INDEPENDENT ASSOCIATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP 20
INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
IAC Discussion Thread & History
Reigning Champion
Welcome to the Independent Associations Championship (Independents Cup) - 20th edition! This is the signup thread. If you've been here before, you know the drill. If not, read on for more information about the "non-regional" regional tournament!
ELIGIBILITY & ENTRY
Any nation that is not a resident of the Big Four sporting regions - Arrosia, Rushmore, Esportiva, and Anaia - at the time of this post may sign up to compete in the IAC. You may have been resident there in the past and may have competed in their international tournaments previously. You may plan to move to the sporting regions in the future and participation in this tournament does not preclude that, although it would be considered extremely bad manners to do so at the time of participation. Note, even if you've participated in the IAC in the past, you cannot participate with us if you're currently residing in a Big Four region, especially if you've signed up for their tournament.
The Independents Cup is not, of course, a WCC-sanctioned tournament, and while it sometimes uses official WCC rankings it has no impact on those rankings. Nations that have participated in WCs and nations that have not are both welcome to compete in the IAC, by signing up in this thread.
PUPPETS
Puppets of main nations resident in the Big Four are still eligible to compete in the IAC provided the puppets themselves are not resident in the Big Four, and it is permissible to create puppets just to take part here - all eligible nations are welcome. These puppets are suggested to be declared for transparency.
Previous entrants may enter two nations into the IAC provided they meet eligibility criteria. This means any user who competed and RPed (roster + minimum 1 post) in a previous edition of the Independents Cup (it doesn't have to be the nation they are signing up to the IAC with). When entering two nations, please declare puppet status.
Everyone else may enter one nation to this tournament.
HOSTING
Hosting rights for IAC-20 are no longer available. Single or joint host applications were welcome, from users who have experience in hosting competitions of this scale. Bidders must be signed up for the present competition and users behind the nation must have competed in one of the previous installments, even if under a different flag. Host bids should be posted in this thread and include the usual details including methodology, formulae, and indicative scheduling - please read guidance on expectations for format and scorination further down this post. A vote may be organized if more than one bid is received. Currently signed up nations with at least one previous user entry will likely be eligible to vote.
Please note, if only one bid is posted, the IAC-OC reserves the right to select the bid without running a vote, in the interest of time. The IAC-OC also reserves the right to run a vote for a single bid, but a vote is not guaranteed unless there's at least 2 bids. This is consistent with IAC precedent going back to the beginning.
There are currently THREE bids, linked below. The deadline of January 1st has passed,
HUElavia
Poafmersia
Britonisea
HUElavia have won the host vote and are the official hosts of IAC-20. All tournament operations are handed over to them.
FORMAT & SCHEDULE
Precise arrangements will be confirmed by the host once selected and as the numbers become clear, but the suggestion for prospective hosts will be for a group stage dependent on group size followed by a knockout bracket from 16 qualifying nations. Hosts will decide on a cap, with puppets taken out of the draw first if sign-ups exceed this at their discretion if necessary, last in first out.
The timetable will likely run in tandem with the Big Four championships; precise dates to be confirmed and dependent on the rate of sign-ups and the preference of the host, taking cue from the other tournaments. I advise hosts to plan 48 hours between each cut-off to allow good time for RPing.
SCORINATION
The tournament will be scorinated using the host's preferred method which will be confirmed in due course. We have not officially sanctioned an IAC-specific ranking system, thought we've had an unofficial system be used for the last several cycles. We still prefer that IAC-specific ranks or RP bonus amounts must be sizeable enough to potentially allow new and consistently high quality RPers a good shot at the title: see unranked Veldgouwen's run to the final in the first edition.
SIGN-UP & DISCUSSION
Sign up in this thread to participate in the twentieth edition of the IAC. Questions and clarifications welcome. Please remember to declare puppets. For more advanced discussion, feel free to consult our Discussion Thread, available at that link or our forum signature here.
This post confirms Drawkland's sign-up.
Sign-Ups
1. Drawkland
2. StrayaRoos Barrier Islands
3. Reçueçn
4. Sixty-nine X
5. Indusse
6. Montaña Verde
7. Sajnur
8. Tanirinthia
9. Amenria
10. The Elder Lands
11. West Barack and East Obama
12. Juvencus
13. Stevencousin
14. HUElavia
15. Sudilia (puppet of HUElavia)
16. Valentine Z
17. Toluiwa
18. Cakranegara (puppet of Toluiwa)
19. Safiniatin
20. Ile de Richelieu
21. Delaclava
22. Ardsk
23. Safiloa
24. VonHoolia
25. Britonisea
26. Saterun
27. Trolleborg
28. Adab
29. Abanhfleft
30. Archalit
31. Aphrilia
32. The 14 Stars
33. Poafmersia
34. Delte
35. Harry Islands
36. Prince Georges Land
37. Oclea
38. Ceni
39. United States of Devonta
40. Crpostran
Rejected/Withdrawn
none