Copa de la Armonía / Cupa na Còrdadh 82
Invitation process
In terms of the recurrent debates on the size of the CoH field, this bid will fall on the “big” side. There have been easily more than 62 nations who have rostered and actively roleplayed during World Cup qualifications.
I have spoken with Vilita, and they have confirmed that they will be willing to share (anonymized, disaggregated) RP bonus data from WC90. With the RP thread well over 400 posts and likely to pass 600 by qualification’s end, the alternative (of individually marking the entire RP thread of a tournament I’m not even hosting) is prohibitively off-putting. What we will do is ask for the 64* nations ranked highest in RP bonus over the WCQs [excluding qualifiers to the WC] and work from there: not all of those 64 nations may accept invitations in time so the field will either be filled out with invites from the remainder or adjusted downwards.
This is the most straightforward way of having the CoH simply be a tournament for those who made a go of roleplaying the qualifiers.
There will be no distinction between main and puppet nations.
Because of the exceptionally high rate of rostering in WCQ and the need for a swift tournament start, we will not be using the roster-to-signup method, and a simple TG confirmation will be sufficient.
Structure
*64 is the starting premise of the field size. The tournament will not exceed 64 entrants, but if all the invitations are not accepted in a timely fashion, it will be adjusted downwards, in descending order of the following priorities: an equal number of teams in each group stage group; a final field that’s a multiple of 4; an equal number of teams on each side of the tournament.
There will be a single round robin group stage leading to a 32– or 16–team–with–round–of–24–playoff single elimination knockout bracket, plus 3PPO. All games will be played in the host countries. No nation will switch host country until the final stage. Our own nations and puppets will be forcibly drawn into our own sides, and we will then scorinate each other’s side (i.e. all games in Montaña Verde will be scorinated by Licen, and all games in The Isles by G).
Scorination
xkoranate 0.3.3 using NSFS with ± additive mods. We will apply a generous RP bonus and after each cutoff will indicate what the average RP bonus earned over the previous cutoff was, though we will not publish individual RP bonuses.
Tiebreakers will be: points, goal difference, head-to-head results, head-to-head goal difference, IC coin toss [simulated using an OOC scorinated game using only RP bonus].
Experience
While this would be a first hosting gig for Montaña Verde, I have, with my other nations, solo hosted one Baptism of Fire and co-hosted two others, and co-hosted one prior Cup of Harmony; solo hosted two regionals and one co-hosted a third; solo hosted 4 World Cups of Hockey; and solo and co-hosted various other tournaments in various other sports.
In his original stint on NSS, Licen previously hosted two Baptisms of Fire (with Aguazul and Farfadillis), one Cup of Harmony (with Apox), and the second Campionato Esportiva with Cyborg Holland, along with a number of smaller, non-WCC tournaments. Since his return, he has hosted the 30th Campionato Esportiva.
Background
Montaña Verde is a medium sized nation in America [IC], part of the Græntfjaller Commonwealth. It has a population of 26 million, the majority of whom live in the northern half of the country, clustered around the capital Santa Margarita. The country's geography is marked by an extreme ridge of high mountains in the west, and a large rainforest plateau in the east.
Although recent Verdean political history has been fractious, with turmoil, unrest, and revolt, Presidenta Jazmín Santángel Hurtado has brought the quasi-civil war to an end and ushered in a time of peace and reconciliation. Græntfjaller mercenaries have left the country. The People's Army of Liberation have proclaimed triumph and joined the governing coalition. Land reform, social welfare, and indigenous rights are all on the agenda.
Verdeans love football. A short, Catholic, multi-ethnic population, the failures of their own team on the field won't stop them filling the stands as enthusiastic neutrals. The country's political and security station has stabilized although narcotraficantes still inflict occasional trouble, but extra precautions will be taken to ensure a smooth tournament experience for all.
The Licentian Isles are a small island nation in central Esportiva, made up of six major islands in the Licentian Channel, geographically close to Apox, Damukuni, and Filindostan. They are home to around 13 million Licentians, who are split between four parishes named after their major cities: three on the mainland (Montfort, Abingdon, and Colesham), along with St Bart’s which comprises the outlying islands. The capital of the nation is Montfort, a metropolitan city home to a number of diasporas, and the largest city on the Isles.
The political structure of the Isles is best defined as “bloody confusing”. Each parish elects its own parliament (under various names), which then elect a Councillor to represent that parish on the Federal Council of the Licentian Isles. This Council acts as the decision making body for a number of national issues, but a number of major powers are devolved to the parishes. This developed from the previous duchy system, where each parish had a ruling Duke, from whom a Grand Duke was selected. This was overthrown in a violent revolution that occurred after a fascist takeover of the nation, in line with a number of other nations across the multiverse at the time.
Licentians can definitely be described as “sports-mad”. This usually manifests itself in terms of football, where the Cyan-and-Gold are perhaps most famous, but rugby and hockey are also popular. This is in addition to sports such as sailing, canoeing, and mountain biking, which all take advantage of the nation’s natural beauty. Football, being the most popular sport, is surrounded by a large fandom, some of whom are more savoury than others. Many fans will greet the Cyan-and-Gold with flares and banners whether at home or abroad.
