World Cup 98 | RP thread

[Eraman]

i. The Crown Prince of Pasir

Chapter 2: Ultras Eraman

At the Daulapura Stadium, the ground shook with the roars of forty thousand fans. The southern stand of the stadium where the Ultras Eraman had set up their camp was covered with smoke from the flares that they smuggled into the stadium. Beneath the smoke, stands Ari Pujangga, the capo of Ultras Eraman, leading the Ultras with a megaphone in his right hand, commanding the undivided attention of the whole pack.

"United in the stands, United for Eraman!" Ari shouted through the megaphone.

"Eraman! Eraman!" the crowd responded in a chorus.

Ari glanced at the scoreboard and the match was tightly contested at 2-1 in favor of Eraman. The players were giving their all to ensure they did not concede another goal as Abanhfleft ramped up their attack in the final moment. Jebat Derhaka, the national team's new captain, headed clear another cross in the 85th minute that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Ari looked at the boys around him and said, “Do not stop! They require us more than ever!”

The Ultras followed their leader and drummed even louder while waving their flags frantically.

Ari arrived in Daulapura, the royal capital of Eraman where the match against Abanhfleft was hosted two hours before the game started. It was usually only an hour drive from Anara, the capital city of Eraman but due to traffic, the journey took 1 and a half hours this time around. He walked through the streets surrounding Daulapura Stadium, where makeshift stalls sold Eraman scarves, flags, and street food. The fans were still buzzing after their shocking 1-0 victory away at Milchama in the opening match of the 98th World Cup qualifiers.

The Ultras were gathered in a small warung near the stadium as they waited for clearance to enter the stadium. And the recent announcement made by Putra Kencana was the topic of the day.

”I can't believe we beat Milchama. We are finally going to the World Cup, aren't we?” said Dewa, one of the younger Ultras, as he ate his plate of nasi goreng.

"We started strongly," Ari answered. "But don't let results blind us. ERAFA still needs to be reformed. Putra Kencana's announcement is a step, but we don't trust him yet.

Dewa frowned, "So, you think he's just another politician?"

"I don't know," Ari admitted. "But if he intends to reform ERAFA, he must give it dues first, because trust isn't just given. It's fought for, just like on the pitch."

Everyone in the group nodded. They were all frustrated with the stagnation and corruption-laden ERAFA.

The referee blew his final whistle, signaling the end of the match. Eraman won, 2 wins from the first 2 matches, and the stadium erupted with screams and cheers.

Ari scales the fence between the stands and pitch, waving his black and blue scarf high above his head. He locked eyes with Jebat, as the new national team captain led all the players towards the southern stand to cheer with the Ultras. Ari raised his fist in a show of support. No exchange of words, but the message was clear, that they were in this together.

_______________

Later that night, Jebat Derhaka was left standing on an empty pitch: on his own. The echoes of all those chants that the Ultras threw at him lingered in his mind. His eyes were fixed on the southern stands, where Ari led the wall of noise.

Agung Suryanantha, the head coach, came up to him. "You gave them hope tonight, Jebat," he said.

Jebat nodded, his eyes still on the empty seats. "They also gave me something. A reason to fight."

[Audioslavia]

Carrying the One

Parts [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
[9][10][11]
[12][13][14]

---

A few thousand years ago, Audioslavia had a disastrous fourteen minute experiment with a monarchy. Regardless of how meaningless those fourteen minutes were, the very fact that there was a monarchy at all means two things are true forever. First, there will forever be a lineage of descendants of the usurped monarch. Secondly, it will always occur to at least one person in the world that, hey, maybe there should be a king after all, and while there is a person with a claim to said kinghood, there will always be a Restoration movement, no matter how small or disorganised.

In Audioslavia’s case, there’s also a counter-restoration movement, which aims to brutally murder anyone in Audioslavia should they hold the title of first in line to the throne

---

Fraser Farrington's position on the ship was a little awkward. Captain Douglas was the captain, and the captain is the most important person on the ship, so the captain is the leader. But the reason the captain was on the ship, and the reason the ship was here at all, was because of Fraser. Fraser was The King. The King of Audioslavia. To give him his full title, you'd have to say His Eminent Grace, King Fraser I of Audioslavia, but to give the nation its full title, alongside, you'd end up with His Eminent Grace, King Fraser I of The Republic of Audioslavia. You can't have a king of a republic. The only part of the republic he was king of was pretty much this ship. Even then, ancient maritime law said a naval vessel was not stricty the domain of the king, regardless of the fact that all those aboard were his subjects. Should the ship actually go by ancient maritime law? Well, what if you got rid of ancient laws? Where would you stop? Probably quite quickly after realising that you'd undone the very idea of kingship in the first place.

So Captain Douglas was the leader of the ship, and though he showed deference to King Fraser, King Fraser very much did what Captain Douglas wanted. I mean what was the alternative? Swap positions? Fraser's first action would be to ask Douglas what they should do. Fraser couldn't be captain. Fraser shouldn't be captain. But he could be the other kind of captain.

In aeroplanes, the captain steers the thing. He turns left, the aircraft turns left. He falls asleep, the aircraft hits a mountain. On boats, the guy actually 'captaining' the ship was the helmsman. If there was a position for Fraser on this ship, that's what he wanted it to be. He couldn't just sit on his bed all day, and he'd be damned if he was going to scrub the floors. So after Craig had gone, Fraser had sought the Helmsman. Martin Roper had been a trainee accountant back before he'd found this unit. He was a smart lad, as evidenced by the fact that he'd chosen to be called by his first name on a ship where most used their surname. 'Seaman Martin', everyone agreed, was much more appropriate.

Fraser had asked if he could 'have a go' at the wheel. Martin had, of course, called him Sir and Your Grace and stood aside for Fraser to hold the wheel for a few seconds. "It's steady as she goes" Martin had said. Fraser had nodded, and had kept the wheel still. After a few seconds, Martin had nodded towards Fraser's right. 'Need two degrees starboard there, Your Grace" Martin had said, carefully.
"I thought it was steady as she goes" Fraser had said.
"Yes. That means you have to steer against the natural roll of the waves."
Embarassed, Fraser had tried to put the wheel two degrees starboard, and instead hit 15 degrees port.
"Starboard's on the right, Your Grace" Martin had said, taking the wheel and recorrecting.
"Ah" said Fraser. "How do you remember which one's starboard and which one's port?"
"Port's the one you dock at" said Martin, in a way which suggested he had thought better of saying 'Port's the one that's fuckin' Port you bellend'

Nevertheless, Fraser had persisted, and by the time Archibald Craig returned, he could just about be trusted to steer in open water so long as someone occasionally reminded him that port had the same amount of letters as left, and starboard had the same amount of letters as 'rightward'. The same was also true of 'rite' and 'leftwards' though, so it took some remembering.

For Craig's arrival, Fraser had given the helm back to Martin, who could be trusted more strongly not accidentally to steer over the incoming speedboat. Fraser greeted Craig, and looked over his shoulder as he did so.

"Just you?" said Fraser. "Where's Tania? What happened?"
"Safe in Cathair, Your Grace" said Craig. "Daughter's doing well"
"Daughter" said Fraser. "Huh. Well that's a relief"
"Everything went smoothly, no hiccups, your grace" said Craig. A lie. Fraser could no more catch it than he could roll it into a sushi roll and spit it at the sun.
"And she wanted to stay in the city? She didn't want to come to the ship?" asked Fraser
"Too risky" said Craig. "Not worth being followed"
"Sure okay but, she wanted to come, right? For... I don't know. To see me?"
"She doesn't know about the ship, your grace" said Craig. "Need to know"
"I... rather think this is something she'd need to know" said Fraser. Craig simply shook his head.
"Something we can discuss later, perhaps. If I may... Your Grace..." he said, nodding towards the cabin. It had been a long week for both of them.
"Are you sure nothing happened" said Fraser
"Positive, Your Grace" said Craig, bowing, and turning away.

---

Law and Squorn
First Real Test for Bulls as Legalese and Squornshelous Await

Vetrahjart may have lost three of their four games, but it was the Anaian newcomers who looked the better side on their matchday three encounter, with Timothy Engström looking particularly potent up front, creating one first-half goal before nodding in a second after half-time and smashing in a near-post effort on 67 minutes that all but took the game away from a listless Audioslavia.

The Bulls bounced back three days later, dismantling The Ko-orenite Constellation in a slick second half performance that almost made up for the prior defeat and a very sluggish and occasionally violent first half.

The Bulls came away from the matchweek with three points to show for forty-five minutes of worthwhile football. It could have been much worse for Salvador Monterroso's men.

The truest test comes next week. Legalese make their way across the Sea of Champions (not a hilarious joke back when it was named) for the next installment a derby that has not been played in WCC football since cycle 28. Taking only WCC matches, and ignoring those played in regional or friendly competitions, the sides have only met four times, defeating one another 3-1 in qualifying for World Cup 26 before Audioslavia took two three-nothing wins in World Cup 28 qualifying.

Whether of not the Bulls pass the law exam, they'll go onto possibly the toughest test there is. Squornshelan Remnant States. The World Champions. Champions of Arrosia. Holders of the Unofficial World Championship for an incredible 30 of the last 34 title fights. Audioslavia's rivalry with Squornshelous goes right the way back to Squornshelous's debut match - that 4-0 defeat on the opening matchday of World Cup 5 qualifying. The rivalry encompasses a World Cup semi-final and quarter-final back in the tens - both won by the bulls - and reaches all the way to cycles 92 and 93 where Squornshelous won each of the four games the two teams played against one another.

Few suspect Audioslavia have anything to trouble their illustrious opponents, but trouble them they must if manager Monterroso is to get the fans and the media on his side. You suspect he figures anything beyond beating Legalese to be a bonus, but in the minds of the public, anything less than an equal result against the Black-and-Reds will be a disaster.

[Bears Armed]

(The following passages have been extracted from the diary of Steffannee Bruin, who is in the Bear-Belles’ current roster as #6 and in their usual starting line-up as a Midfielder – normally at Midfield Right — or more rarely as a Winger. Dates have been omitted because this diary employs the Urrsish calendar and you are probably unfamiliar with its system… and, OOC, I haven’t worked out yet what the relevant dates for these events would be…)

Match-day One
Away game against New Fermia; 0-0.
It would have been nicer to open these qualifying games with a win for urrs, of course— verry much of course, of course, but for starting the series ‘away’ the result could have been worse.
Hrrobb gave me a big bunch of flowers "for luck" before the game, and a big bag of all my favourite sweets "as a consolation for not winning" afterwards. I asked him hwhat he'd have done with the sweets if we had won, "given them to you as a reward for winning, of course", he replied. He's my real favourite sweetie!

Match-day
Home game against Sarzonia, the group’s second seed: 3-0!
Goals: Harroya O Sarrndale (#5), assist from ME [long pass upfield...] @ 68’; Urrma Kuthbearrh (#11), assist from Harroya O Sarrndale, @ 74’; Arra O Hara (#21), @ 87’.

It seemed for so much of the match that this was going to end up just as another no-score draw, but then fortunately Harroya managed to receive my pass and put the ball into the net – despite the Sarzonian keeper nearly managing to smother the ball when they guessed correctly which way to dive -- from around threeEights of yards out! There’s something about players named ‘Harroya’ whose home team is Merlchester Rovers, we’ve had several of them in the Belles over the years and they’ve all shown an almost supernatural capacity to surprise people with successful goals just hwhen those were most needed by urrs…
And then Urrma headed the ball into the top left corner of the net from one of the corner shots that Harroya took, giving urrs a cushion so that if the Sarzonians had managed a goal that wouldn’t have been an equaliser. Some people say that Urrma is getting a bit too slow for top-level play, but she was certainly fast enough then! And she’s only one year older than me, and I don’t feel as though I’m slowing down yet… Then again, Mum looks as though she basically stopped ageing — and maybeso even has grown physically a few years younger! – since she took up with Sermharn, so presumably his own supernatural longevity has not only somehows affected her but is — even more ‘somehows’ – having an effect on me as well? Not that I’m as young for my age as Kara is, though, and hwhatever she insists about not having Kraptonian ancestry I’m sure that there’s something more than just ordinary Ursine in her family’s background…
And then Arra was substituted on in place of Harroya, with no reason given for this: She very quickly got possession of the ball, almost halfway deep into our own side of the pitch, and managed to avoid all of the Sarzonian players who tried to intercept her hwhile she ran upfield and slipped through the defenders to tap the ball along the ground — right between the goalie’s feet (!) — to make it three, and put the result beyond a doubt… And she did that without any of the “funny stuff” that she and other Wabbits have employed in the past, such as running on their hands hwhile juggling the ball with their feet, or using their ears to hold the ball in place on top of their heads, too… If it’s true that Harroya is going to retire from the team after this Cup, as she’s hinted, then I expect that Arra will be her replacement in our starting line-up, and will prove to be a worthy one.

______________________________________________________

OOC notes

The Urrsish calendar: see https://www.nationstates.net/nation=bea ... /id=242823

“players named ‘Harroya’ whose home team is Merlchester Rovers” _ Back when I drafted the Belles’ very first line-up I was inspired memories of ‘Roy of the Rovers’, a long-running star in at least one British comic, who played — and did so very well — for a fictional team named Melchester Rovers: He was so famous that the makers of the ‘Subbuteo’ game actually included a set of models for that team alongside the sets for the RL ones…

Re the fact that Kara [Brent] ”insists about not having Kraptonian ancestry”_ When I introduced the journalists Bark Brent and Florise Fane to comment on an earlier competition I based them approximately on Clark Kent and Lois Lane, with their own names being coincidentally [or bad jokes by their parents?] the same as those of that pair of fictional characters’ counterparts in the ‘SuperBear’ comics that circulate in Bears Armed. This reality’s Bark has always insisted that he was NOT “rocketed to Urrth as a child from the doomed planet Krapton” like his fictional namesake, and so does his cousin Kara whose own forename matches [of course] that of SuperBear’s cousin ‘SuperSowlet’… These Brents are a long-established family within Clan Redwood, with the forenames ‘Bark’ & ‘Kara’ both being ones that they’ve given to their children before this, so their insistence very well could be true… but members of an earlier line-up of the Belles did meet ‘SuperBear’s pal Jammy Urrsen’ – who has a namesake among the friends of this reality’s Bark and Florise [to the latter of whom’s younger sister Lurrsee he is married] – during a Multiversal ‘Crisis’ which indicates that the comics have some truth behind them and thus complicates the question…

[Tumbra]

A selection of headlines from around Tumbra.

Alexander Morrison beats Christine Schofield in People's Party leadership election; will become Leader of the Opposition

STRATON: Former Minister for Defence Alexander Morrison, 57, beat former Attorney General Christine Schofield, 48, to assume the leadership of the right-wing People's Party in the final round of its internal leadership election on Tuesday. The vote, which involved all 331 members of the People's Party from both houses of the Federal Parliament — 250 from the House of Representatives and 81 from the Senate — resulted in Morrison winning with 189 votes to Schofield's 142. Several other candidates had been eliminated in earlier rounds, such as Alexander Hurst, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jack Hinchcliffe, the president of the party, and Jonas Timmons, a backbencher MP.

Schofield and Morrison going head to head in the party election was widely regarded by observers to represent a decisive break from the hardline conservatism of the outgoing Lawrence Newell leadership. Hurst, who was eliminated in the third round of voting, was seen as the Newell continuity candidate; the two represent neighbouring seats in the nation's most southwestern and most conservative state of Pesvern. Both Morrison and Schofield are seen to be on the slightly more moderate wing of the party, but Morrison is thought to have offered overtures to the conservative wing of the party to push himself over the line.

Morrison, who assumes the role of Leader of the Opposition immediately, will have to rebuild a splintered base that saw the People's Party lose 2041 federal election to the Labour Party. Moderate voters deserted the party in droves to more centrist options in the election, with the Moderate Party tripling their seat count and winning the most seats in sapphire-blue Iswilyn. In the usually seat-rich Southwest, too, the Dutchophone Republican Party undercut the People's Party there. Rumours of a new centrist party to be formed by former members of moderate wing of the People's Party have also swirled, though former Prime Minister Stephen Williams — the only independent in the House — is said to have refused to take part.

Prime Minister Bertram Andrews sent a statement congratulating Morrison on his election, and looked forward to 'constructive debate' over the House of Representative dispatch box. The two will spar verbally over Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday afternoon.

Controversial Couno congestion charge to go into effect in 2042; pro-traffic advocacy groups call charge a "communist invention"

COUNO: The city of Couno's congestion charge plan narrowly passed the Napier state legislature, 92-88, and is expected to go into effect early next year. The congestion charge, proposed by Mayor Samantha Allan, would see a charge of $5.50 imposed upon all vehicles entering central Couno from 7am to 7pm daily, with the prospect of further expansion of the geographical zone as the Mayor's office deems fit. An increase of the amount charged, however, would require the state legislature to amend the act.

"We're very happy that this effort to improve the city's environmental footprint has finally passed Parliament," said Mayor Allan on the footsteps of Couno's city hall minutes after the passage of the Act. "The funds from this will be used to re-invest in our transit network, and the denizens of our great city will be able to live with better air quality, among other benefits." Opponents of the congestion charge attempted to interrupt Mayor Allan's speech, with some calling the charge — spearheaded by Allan, who is a member of the Labour Party — a "communist invention set up by the fringe left."

The metropolitan mayors of several cities have confirmed that they are looking at the congestion charge 'experiment' as a possible indicator of how to implement the congestion charge in their own cities. Tolls are a relatively underused tool in Tumbran politics, though a toll is charged for all usages of the Federal Expressway System.

Northlands referendum poll show even split between status-quo, statehood, and independence; Premier says referendum will use ranked-choice voting

PORT WILLOUGHBY: The Northlander independence referendum may be over a year away, but polling has already started in earnest over which of the three options — to stay with the status quo, willingly enter statehood with Tumbra, or become an independent nation — will win out over the other two. Premier Craig Price, who officially declared his support for independence, announced that the vote will be a ranked-choice option, with voters asked to note down two preferred options.

Polling for the independence referendum has been fervent, with all three options neck-and-neck; a poll taken by the Couno Herald has status quo on 24%, independence on 22%, and statehood on 19%; but this still leaves those undecided on 35%. The upcoming official campaign period is expected to narrow down the undecideds, but the future status of the Northlands is expected to be a close-run thing.

[Valanora]

When it comes to domestic football inside the Empire (and the region as a whole for large swathes of its history) there is a single dominant force that can not be deterred for more than one or two seasons at a time from winning the Premiership title. From the time when the Elven First Division collapsed and the Premiership was founded to replace the collapsed league, the league has been the dominion of Raynor City United and the Rockers have waltzed their way to basically every other title. With sixty-seven Premiership titles to their name in one hundred twenty-four season of top flight football, of which the team was not allowed to compete for the first twenty-seven editions of top tier football, it is a mightily impressive record and showcases just how dominant the capital club has been since allowed to compete with their peers. In fact in the inaugural season of the Premiership, the first season when Raynor City United and Raynor City FC were allowed to compete in the league, the Navymen would go on to win their first of those sixty-seven titles, showcasing a force that was soon to take the nation and sport like a storm.

For all of their dominance in league play though, there is a great equalizer and that comes in the form of cup competition, in that knockout setting where a single bad outing ends their hopes of winning the title. While United maintains the most competition wins in the competition with thirty trophy lifts in the Silver Cup, there have been ninety-four editions of the competition and the Rockers do not even have a third of the total amount of titles on offer. While a team built like Raynor City United can convincingly win a title over the course of an entire league season with little worry, as the occasional off day here or there is often covered up by the sheer fact that they are normally degrees more talented than all but another club or two or three in the league and can let sustained success overcome short term failure. With the Silver Cup however, they have been quite prone to falling victim to an upset or having one of those off days or being punished for using a rotated squad when they have been dealing with a congested fixture schedule and choosing the domestic cup as the place where to rest players.

The fact that United can not simply will their way to a title most seasons in the Silver cup should have been evident at an early period, as in the first edition of the tournament it would be a Laborious Hawk led Hondo FC that would emerge as victors of the competition. It would take Raynor City United until the sixth edition of the competition before they would find their first title, though they would then be able to retain that title. However before United got their first win we saw four different winners with only that Hondo FC team of old being a team who won multiple editions of the competition, winning the first and the third edition. Etching their names into the trophy winners list before the Rockers was the Flames of Mar Sara FC, the Gunnerrs of SC Rinaldi, and perhaps most surprisingly of all is the Hawks of AC Hartdale. While Mar Sara FC and SC Rinaldi are both quite important clubs to this day, AC Hartdale has become a less prominent team over the last few decades despite being a founding member of the Premiership but they still have two Silver Cup titles to their name.

It was in the Silver Cup where AC Valanari truly made their mark as a club who could develop talent, while the competition has also seen success from teams like FC Capri, Juavi FC, and has seen teams like Sharala AC be able to earn silverware that they would have very little hopes of doing so if domestic football was left to just league play here in the Empire. AS Peravova, Ibini FC, Club ESF also have been able to see success in the Cup and it is stories like that which provide a ton of excitement for each round of the cup not just in the top tier but throughout the entire pyramid, all the way down to the seventh tier where they are almost entire amateur teams. Raynor City United might be the alpha and omega in the league but they are just one of many successful clubs when it comes to Cup play and history has shown that in the cup they are mortal and can be beaten. Those games bring whole communities together, especially if they are able to have luck on the day or have hit form at the right time and can topple one of the top tier teams and progress on to the next round. The last two editions have seen non top tier teams in the Final and that is a surprisingly not uncommon occurence, proving how beautiful and amazing this game can be and how there is always something to play for.

[Crpostran]

---

[Mytanija]

Continued from here.

ARRESTS MADE FOR ZPOV & PRIVREMENI OTPOR ATTACKS, GOV’T CONFIRMS
POLICIJA, OZNA & VOiKo MISSION SUCCESSFUL, BUT HOW DOES MYTANIJA RECOVER FROM THIS?

by Sonja Nastasić

In a major development in what has hitherto been an escalating conflict between the paramilitary groups calling themselves ZPOV and Privremeni Otpor, the government announced late last night that the Policija, OZNA and VOiKo have made significant arrests in connection with the string of bombing attacks which have plagued major cities for the past two months. The announcement came after violent clashes between Policija and OZNA units and the paramilitaries who claim to represent the legacies of the opposing sides of the Mytanar Conflict. The successful operation was conducted with simultaneous raids in industrial areas of Esca, Težia, Ebor and Miago to minimise potential warnings and to try and draw an end to the violence which has threatened to plunge Mytanija back to a time that many thought was firmly in the past.

The series of bombings, which have targeted sporting arenas, transport hubs, and public buildings, have claimed hundreds of lives and injured over a thousand people. The attacks have stoked fears of wider interethnic violence across Mytanija and Premijer Željka Rogina has drawn sharp criticism for her government’s handling of the crisis. This breakthrough will have come as a relief to many, though it will do little to shield Rogina from criticism over the speed and effectiveness of the government response – particularly with opposition leader Krsto Gojković trying to make political hay ahead of the general election later in the year.

During a press conference held early this morning, Minister of the Interior Đuro Periša confirmed that a coordinated operation involving Policija, OZNA and VOiKO had resulted in the arrests of 92 individuals linked to the bombings. An additional 11 are understood to be casualties of the raids and are currently being held in military hospitals in different areas of the country with 24/7 armed guard. Those arrested are said to be key operatives from both ZPOV and Privremeni Otpor. ZPOV represent the Zrnskian ethnonationalist / Zrnskian Orthodox faith and the extreme separatist views which some of that political persuasion and faith espouse. Privremeni Otpor claim the legacy of the original Otpor which fought against the Kalinina regime which implemented Zrnskian supremacist ideology and committed acts of genocide against Thessians, Visoravs and Rakniks during the Mytanar Conflict. Rogina and her government have condemned both paramilitary groups and their deliberate targeting of areas where civilians would likely be harmed.

“These arrests represent a turning point in our operation to prevent further acts of terrorism across Mytanija,” Đuro Periša claimed. “Last night, our Policija and security services have arrested key operational leaders within both terror groups and have seized quantities of improvised explosive devices, weapons caches and intelligence documents. This will restrict the capabilities of these groups and will enable the Policija and security services to bring their activities to a permanent end.”

The arrests have been welcomed as a critical step forward, but they do very little to erase months of criticism directed at Premijer Rogina and her administration. MNK leader Krsto Gojković has been particularly vocal in his condemnation and whilst he thanked the Policija and security services in a statement released shortly after the government’s press conference, he accused the administration of failing to take decisive action earlier in the crisis, thereby allowing the violence to escalate with the formation of Privremeni Otpor.

“Premijer Rogina and her government’s lack of urgency and competence has cost lives across Mytanija,” Gojković declared. “While these arrests are welcome, they have come far too late for the families of those killed in these bombings and the people of Mytanija deserve answers as to why that is. The people of Mytanija deserve safety and peace and Rogina and her government have shown that they cannot protect them without delay or hesitation. The failure to act with speed to resolve this crisis enabled Privremeni Otpor to form and for the violence to escalate in major cities in Zrnska and Vojovitica. This will only add to the concerns of ordinary people in those parts of Zrnska and Vojovitica regarding the issues where groups like ZPOV have legitimate grievances against the status quo and could potentially turn people to more extreme measures in the future. These extreme and illegal measures must be condemned in the strongest possible fashion, but the government’s ineffective response must be deemed to have played a role in the escalations we have seen.”

Gojković’s remarks are understood to be a part of his electoral strategy to position himself as the strong security, law and order alternative to the Jedinstvo-PsD coalition, known as the Popularni Front, which stood in the way of his MNK at the previous election. Opinion polls suggest that public confidence in Rogina’s leadership has been shaken by the attacks in Težia, Visoravna and Raknija; whilst it has been entirely eroded outside of pro-Mytanija strongholds in traditionally Zrnskian Orthodox regions, suggesting that there is truth in the much theorised (re-)polarisation of Mytanar politics and of Mytanija as a whole that the likes of Oslobođenje writer Alen Valjarević have discussed in the past.

“We have seen a return to simmering interethnic tension since Ana Mećava-Čatić left the Premijerska Palata.” Valjarević explains. “The country, as Mytanija, is split between the pro-Mytanija, secular, religiously pluralistic north and west of the country; and the pro-Zrnska, fiercely Zrnskian Orthodox south and east. There are pockets of the opposite in each ‘side’, but for the most part, as a general rule, this analysis holds and it appears that the two sides are becoming more strongly entrenched within these views over time. The existence of these paramilitary groups which claim to represent each side may only further this, particularly with the level of violence we have seen over recent months. It is a real shame, as Mećava-Čatić had made so much progress with reconciliation and younger generations do feel Mytanar, so this feels like a serious step backwards for the country. If these political views and the demands for separation continue then Premijer Rogina is going to have a very difficult situation to negotiate – particularly with Krsto Gojković seemingly giving major oxygen to ZPOV’s demands for secession as ‘legitimate grievances’.”

Jedinstvo Representatives have condemned Gojković’s statement on multiple grounds, but have especially zeroed in on this claim of ‘legitimate grievances’. Đoko Stanimirović, member for the Luka Ebora constituency in the Visorav city of Ebor, argued that Gojković has been playing the long game by increasingly shifting the MNK’s focus towards questioning government policies on social issues and then calling for ‘ponovna decentralizacija’ (i.e., ‘re-decentralisation’ of power to the regions) to create an atmosphere where citizens in Zrnskian nationalist / Orthodox areas feel aggrieved at the political situation in Mytanija.

“We live in a representative democracy and Gojković has deliberately taken an approach of trying to inflame old ethnic tensions between the regions of Mytanija by demanding ponovna decentralizacija as a response to policies being implemented which a majority of Mytanars have voted in favour of.” Stanimirović said. “Gojković has revealed his true colours with these latest statements, these ‘legitimate grievances’ are nothing more than Kalinina-era scaremongering about Visoravs, Thessians and Raknik domination of Mytanija when nothing of the sort has ever existed and many in Zrnska, Vojovitica, Magevskaya, Nasto and Avnalia agree with these policies and want Mytanija to be one nation, safe and peaceful and reckoning with the violence of the past which politicians like Gojković caused so that it never happens again.”

The MNK leader has certainly changed his focus to social issues, taking the party away from pretty much any economic argument by accepting the Mećava-Čatić economic agenda which Premijer Rogina has taken forward in her time in power. Gojković has changed tack, discussing policies on regional representation; religious representation in schools, public organisations and civil bodies; immigration; gender politics and so on. When the government has done something which he and his party disagree with, it has usually led to immediate calls for ponovna decentralizacija given that the MNK only hold seats in Zrnska, parts of Vojovitica, Magevskaya, Nasto and Avnalia – all regions / areas which supported the Kalinina regime before and during the Mytanar Conflict.

Valjarević agrees with Stanimirović that Gojković is trying to use these policy areas to push for a different constitutional settlement for those regions, but he also warns against not being open to change in the future if public opinion points towards ponovna decentralizacija as a real demand from citizens anywhere.

“I do think that Krsto Gojković has been pushing for this, I believe that he wants to see a more strongly federal Mytanar state with more power for Zrnska to decide its own political future – I’m not sure he cares as much about Magevskaya, Nasto and Avnalia or the pro-Zrnskian parts of Vojovitica as he says, other than wanting them to come along with Zrnska to almost ‘re-form’ that greater Zrnskian ‘state’ which fought the Otpor side during the Mytanar Conflict and committed terrible acts of violence against Thessians, Visoravs and Rakniks during that conflict.” Valjarević said.

“However, I think we have to remain open-minded towards a future where the publics of those regions do want constitutional change and even potential separation from the Mytanar state. If the citizens of those regions want that and express that view in a democratic manner then pro-Mytanija politicians should not prevent them from realising their democratic wish. At the moment that is not the situation, even if Gojković is popular. Premijer Rogina will have to consider allowing each region more freedom to decide some laws for themselves, even if it doesn’t amount to full ponovna decentralizacija. There is a need to protect minority ethnicities in every region, and we do not want to see a return to the pogroms and violence which marked the run-up to the Mytanar Conflict, with ethnic Thessians, Visoravs and Rakniks rounded-up in cities such as Esca, Miago, Trunca et cetera. These bombings have taken us back to that time, but Premijer Rogina now has a chance – before the general election – to calm the tensions, set out what she sees as the path forward and to convince reasonable people that she has what it takes to stop us heading back down this path. Younger generations do not want this, but she has to get them out to vote. Ensuring that these arrests are the beginning of the end for this episode would assist in doing that.”

[Dremotia]

Dedicated
Reliable
Energetic
Motivated
Outstanding
Tough
Inspiring
Awesome
That is Dremotia

Fisrt half:
12': Dremotia’s finds the back of the net with a stunning long-range shot.

25': Archalit’s receives a yellow card for a reckless challenge.

31': Dremotia doubles their lead with a well-coordinated team play, ending in a close-range finish.

38': Dremotia takes a powerful shot, but it’s expertly saved by Archalit’s goalkeeper.

45': The referee blows the whistle for halftime; Dremotia leads 2-0.

2nd Half:
52': Archalit scores with a header from a corner kick, bringing the score to 2-1.

68': Dremotia nearly scores again, but the shot hits the crossbar.

75': Dremotia nets their third goal with a powerful volley, extending the lead to 3-1.

83': Archalit receives a yellow card for dissent.

89': Dremotia seals the match with a fourth goal, a solo effort, making it 4-1.

90+3': The final whistle blows, confirming Dremotia's dominant victory.

[Flavovespia]

Away and Up

Qasden was up next for Flavovespia, with 1 point the hosts very much wanted to prove they could get their qualifying campaign going. However Flavovespia were flying out knowing that this was another important away game, and amends needed to be made from the Vdara loss.

It’s always interesting to see how much risk teams take early on in these sorts of games. For Flavovespia, it seemed to be a more cautious start than some may expect. Not conceding early seemed to be the goal, and the efforts by Charles Adams and Christopher Hill in midfield were great. However it just seemed it’d take a while for a good chance for Flavovespia.

Still, they took it in the 22nd minute. Charles Adams with a long ball found Charles Shepherd. He used his strength well to bring the ball down, before firing home. Flavovespia had the lead, but for all of 2 minutes. They’d relaxed, and a quick free kick caught them out, a nearly unmarked header at the back beating Peter Marriott. A lapse that tied the game up, now the hosts were buoyed.

The hosts enthusiasm was extinguished by an own goal in the 37th minute. Jonathan Bagshaw’s low cross wasn’t the most threatening, but the defender running in simply smashed a clearance straight into the back of the net. It would’ve been a quality finish at the other end. 1-2 at the break, and then shortly after Jonathan Bagshaw was on the scoresheet to give Flavovespia a 2 goal lead.

Qasden never gave up the fight and got one back in the 66th minute, a tidy finish at the far post. However Charles Adams struck from outside the box, our best goal of the Qualifiers so far just 5 minutes later. From there it seemed Flavovespia had it wrapped up, a composed finish to take 3 points.

A 2 goal away win is always a nice sign for the Qualifiers. The result against Vdara hasn’t lingered, and there’s been a good confidence now. Onwards now, to try and put the pressure on other sides.
Alexander Schmitt

Home Sweet Home

Home games are the ones you expect to pick up the most points from, and the ones where lots of memories are made for fans. From that World Cup Qualifiers 83 surprise draw vs Eura, to the World Cup Qualifiers 91 final Matchday win over The 14 Stars to qualify for the first ever time, Home qualifying games have some great memories.

Was this a memorable game? In all honesty, not especially. Was it a good game? I’d say so. Calgasia came in as the underdogs, but with 2 wins out of 3 already. A result here, and they’d genuinely be considered as having something of a shot at qualification. 8 goals in the opening 3 games was also a sign of their promise.

And so it was in the first half. An even game, maybe a slight edge to Flavovespia, but Calgasia were holding their own. This wasn’t to be a walk I the park, and there was a tetchiness in the stands as it was goalless at the break.

The angst remained in the second half, up until Charles Shepherd opened the scoring. A 64th minute corner was whipped in, and Shepherd rose strongly to head it in. A tidy set piece, and finally cheers for Flavovespia.

As ever with a 1 goal lead, it was nervy in the crowd, with Calgasia not wiltering after conceding. They pushed on, but eventually Flavovespia exploited this, in the 85th minute a quick break gave Langdon a clear cut chance which he took. A goal that showed his ability to play as a central attacking midfielder, using his pace as a threat.

The 2-0 win was well earned, and keeps Flavovespia well up the group table. 3 wins in a bounce means a lot less to grumble about, as the Qualifiers continue on in stride.
Judd Stafford

[Pasarga]

Two international breaks into this World Cup qualification campaign and so far it is so good as Ingþór Auðbjörnsson has his team playing exactly as he would have hoped and building off the stunning performance from that home Copa Rushmori. The opening pair of victories against Juvencus and Oberour Ar Moro, the two teams who are supposed to give the the Wanderers the most amount of difficulty in getting out of the group stage, were solid foundations for what could prove to be quite the masterful qualification campaign. However the reason that we can not simply say that it will be is because we know the history and tradition of this squad and what they are trying to overcome, what Thor and his staff have been trying to purge from the team in their time at the helm of the program. That of course is inconsistency and the inability to travel on the road and pull out results against the lowest seeds in their qualifying groups, leading to difficult second halves of the campaign. Sometimes the team has been able to pull off those miracle comebacks and earn their way to the Finals but sometimes they don't and it usually comes down to first half upsets, be it losses or draws, away to lower seeds.

First up in the window was a trip to NexxusDrako, a team who had competed in some years back but has been absent from the international stage for some time and is looking to get back into the thick of things, and the first of a pair of away fixtures for the Wanderers during this international break. Despite the worries that it would show a bit of complacency, Thor rotated the team quite heavily for the fixture, allowing much of the more youthful players in the pool see the field for the game, since it was a game the Wanderers should be winning fairly easily on paper regardless of the line up. Thor's belief in his youth experiment would be quickly rewarded as in the ninth minute Katinka Fazakas chipping the keeper quite deftly for an early lead. A few minutes past the half hour mark the Wanderers would strike again as Mátyás Vass and Mór Buday would link up in the midfield, with the latter cutting in from the left hand side and unleashing a well placed shot from inside the box. The side would wrap things up in the fifty-seventh, Kamil Schneider rising the highest in the box off a corner and pushing it into the far corner. Three nil on the road, a solid win but now they headed to Arrosia to take on the Yakk Empire.

With a side who looked to have a bit more about themselves, Thor opted into fielding what he believed was his strongest squad, the same squad that had gone into Juvencus and came away with that opening victory that provided this opportunity for the team. The hosts indeed were putting up more fight than the hosts of the previous game, looking to mix things up in the middle and providing stiff competition, which would eventually result in the first goal of the game going their way in the twenty-fourth. Three minutes later though it would be Bazzi from Laszlo on a chested down ball that would equalize things for the Wanderers and two minutes after that it would be the maestro out wide Biró would have a cracking thundershot that nearly pulled the net off its ties. Yet the home side would come out of the break with renewed energy and in the fifty-second that energy would come good as their striker would place an inch perfect shot after escaping their mark that Topić could not get a hand to. Yet unlike previous teams that might have crumpled under the pressure, this Wanderers team responded in kind and in the sixty-third would take the lead through Laszlo on a wonderful individual effort and would kill the game off in the seventy-second as substitute Áron Gombos notched a nice goal with a long range effort.

A second straight window with a full six points has to be a huge relief for the staff and that three of those victories have come away from the dual islands is a real testament to the work that the staff has been doing to get the team prepared for those trips away from home. Knowing it is a weakness of the team, getting those points has to be a shot full of confidence for the team as they now look to be the team who is doing the leading instead of the chasing in the group, having already put a five point gap between themselves and third place. The team gets to come home for a game against sub two hundred ranked New Crywyzyxycynya before traveling away from the dual islands once more as they will travel to take on Vaishnavaria to nearly finishing out their first half of the campaign, as Adab would be the only team they have not played. Vaishnavaria has only a single loss on the record and look to be something of a tough out and so that is the next difficult test, which might mean that we will see Thor once more rotate in the first game of the international window, especially with the game at home. So far the rotation has worked wonders and if it continues to come good, those rested legs for the more difficult matches could well be the key to ensuring the complacency and upset bug stays away from this form of the Wanderers.

[Eshialand]

An Error of Comedies
Eshialand 5-4 Saint Eleanor
Carpathia and Ruthenia 2-4 Eshialand

“Please tell me you at least know the basics of how soccer works Danny…”

“Doesn't everybody? Kick the ball towards the net, miss because you're bad and can't aim for shit, have nobody ever pass to you because they all hate you, get kicked in the shins, cry, and vow to never play again!”

Spoken like a true Eshian who hadn't played a game of soccer since the age of 8, Danny was probably the least prepared person in the entire studio to commentate a game of this magnitude, but at this point what choice did they have? Josh and Karsten were probably halfway to Newport by now, and everyone else in ENN’s press booth had voices fit only for an amazing career in silent film. They were just going to have to make do with the equivalent of a newspaper delivery boy trading out his bicycle for a rocket-powered scooter without any training.

“Okay, you know what?” Charlie told him, “You definitely can't do this alone, hell I wouldn't even trust Karsten Rhodes to do it alone.”

Jessica the camerawoman nodded in agreement at that comment, knowing how much of a loose cannon he could be, despite his years of experience.

“I’m gonna be tagging in to help you out. I've been watching Josh and Karsten for most of the last decade now, I think I know enough to help you out.”

Jessica's expression quickly turned from agreement to abject horror, knowing about Charlie's reputation for literally everything going wrong. Charlie commentating the match of the year? At home? This was about to be the worst thing to ever happen at the SuperDome, and that's saying something… but Charlie was her boss, and she was powerless to stop anything.

---

“Hello and welcome to ENN Sports, I'm Charlie Wingham filling in for Josh Seametzle…”
“And I'm Danny Stehl, filling in for Karsten Rhodes,”
“...and it's time for the big event, the one we've all been waiting for, Saint Eleanor has arrived and it's time to see which of these teams will remain on top in Group 9! Do you have any thoughts about this matchup?”
“I’m gonna be honest, if they don’t have a chess team I’m never going to have heard of them.”
“Oooooof course not because that’s the only thing in your head.”
“Hey, it takes a lot of brain power to become the best at chess, I don't have time to fill my brain with random sports facts!”
“You aren't even a GM, you're never gonna be the best!”
“Ouch…”

18th minute…

“And number… 23? Passes it to… okay what the hell kinda number is double zero?”
“Are you ever gonna learn these players’ names Danny?”
“THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM THOUGH!!! Wait, the ball went in!”
“IT DID! 1-0 ESHIALAND!!”

39th minute…

“And that’s why I stopped playing the Stafford Gambit… except of course when I’m against those 2200-rated 7 year olds who keep climbing the rating ladder!”
“How does that story have anything to do with football?”
“Oh it doesn’t Charlie, I was just telling a story, one I know how to tell!”
“So why are you trying to distract me from the acti– oh, another goal for Saint Eleanor, 2-2!”

46th minute…

“So, they’ve switched sides now?”
“Basically, yeah. Remember, you want the ball to be going left now, at least if you care about Eshialand.”
“Why would they switch?”
“I don’t know, why do the sides switch whenever you offer a rematch in Zwischenzug.esh?”
“Because it’s better to be white!”
“Well what if the wind is blowing south? Wouldn’t it be better to have a goal on the north side of the pitch then?”
“OHHHHHHHH… still confusing to commentate then.”
“Only for someone who’s never watched actual sports in his life.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know–”

79th minute…

“Say, are all soccer games this exciting? So many goals!!”
“Gonna be honest, I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen this many goals in an Eshialand game. Maybe a year? Two?*”
“Wait, look! That number 18 fellow–”
“...Keiar Forsen…”
“--has the ball again, and he’s getting close to the goal!!”
“The Owls need something to break this 4-4 tie… ideally something on this side of the pitch…”
“Not passing to anyone, clearly he’s selfish! Just like my teammates in the third grade…”
“But none of them are open!”
“Oh wow, and he got the goal!”
“5-4 ESHIALAND!!! DANNY, THIS IS HUGE, THEY JUST NEED TO HOLD FOR A LITTLE LONGER!!”
“11 minutes right?”
“Hahaha… about that…”

End of the 90th minute…

“So… why isn’t the game over?”
“Because they haven’t been playing for 90 minutes? Look, the referee is giving them 4 more minutes!”
“But it’s been 90 minutes?”
“This is to make up for when nothing was happening, like when the Owls were swapping players.”
“But we don’t stop the clock in chess when a player needs a damn piss break!!”
“Are you actually kidding me right now…”

TWEET! TWEET!

Eshialand, against all odds, had won one of the most exciting games in the team’s history by a score of 5-4, and yet the cast would go down in history less as a legendary account of a legendary game but rather a pathetic show of why not just anyone can commentate international soccer. On the bright side, Charlie Wingham could rest assured that none of this was his fault. Well, except the part where Danny Stehl was even in that room in the first place.

The next week, Josh and Karsten returned from their impromptu trip to Newport, only to find clips of the disastrous commentary circling around OurTube… and honestly, they weren’t even mad. Josh even had a chuckle. “This is comedy gold,” he said, “I wish we could be this funny covering soccer!”

*OOC Note: Clearly, Charlie doesn’t remember Eshialand’s 6-3 win over Restresas in the final game of WC97 Qualifying, just 8 Eshian months earlier.

[Banija]

Banijan cabinet meeting, with Katikkiro Boaz Gor leading the meeting

"Hello all- thank you for coming to this meeting." Boaz Gor told his cabinet. It was, indeed, a meeting of the full cabinet- including the Waziri(Foreign Minister), Her Royal HIghness, Omugaba Immaculate. His Majesty, Kabaka Mwanga, was not feeling well- not great if you were in your mid-90s, but skipping a singular cabinet meeting was not going to exactly raise alarm bells. Erog, the Katikkiro was chairing the meeting himself. Boaz Gor was not in the greatest mood- he had come straight from watching the Banija v. Sargossa qualifier on television, where Banija lost, at home, to the Pot 2 side. The Kadongo Kamu, early on, found themselves in a dogfight- four teams were tied atop the table, at 9 points each, after four matches. A lot of games left, of course- but dropping points at home is never great in World Cup Qualifying.

But, he had more important things to worry about. "Let's get into it- into urgent business, ok? First, let's talk about the political issue that's on everybody's minds- succession." The most pointed that the cabinet had ever talked about it. Everyone had been trying to give the Kabaka his space, allow the monarch to make a choice- but the Monarch himself was dilly-dallying on the Regency. And, ergo, there was starting to show frustration within the political system. And with the Kabaka not present at this meeting, it was a chance to talk about it with the person most likely to be chosen as Regent- although, of course, there were no guarantees that Omugaba Immaculate would be picked to lead anything after the Kabaka's death.

"Your Royal Highness, if I may." Said Elder Rokani Ssembuzi, the Deputy Katikkiro. "You know, as well as anyone, that I, and my party, and by extension this Government- we are strong supporters of the monarchy. Jehovah himself has chosen the Katende family to rule, and our constitutional arrangement has been an excellent form of government for this nation. Has the Kabaka given you any insight on when he would name a Regent for his great-grandson?" Left unsaid was exactly what the entire room was thinking- did Omugaba Immaculate herself, have any sort of knowledge on if, or when, she would publicly be named Regent for the young Isebantu.

"Thank you for asking. Unfortunately no, I do not know when the Kabaka will make his decision. But rest assured- he will make his choice soon. He is in good health- and understands the importance of this choice." It was frustrating for Omugaba Immaculate, whom most people expected to be named the heir. And, of course, she was also his representative in so many spaces, both at home and abroad- having to defend the indecision of her Father that she did not agree with. But if she didn't do that... She couldn't get the role. The rough and tumble of politics.

"You know, we should encourage HIs Majesty to make a decision soon."

"The Kabaka has been a great monarch- but this is crucially important. A Regent for his heir must be named.

"This is part of his legacy- when he makes the choice, as well as the choice, will be crucial." Different cabinet members echoed with their thoughts, as Omugaba Immaculate just nodded along. Once that discussion stopped, they went to foreign policy- her area of expertise.

"Obviously, there are two issues, foreign policy wise, that we have flagged that could have an effect on Banija down the line." Omugaba Immaculate told the room. "First, of course, is the election in the United Republics. While we expect Hauser to be re-elected into a third term, and quite comfortably, you never know how an election turns out. But.. The chances of negative impacts are slim. Even if she loses, Banija does not take sides in the politics of our allies, naturally, and it seems like isolationist politics is pretty permanently a thing of the past."

Everyone nodded, and then she continued. "Now, a more thorny question... Is the Tumbran Northlands."

"What the hell does that have to do with us? Way out in Esportiva." Said Bubcarr Sabaye, who was the Chief Whip.

"Well, remember that the Northlands are our neighbors now- we border Tumbra, via the Banijan Esportivan Territories." Everybody nodded- they were well aware that they were in Esportiva- but not always top of mind.

"But still, another democracy having an independence referendum?" Sabaye said. "It'll happen on its own?"

"Well, yes." Omugaba Immaculate said. "We don't expect instability, but we should be prepared."

"Also, beyond potential instability." Said Elder Vusa Nkozi, who was the Deputy Leader of the LDA- the junior coalition partner in the Government. He was one of those who was a strong mainland ally of the hard-right party that was currently in power in the B.E.T., which was mostly self-governing. And while they were mostly self-governing, as Minister for Home Affairs, many things regarding those territories came under his own cabinet purview. "We don't want the renewal of a Northlander independence struggle, this time via the ballot box, to spread to the groups in the outlying districts within BET Njaza. It can be a domino effect.. We want the Tumbran state to win this, whatever it takes. Statehood or status quo, doesn't really matter to us- but independence... That's not great. One set of indigenous people get their independence, you never know what a set next door might do...."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that." Said one cabinet member. "Tumbra's gonna hold their referendum, we just have to watch."

"This is why, of course, we need to be strong about something- continuing the integration of the BET into Banija. That's the only way to put ourselves in a situation where we could lose the Territories. Remember- almost half of Njaza's population is Banijan, and it has tremendous resources- mineral wise, energy wise, and nature wise." The cabinet paused, and then kinda let it die. Nobody else was quite as passionate on this issue as Elder Nkozi, but they could tell he was driven.

Omugaba Immaculate looked up, and starting talking again. "And lastly, the President election across the Basin, in the Busoga Islands. The Islamic Republic is expected to easily re-elect Delbin Kasekende for a fifth term- good for us. Pro-Banijan, a good partner in both the Commonwealth and in Arrosia, and we don't really have much else to think about over there."

Once questions were asked, she excused herself- she was there to talk about foreign policy, and then, since she wasn't an elected politician, she left, so they could deal with domestic issues. Not a bad cabinet meeting by any stretch of the imagination, but she knew that she needed to look for her Father...

[Darmen]

Sportklub Parlema Chosen For Inside Look Documentary Series

PALERMA - Series A side Sportklub Palerma has been announced as the focus of the second season of the documentary series Inside Look. The series, which proved immensely popular in its first season as it provided an inside look at Sterling City United's 2065-66 campaign in Darmen's top flight, is carried by the online streaming service Zenith Video.

Zenith Video's Director of Content, Hulda Sólberg, is excited about the series' prospects, stating, "We look forward to providing our subscribers with an exciting series covering incoming manager Alberich Goldschmidt's first season in charge of the Sportklub Palerma team. Viewers of the series will be treated to a fly-on-the-wall experience as we take them behind the scenes for an inside look at the club's season."

Previous reports indicated that Sterling City United were compensated with north of $3 million for their participation in the first season of the series. While neither Zenith Video or Sportklub Palerma have confirmed an exact amount, it is expected that Sportklub will pocket roughly the same amount for their participation in the second season.

For those interested in watching either of the Inside Look seasons on Zenith Video, subscriptions are available on the Zenith website, costing with monthly plans starting at $15 per month.

[Busoga Islands]

Orag Saglik, standing at the Presidential candidate nominating convention of Busoga's leading opposition party

Orag Saglik was a 31 year old politician. While Busoga's politics were still dominated by the independence generation, he was one of those younger, new age kids- born into an independent Busoga, and even more crucially- somehow, one of few Busogans who had no ties to Banija. A fervent nationalist, and a member of the right-wing opposition group, his group regularly lost, free and fair elections, to the President and his political party. It kind of led to dead energy among the opposition party- they would campaign for power, regularly lose elections, and seemingly have no chance against the larger than life, popular retail politician President Delbin Kasekende Sr.

But Saglik was different. Young. Energetic. Nationalist- and religious. He had opposition here at the convention, naturally, but many thought he could thread the needle, appealing to a religious demographic(a key one, even in a mostly secular country) to a lot of the burgeoning young population. He had a couple of opposition candidates- but as delegates names were called, and he saw his own name continue to appear in votes- he was gaining hope.

Just then, he heard it- "Saglik, Orag- vote one thousand, five hundred." And suddenly, his name boomed through the Convention Halls. That was it- Saglik was going to be the opposition party nominee, for President of the Islamic Republic. As his name was chanted, he took the stage.

"Thank you all, thank you!" Saglik waved his hand after the long applause, and then, started to speak. "The Islamic Republic is here, at a crossroads. Another Presidential election- one where President Kasekende is predicted to sweep us, yet again!" The delegates booed. "But not this time- Mr. President, it's been 24 years, and the people are waving goodbye to you!" A weaker applause line. "If we want to be a thriving democracy, we need to continue teo get hands out of the power of a concentrated few. If the President wins this election, it will be, by the end of his next term, 30 years of completely, unchecked power. Everybody loves talking about how he's stable, how he represents a small nation abroad- but Busogans are bigger than him! Look at our college football team! Look at our national team- it wasn't him who got the team a brilliant 1-1 away draw in the United Republics!"

"We're gonna make our case to the people, and we are going to win this election!" The speech, overall, was uninspiring. But hey- he was a Presidential candidate. And despite being down in the polls, most certainly anything could happen, right?

Busogan Presidential Election, Polling

If you HAD To vote today, who would you vote for?

Delbin Kasekende- 57%
Orag Saglik- 37%

[Of the Golden Harp]

Interview with manager Sigmund Reynolds
Q: Overall how would you rate the team’s performance
A: Great. Everyone has worked together and put full effort for great results
Q: Any comments on Darren Keane’s suspension
A: He should have had more discipline, but he did it for the team and we would have lost more games without him.
Q: What are your goals for the rest of the tournament
A: Win a match and have a total record of 1-5-8 along with scoring at least 4 goals and allowing a maximum of 10
Q: What have you made of Garbhan Watt’s performance
A: He has put in full effort but the shots are not going in
Q: Do you think you can lead this team to greatness in the future
A: Yes, if we work together and score some goals we will achieve great things.
That is all for today

[Aleirave]

First Impressions
Aleirave 4-4 Riena
Reçueçn 5-2 Aleirave

"Are you really sure this is a good idea?" Haulafo asked Yekaterina after she announced her candidacy for governor.
"I'm going to be honest... no. I don't know what this is going to be."
"So you just threw your hat into the ring for... no reason? Right after finishing a successful career? What the heck is the point of that?"
"I mean, it's not entirely pointless Haulafo... I'm gonna be honest, I don't think I'm the best person for the job, but I'm certainly better than any of the current candidates, and I'll do my best to prove that."
"Who do you think would be better?"
"I'll leave that part for you to find out..."

---

While racial barriers had broken down a lot in the past four years, there was still a big divide between the wishes of the Aleiravan and Klysevian voters on the island, and no contrast showed that more than the one between Malako Eterena and Sergei Alinov. While Malako was running on a campaign slightly more liberal than Adari'ena's administration (his own beliefs held in private notwithstanding), Sergei Alinov... forgot to show up for his first town hall. Oops.

Perhaps it should be explained how a town hall would even work in Aleirave. After all, there aren't many campaign "stops" you can make. Pretty much the only venue even remotely suitable for political speeches would be the Old Grounds, and even there, the pitch was still constantly being used by whatever manner of people were wanting to play football on that day, so you always ran the risk of the ball flying towards your head, as had happened to Kalaio Pahoteka during his first town hall (which saw more people on the pitch playing than in the stands listening to what he had to say). While you could also have a speech on the docks, good luck hearing any questions from the audience over the screams of fishermen reminding their kids NOT to throw the mackerel back off the side of the boat (this happens an upsetting number of times!)

Yekaterina had yet to schedule a town hall, although support for her at this point was limited to diehard football fans, and said fans weren't exactly motivated to go out and do anything, much less attend boring political speeches, what with the post-Olayeva Seagulls putting up results that make the word abysmal look like a compliment. The fact that her current political support was hinging on results of a football team she didn't even play on anymore seemed kind of ridiculous to her, but c'est la vie.

Elsewhere in Aleirave political news, there were rumors that the EIS was about to send a team to arrest Refilene Adari'ena, preparing for a trial in the late summer of 2031. Tony Beaujoleil was still nowhere to be found, but that was neither here nor there. The closer Refilene was to being in a jail cell, the more hinged on this election, as it became more and more clear that there was absolutely no saving the current political framework of Aleirave. "Just wait for the Lahaira Papers to be released, you'll see the whole government was involved" was a line repeated by conspiracy theorists the island over, and even if it was just Refilene who was in on the corruption, there were going to need to be a lot of changes to the way the island was run, and a strong candidate was needed in this election... but such strong candidates just weren't anywhere to be found. Apart from Malako, everyone's campaigns were floundering, and one would be justified in mistrusting him because, let's face it, his entire political identity was built upon one event eight years ago. At best he was a hero trying to milk that reputation, and at worst, he could be just as radical as he was back then.

Another quirk of Aleiravan politics is that there has never once been a poll run on the island. Again, not only have they never been needed, but even in a jungle election like this, you could still feel what was going on on the whole island, and if you couldn't... well then maybe you weren't the right candidate for the job. After all, the Governor of Aleirave should be connected to everyone on the island and have an intimate feeling for each demographic's issues. In lieu of polling, then, candidates felt the pulse of the island themselves, without the need for robocalls or those intrusive text messages that you keep trying to block but somehow just keep getting through.

One man who wasn't doing that work was Sergei Alinov, who never even noticed that his popularity was dropping fast. Doing nothing to get his campaign out there wasn't helping anyone, as even Kalaio, despite the objective problems with... everything about his campaign, was still talking to people. He knew everyone. And where were Sergei's voters going? Some caved and started supporting Malako, who was coming out as a clear favorite despite past Klysevian objections. Others just didn't support anyone anymore. They were lost votes, people likely to not even show up to vote on election day.

For Yekaterina, these were the voters she wanted to target. The ones that were turned off from Sergei, and felt like nobody left understood what position Klysevians still had on the island. She needed to talk to these voters before they slipped away for good... it was time for her own town hall.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

A Different Campaign
Volume III
Rain and Fire

Ruslan Karamov adjusted his tie in his campaign bus, gazing out as the highway between Borograd and Vlaikograd passed farmland and forests. The newspaper in front of him detailed the speech given the previous night by Chancellor Lara Hauser. As expected, she’d focused mainly on the economy and the claimed success of bringing the country back to the world stage.

Karamov bit his lip. He was the architect of isolation, the man who had been Chancellor for the 6 long years when Siovanija & Teusland had disappeared from the world stage. Publicly, he was a man famous for fiery words and a brash, assertive style of leadership. It added to his populist rhetoric and charisma. But it was, mostly, a character. The real Ruslan Karamov was a calculating, cold, political machine.

That’s why he knew that Chancellor Hauser was right about the economy, and he had no answer for it. He knew isolationism was now a dead issue in the country - even if many in his home base of support in Siovanija were still in favour of it. He needed to rebrand, and there again was the duality of Karamov. The man who had led the country into isolation was now publicly attempting to distance himself from it. Even he, with his ego, knew that that was going to be a Herculean task.

In his head, he laughed. It was simple, wasn’t it? Avoid mentioning isolation, while also hinting to those still in favour that he was, too. Totally simply, he thought, with a clear bit of sarcasm.

Karamov had one card up his sleeve, however. The Sankt Konrad War. Privately, although he’d never admit it to anyone, he had to hand it to the government - Valljas Bancu was nuts, and their moves both at home and abroad had been perfectly played. He could admit that probably, at the end of the day, that it had been necessary to go in and get rid of him. Nobody wanted to deal with a fascist maniac.

But many on the left in Siovanija didn’t quite agree with that assessment. They saw the war, and as a result every action of the NDU government, as plain old Teus imperialism - the kind that they blamed for many problems. Karamov himself - as hated as he was nowadays in Teusland - didn’t actually have any issues with the Teus. In fact, he respected the country’s history. But re-opening those old wounds would benefit him politically, and so it had to be done. It wasn’t personal, he thought. Strictly business. Karamov was a walking, talking advertisement for cynicism.

Rain beat down on the side of the bus as it turned off the highway into Vlaikograd. There was a tinge of regret on his mind - he’d been in politics for over 30 years. A few years as a minister in a coalition with the Labour Party in his younger years, and then as the leader of the Republican Party. 6 years as Chancellor - the pinnacle. The position he’d always dreamed of having. Why didn’t he just retire? The pension was big enough. A book deal, or a speaking tour, could probably net him some good cash too - and let’s be honest, after a 30 year career at the top, he was in no pressing need for extra money. Why did he have to go give a speech in the rain, when he could easily be home with his wife, or on a beach in Vrnovo? The failure of isolation could’ve been a perfect time to step away from it all.

And if Karamov had been a normal politician, it probably would’ve. It’s often said that those who want power are the ones that deserve it the least - and Karamov certainly fit that bill. From his days as a minister, he’d always liked to make a little extra money on the side. By ‘a little,’ he meant hundreds of thousands of tolars in bribes and under the table payments. When he was the Infrastructure Minister, it was usually for government contracts - by the time he became Chancellor, however, the cash really began to flow.

Combatting the drop in international tourism due to isolation, the government had begun to invest heavily in domestic tourism resorts. On the island of Vrnovo, always a popular getaway from its tropical weather, 4 new 5-star hotels had been built - and in all 4 cases, numbered companies held by Karamov or associates pocketed millions. Through all of this, he’d become friends with some really illicit characters on the island - friends who were able to help funnel that money into offshore accounts, and quiet anyone in the media who looked into these things too closely. There had been reports during his time as Chancellor, of course, but Karamov ran a tight ship - his name was never linked to anything, and corrupt members of his party were dispatched right away with a little bit of help to ensure they never spoke about their experiences.

Karamov needed power to ensure that he kept that steady source of income flowing, to keep an eye on any parliamentary investigations into things that could implicate him, and to keep himself as the leader of his party - so that no-one he was allied with could rat him out once he no longer had power. All of that wealth he had amassed, and in the end, he was a prisoner of his own corruption. And so, when he began his speech in Vlaikograd, he kicked off a campaign of self-preservation through his usual brand of fiery, populist politics.

“My fellow citizens, it’s an honour to see you all here today, even in this awful weather.”

Vlaikograd, always traditionally a left-wing stronghold in Siovanijan politics, had turned out today. Thousands of followers stood in the storm waiting to hear Karamov’s word, with banners displaying phrases like ‘End Imperialism & War.’ Red and green flags fluttered in the wind.

“I am standing with you today, and every day, because my worst fears have come true. When I ended my term as Chancellor eight years ago, I knew that the incoming government would put an end to the isolation policy. Even I can admit that something needed to change, and we all can agree that our nation’s economy is in a better place today - plenty of the credit for which, by the way, is due to the investment projects my government undertook to fund non-traditional industries in this country, which are now thriving. However, the current government, instead of providing its people with more services to support them, has focused instead on cutting taxes and cutting services and ensuring that much of that economic benefit is felt only in the upper class - and not amongst you, the workers.”

“The current Chancellor and I disagree on economic policy, it’s true. But we have also worked together from time to time on things for the country. That’s part of democracy, and compromise. But one area where I will never, ever agree with the Chancellor, is her party’s clear and open support for Teus imperialists.”

“Fourteen years ago, when I was elected to serve as your Chancellor, the situation was clear. Diplomatic defeats in the Euran Oceania Territories and Nyowani Kitara. A moment where our nation was on the verge of nuclear war thanks to an infiltration into our armed forces. That Teus imperialist influence on our foreign policy that Dominik Meier called weltpolitik was brought to an end under my government. When it was time for the NDU to govern again, they promised to bring us back to the world stage with honour. What they delivered, instead, was another round of imperialism and war.”

“A coalition with the List Freies Teusland and Vaterland List, who both represent the worst of far-right Teus nationalism. And then - thanks to the total failures of Josef Wimmer and the foreign ministry - they allowed a far-right dictator into power in Sankt Konrad. Wimmer then led the country into a war, the first in the history of this united country. Chancellor Hauser tells you that she is proud of this! They paraded their victory in Stelburg - but the fact that there was war at all was a defeat!”

“The only people proud of this are the extremists - those in the Vaterland List, or Teusland Erwache, for whom it was a realization of their political goals - reforming the Teus Empire. In 1896, at the end of a Great War in which millions of Siovanijans and Teus perished, our nation chose to renounce warfare forever in place of unity. Now, a band of warmongers and imperialists led by Wimmer, is once again dragging the country into those same mistakes the government was making prior to isolation. How long can we, citizens of the United Republics, accept these moves to reform the Teus Empire?”

“We will not! You are here with me today, I know, because you will not! You will stand up for this country and its values - and millions more across both Siovanija and Teusland will join you. They, too, value democracy, peace and support for workers over imperialism and warmongering. That, at the end of the day, is what this election is about - the path that our nation is going to take in the next few years. The Republican Party, standing for peace and prosperity, is the best choice for our country and I am proud to be campaigning once again.”

Cheers erupted from the gathered crowd, who quickly dispersed once Karamov left the stage - the rain was picking up now, and Karamov rushed back onto the bus to get back to Borograd for the night. He knew he wouldn’t be winning this election - but he had lit a fire with his comments, and that was good enough for him.

Siovanija & Teusland 1-1 Busoga Islands

XI: Kranz; Wimmer, Rodl, Vykukal (Hackl 75'), Gellner; Gruber, Winter (Rosberg 75'), Le Meji; Korlikov (Trstenjek 75'), Zschokke, Bing
Goals: Ben Bing 28'
Man of the Match: Ben Bing
In Brief: A weakened side falters at the Stadion Razdrto. Perhaps set up with too much emphasis on defensive-minded players, the Goldhorns struggled to get things going against Busoga - the only goal for the home side turns out to be Ben Bing's first international marker, while the visitors scored in the second half to share the points.

Siovanija & Teusland 3-3 Kelssek

XI: Holz; Schwefel, Steinhausl, Apel (Rodl 46'), Reichenbach (Gellner 46'); Porsche, Prekmurje (Winter 80'), Le Meji; Vadimic, A. Kosch-Kovarik, Hackl
Goals: Jesper Porsche 14', Xorge Le Meji 56', Einar Hackl 76'
Man of the Match: Jesper Porsche
In Brief: A tale of two halves - visitors Kelssek were brilliant in the first half, with 3 goals at the Olimpski-Stadion to see them up 3-1 at the break. The Goldhorns rallied in the second half, however, after some key substitutions at the back - Xorge Le Meji and Einar Hackl grabbed the two goals needed to equalize. At the end of the day, not a bad result against the world's #3.

Siovanija & Teusland 25 man squad for international window 3
at Jeckland, vs Lisander (Volksbankstadion, Marzig)

Goalkeepers: Holz, Bodeker, Gottschall
Defenders: Schwefel, Wimmer, Reichenbach, Mesko, Steinhausl, Rodl, Sanner, Rosler
Midfield: Porsche, Gruber, J. Kosch-Kovarik, Prekmurje, Winter, Rosberg, Le Meji
Wingers: Vadimic, Korlikov, A. Kosch-Kovarik, Zschokke,
Forwards: Hackl, Burger, Seidl

Expected XI vs Jeckland: Bodeker; Wimmer, Sanner, Rosler, Mesko; Gruber, Prekmurje, Rosberg; Korlikov, Zschokke, Seidl
Expected XI vs Kelssek: Gottschall, Schwefel, Steinhausl, Rodl, Reichenbach; Porsche, J. Kosch-Kovarik, Le Meji; Vadimic, A. Kosch-Kovarik, Hackl

Preview: The Goldhorns need a big response in the next international window - sure, they are 2nd in the group after 4 matches and looked strong against Kelssek, but taking only 2 of the available 6 points from a window in which you play twice at home is not ideal in World Cup Qualifiers. The first match is a road trip to unranked Jeckland - and unranked is selling them short, because this nation has history in world football and will not be an easy game for the Goldhorns, especially away. Jeckland have started the qualifiers 0-0-4 and will be eager to change things at home. A set of FC Teussen Stelburg players will dominate the lineup, including at centre back where the club's duo of Erwin Sanner and Seb Rosler will be paired together - and Uwe Seidl will make his first appearance of the campaign up top, with Reto Zschokke on the right wing. Leon Wimmer at left back makes it 3/4 of the backline coming from Stelburg, and Hans Gruber in midfield makes a total of 6. Beyond them, look for Energija Chernovets fullback Dejan Mesko to make his senior international debut. In the second game of the window, the Goldhorns will return home to the Volksbankstadion in Marzig to face world #168 Lisander. Lisander are 2-0-2 in qualifying so far, having beaten United Hawkland and lost to Drawkland in the most recent window. They will be eager for a statement win in Marzig - while the Goldhorns will be looking to get their first-ever win in the city. Sure enough, there are a number of players from TSV Marzig in the lineup, with 5 starters and Mats Winter very likely to get minutes off the bench. Perhaps emboldened by the poor performance against Busoga, Josef Kosch-Kovarik will start next to Jesper Porsche in an attempt for the Goldhorns to generate more from the midfield in this one at home.

[Britonisea]

Sports Blog
Brityunik Vefecosoin Cairkovoin
http://www.bvc.com/news

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World Cup 98 Qualifiers

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IAC22: Has football spirit returned to Britonisea?

THE BEFORE - Months ago now, Britonisea found itself at the centre of international football as it hosted the Independents Cup 22. It was a long road to get to that position - one that was met with a lot of in-fighting and back-and-forth. Fast forward to two World Cup cycles ago, The Britonish Football Association announced that it would bid to host the Independents Cup 20, with the backing of the Britonish Agency of Sport. At the time, the Britonish football team were ranked lower than it had ever been ranked before and hopes that the Britonish team would qualify for the World Cup before the 100th edition seemed like just a dream (as was the plan set out by the Britonish Football Association years ago). The Britonish Football Association, against the wishes of the Britonish Agency of Sport (the main sporting body in the country that overlooks the Olympic delegation), placed a bid to host IAC20. The Britonish Football Association argued that 'Britonisea was ready to host a large-scale tournament such as this' and that it would 'provide a boost that football needs to meet its long-term goals'. Though, compared to the other offers that were received during the 20th Independents Cup bidding process, the Britonish bid was mistimed and not thought about with enough detail, despite the large sum of money that was spent putting the bid together. As Britonisea's chances of hosting were embarrassingly tossed aside after the hosting bidding results were announced, the Britonish Football Association received a lot of criticism about how it had handled that Britonish bid, and the reputation of Britonisea on the global stage. Britonish performance at the IAC and the World Cup was poor and while the national league still had enough fans to be highly profitable, interest in international football was at an all-time low. So, what now? The Britonish Agency of Sport was well underway in its plans to prepare for the Olympic Games with an aspiration to better its performances at the previous Games and had no plans on hosting any large-scale tournaments (at least, not the size of the IAC anyway). The in-fighting between the Britonish Agency of Sport and the Britonish Football Association was evident too (both organisations blamed each other for the failed IAC20 bid). There was not a football team from Britonisea present at the Olympic Games for a reason that is not known. Though, the Britonish Football Association was planning a second bid - this time by themselves.

The Britonish Agency of Sport believed that the Britonish Football Association hadn't done enough to raise the profile of the sport on an international level like it had done with other sports at the Olympics. In all fairness to the BAS with the guidance of their coaches at the Olympic Games, Britonish athletes won an impressive 19 golds which put the team in the top 5 of the medal table despite not sending a full delegation. They argued that while the Britonish Football Association would like to maintain full sovereignty over its sport, it "wasn't a good model in the long term." The Britonish Agency of Sport used its partnership with the Associasoin Tennis Brityunik [ATB] to provide an example of what could happen in football. Tennis is Britonisea's national sport and is immensely popular. Though, before the Games of the XV Olympiad, Britonish athletes struggled to win medals at the Olympics and struggled to win big during the famous NationStates Tennis Tour. While ATB remain in charge of most of their finances and the creme de la creme of the Britonish tennis calendar, The Britonish Open, they agreed on initiatives set by the Britonish Agency of Sport. For fans, that came through an increased number of tournaments being hosted within Britonish, namely the Quickenden Masters and Britonisea's successful bids for the end-of-year tournaments, the NSTT Finals. The BAS had a lot more say on what happens, had a lot more coaches and officials watching over the players etc. The Britonish Agency of Sport reap some of the financial benefits from the ATB, though not at first. Money had to be gambled but the reward has been spectacular for Britonisea. In Season 10 - the latest season - Britonish singles players have won five tournaments compared to the year before when they had won none. In the doubles, the difference is even more striking. In Season 9, Britonish players won three out of 22 tournaments, but in Season 10, they won 11 - that's over 50% of titles. The Britonish Agency of Sport used its partnership with Rugby Britonisea as an example of how it can successfully organise a tournament but the Britonish Football Agency was not willing to give up as much as both ATB and RB have given up. Would this come back to bite them?

They knew they had a goal of qualifying for the World Cup by the 100th edition and as we head into the World Cup's 98th iteration, Britonisea still stand with zero qualifications despite debuting at the World Cup 30 cycles ago. Going into the current cycle, out of its recent games, Britonisea had won a measly 21% of its matches so the idea that the country would qualify for the WC Final was a dream at best. The Britonish Football Association believed that its only option now was to bid for the IAC22 to help restore the nation's faith in the game internationally. This time around, Britonisea's bid was unopposed and unanimously selected. The nation is suddenly home of non-regional regional football, with 121 matches to organise over the space of just over three weeks. Without the backing of The BAS, the BFA had a point to prove. They were able to negotiate with The BAS on loaning some non-football stadiums for the tournament but kept them at arm's length when it came to the preparation and the hosting of the tournament. The buzz of the IAC22 was major and people seemed excited at the prospect of international football coming to Britonisea, but how did the nation do overall during the hosting?

Find out more in "THE DURING"...

[Vdara]

Markos Moustakakos has managed Vdara since midway through World Cup 88, after a loss to Ko-oren and a draw with Barunia was deemed "simply too much" for the Vdaran FA to deal with. When he started, he was a fresh-faced ex-goalkeeper, still just as fit and healthy as he was when he retired - which hadn't been that long ago, given he was still playing in World Cup 88. However, now aged 54 and entering his twentieth year of managing the national team, people began to express concerns about his tenure - despite their good performances under him, was it time for a refresh? Well, if you asked the man himself, he would probably put it quite succinctly - "Fuck no."

Matchday 3: Kamijiro versus Vdara

A painful loss to Kamijiro on the third matchday very quickly soured an atmosphere that, for the first two matches, had been entirely positive. Despite the strong efforts from the team's attackers, they simply could not break down the resolute defence that stood ahead of them, and one fortuitous goal was not enough for the Vdarans to pick up any points.

Away Team Dressing Room
JirōSekai
Kamijiro

The result had been a tough one to take, and this was reflected in the general demeanour of the players, who were eerily quiet - eyes locked to either the floor or their phones. They knew what was coming, but the big man hadn't yet arrived to give them the hairdryer treatment. Thus, they continued to sit in silence, awaiting the angry word salad that was to come. They would soon get their wish, as the door flew off its hinges (narrowly missing star player Windows XP) and in stepped the ever-whingy, always-shouty Markos Moustakakos.

"Come on, guys! Where's all the passion gone? Where is the promising side I've been coaching for the past few matchdays, huh? When did yous all get replaced by a bunch of lethargic orangutans, picking shite out of your arse and sniffing it? Was it the darts? I'll bet it was the darts. From now on, none of yous are allowed to watch - or even play - that sorry excuse of a sport. It's made you all lazy, and I simply will not stand for it. I don't coach lazy players, you all should know this by now. It sickens me to see such a lack of energy on the pitch, especially knowing what's on the line. I don't care that it's only matchday three, or that yous just beat Flavovespia - I care about the scores, the points, the results! And despite the epic start we've just had, where do we sit in the table? Oh, that's right - fourth. What use is it to any of us to be sitting fourth after three games, with a goal difference of ONE?"

Markos scoffed, sighed, and paced around the room for a bit, lamenting the result which had just befallen his team. All eyes were on him as the steam came rushing out of his ears.

"Fuck's sake, everyone. Look at the start we had, look at what we were building to, and look at the steaming pile of shite that's just been unceremoniously dumped on the campaign. I don't ask yous to win every game, but fuckin' come on - what are yous playing at? Do I have to plead with yous to put some actual fucking effort in? Is it too much for me to ask? Every morning I wake up, I see my ageing face staring back at me in the mirror, and the only thing that actually drives me to keep going is the feeling of winning. It's like a shot of adrenalin straight to my midlife crisis veins. Obviously yous are familiar with the winning feeling, but you'll all have wives, families, parents, pets, all that good stuff. I thrive on hatred and winning. It's all I do. If I have to hate all of you harder for some more wins, I absolutely will. My duty as manager would not be filled if that wasn't the case. Secretly, I don't want to hate you all - perhaps there is some compassion left in my old, bruised heart. But until you all start to play like a proper team, I will continue to detest anyone who I think isn't putting the work in. So, this is a message to all of you - if you want to play for this team, fucking act like it."

Markos, who was now distinctly red in the face - and some could swear he was red in the eyes too - turned to the wall and leant on it, breathing heavily as he did so. As he got older, these rants were taking a toll on him. Maybe, just maybe, he had to mellow out if he wanted to keep going for much longer. For now, however, that was not on the agenda. Only the three V's (not Venlo) - Vitriol. Victory. Veneration - were on the man's mind, and it was going to stay that way unless they won the World Cup, or if his blood pressure got too high. Whichever came first.

"I'm not paying for that door, by the way. They can get tae fuck if they invoice the federation for it. Frankly, they should have anticipated that I'd boot the door aff it's fucking hinges."


Matchday 4: Vdara versus Kanzlia

VdarArena
Chania

A new dawn, a new day, a fresh start. These were all things that you could hope for if, in the words of Markos Moustakakos, you were "fucking delusional". Even then, coupled with the fact they were playing at home, the need to rebound from a disappointing result was clearly spurring the players on. Even before the teams came out, the Vdaran faces in the tunnel oozed confidence. Kanzlian faces, perhaps distracted by the rumours surrounding their manager, much less so. As Simply The Best began to play and the players strode onto the pitch, the rousing cries of the fans likely fed into the players' motivation. They had been asked to put some effort in, and they had been tasked with scoring more goals. If these things came together, they would be dangerous - and boy, were they dangerous.

[Cobrio]

Odell McIntosh-Ekezie watched quietly as Clarence Burke completed his hat trick against Al-Tamazgha. The television at Ezinne's house was small, and he had muted the sound so as to not bother his aunt. Wherever she was in the house at the moment.

He smiled.

This felt good. This felt right.

Some years had passed since Odell had begun his... journey, perhaps was the best word. Aunty Ezinne's guidance had proven invaluable, and Odell could feel something was coming. Something big.

For all the guidance she had given him, all the training, he supposed, he felt as though it was all building to a watershed moment of some sort. He was beginning to feel as though he knew what it was, too. Though he didn't dare think too much about it.

His smile faded slowly, as he remembered Uncle Amari. Telling him stories when he was a boy. Always teaching him something new. Painting pictures with word and music so vivid, Odell felt like he had lived the story. Humming songs Odell had never heard before, yet somehow they felt familiar. It had been decades since he last saw his uncle.

Some part of Odell knew Amari lived. Somehow. He couldn't explain it, really. He'd seen his uncle while he slept. Not in a dream, no. Those encounters felt different. They felt real. Aunty Ezinne had been elusive when he questioned her about them.

For a time, when he was a boy, Odell's mother had made sure to always bring him to family gatherings in Cobrio. Even after they had moved to Osarius. One day, that had stopped. He saw Uncle Amari one last time after that. When he was about sixteen... It had been strange. Even by Uncle Amari's standards. Odell's remembered one thing vividly, though. His Uncle had looked him the eye and asked him "have you stood before the baobab tree, little panther?" Confused, Odell had asked which one. And he had never forgotten the way his Uncle's face had dropped. The older man looked away, as if in pain, and muttered something. Odell's only caught the last two words: "not ready".

He was no fool. He understood what had been happening the past few years. He understood the signs he had seen in his unwaking mind's eye. Why he now lived with Aunty Ezinne. Why he had felt an unmistakable pull, calling him here. You did not have to know how to read the sky to see something so obvious. Of course Odell's knew about The Gift. And it was clear now. They were preparing him. Tomorrow would be Odell's sixtieth birthday. Surely, if it was going to happen...

He shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. The final whistle had just blown in the Cobrio match -- though he couldn't hear it, of course -- the Panthers were doing well. It felt like a lifetime ago that Odell had coached professional footballers. Perhaps it was. A djeli, even one not fully qualified yet, lived countless lives, after all.

"Dami," said a soft voice behind him.

"Yes, Aunty?" Odell replied. He didn't need to look.

"We cannot change what once was." Ezinne said. How did she do that? She always knew what he was thinking, it seemed.

"I know, Aunty."

"But..."

"... We can change what will be." Odell finished.

"Just so, little panther," she said, before turning to leave the room.

It took Odell quite a while to realise what she had called him.

[Oberour Ar Moro]

On the day of Oberour Ar Moro's World Cup 98 qualification match against New Crywyzyxycynya, Regium was still two days away from setting a consecutive days of snow record. That record was well over a century old, but it was being made in similar ways: days upon days of trace snow fall. A centimeter one day and a centimeter another day. It does add up over time.

And it's not just snow. Road salt supplies were essentially depleted from the entire Capital region. The electrical grid was being strained from heating. The brick facades of some older buildings had been loosened by accumulated ice, leading to at least one pedestrian getting hit in the head by falling debris. Roads and sidewalks were icing up, sometimes through black ice you wouldn't see until you slipped and fell. Transportation, both public and private all across the city was strained. But not strained enough to prevent Oberour fans from returning to the Parade Grounds.

The Oberour Ar Moro Dragoons were looking to rebound after falling on the road to Pasarga. New Crywyzyxycynya were trying to make a pronounceable name for themselves after finishing third in the Baptism of Fire then losing two straight matches to start qualifying.

The match started with snow being barely perceptible, apart from close ups on players and coaches. But as the game grew in intensity, so did the snow. The flakes became bigger, and more frequent. The snow which had been easily brushed away pre-game began to build up. After the half, the normal white-and-bright-color ball was replaced with an orange one for increased visibility. And the snow seemed to suit the Dragoons just fine. A nil-nil game going into the half became an offensive showcase. Jean-Barthélemy Ollier scored one, then another goal. Brivel des Aloz had to dive into a snowbank to stop one New Crywyzyxycynya penalty try, but ten minutes later guessed wrong and let the opponents back into the game.

As the snow pounded down, Oberour fans got into the spirit more. "Et puis nous n'avons aucun endroit où aller, Qu'il neige! Qu'il neige! Qu'il neige!" and "Libérée, Délivrée, le froid est pour moi, le prix de la liberté!" became at-the-time deeply ironic terrace anthems while Daniel Demisserriche celebrated scoring a goal by making snow angels. When Samuel la Renarde scored his first international goal in stoppage time off of a corner kick, snow thrown into the air in celebration made the crowd in the stands almost impossible to see.

Social media after the game called it memorable. Exciting. The most fun an Oberour national team game had been in ages. Snowball fights carried on to the subway stop, and several fans were pulled aside by gendarmerie for carrying a snowball onto the subway and pelting unsuspecting fellow travelers.

And the snow just kept coming down.

[Squornshelan Remnant States]

Squornshelan supporters experiencing anxiety over their national team having been shut out in two straight matches, limited to just three goals in the final three matches of their friendly tour can feel somewhat reassured as the attack has returned in a big way, with the Black-and-Reds racking up 17 goals across their first four matches of qualifying. Admittedly, the quality of opposition in those matches has not been particularly close to the standard of HUElavia and Juvencus. Also, it bears mentioning that the defense has been rather porous to this point, excepting a rather tidy clean sheet kept by Ronan Pharlain in the most recent match against Bostopia, and that allowing 8 goals in three matches is not a sustainable record. Still, four wins from four is good, and while some can (and will) certainly quibble about the team's form during those wins, the fact remains that we've got 12 points in the bank and the highest-scoring side in qualifying: exactly what you'd expect from Madeiros's defending champions.

The opener was fortunately played at home after the team's lengthy friendly tour, not even requiring them to leave the mainland. An easy match was anticipated, considering that the opposition were not only ranked outside the top 100, but also had elected to send seven different teams to qualifying rather than whittling them down to one roster. Even the footballing nations in the multiverse would be hard pressed to field seven teams that could all compete at the same level. That anticipation, however, might have been what got the team into some trouble against the lineup from Ndugutisaoren, which based on the strength of that territory's football league might be among the strongest fielded by the Ko-orenite Constellation's delegation. In any case, they proved readily up to the challenge of keeping pace the the Confederate attack, with Mwangi and Kriz trading hat tricks in a wild nine-goal afternoon. Matchday 2, which you might expect to be one of the closer affairs of qualifying, the third seed Xanneria visiting, turned out anything but. Danube and Burns salvaged some pride for the Maroons late, but their goals accomplished little apart from improving the look of the final scoreline after Ysdan, Aaltonen, and a brace from McGill had already done the damage.

The first away match of the campaign was certainly what one would have expected as the easiest of the entire schedule, facing a totally unheralded Hmmland side. Evidently they were able to ponder their way into a decent gameplan, keeping things close throughout the first half. Starovoitov established a lead for the Black-and-Reds after opening space with a slashing dribble from the corner of the box in, only to see the lead erased by a superbly taken free kick from Manivong. Tirel reestablished the advantage on a header, converting Raynott's corner, but Phokham returned the favor in kind, nodding a header of his own past Sotelo. It wouldn't be until a good twenty minutes into the second half that the Black-and-Reds were able to begin pulling away. Madeiros sent Shakhnovich and Aodhan on for a change of pace, and the Capitalizt winger assisted with an excellent run capped off by a low cross to the Anomalies striker before converting a chance of his own just three minutes later. Detkov added further insurance shortly thereafter, and with the match all but put to bed with only 20 minutes to overcome a three goal deficit, the hitherto spirited fight from the hosts died down. Back home again to face Bostopia (are we absolutely certain Audioslavia, Bostopia, Legalese, Squornshelous was never a World Cup group), the Black-and-Reds got Rado Bláha back from a spell of rest following the friendly tour. Quite possibly the best keeper in the world, Bláha kept his net tidy against the [nickname here], who spent far more time than was wise attempting improbable long range shots, sometimes from their own side of the center line, while the visiting supporters seemed more interested in displaying anti-Mertagnian tifos than following the action on the field. Had they paid attention, they'd not have been particularly pleased, watching Ksudach and Aaltonen gashing their defense from alternate sides of the field. It honestly could have been quite a bit worse than 5-0 had Alan (no, the other one) not been on his game.

So up next, the Black-and-Reds head to Vetrahjart. On paper it's one of the easier matchups, despite being away from home in Anaia, but the Käsklalas have already scalped Audioslavia, the group's second seed. They'll assuredly be in an opportunistic mood when the Confederates arrive in town. And then, of course, there's the next opponent. What more can be said about Squornshelous v Audioslavia? The meme scoreline, the knockout clashes, the wars of words in the media, antithetical tactical philosophies on the field.

Qualifying Schedule and Resutls:

FRND: PFA 0–5 SRS @ Libira National Stadium, Libira, PFA
FRND: TJU 1–2 SRS @ National Stadium, TJUN-ia City, TJU
FRND: DRK 3–7 SRS @ Spartan Veteran Stadium, Sadeg, DRK
FRND: RCN 0–1 SRS @ Stade National, Reçueçn City, RCN
FRND: JUE 3–0 SRS @ Il Nuovo Stadio Olimpioco della Pomena, Pomena, JUE
FRND: HUE 2–0 SRS @ Estadio Nacional, Curumba, HUE
FRND: SRS 3–1 HUE @ Striterax Cybernetic Arena, Striterax, Isle of Squornshelous, SRS
 
MD01: SRS 5–4 TKC @ Castle Street, Jaglan, Algolia, SRS
MD02: SRS 4–2 XAN @ Chernov Stadium, Viltvodle, Megabrantis, SRS
MD03: HMM 2–5 SRS @ Phitsomlong National Stadium, Chonlapur, Viengxay, HMM
MD04: SRS 3–0 BOS @ Synesoft Arena, Syneca, Sivolvia, SRS
MD05: VET  v  SRS @ Instrum Arena, Oxelövik, Feldrland, VET
MD06: SRS  v  AUD @ Albrechtsson Park, Damogran, Algolia, SRS
MD07: LGL  v  SRS @ National Stadium, Central Junction, LGL
FRND: QUS  v  SRS @ Mastad Atlova, Atlem, QUS
MD08: TKC  v  SRS @ Cang Prathoren, TKC
MD09: XAN  v  SRS @ TBA
MD10: SRS  v  HMM @ New Rudlit Arena, Rudlit, West Flania, SRS
MD11: BOS  v  SRS @ [stadium here], Newfort, BOS
MD12: SRS  v  VET @ Green Heart Center, Han Wavel, Han Dold, SRS
MD13: AUD  v  SRS @ Likely a bog, or other such place antithetical to playing actual football
MD14: SRS  v  LGL @ Smolak Systemy Stadion, Sjerezo, Molvania, SRS

[West Vdara]

Channel 2 Kanaria

"Glory to us all, comrades! Once more, victory has been secured by our heroic footballers, such true proletarian icons, setting examples which all should follow. What a privilege it is for us all to be able to closely follow such a humble yet strong team of sporting heroes! Not satisfied with defeating Dremotia, have also defeated former World Cup winners - and treacherous, awful capitalists - Free Republics! Whilst other capitalist nations may dare to claim that such a team as 'Free Republics' has not entered the tournament, this is a fallacy invented by materialistic Western nations to discredit our glorious achievements. Of course they would do such a thing, as all would be jealous of our success! Here to tell us more about our glorious team's success is our sports correspondent Stavros, as always."

(Note that West Vdara are top of a group including World Cup winners Free Republics, Agazul, Al Quds, and Brazilico... hmmmm.)

"Yes, hello again comrades! I hope you are all taking in the picture on your screens at the moment - and no, not the handsome gent you see on the left! Instead, focus your attention on the Official, State-Approved World Cup standings, and you shall see that the glory greatest Western Vdaran Territories are on the TOP of such a talented group littered with champions! After yet another victory came to the team naturally, the West Vdarans appear to be powering towards qualification for this World Cup - praise be to our proletarian heroes, so committed they are to the prevention of capitalism! Indeed, West Vdara's next fixture will be against four-time World Cup champions Agazul, and we expect nothing else but victory and triumph! Now, international decriers of our nation's ideal will tell you that Agazul aren't in the tournament either, but these are yet more lies from people who seek to commit treasonous activities against our proud and sovereign nation. Onwards we march, for victory, and for socialism!"

West Vdaran Air Service - the nation's best (and only, state-sanctioned) airline!

"Thank you once again, Stavros, for imparting only the most truthful truths this nation will ever need to hear. The people will be naming their children after you! Now, if you wish to see our glorious footballers in action abroad, you're in luck! West Vdaran Air Service, the greatest airline there is, are offering two lucky comrades the opportunity to be flown to any fixture of their choosing! To enter, simply contact your local Member of the Proletarian Assembly and sign the thirty-two forms required to be accepted into the contest. Once this is completed, the Vdaran Information and Intelligence Bureau will review if you have been loyal enough to the state, and you may be chosen to represent our proud nation in foreign, disgusting, capitalist lands! This also grants the privilege of enjoying the finest food West Vdaran Air Service has to offer - gyros. What more do you need? Last but not least, there have been reports coming into our channel that fiery, pointy objects have been flying into the sky and exploding - but fear not, comrades! This is a natural phenomenon known as 'reverse shooting stars', which shine at their brightest once they collide with the atmosphere. Any suggestion that these are 'missiles' are nothing but Treacherous East Vdaran Propaganda, invented purely to discredit our nation. Alas, we have no more news for today, so please go and enjoy your evenings!"

[Auprussia]

AUPRUSSIAN REGIONAL ERA CHAPTER 3

The AFF announced it's National tournament late into the year and invited clubs that either won their regional tournaments or performed very well in such tournaments. The regional tournament winners were automatically given a spot in the groups. Those clubs were: Pontmeosont, Birivistice, Noechatel Athletike, Prus Ostissia, Ostrogia Arca, Beorun, Angevines, and Intheol. The rest of the clubs that performed well enough were put into a playoff draw or just selected within their own regions. Each region had to have at least 7 more clubs each ready to go. Some regions ended up having playoffs while others just selected the 7 best to go.

Here's how that shook out:

Auprussia:
Auprussia NF defeated Cultur deu Remaiy 1-0
Eolorent defeated Ponchetenorons 3-1
Lorent Cardinaux defeated Essente 6-2
Palice Rouge defeated Lorent Arca 1-0 AET
Lorentisse defeated Origones Auprus 2-0
Helensorc defeated Arupierre 1-0
Pion defeated Nicennes 4-3

Teolan:
Top 7:
Oschreirak
VS Croux
Meterike
Tiffisen Moineau
Blackstar Crousault
Eibern
Teolan-Ostisse

Basony:
Vasconines defeated Amenstriva 2-0
Tessephines defeated Cote De Basony 5-3
Bervic Vica defeated Roi D'Illumene 1-0
Nosperot defeated Astellavoce 3-0
Rithelle defeated Prus Basonia 2-0
Basonia Imperre defeated Aurelafaci 4-3
Bastellaverna defeated Aurelion 3-1

Ostissia:
Top 7:
Ostissiennes
Wauvisse Athletic
Wauvisse AN
Onmirgauldt
Esserdem
Estostissia
Thrakir Mougnai

Ostrogia:
Top 7:
Prus Ostrogia
Prus Nafamelle
Teraime
Mordovita
Orcard Olympique
Norion
Safathe

Sassen-Piedoux:
Alexia defeated VS Frisia 1-0
Aingleaxe defeated Saxeland-Haverth 2-1
Anglen defeated De Guirre 3-1
Revolusion Piendoux defeated Prus Schwyll 1-0
Meithaifad defeated Saxeland-Perceland 3-2
VS Taberparque defeated Laithlaiff 4-0
Prus Sassenlan 3-0 Carthault

Hausdour-Almarind
Top 7:
Ithril Bleu
Sebatheol
Ithril Vert
Ithrillic
Almarind AN
Urentheogg
Goth-Drithol

Alba-Morgavin:
Top 7:
Morgavin
Alba FC
Courtress
Moorecambe
Essethaithe
Scirmar
Morgav Olym

This in turn made organization a bit better but it was still far from an exact science. For example Salvienne AN arguable should have been in the Basony playoff and so should Chagris NF but the officials of the region decided they were not a part of the top 14 clubs in Basony. Others clubs culturally fit in with other regions for example, while Moorecambe is in Alba-Morgavin they would rather play against Sassen opponents (which is what happens today, some clubs get exceptions and play in a different region) but since the Lige PRO regions were still in place they had to play against Alba-Morgavin clubs instead. Norion would rather play against Chagris clubs and even played in the Chagris league but still had to participate in a Basonic tournament. I could go on and on but there are instances of clubs who would rather play other clubs for differing reasons. Moorecambe culturally fits in more with the Sassen clubs. Norion fits in more with the Lorent and Chagris clubs in general. Even a club like Blackstar Crousault would rather play Tiffisen Moineau or VS Croux than play Oschreirak for example. The ultimate failing of the Lige PRO regions were that some clubs just didn't fit their regions culturally or had better travel to other regions than the one they were assigned to. It made organizing anything in the Regional Era a headache.

Then there was the question of where would the AFF hold such an illustrious competition. The infrastructure of most clubs had fell into disrepair or even worse which left the AFF with little options. So the AFF decided much to their chagrin that they had to hold the competition in Chagris (and especially the city of Lorent) where the only active league in the nation was held. This inadvertently gave Chagris legitimacy as a league and a nation due to their relatively well kept venues and stability around the clubs that competed nearby. Not to mention some of these clubs were definitely on the smaller end and some were not equipped to deal with the travel which made the AFF for the very first time pay for these clubs' travel. Most footballer insiders noted that this structure the AFF is enforcing is not sustainable but the AFF stubbornly kept going for...four more years. Yikes.

[City of Myrtle Beach]

CBC SPORTS Myrtle Beach / World Cup 98 Qualifiers

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MD3 RECAP

Matchday 3 | Group 2
Kandorith | Kickoff 6:00 pm | Attendance: 18,663

Kandorith 1

3 Myrtle Beach

a player 11'

47' Fulton

56', 87' Brennan

Myrtle Beach traveled to Kandorith for matchday three of the qualifiers for World Cup 98. Kandorith and Myrtle Beach have met once before in the 87th Cup of Harmony, where Kandorith won 2-0 over Myrtle. The match opened quickly, with a Kandorith striker scoring the first point in the 11th minute. Afterwards, the match entered a lull. Myrtle dominated in possession, but unfortunately the ability of Kandorith's keeper kept them from capitalizing on any shots on goal, of which there were five by Myrtle and one by Kandorith (the 11-minute goal). The match went to half-time with Kandorith up 1-0.

Myrtle Beach entered the second half seemingly a different team on par to what we saw last time towards the end of the qualifying campaign. In the 47th minute, a long shot from Fulton was just barely missed by the opposing keeper, finally allowing Myrtle to put a point on the board. The score was quickly followed up in the 56th minute, with a pass from Mann giving Brennan the ball, who got past the Kandorith keeper and put Myrtle up 1-2. In the 86th minute, Kandorith nearly tied it up, but the shot was intercepted by Mathis in the back, who began a quick counterattack, passing up the wing to Potts, who passed to Brennan, who got past the defender on him and once again got past the Kandorith keeper to put Myrtle up 1-3 and putting a nail in the coffin of any chance by Kandorith to win the match. The final whistle blew with Myrtle up 1-3. In the post-match press conference, head coach James Robinson commented, "It got a bit dicey in the first half, but we talked to the boys and got them together and won the match easily."

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MD4 RECAP

Matchday 4 | Group 2
Nine Star Arch, Webster, the Forkelands, Mertagne | Kickoff 6:00 pm | Attendance: 36,984

Mertagne 1

1 Myrtle Beach

52' Curwood

37' Farmer

Myrtle Beach traveled to Mertagne in their first matchup ever. The heavily favored Mertagnians sat just above Myrtle Beach prior to the match, with just two goals separating the two teams on the table. Both teams were one point behind first-place Eastfield Lodge. Mertagne opened with an early shot on goal by striker Trebuchet but were blocked by Page. In the 37th minute, a pass from Mertagnian midfielder Stewart Bickley was intercepted by Fulton, who ran it up to Farmer. Farmer was able to get around Mertagnian keeper Saif Dedec and put Myrtle up 0-1. That was the score when the teams went in for halftime after a half that was dominated by Mertagne possession-wise.

The second half kicked off with Mertagne controlling the tempo of the match. Myrtle was unable to get a touch on the ball outside of small scuffles. In the 52nd minute, one of those small scuffles between Bickley and Potts led to midfielder Jordan Will taking control of the ball and breaking away from the group. He passed the ball to striker Burro Curwood, who buried the ball in the goal to make the score 1-1. Mertagne continued to dominate possession, but could not break Bradley Page for the remainder of the match, with the full-time whistles blowing with the score at 1-1. Myrtle Beach and Mertagne both rose up by one spot in the group rankings, but are both now three points behind group leaders Eastfield Lodge and Nova Calania.

On matchday five, Myrtle Beach will play newcomers Northwest Kalactin at home, but some suggest that team may have ceased to exist before the qualifiers even started. On matchday six, Myrtle Beach will head to Eastfield Lodge in a very close match that is bound to be good. See you then.