive applies. We must not disrupt their natural progression,” said Threva sternly.

Killhunt nodded, hir headfeathers ruffling. S/he tapped hir console with a talon and brought up some telemetric data. The numbers blurred in front of Threva’s eyes and she felt light-headed again – only the fear of collapsing and spiking herself on Ensign Luna’s spiny exterior kept her standing.

“Captain, the scan data is extremely odd. The radiocarbon decay rates do not match our control data.”

“Explain.”

Killhunt scritched the feathers under hir chin with a talon. “Captain…”

“Dammit, Lieutenant, where are we?”

“It’s not a question of where, Captain.” Ensign Mornwulf, sitting at the ops station, looked up balefully at his commanding officer. “It’s a question of… when.”

---

“OK, thank you Chiefs.”

Threva had called Chief Petty Officers Leylan Pasurıj and Fompy to the bridge to discuss damage repair. The two struck quite a pair, the glowering, dour Subterranean, and the 9-inch tall Murkling, always bubbly (metaphorically, with ideas, and literally, with silk pouches). Damage was mainly superficial, though a bulkhead had blown out on Deck 1a, and she wanted her two experienced engineers to prioritize getting the Hyper-Drive back online. If Mornwulf and Killhunt were correct – and she knew they were – they had been pulled nearly 700 years back in time by the singularity. (The Bundoko national football team really sucked.) Chief Pasurıj grunted her assent, and then stooped, allowing Chief Fompy to climb up her beard and hop onto her shoulder. The two headed off to see to the repairs.

“I want to send down an Away Team.”

Lieutenant Amélie Chiasson’s whiskers bristled. “Captain,” said the ship’s hyperintelligent communications officer, with great concern on her face. “Remember, the First Directive…”

“The First Directive prevents us from interfering in the development of pre-Hyper-Drive cultures,” said Threva. “It does not prevent us from carrying out our mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no…”

“Captain, stop, I must insist! You’ll get us sued!”

“Oh alright. But we’re scientists, Lieutenant. This world – this ‘Earth’ – is a strange and wonderful new place. The Chiefs tell me it will be days before the Hyper-Drive is back online and we can attempt a temporal jump back. I’d like to use that time productively.”

Lt. Chiasson grumbled into her beard but didn’t protest further.

“What are the chances our translators will work?”

“They seem to communicate verbally and through the written word.”

“Have you been able to analyse some of the written texts?” The Poseider’s powerful scanners could zoom in and capture a single page from a book, even from high orbit.

“I tried, Captain, but someone had drawn pictures of flowers all over them.”

“Try again, Lieutenant. And bring your findings to the senior officers’ meeting this evening. I want Commander Hammerman fully briefed before he takes his team down.”

Lieutenant Commander Jed Aleksandr Hammerman was the Chief Science Officer, but he was no shirking lab geek: rather, he was a barrel-chested explorer, never happier than when he could take an Away Team down to some fresh new planet. His disregard for rank and discipline made him popular with the crew, if not always with his senior officers. Lt. Chiasson nodded, clutching the scans to her chest, and twitched her whiskers at the Captain before turning to leave. Threva sat back in her chair, and tried to decide who to assign to Jed’s team.

The population of the planet were humanoid and that ruled out some of the more exotic crew members, such as the Crag or any of the Insecto-Desiccants. The bulk of the Away Team would need to be Anthro-Desiccants, who could most easily pass among humanoids – height a little tall, skin a little translucent, but two arms and two legs, at least. And just the one head – she mentally added Archon Jjuuddeerrbbiiddiill to the ‘no’ list.

[The 14 Stars]

The 14 Stars bounces back by beating Garbelia

Today we were here to inform you on the match of the Starsian side against Garbelia, a nation with alot of mystery around it because once again no player names or any backgrounds were known to the Starsians.
With that said they looked confident to win this time after nearly a good result against top team Squidroidia who was up against Kriegiersien also a much feared side which was also the most controversial team here.
However any team would have to be defeated and this Garbelian side was no diffrent, before the match the following was said.

Coach Landry: ''Alright everyone tomorrow we play Garbelia, i want a fierce match and a team that gives itself for the full 100% because no matter who we are up against we can win any match if we set our minds to it.
I wanna see exactly that tomorrow, eveyrone lets win this match!''

Matchday

The Garbelian side was a really casual side, you average players and a bit underprepared and amateur-ish if you would try to keep it nicely although sadly there wasn't anything professional about them here.
As our national anthems played the teams made themselves ready to play, due to the recent success of the Womens and U18 team the pressure also on the National Team was growing with each day that passed.
Finally the game kicked off, Garbelia was allowed to play around at first, they even had some small chances but our keeper Tom Feeney made one save after another and had seemingly no trouble with any of their shots at all.
It became quickly clear that the Starsian side was superior and they easily took off the ball and toyed around with the Garbelians showing them all sides of the field before in the 29th minute finally scoring, Maximillian Flare decided that it was time to put our team on the scoreboard and shot the ball from outside the box in the top corner outside the reach of the goalie.

Halftime

Valerian: ''Alright we know these people are amateurs now, i'd say we score once more in the second half and show them some mercy as their association clearly has no idea what the level of the multiverse is.
I'd almost feel sorry for the brave players that oppose us, but anyway do you all agree with this?''

Flare: ''Sounds like a plan, its no use to trash them into a 10 - 0 anyway neither our team nor theirs will get any better from that result so i think its a fair solution to solve this situation, how about the coach?''

Landry: ''As long as you get the 3 points i'll leave the amount of goals scored up to you''

Valerian: ''Then thats settled, lets go for the second half!''

Second half

As the second half started rolling like they said they toyed around some more before shattering the last hopes, it was not a bad side they were up against but just not on the same level as most multiverse teams.
It had been with our team for a little while ago the same, but heavy investments and new talents up and coming made it look alot better for the future of the Starsian soccer industry.
Finally after neary half an hour in the 81th minute it was Becky Ray who decided the game in our favor by scoring the second and last goal with a very neat and strong overhead kick at which the opponent reacted too late.
A little while later the referee ended this nightmare and a 2-0 victory for The 14 Stars made have a come back in the group.

Match statistics

Goals
Garbelia: 0

The 14 Stars: Maximillian Flare (1) Becky Ray (1)

Substitutions
Alan White out > Jenna Wilson in

[Sannyamathland]

Team Info
Head Coach: Sergey Kramnik
Assistant Coach: Henrikh Shangoyan
Captain: Vladimir Ivyich(V.I.) Mount
Trigram: USR
Nickname: Lions,White Lions
Sponsors: Magnung Mobiles(principal sponsors),Owayo Sports(kit sponsors) and several others

23 Men Squad for IAC 13
Goalkeepers:
1.Dmitry Karjodov (29),club: Hepley United FC Sannyamathland
4.Ivan Zinchencko(25),club: Islandside FC Xanneria
23. David Santos Jr(30), club: Sanderburry City FC Sannyamathland

Defenders:
5.Jeff Chalov(28),club: Hepley United FC Sannyamathland
3. Leon Vladinovich (27), club: East Rowling FC Sannyamathland
2.Savreck Javcherenko(36),club: East Rowling FC Sannyamathland
22. Alexei Putin(27),club: Wilkies Wonderers FCSannyamathland
13.Alexander Ostrovksy(23),club: Oldcastle United FC Sannyamathland
33.Mikhail Karpov(29),club: Oldcastle United FC Sannyamathland
6.Viktor Stepashin(24), club: Wilkies Wonderers FC Sannyamathland (Debutant)

Midfielders:
45. Sergey Tymchenko(19), club: West Rowling Albion Sannyamathland(Debutant)
11.Stephan Chubukov(29),club: East Rowling FC Sannyamathland
15.Lev Petrosian(31),club: Howardsburg Athletic Club Sannyamathland(vice captain)
18.Volodymyr Savchenko (27),club: Lommardy FC Sannyamathland
22.Gary Bronstein(25),club: Oldcastle United FC Sannyamathland
13.Joe Leck-Ngidi(21),club: Wilkes Wonderers FC Sannyamathland
17. Danil Cheryshyev(28),club: Greter Grad Sporting Club Sannyamathland

Forwards:
19.V.I.Mount (29),club: Hepley United FC Sannyamathland (captain)
10.Peter Philips(20),club: West Rowling Albion Sannyamathland
9.Ivan Sandiev(23),club: Oljestaden IF Audioslavia
17.Fydor Tchaivok(25),club: Oldcastle United FC Sannyamathland
7. Joseph Antonov(21),club: East Rowling FC Sannyamathland
18.Anton Zerev(24), club: Jarrister City FC Sannyamathland

Starting 11
GK: Dmitry Karjodov
LB: Jeff Chalov
CB: Savreck Javcherenko
RB: Alexander Ostrovsky
CM: Stephan Chubukov
CM: Lev Petrosian
CM: Danil Cheryshyev
RM: Joe Leck-Nigdi
LM: Peter Philips
CF: Ivan Sandiev
CF: V.I.Mount

Formation:3-5-2
Style Modifier: +1

RP Permissions:Okay, now here is something that everyone should read before they RP anything which involves this nation or the players. I am NOT comfortable with my players somehow magically going back in time to play in a medieval absolute monarchy as it messes up my canon way too much. In my canon atleast, my players are playing in a reclusive absolute monarchy which, although has everything that the host has pointed out in his IC information post, is situated in the 21st century and NOT in the medieval times as the host claims to be. You dont need to play by my canon, but all I want to say is please do NOT mention anything that has to do with time or otherwise anything that may involve fantasy elements. It will be better if you just avoid it, or else I will void the RP on my canon atleast. Please keep this in mind. Apart from this the general rules apply, rules like don't kill the players, not causing any career ending injuries, etc. TG me or reach me by discord before godmodding any injury.

[TJUN-ia]

By Peter Davis

Willkommen zurück in Belnegau and after a 4-0 win over Saterun kicked off the new era of TJUN-ian football, the Jaguars of TJUN-ia returned from their camp in Ziegelstein with a good mood about them. Sure, this society isn't exactly "modern" and their views on anything that isn't Catholic doctrine was a bit "medieval", but we weren't here to focus on all that because we didn't want to mess with the timeline and all that. We were strictly here to focus on the football and that would continue as the bard announced the battle between "Die Jaguare und die Weißen Löwen" - the Jaguars and the White Lions.

Yes, it was time to face our "closest rival" in the form of IAC #12 Sannyamathland, led by Head Coach Sergey Kramnik and who play in a 3-5-2 formation with a similar attacking style to our own. Many expected that out of our first 3 games, this one would be the toughest and David Seems and Li Xiu Ying prepared for this contest as such. But apparently, TJUN-ia wanted to make a statement of intent and as such this contest wasn't really close at all. Like at all. Vladimir Podolov scored a hattrick past Dmitry Karjodov in the first half. That's all you need to know about how this one went. Our Back 4 was imperious today and our attacking threat was simply too much for our opposition to handle. Archer Andrews would score a 2nd-half brace to make it 5-0 before Prince Carter made it "Sechs-Null" in injury time.

With our 2nd Sieg on the board (here's a quick German lesson - we want a Sieg, can tolerate a Unentschieden and will not want a Niederlage), TJUN-ia currently finds itself top of the group by 3 points - but with 3 games left to play, a lot of work was still ahead of us. Next up in the keep will be unranked Cakranegara, who managed their first point ever this matchday and will certainly be hungry for more. GO JAGS! GEHEN SIE JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group C, all matches at Ziegelstein Castle Keep, Ziegelstein)
MD1: vs Saterun (60IAC) W/S 4-0 (1st)
MD2: vs Sannyamathland (12IAC) W/S 6-0 (1st)
MD3: vs Cakranegara (UR)
MD4: vs Montana Verde (25IAC)
MD5: vs Sajnur (31IAC)

[Almuzahara]

halftime, atlantia v. almuzahara
outskirts of Castle Ziegelstein

The Panthers, after suffering defeat at the hands of Kriegersien, had gone into their second match against unranked Kingdom of Atlantia with a vengeance. The first half had been nothing short of slaughter, to the dismay of the locals, who were coincidentally all rooting against them. Araz Fernandez, lethal as usual, had netted a brace, but it had been young Omar al-Hadda to surprise from his position in defence, scoring a third goal during injury time to loud jeers and hisses.

"What were they booing me for?" Omar said as the team regrouped at half time (in absence of a locker room, they had all hung out on the side of the field like a U-8 team). "Absolute beauty of a half-volley back there." Some of the older players and those based abroad snickered. "I'll give you a hint, Omar, look down...nah, to the left a bit more...yeah, there," said Rashid Averroes, directing the young fullback towards the coffee colour of his skin. "Aw, screw that," Omar said, suddenly infuriated. "Can't wait to win this Cup. Rub it in their twelfth-century faces."

"Fourteenth, technically," offered backup keeper Said Abdulrahman, to rolled eyes. Rashid started to offer a biting reply, but was distracted by the appearance of what appeared to be some kind of medieval knight giving Atlantia's team talk on the opposing sideline. "Wait, who is that?"

"The organizers told us about that before the match," manager Yusuf Alaoui replied calmly. If the team hadn't been so dominant he would've chastised them for losing focus after slipping up against Kriegerisen, but up 3-0 and facing zero total shots from the opposition, he didn't have much to talk about. "His name's Komtur Dietrich von...Komtur Dietrich. He's trying to recruit for a crusade against Poland." He raised a hand in response to the barrage of questions. "No, I don't know what Poland is."

Said was indignant. "Well, he can't be giving a team talk for the other team! That's host bias!"

"Why don't you go over there and tell him?"

"Yeah, maybe I will!" he said, standing up, ignoring the muffled laughs behind him, and walking across the pitch.

"Hey, how about we bust out the prayer celebration after we hang seven on these guys?" a still-fuming Omar suggested. His tone and gestures made it clear that "these guys" did not refer to the opposing team.

---

several hours after atlantia v. almuzahara
holding cells, Castle Ziegelstein

"Jesus, Said, what'd they do to you?" Yusuf Alaoui asked his backup goalkeeper, who was clearly worse for wear.

"Turns out medieval peasants are pretty good at fighting. I've got some sort of trial tomorrow in 'secular court'. Dunno what 'bishop's court' is, but there was no way choosing that would've turned out well for me."

"They can't just beat up an opposing player! We can get Belnegau disbarred if we go to the IAC committee-"

"-I heard they haven't been responding to messages-"

"This is completely unacceptable!"

Said smiled. "How many did we score on them, boss?"

Yusuf sighed. "Seven. Abdellah, Tariq, Ahmed, and Omar."

"al-Hadda brace, huh? Did he do the celebration?"

"Yeah. Caused a bit of a...diplomatic incident."

"Worth it."

[Trolleborg]

Greetings, compatriots!
It’s TTV with a fascinating story, which happened to our fans today. A local noble knight with a completely unpronounceable name arrived in the town where the games of our group are held - to understand that this is a very important person, it was enough to look at the attitude of the local population towards him, who bending like reeds in the wind in his view. Apparently, he first expected to find in Belnegau a tournament in some kind of martial arts, probably counted to encourage the fighters to take part in his military campaign, and was in a somewhat bad mood after seeing what was really happening. He first visited the location of the Indusse team, and then arrived at the camp of fans and football players of the Trolleborg national team built for the duration of the tournament. Apparently, since we were not the first on his way, he came to us already slightly prepared. Apparently, he did not completely put away the idea of recruiting strong guys from Trolleborg, but he apparently already realized that the overwhelming majority of the principality's guests did not share his political principles and worldviews. In addition, on the way to us, we think, he will make his own impression of principality guests abilities, since he stumbled upon place where guests of the country try their hand at local agricultural pursuits: a group of fans tried to master the scythe and sickle, and our auto-translator AI Keithss translated his remark on what he saw as “something like – crooked hands they have, cannot do a simple thing, they are not capable to help us in fight".

The person in charge of the Trolleborg camp met the distinguished guest at the site in front of the main entrance, greeted him, albeit without the ornateness due to Belnegau standards, and offered the knight and his retinue his services as a guide. The guest examined the prefabricated houses with interest, looked inside several of them, made a couple of remarks on the theme “this is very convenient”, even inquired about the price and delivery issues of such buildings. The water supply and the associated amenities did not make an impression on him though – as he said, "a real warrior does not need all this, such a things only for cissies and lazy people". Electricity and television arouse his interest, but in a purely utilitarian sense, and knight lost his interest when it turned out that in local conditions all this is not very useful. The 3D technique caused a rather emotional reaction - judging by the exclamations of the knight and his retinue, tangible characters landscapes and everything else emerging from the air, at first was considered a form of tricks of some evil spirit, although collective and single 3D photographs and a photo panel with a group of guests printed on the spot somewhat smoothed the situation. It’s interesting that guests decline any proposals of playing football to understand what sort of thing it was.

The knight and his retinue were also invited to dinner, which they, not without some visible doubt, agree to eat. Then he was interested in the question of the religious preferences of the inhabitants of Trolleborg, and after listening to everything that interested him, he turned to a man in a cassock, about whom we already knew that he was a representative of the local clergy, and asked him how our beliefs could be interpreted and ranked relatively to his own. Looked like answers is satisfied him at least partly. After that, the guest spent about an hour more talking about what useful for conducting military campaigns could be purchased in Trolleborg, and showed commendable ingenuity, reasoning that although something simple, of the armored vehicle class, from those produced by our famous arms holding TTI, he could afford to buy if dig deeper into the pockets, but this things unlikely to be able to operate effectively, which means that while having spent a lot, he still cannot get a serious, decisive advantage in his campaign. But he expressed his intention to purchase all kinds of goods such as rations and tents. After a short meeting with his advisers, he surprisingly quickly built a supply chain from two points in the Rejected Realms region, where the Trolleborg flag airline flies, and worked out the logistics issues.

Then the guest was invited to watch football in the fan zone, but he limited himself to the first ten minutes of the game and preferred to stare at the fans for another ten minutes, after which he expressed a desire to go. At parting, the organizers of the camp presented him with several souvenirs, which, after some hesitation, he accept and handed over to the priest.

[Saterun]

Back on Track

Its Saterun Sports Network here today, and we'll be looking at the current IAC 14 as it has gone for the Claws!

Past
The first game was, needless to say, a terrible start. TJUN-ia made sure that the national team's first official match(the Claws signed up for and technically participated in the IAC 13, but I wasn't playing NS the whole time) was a terrible loss. Neither Thiago nor Mitzinho could pull off a goal, and Ralf Abiatti's position as the team's #1 is in question. Martin Freeberg has announced that he will continue being the starting goalkeeper for the rest of the group stage, at least. If we make it farther than that, Rahul Marković might have a chance to shine.

Present
The next round was certainly an improvement from the previous one. Thiago Esparza got three and Mitzinho got one against Sajnur. It was interesting to see the 5' 8'' Mitzinho play alongside the 6' 2'' Thiago. The small Easterner played a more fluid, graceful game that is a sight on the shores of Saterun's eastern states, while Esparza played for power. The combination, weird as it was, worked and got Saterun a victory.

Future
Saterun currently sits in 2nd in their group, only being ahead of Sannyamathland on goal differential. But, according to Saterun women's team head coach, Tara Grety, "Goal differential is what got us to the final[Jenna Raven Cup 1]." In case it becomes a tight race for second, Saterun could fall back on being one of the top four third place teams, but that isn't optimal. The biggest challenge and competitor in this group will certainly be TJUN-ia.

Player Ratings

Best Players:
Thiago Esparza: 9.1
Glenn Lundquist: 9.0
Ayaan Toole: 8.3

Worst Players:
Ralf Abiatti: 4.9
Andrei Coiro: 5.8
Saveli Holst: 6.7

[New Lusitania and the Algarves]

Convocatória do 14º Campeonato de Associações Independentes/14th Independent Associations Championship Call-up

Coach: Francisco Grilo

The OOC Bit: RP Permissions
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Within moderation
RP injuries to my players: Yes - nothing too severe
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes, within moderation
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes, within moderation
Godmod other events: Yes, perhaps check?
Best of luck to all, have fun.
{i]Any questions? Reach me through an NS telegram, or, better yet, through the NS Sports Discord Server.[/i]

GK António Lopes (OF Académica)
Preparing to be full-time No.1, Lopes is a promising goalkeeper who could live up to expectation
GK Rui Patríce (União Leiriense)
Old veteran Patríce is now drawing his Selecção's chapter at a close, now alternating with Lopes. A trusty goalkeeper and unstoppable on his day, Patríce hopes he can be part of the team that finally does it after returning to his hometown through União Leiriense. This is very likely his very final cycle with the National Team
GK Luís Manuel (Sporting CL)
Luís Manuel shows himself to be a promising young keeper with plenty to give, despite having a weakness in his footwork. It is likely to look to see him play in at least one or two games this cycle


LB Rúben Vinagrete )Sporting CL)
A good winger which advances the ball well, the left-back moved from OFA where he won his first title, to the Lions. The main pick in recent World Cups he now has some good competition from the second option, which will be one of the decisions to watch in this Qualifying route
LB Nuno Mendonça (Porto)
One of the most controversial transfers of the season, Mendonça has moved North to Porto FC. Whether this move will be succesful is something else entirely but his call-up for the Selecção isn't unjustified after good showings last time
CB Fernando Ferradura (Tikariot City - TIKARIOT)
One of the defenders of the moment, Ferradura kept his good work up in the Tikariot Premier League earning him his undisputed right as the main centre-back
CB Vítor Grafanil (CD Marítimo)
One of the surprises of last season was Grafanil, playing in Madeira. His remarkable talent in recovering the ball will most certainly prove itself useful over the campaign.
CB Duarte Domingues (Sevilha)

[CB Vilarinho - Pedro Vilar (SCUT)
Pedro Vilar, or Vilarinho, didn't have as good a season as the prior but has still been called up by Grilo due to his consistency when off the bench
RB João Cancela (Sevilha)
RB Ricardo Pedralva (Vitória de Guimarães)


LM Gonçalo Guerra (Vitória de Guimarães)
Guerra started out by taking Horto's position away and has now quickly become one of the team's more developed players being able to cross well from the wing and pass the ball well
LM João Pedro (Bemfica)
Still young, Pedro is Bemfica's sole representation on the squad, doubling down on the good performances that won him Young Player of the Year the season before, despite the recovering reds' midtable finish of 12th.
CM Bruno Fernando (Sporting CL) (C)
Reaching the end of his tenure, captain Bruno Fernando is another whose main objective is to get the team where it needs to be before the end of his career. A great distributor of the ball, also carries a potent long shot
CM João Palhagueira (Valnohar Rovers - TIKARIOT)
Fernando and Caldeirão's old defensive companion, Palhagueira has since risen to the occasion at Valnohar Rovers, Tikariot. A good safety net, knows when to change play and has good vision
CM Pedro Caldeirão (Sporting CL)
Fernando's natural heir at the Selecção, Caldeirão recently won the League. Sharing that great capacity to get the ball ahead, Caldeirão is also more prolific in his netting endeavours, making him a good all-round player
CM Sérgio Azinheira (Porto)
Good passer of the ball and a sturdy rock in Porto FC's midifield
RM Francisco Gama (Sevilha)
Set to retire at the end of next year after the July competitions, Gama has had a good run and is the usually the national reference on the wing
RM Miguel Pereira (SCUT)
Pereira is an avid go getter of the ball, willing to fall back into defence or push ahead to the final third, making him an esteemed and valued member of the team. Set to replace Gama in phases over the course of the campaign, according to analysts.
Luís Miguel (Sp.Bracarense)
Back in the Selecção, Miguel remains a good player being able to demonstrate good link-up and interplay as well as complementing attack well
CAM Bernardo Veiga (Sevilha)
Good attacking midfielder, despite a slight slump in form comparatively to his performances at Sevilha. Position in jeopardy due to the ability of Caldeirão also making this locale work well for him


ST André Silveira (Sevilha)
Despite ageing, Silveira remains constant as the Selecção's best striker, being thorough in his striking abilities
ST Daniel Jota (OF Académica)
His eternal companion, Jota and Silveira have seen plenty of great matches for the Selecção providing a memorable duo up front, setting each other up well. Hopefully in WC89 there's still plenty more to come
ST Gonçalo Paciente (União Leiriense)
Favoured well at the end of the previous qualifying campaign, Paciente shows promise and a future for strikers in the Lusitanian formation
ST Filipe Vieira (Sp.Faro)
Vieira, on a two-year development loan at Faro, has shown some good talent despite being young and his earned him a place in the Selecção AA
ST Nuno Silva (Sporting CL)
Silva has tustled plenty with other forwards for the main positon at his home club, but his work has paid dividends as he's included in the 23-man squad for the first time.


GK Duarte Costa (Porto)
Short but agile, not many would have said much of Duarte Costa when he first came on for the Dragons, but since then, has definitely become one of their most exciting prospects. Despite being on the Reserve side, don't be too surprised if he comes onto the 23-man squad in the later international windows.
DF Ricardo Alves (Bemfica)
Young prospect from the Bemfica academy played well in his starts in April and May of last season
DF José Bento (OF Académica)
Bento is a prospective defender being able to stop shots well and take the hits necessary to prevent conceding
MD Mateus Nogueira (Desp S.Jorge [NLU] - on loan)
On loan for a season, Nogueira is sure to get more playing time at Desportivo de São Jorge, being able to play midfielder and a more defensive role, he's extremely versatile
MD João Cabral (Sporting CL)
Only just missing the cut, Cabral is a good winger and looks set to join the team on a full time basis following Gama's departure and so is working to impress and shine to make it happen
FD Belmiro (Beira-Ria)
Belmiro showed good pace and assist rates for Aveiro's Beira-Ria side, making him a solid candidate for an eventual slot
FD Francisco Machado (Sp.Bracarense)
Latest young talent, Machado is on loan at Bracarense but shows good promise at his extremely young age. Awarded a mention in the reserves following his performances.

[Montana Verde]

Montaña Verde – 0 (0)
Dolfo; Roberta, Magdalena, Jairo, Juderías; Ana-Ximena; Valentinha, Julia Varela, Kristjana; Verónica Ximena (59’ Naomí Berrocal ), Osito (80’ Benji )

Cakranegara – 0 (0)

“I told him – never! The people of Montaña Verde have seen enough of war. The brutality of brother against brother, sister against sister, second cousin twice removed in law against…”

“Yes, I understand.”

“That President Santángel has united the country, and finally ushered in an era of peace. No more paramilitary death squads roaming the countryside, no more guerilla insurgents blowing up city blocks. And in that era of peace, why would I want to take up arms once again, and go to fight in some foreign realm?

“Besides, perhaps he wasn’t aware, but the people of Montaña Verde remember what it is to have injustice waged on them in the name of crusader armies. Our long folk memory tells us of a time when foreign devils came and took away our access to the coast, slaughtered our people by the thousands in their cities, just like the hell this ‘Teutonic Order’ has inflicted of the people of Danzig.

“Not in my name, colonizer!

“Libertad!”

Primitivo ended his speech standing, his sword thrust into the starry night sky. Well, it was a spoon, not a sword, but the effect was nearly as dramatic. A light patter of applause sounded from around the campfire.

“Good speech!”

“Bravo!”

“Well said!”

“You really told him all that?” The only note of skepticism came from Valentinha, watching Primitivo carefully through narrowed eyes. He sat back down and stirred his stew with the spoon.

“Yes. Well. Words to that effect.”

“Uh huh. I didn’t know you spoke Medieval German.”

“I think he got the gist of it.”

“I’m sure. And you told him all this… while you were in the latrine pits?”

Primitivo blanched. He had drunk more well water, and missed the game against Cakranegara as a result. (“Aaaah! It burns!”) Not that he had missed a great footballing occasion. The pitch had actually been of better quality this time; those farmhands had got to work on levelling it out, showing great industry despite stopping every two hours to pray. Unfortunately, said lush, flat playing surface had been fit for little more than a pleasant sleeping surface. The rest of the Condors had steered clear of the well water and drunk nothing but beer, wine and mead for the past few days. Their collective hangovers had hit somewhere around the time the referee blew the whistle for kickoff. So while they’d not shown much attacking intent as they staggered around clutching their heads, at least they hadn’t conceded – perhaps their opponents had been reduced to a similar state.

“Yes,” he finally admitted.

“Do you think it’s possible that he came looking for someone to join his cause. And found you squatted over voiding your bowels and ranting in a language he didn’t understand a word of, and a combination of the smell and the sheer confusion drove him off?”

Primitivo took a sip of stew. His had grown cold while he was recounting his epic speech. “Yes,” he said reluctantly.

“Oh well. It was still a good speech.”

[HUElavia]

Domination on First Contact!

HUElavia overcomes Abanfleft in convincing and dominating victory.

HUElavia 3-1 Abanhfleft
(Nascimento 21' (P), Sol 38', Doisneau 82' | Carmichael 87')
(Ostfeld Fields, Ostfeld, Belnegau)

Entering Matchday 2, HUElavia was already getting adjusted to the peculiar setting they were in. Back in time in a foreign and distant land was truly something unique that no team had ever experienced. But, the team, staff, and fans were adjusting to the situation with the supplies and makeshift set up they all put together. During the off days of the tournament at Ostfeld, the team takes the time to train for the matches, studying the broadcast, given their limited resources for this tournament (so limited that the broadcast back home is only doing HUElavian matches due to the logistical complications going on). Regardless, the team is taking in well the stay, with some of the more religious members of the team going to town to pray in the local church as a way to interact with the locals and pay their respects. Despite all this fun, the team now had to take on their first serious test of the tournament: Abanhfleft. A team that HUElavia had various run-ins in different sports, but this was the 2nd time they were meeting in the IAC, with the last meeting ending in a 2-2 draw. The A-Team was selected to play, with Casillas in goal and Fonseca-Mantovani named as Captain, while the team wore their Home Uniform.

The match was mainly dominated by possession and attacks by Os Amarelos/Los Amarillos, where they gave little opporunities for Abanhfleft to make any sort of movements towards the HUElavian goal. The opening goal came in the 21st minute, when Yamane was on the ball and running towards goal, trying to juke Cardew, when she moved to the side and was clipped by the goalie, falling down in the box, with the referee pointing to the spot without hesitation and giving a yellow card to Cardew. Nascimento stepped up and sent Cardew the wrong way as it blasted to the top right corner of the goal, making it 1-0. Nascimento ran to the corner flag to do a dance with his teammates while the fans present got up to applause and cheer the goal. In the 38th minute, Nazario was on the ball, being covered by Matundan, where he saw Sol open to the right, passed it over to him and Sol was being covered by Wayne. He moved to the right and then to the left, giving a curving shot that went past the fingertips of Cardew and hit the corner of the post and bar, to ricochet into the goal, making it 2-0. Sol was mobbed by his teammates with hugs and pats while the bench jumped to celebrate the goal, while the crowd got up to applause and cheer the great goal. At the half, HUElavia had a commanding lead, being in control of the match.

The second half saw Abanhfleft take more chances, with attacks coming from Tabarez, MacAlistair, and Bensoussan during the majority of the half. Despite these chances, Casillas made spectacular saves, including one where a header by Tabarez was saved by Casillas on the line of the goal in the 71st minute. In the 82nd minute, a pass from Rosado (in for Vogt) reached Chanca (in for Sol), when it was deflected out by Nagarkar (in for Wayne), where it landed to the feet of Doisneau, who blasted it past the outfield players and left Cardew standing still as it blasted into the goal, making it 3-0. Doisneau jumped up in joy and celebration for the goal as she was mobbed by her teammates and the bench, while the crowd got up to applause and cheer, as well as whistle in approval for the blistering goal. Abanhfleft were distraught as they had the life sucked out of them knowing they were being given another loss in another sport. Despite this, in the 87th minute a pass by Scholes got to Carmichael where he took a low shot that rolled past the fingertips of Casillas and into the left corner of the goal, making it 3-1. Carmichael got the ball and ran back to center circle wanting to keep the game going, but HUElavia held out and got another 3 points to their name in Group A.

With the victory, HUElavia is the sole leader in Group A with 6 Points (2-0-0), followed closely by Berdeng Bundok, Magnencia, and Abanhfleft with 3 Points each (1-0-1). Surprisingly, New Lusitania and the Algarves and Muralos are each sitting in 5th and 6th Place respectively with 1 Point (0-1-1). HUElavia will play next against Muralos, which will see the A-Team playing once more, with Casillas in goal and Fonseca-Mantovani as the Captain, while the team will be wearing the Special Uniform once again (while Muralos wears their Teal and White Uniform). In the recent days, the HUElavian fans ran into Komtur Dietrich von Marienwerder, who was seeking to recruit them for his cause. They politely refused, stating that they're mainly pacifists and choose to get along and trade & negotiate with their neighbors, which perplexed the Captain. Regardless, he marched on, looking for people to recruit. With the locals, some of the people have started to oogle the HUElavian players, with the men being interested in the female players (in particular the tanned and mixed ones), and the women being interested in all the men (especially the darker skinned ones). Regardless, the fans and players have followed the "No copulation with the population" rule set upon them, and they maintain cordial relations with the people. Now, all the team can do is play well and put a foot forward towards possibly advancing to the Knockout Rounds.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Eshialand]

The Paradise Affairs
Part VI: Nowhere and Somewhere
Prologue | Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V
Eshialand 3-3 Omerica

"Welcome to Aleirave!" Refilene announced as their boat arrived on Lahaira's shore. William was shocked by what he saw, this small city on a tiny island in the most beautiful tropical paradise he'd ever seen.

They had landed on the outskirts of town, far from the rabble and the crowd. The houses were large, but the hearts truly cold. Next to the port was an old, rusting sign that read "NO NATIVES ALLOWED" in big bold letters, which Refilene's eyes lingered on for a good 5 seconds, thinking that they were back in the same Aleirave he had been used to, even though that was very much not the case.

"Well, it sure seems nice here..." the king said, blissfully unaware of the racist system that made all of the wealth this island had ever had possible.

"Yeah, it really is nice... but this isn't the real Aleirave, your Highness. It really isn't the same one."

"...is this related to Tereyev?"

"Our divide goes back far, far longer than Aleksandr Tereyev. William... this right here, what you're seeing... this is simply not Aleirave. Even after Tereyev's death, I still don't feel safe here. Come on, let's go into the city...

And so, the two made their way to the center of the city, where the people didn't have too much money, but they did have all of the heart on the island. This land clearly wasn't occupied by the Klysevian elite, but rather by the Aleiravans who had fought so long to be free, those 85% with but 15% of the wealth. The locals were always friendly to the two, stopping to wave at their friend Refilene, and perhaps even recognizing the king and saying hello to him too...

"This is the Aleirave I know, sir. For me, this is the real Aleirave. No matter what some may think of this place, this is where the real character is. This is where the true wealth lies, not in paper or gold, but in good friends and stories told... oh dear, now I'm speaking in rhyme! Ha ha ha... we may have problems, but we always persevere..."

"Fine, I accept."

"Accept what?" Refilene seemed a bit confused by what William just said.

"I accept the offer to incorporate Aleirave into Eshialand... now we just have to figure out how to make it all work..."

"Leave that one to me, I have a plan." Refilene said with a wink.

Eshialand - 3 (Meilling 38', 79'; Harran 51')
Omerica - 3 (Beauchesne 23'; Tate 30'; Mac Ealair 67')

[United States of Great America]

Great American Soccer Roster

Make America Great Again!

Head coach: Kaycie Van Dyke
Assistant coach: Greg Eagle
Assistant Coach: Jill Gibson

Goalkeeper #1 Skylar Sweeney

Left Back #6 Jack McCartney
Central Back #16 Sarah Turnbull
Central Back #4 William Rasmussen
Central Back #13 Tanner Mendez
Right Back #33 Sidney Schmitz

Midfielder #7 Kelsey Haas
Midfielder #10 Riley Wintermeyer
Midfielder #17 Madison WIlde

Striker #77 Justin Blumberg
Striker #9 Alejandra Guerrero

GK 23 Stefan Robbins
LB 15 Taylor Shanahan
CB 22 Nick Webster
CB 3 Adrian Craig
CB 2 Madison Haliburton
RB 14 Michael Morrison
MID 8 Lucas Gilligan
MID 31 Erika Grant
S 21 Olivia Reyes
S 19 Emily Gibson

My Opponents, if they RP first. Can do the following:

Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes
Godmod other events: No

[/quote]

[New Lusitania and the Algarves]

STL | Serviços de Transmissão Lusitana»» Desporto
Onde é Belnegau? / Wo ist Belnegau? / Où est Belnegau? / Where is Belnegau?

Put it in any language or translator you want, the question was the exact same for many of the nations now travelling to a place of that name. Most years, the Selecção would probably take the more efficient flight out – but this was Belnegau, and so the organizational troubles began. When the tournament had its host decided unfashionably late in mid-March, the FLF was forced to convene clubs to mash the final weeks together so that the players in the Selecção could make it to the IAC in time.
The issue was that unlike previous editions as has been referred, the National Team travelled to the Germanic land by sail, with the Navy through the NRL Infante, meaning it would take quite some time to get there in the first place. The lucky few fans would sail too, on a secondary ship alongside, accompanied by the media pack. Saying goodbye to New Lusitania in the entrance to Lisbon, they arrived a week or so later in Belnegau through Muehlenfurt. Though the conditions could have been worse, this did affect players slightly, having to ride the sea out. Despite the bizarre experience, optimism on the ship was still high when reaching the new land, with the start of a new tournament.
The draw, done a few days prior in one of the more prestigious locations around the city, hadn’t exactly been favourable with the ever-candidates HUElavia and WC/CoH veterans Abanhfleft on board for this journey, as well as Muralos who have been getting increasingly consistent. Magnecia and Berdeng Bundok would also join the party in the country. The arrival in Ostfeld, was done by a long journey by carriage in which the weather just about held up and the week kept the running theme of having to make do. Twelve teams alone would play in this town, which would surely create a great tournament atmosphere – the IAC had really transformed the locale, but the mediaeval character of the place wouldn’t really just go away, particularly when it came to infrastructure. Not that at this time, anyone was particularly shocked, but the facilities for teams’ were around the same level of traditional housing with none of the amenities that most countries expected. The temporary stadium looked like it was coming along nicely, nonetheless, with work on the stands almost completely in what a few weeks ago was just another field outside the conurbation.

“It’s been tough to get here definitely, but I think if there’s ever a tournament that tries to test the ability of a team to adapt it’s this one and we’ve got a good squad this year, so we’re definitely looking forward to our first match against Abanhfleft, a great side which will for sure be tough” – Francisco Grilo’s first statement was the usual galvanization of the side even in the face of adversity. When asked about the host country he remarked “It’s a very unique and beautiful country, the conditions aren’t particularly ideal but like I said it’s about adapting, the Committee chose this nation and now it’s up to us to do well here.”

https://imgur.com/UhC9kB6
An image that for some reason unbeknownst to the unpaid intern at STL, won't load

The game itself came a few days later and was a cagey affair, to say the least. Neither team looked particularly confident or comfortable advancing with the ball in this new territory. Silveira had a good chance to get the opener early on on twenty minutes of play, but nothing came of it. The Lusitanian side conceded just before half-time from the foot of the main striker, MacAlistair – but the long range assist of Tabarez likely shone brighter. There was some additional determination from the Selecção during the second half, with young kid Vaz bringing the ball forward well with Caldeirão. Cardew really had some work cut out for him to hold the game at 1-0, but all-in-all, it was a rather uninspired affair from the team, who start the tournament with a defeat, hoping the second match will go slightly better.