World Cup 98 | RP thread

[Banija]

Banija responds well to home loss against Sargossa by taking 6 points from 6 possible as we reach the dog days of World Cup Qualifying


Banijan players celebrate a goal against Brusseldorf in World Cup Qualifying

HERZEGOVINA CITY, MORAVICA- On Matchday 3, Banija had an intense game against Edmonstik at Mavuto Field, in Ankole. Now, of course, we know how important that match was- these are the top two teams in Group 7 in World Cup Qualifying right now. And Banija ended up with a tight, 2-0 win- with Wérséô scoring early to give us a 1-0 lead just 15 minutes in, and Yob Banda burying our opponents late, with a critical goal to get Banija a much-needed 3 points in Hoima. But when the festivities moved to Istria, our largest city, and the Olympic Stadium, against Sargossa, a Pot 2 side, the campaign went sideways. Sargossa came to Banija and pulled off the upset, two goals to one on our home field, that had the potential to turn the group upside down. It's always big news when a Pot 1 side loses at home- big news for the rest of the group, but particularly, for the Pot 1 side. A challenge for Wangolo- an emotional loss, yes, but one that would showcase his pulse of the team. How would the Kadongo Kamu respond? The show always goes on, and we're going, quite quickly, to the middle phase of World Cup Qualifying.

Matchday 5- Away to Brusseldorf

Banija traveled to 120th ranked Brusseldorf, on Matchday 5, looking to get the bad taste of the Sargossa defeat out of our mouths. But the ranking really didn't matter- what mattered, going into this match, was the group table. Only 4 games of 14 played, yes. But we are looking at a dogfight, one of the tightest groups in World Cup Qualifying. Very little separation at this point- four teams, tied for first, with 9 points. Two more teams with 6 points- and just Safiloa, alongside Cafu and Malaguay, having 0 points. The four teams with 9 points? Banija, Edsmontik(whom we beat on MD3), Sargossa(who just beat us, in Istria no less, on MD4), and Brusseldorf(whom we were about to play, away, on MD5). It was a clear example of a big game- it's wins that beget big games, and a chance to respond to a loss, under pressure, as the group was finally starting to take shape.

"Look- we know how tight this group is, we know the importance of this match." Wangolo told reporters. "Brusseldorf are playing far beyond what their ranking should suggest- we're throwing that out the window. Brusseldorf is a team that is making a legitimate push at World Cup Qualification, and we need to have all hands on deck to take them down. We've got a rough taste of defeat in our mouths, as well- a rough loss, but we were never going to go 14-0-0 in World Cup Qualifying, either. It's time for us to pull our pants up, and get our shit going again." This was the time for things to start going well for the Banijans, and the motivated team went after their opponents, quickly, They wanted to score an early goal to try and put the home side on their back heels- but this plan ended up in disaster. Overcommitting on an early corner kick, Brusseldorf counter-attacked them with percision and speed, as their striker score on an 11th minute goal, to give them a 1-0 lead.

The Banijans were shell-shocked a bit, after that- it took some time to regain the composure. But once we started doing so, we started dialing up the pressure on Brusseldorf. We've got talented dudes everywhere- but especially in the front 3. But the finishing wasn't there, despite the creation- so when we went into the break, Wangolo was bold at halftime. Muhangi Wentibwa entered the match for Odongo Kagenda on the right wing, and Sherif Kinteh came in for Araba Fanja, in the central midfield. The subs were not just a spark of energy- but a showcase of fresh ideas. Wentibwa assisted on the first goal, delivering a brilliant cross that Son-Saka was able to just score on a tap-in, in the 51st minute. And Sherif Kinteh had the winner- his first goal for the national team, burying a cutback pass home, into the back of the net, in the 77th minute. From 1-0 down, to 2-1 up- and the Banijans held on for the win.

"This was a hell of a win for the boys." Said the star player, and captain, Layvin Son-Saka. "For a moment there, it seemed as if everything might be lost. But that was an important win for us- re-build the confidence, showcase our mental strength- and send a message to the rest of the group that we are still the team to bet. We're not going to be stopped until we clinch our berth at the Pavola World Cup." An important three points, away from home, as well.

Matchday 6- Home against Safiloa

At home, against a team that is at the very bottom of the table. A match, especially with how physically demanding their last one was, that was always going to demand squad rotation- and it was a mass one. Basically the entire bench and starters, flipped around, for this match. Banija has depth, and it is these kind of matches where the depth is important. Qualifying is long, and hard- can't run out the same 11, fourteen times in a row. Plus, of course, players always want to play.

Nakissa Muwanga had a brace for the Banijans, while Zaharija Zdjelar-Siwangeh scored the third goal, as the Banijans easily dispatched of Safiloa, 3-0. A second 6/6 window from the national team. "Qualifying is long and hard." Wangolo told reporters. "You're almost always going to have your ups, and your downs- and we responded well, ensuring that our down was just a blip, rather than the beginning of a trend. An outlier data point, if you will. The road only gets tougher from here- but damnit, this team will be ready."

The next window is a tough one, as we reach the halfway point of Qualifying. Both matches are away from home, against quality, top-100 opponents. First, they will travel to Auprussia- a talented team that maybe has had some false starts to their Qualifying campaign. They are looking to reinvigorate their campaign, and frankly, they can do so- they are just three points shy of a playoff slot. Nothing like a result against Banija that will kickstart the energies, right? And then second, Pyazhnaya. We beat them 4-1 last time out, at home- but realistically, that scoreline was a favorable one. That is one that definitely looks to be anybody's ballgame. And as we know- while we are top of the group right now, we are only top on goal difference. Edsmontik is looking fantastic this cycle, and if we slip up anywhere... They are well-positioned to take advantage of any moment where we drop points.

The dog days are here- we are smack in the middle of the campaign. But the tension only rises- it is only by continuing to stack wins that we will reach World Cup 98.

[Bears Armed]

(The following passages have been extracted — like those in my previous post — 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 5
And so it’s up to sunny (Hah! I wish…) NorthPort, for our home match against Jeruselem. The Belles have a lot of history with them, including being two of the four teams in that participated in several iterations of a smaller tournament called ‘The Pink Cup’ that was for female (or mostly female, as I think that Jeruselem’s players might already have included some males as well back then just as they do today. All of that was long enough ago that nobody who’s in either team now was around in those days, though. In fact, the Belles’ verrry first friendly match — played in between their ‘Baptism of Fire’ victory and their first World Cup qualifying games — was against a team that Jeruselem’s army fielded, as though it were a separate nation, under the name of ‘Jeru FC’.
Some of Jeruselem’s players looked a bit shaky hwhen they came out onto the pitch, even some of their starters as well as almost all of the day’s potential substitutes and even some of their staff. At first I put this down to the weather, which was chillier and damper than I gather is normal for their homeland, but at half-time it was explained that unfortunately they’d turned out to be allergic to Bears (!) Oops! Not ourr fault though, not hrrealy…
The score was already 4-0 to urrs by half-time, and we maybseo eased off slightly after that “to save our energies for meeting Valanora” hwhich is probably hwhy the final hrresult wasn’t even more unbalanced… Also, Jeruselem put in a fairly strong push just after play resumed in the apparent hope of getting some goals before their players’ condition got even worse: Their only goal was scored about four moments into the second half, by a [female] forward named Tina Arena who poked the ball into the bottom right of the net from among a hwhole crowd of players from both teams hwho were in the box. We came back after that to score another two, and thus made the final score 6-1 in ourr favour. The scorers for urrs were Arra O Harra with three goal (sho started play, in place of Harroya, and managed a hat-trick — two in the first half, and then one in the second — which was hwhat some people call a “perfect” one i.e. one goal each with left foot, right foot, and head… although in this case the order was actually head, left foot, right foot), and one each from — in this order — Marra o Redbank, ME, and Kara.
Flowers from Hrrobb before the game “for luck”, and sweets afterwards “as an extra prize”, again.

Match-day six.
Valanora. Not just this group’s first seed but currently rranked hrright up at #1 in the worlds. They hosted urrs at Hatire Stadium, in the city of Capri hwhich is on an island of the same name: Nice place, and I hrremember it fondly from ourr Di Bradini Cup days. The fact that we lost this match didn’t sour those memories too badly for me, neither, because to be honest coming away from the game with anything better than a LANDSLIDE defeat would have seemed a good rrseult… And as it happened we almost held the Vanor “Marauders” to a no-score-draw: It was only in the fifth moment before the end of regular time for the second half that one of the Marauders won the game for them… Their captain and usual set-piece taker, Laborious Hawk (Yes, THAT one…), from a penalty after Yungha was judged to have tackled one of the other Vanors a bit too heavily.

And again, flowers and sweets (even though, this time, the latter had to be as just “a consolation prize”) from Hrrobb. That male is up to something, I know that he is… Wouldn’t be cheating on me, I’m SURE of that (for true!, but anyhows something… He might be the professional investigator out of urrs two, but I’m pretty good at figuring prroblems out too if I say so myself and I will find out hwhat he’s doing this for before much longer. Maybeso he’s trying to soften me up so that I’ll say ‘Yes’ hwhen he asks me to bear him a child (He knows hwhy I’ve been a bit wary about that, so far…)? Hr’rmm… Lurrsee and Jammy have invited me to dinner in a couple of days’ time, hwithout Hrrobb because he’ll be too busy with work then, and maybeso one or the other of them will be able to provide a useful clue?

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OOC notes

Steffannee refers to time in terms of “moments” a couple of times: In the ‘Ursine Standard Time’ system one moment is one sixty-fourth of a ‘watch’, and so as one watch is equivalent to one-&-a-half hours (i.e. there are sixteen watches, rather than twenty-four hours, in an UST day) that makes one moment fractionally less than one-&-ahalf minutes in length (= 1.40625 minutes, = 84.375 seconds).

[Tumbra]

Straton, Tumbra

Straton the city was not known for her nightlife. While there were some nice places in the heart of the city, it suffered from being known as a city of bureaucrats and fun-hating progressive activists who thought the bottle was the most evil thing since conservatism. Or worse. Most places closed by midnight; this bar was kind enough to open till one, though most left near midnight. Rather helpfully (or un-helpfully, if one was so partial to the drink), the bartenders at this particular one knew exactly how to kill the mood and get customers to go home; turn on the midnight news report.

"Good evening. It's half past midnight in Tumbra, and I'm Gavin Evans, bringing you the midnight news report for the World Service of the Tumbran Broadcasting Corporation. Prime Minister Bertram Andrews has offered his condolences to the family of the deceased Prime Minister of Kamijiro Ryūzōji Kazumori, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances this afternoon..."

"Ah, turn that shite off," said one particularly inebriated customer.

"I'd like to catch up on the news, if you don't mind," the bartender said drolly as she polished a beer glass. "And we're closing in fifteen minutes. I don't need to remind you that I stopped serving you forty-five minutes ago."

"Whatever...Just one more, c'mon..."

"I do not wish to hand you a card," she said, putting down the beer glass.

"Card? What card?"

"One that tells you that you have to be anywhere except here. I have to write a report if I do, and I don't want to. So I'll tell you verbally, since we're the only ones still here in this bar. I will not be serving you any more alcoholic drinks."

"Come on..."

"Can I call you a taxi?"

"Hah. Call me a taxi. I'm not a taxi..."

"Hm. Is there a family member I can contact? Or should I contact a ridesharing service for you?"

"Yeah, yeah...get me an Uber...or something..."

The bartender sighed, passed the customer the bill for the night, and called a taxi for the customer. Drunkenly, the customer grabbed their wallet and fiddled around with it for a bit, before slapping the entire wallet on the countertop. Unfazed, the bartender skilfully extracted a credit card with signs of use from the wallet, guided it to the customer's hands, and guided them to pay for the bill.

"Hey...uh...you're pretty cute..."

"I'm asexual," was the immediate and curt reply, something she'd learned from years of drunken customers forgetting the appropriate way to treat their bartender. She wasn't, really, but from her experience it was the easiest way for someone to lose interest. And the easiest to keep track of. Say you're a lesbian? Some men were into that. Also couldn't be used on actual lesbians, mind, because they'd know. And if you said you were lesbian once, and then slipped up in the remembering, the game was up. So the answer was no, I don't actually like sex at all, so please stop trying to have it with me, thank you very much.

"Aw..." The disappointed reaction to the bartender's lie almost made her want to sympathise with him somewhat, but it was also nearly one in the morning. She just wanted to go home (being paid by the night rather than the hour would do that to anyone's motivation), and the customer was being rather more annoying than she had the tolerance before. A "what gives?" expression crossed her face as she held out the card reader for the customer to swipe their card on.

With the transaction settled (including a sixty dollar ridesharing surcharge — the bar would foot the bill for the customer's destination, but would pocket any of the difference), the wallet was gently placed back in the customer's hand, and they were escorted out.

---

It was, in the grand scheme of things, not the best of nights for Ainsley Plattenburg. Drunk off his mind again, not a single girl on his arm, a bleeding hangover guaranteed to come over him tomorrow, and the cute bartender was asexual? God.

The golden glow of the sodium lamps streaked past as the car sped down the expressway, back to his apartment complex. The taxi driver — a quiet man who shrugged when the bartender effectively threw him into the taxi and counted the fare she paid him — was driving at a speed that felt a bit too fast for poor Ainsley's stomach. In his stupor, all he could think about was a warm bath and sleeping. But in that infinite mass of neurons firing around in the space between his ears, his thoughts soon shifted.

What if we're not real?

"Heyy..." Ainsley slurred out to the taxi driver. "Youu know...hic...you ever think we're like...just characters?"

No response.

"Characters in like a teevee show...or like...a book? Or...some weird website?"

Still no response. In Ainsley's head this was almost certainly because the Writer — which was what he was going to call the creator of this world — don't knock it, it sounds nice and has a good ring to it, hadn't assigned any lines or personality traits to the driver beyond him being a quiet man. Delusions, to be clear, but to a half-drunk Ainsley the world suddenly made sense.

"Hic! You're awfully quiet. Whyyyy's that? Is it because you've got a lack of a personality? Huhhhh?"

The world seemed to be speeding up and rotating around him. In one single moment Ainsley felt like he'd unlocked the secrets to the universe; the feeling that was bubbling up inside him was euphoria — yes, surely that was it, and — why was his heart suddenly thrumming at three hundred beats per second?

The last thing Ainsley saw before he passed out was the driver looking back at him, yelling "Jesus!" at him.

to be continued

[Hapilopper]

DID YOU KNOW?… In late 2019, the Hapilopper National Football Team suffered its worst loss at the hands of the Equestrian States, the then-World Cup Champs, in the first match of AOCAF 59. That match, now famously known as the “Manehattan Massacre,” sent goalkeeper Cooter Harris into a psychotic frenzy and led to changes within the Hapilopper Football Association, changes that are still seen to this day.

Dom Probst’s Office, Hapilopper Football Association Offices, Hapilopper City
The morning after World Cup 98 Qualifying Match 6: Hapilopper 1-4 Yuezhou

Dominic Probst, the head of the Hapilopper Football Association, hadn’t slept a wink. A loss like the one the Hapiloppian team had just endured was the kind of loss that would send a football program’s World Cup qualifying hopes into a tailspin. Sure, the Haps had gotten pounded by one of the top programs in the multiverse – and the top team in the group, but it was still the kind of loss that would kill a team’s momentum dead in its tracks and kill its confidence like nothing else.

Let us refresh: Yuezhou, fifth in the group, but ranked 8th in the multiverse coming into World Cup 98 qualifying, went into Hapilopper City and made a statement, demolishing the Haps 4-1. It was the Haps’ first loss of the campaign, dropping them out of the top of the table, a spot now owned by the “deceptively unranked” Cobrio.

Worse, it was not a loss that came through questionable circumstances. Not even close. Yuezhou came to play, they outgunned the Haps and, to put it mildly, whooped their asses.

The loss pissed Dom off. While Thom Perkins tried to reassure his players that “these things happen” and “we can bounce back from this,” Dom didn’t feel the team could hardly afford to face a defeat like this, especially with so many strong teams in the group. He felt that the Hapiloppians had been put in, quite possibly, the most dangerous group of all of World Cup 98 qualifying, with six teams – themselves, Cobrio, Aphrilia, Baker Park, Yuezhou and Al-Tamazgha all standing a very real shot at qualifying for the World Cup off the group.

All of that weighed on his mind as he looked out the huge window in his office, the window that looked out to Hapilopper’s practice field – where Stan McLamb had a bucket of balls and was kicking them – one by one, as hard as he could, trying to find goal from so far out.

Dom watched him kick each and every one of those balls – almost as if he could tell Stan was trying to let out some frustration. The sun was just starting to rise, but Stan had been there for an hour. He, too, was monumentally pissed off about the loss.

As Dom watched the national team’s star striker let out some very real anger, he heard a knock on the door. It was Thom Perkins.

“Come on in,” Dom said. “You wanted to talk?”

“Yeah, I’m concerned,” Thom said. “I’m concerned about how you took that loss and how Stan’s taking it.”

“Well, I mean, wouldn’t you be pissed off?” Dom asked.

“If we lost to anyone else? Sure,” Thom replied. “Yuezhou’s a damn good team, boss. There’s six really good teams in this group, and we just got outgunned. If we had this kind of loss to, say, Panay Islands or Of the Godless, I’d be fuming just as much as you. But… this was bound to happen. It’s a fuckin’ car crash in our group and we just got hit.”

“So… you’re just going to dismiss it?” Dom asked, a little bit annoyed. “We can’t afford to drop ANYTHING, Perkins! God damn it! I don’t want to have to go through another playoff again just so we can make it into a World Cup! I’m tired of playoffs! I want to make it on our own merits!”

“I do too, but look at it this way: Everyone else is going to drop points,” Thom replied. “We’ve got six good teams in this group. We’ve got to go through the ringer with just about everyone. And I want you to look at the schedule for me, right quick. I saw it and it made me very, very happy. Look at our next opponent, and then look at the standings.”

Dom moved some things from his desk to reveal the calendar, and discovered that the very next match was against Of the Godless, the worst team not just in the group, but the worst team in the entire World Cup. Six losses on six matches, no goals scored and 21 goals allowed.

“Last night sucked, but that next match is the kind of match we can make a statement with,” Thom said. “I say we run up the score on those poor bastards. Get McLamb in here, I want him in on this.”

Dom’s angry, frustrated look soon gave way to an evil, devious smile.

A few minutes later, Dom and Thom ambled their way towards Stan McLamb, still working out some anger by kicking some soccer balls as hard as he god damn well could.

“Hey McLamb, we need to talk,” Dom called out.

That might not have been the right words to use, as Stan’s nerves were frayed to their breaking point, and he was the kind of person that took the words “we need to talk” as “you’re fucking done here, get your shit and get the fuck out of here.”

Stan turned around, his eyes growing wide. His thick beard hardly masked the look of fear on his face. Sensing this, Dom changed his tune a bit.

“You ain’t in trouble, we got something we want you in on,” Dom said.

“What is it?” Stan asked.

“So, our next match is against a team called Of the Godless, you familiar with them?” Dom asked.

“No,” Stan replied.

“Good, neither am I,” Dom responded. “The point is, they’re at the bottom of the group. They’ve been shut out in every game they’ve played this year. We’ve got them next, and I say we make a statement. Make an example out of them, if you will. You in?”

“Well, yeah,” Stan responded.

“Good,” Dom said. “I’m going to make this very simple, and I’m going to let the rest of the team know when they get in today. I want us to run up the scoreboard as much as we can for the next match. I don’t even want the match to be close. You score the first goal, we’re all going out to celebrate with you. The whole god damn team. Because I want to see some team unity, to let the rest of the group know we’re not going to just let a loss define us. We ain’t going to let that Yuezhou team keep us down. I want you to massacre those kids, whoever the fuck they are, you got me?”

“Yeah.”

[Crpostran]

[*]Apologies for the shorter than usual RP. Have an exam tomorrow, and had a network outage in my area for a short time due to some construction workers cutting the internet cable by accident. Will make it better in the next MD, cheers!

[Of the Golden Harp]

Dear, Sigmund Reynolds
The board is pleased with the team’s performance so far but we have a couple of concerns. For one we still haven’t scored a goal in six total games. Secondly we are on a three game losing streak, we are concerned that this will continue. Please consider a change in tactics. Remember the pre tournament goals we set, one win and one draw, as of now it seems we will not get this win.
- GHFF board of directors

Dear, Board of Directors
I am glad you are pleased with our performance so far. As for the concerns, I am considering a change in tactics, I will play the defensive midfielders up a bit higher, and get the wing back’s involved in the attack. As for the losing streak there wasn’t anything we could do, the other teams were just better, with this change we should be able to get wins against Qasden and Yuugria. Also The quality of teams here is much better but I guarantee goals in the upcoming MU-CLEC tournament.

Dear, Sigmund Reynolds
We are glad you took the time to evaluate our concerns. These tactics could work but only time will tell. As for the MU-CLEC invitational we demand at least fourth place, otherwise your position at the GHFF will be in question.
Regards, -GHFF Board of Directors

[Valanora]

Ellzidan's first qualification campaign is not going as well as she nor the fans of the Marauders would have liked, the team having had a bit of a roller coaster of a first half of the campaign. Through the first six games of the campaign, it is one that is eerily reminiscent of the same sort of campaign that the Marauders had during the last qualifying attempt, one where the team did not fall to a defeat but had a few questionable draws at home home that seemed entirely out of place in the grander scheme of things. Opening with a draw at the Hatire Memorial with Bongo Johnson was a difficult pill to swallow, the team having thoroughly dominated their lower ranked opposition but had failed to break down their defense and were forced to take just a point from the opening fixture. If Millet had been criticized for her inability to have inspiring campaign at the regional level and in the qualifiers, then this has been a bad way to distinguish herself from Millet, as the latter had just taken the Marauders to the World Cup Final and was only spotkicks away from finally adding that sixth star to the team's national crest.

Following that up with a four to two win over Bohr, also at home, was a good way to get things seemingly back on track for the new manager and her team. The Drawkish elf had a bit of a stumble out of the gate at the ARC but still managed to get the team all the way to the Final of that competition as well, before once more losing in penalty kicks to Squornshelous, although this time the Red and Blacks were at home. The thought was that she and the team merely were caught a bit off guard by the start of the campaign but were now in the rhythm of the competition and would see their way up towards the top of the table and likely not have too much of a bother about the group. That was before the next international window where the team had to fight tooth and nail to escape out of New Fernia with all three points in a cagey one to nil victory, before arriving at home and being held by Sarzonia in a six goal thriller. It was the beginning signs of a team that seemed a bit unable to put their foot on the neck of the opposition and kill them off, letting teams keep fighting with them even with a wide talent gap.

Come this last international break, it did not get much better as the Marauders labored to a disappointing one all draw at Doubeia, a troubling trend for the team in failing to get themselves going in the first of the two games of the window. It was a game that could have easily gone in either direction despite the wealth of talent that the Marauders have at their disposal and how ruthless they seemed to be at times during the last qualification campaign. Perhaps there is a hangover from the way that both the Finals and the ARC and the team has been unable to get over that mental block from coming so close to adding trophies to the cabinet but ultimately falling short. Whatever the case may be, it has been clear that this team is in need of something different as it enters into the halfway point, thankfully they managed to get a victory back at home the Hatire Memorial in Capri against then group leaders Bears Armed, with a solitary goal from Imre Haaland. That goal not only managed to get the victory for the Marauders but also vaulted the team back to the top of the group, despite the roller coaster of the first six games.

In this next break the team will play their final game of the first half against Jeruselem, who are notorious enough in the Empire that none other but the staff and players of the national team will be allowed into the Empire. That is in part because during the Empire's first hosting of a World Cup back in the thirty-ninth edition of the tournament a person from Jeruselem murdered a person on Empire soil in cold blood. It was tragic and terrifying enough that the government of the time declared a complete travel ban on anyone from the nation and there has been no case made in the years since for the removal of that travel ban, despite multiple changes in government since that time. On the field they have been one of a plethora of sides who have been up and down this campaign and this is where Ellzidan needs to show her mettle and get the team playing the football that got them to those Finals in the spring and summer. Following that, it is the start of the turnaround of the schedule where the team will travel to bottom of the table Bongo Johnson, who have three points from three draws including that first game against the Marauders. While not as tricky as games against Bears Armed or Sarzonia on paper, they are tests of the character and determination of the squad to fix errors on the fly and overcome their failures thus far in the campaign.

[Recuecn]

Yves Sabatier cursed those doddering, out-of-touch FNRF Bureaucrats.

The FNRF had been trying to find a new manager for the équipe nationale for more than a year now. It had been just two weeks since Yves had been humiliated in front of the FNRF executive board, shut down for trying to accomplish something. In that moment, Yves had decided that he would take matters into his own hands, and in the two weeks since then, he'd accomplished more than the fédération had gotten done in a year and a half.

As a staffer in FNRF headquarters, Yves had unlimited access to the building and the resources within it. He'd "borrowed" some FNRF stationary to write letters to several retired Reçuecian players and coaches, inquiring whether they were interested in the head manager position. He'd been very clear that ANY response must be sent to a P.O. box to be considered--he didn't need the executive board finding out he was going behind their backs. For that reason, it was impossible to use email--even though he had access to some of the official FNRF accounts, if any responses were delivered to those accounts, he would instantly be discovered.

The responses to his first letter had come flooding in. Almost everyone he'd reached out to had responded positively. Suddenly he had too many candidates for even a short list. Yves couldn't impersonate the FNRF representatives and actually hold interviews--at least, he hadn't figured out how yet--but in the meantime, he sent letters back to the candidates he'd selected with a questionnaire for them to answer. His second letter explained that these were screening questions, and an interview round was to follow at a later point in the process.

Yves had grown up as a fan of Reçueçn FC, specifically targeted retired players from that club. Most of all, he wanted Leo Beck, whom he'd been an especial fan of. Beck had played sweeper for Reçueçn FC, and had been on the équipe nationale at the very beginning. He'd played on the Baptism of Fire squad under Jacques Tremblay, and accrued 98 caps for the team. As he got older, eventually he was no longer called up for Les Licornes, but he continued to play for Reçueçn FC for much longer. Despite his age, his skill earned him the respect of teammates and fans alike. Now he was finally hanging up the cleats for good, and Yves was determined to have him as the next coach for the équipe nationale.

Yves reached out to Leo individually, with another letter. In the letter, he claimed that Beck was being offered an exclusive visit to FNRF headquarters during which an FNRF staffer would give him a guided tour and be able to answer any questions about the potential of working for the équipe nationale. Leo Beck happily accepted, and Yves began to frantically plan the logistics of how he would give him a tour, all while working in secret, behind the back of the executive board. Although it seemed like there was a decent chance things could go wrong, Yves was willing to risk it. Beck was his idol.

Yves was not too stupid to fail to recognize that if his plans actually worked, at some point his conniving and secrecy would catch up with him. If he actually found a potential candidate who would be happy to take the job on terms that the entire executive board might accept, the next step would be convincing the board to actually offer the candidate the position. And that would mean admitting to the board that Yves had been offering people jobs without permission. Yves saw this coming, and he had a plan to deal with that too.

He began to walk into the offices of FNRF representatives randomly, pretending he had gotten turned around or forgotten something. Then he would strike up a conversation. "Oh are you working on filling the manager position? I heard Leo Beck is interested. Imagine what a coup it would be to have been the person to recommend him to the board." Yves spokes to as many FNRF reps as he could, trying to find a way to make each of them think that hiring Leo Beck had been their own idea. Mostly he was met with cautious, measured responses. No one wanted to commit to something, especially not in a conversation with a junior staffer.

The day that Yves had invited Leo to headquarters for the tour finally arrived. Yves was thrilled to show his hero around his workplace, pretending all the while that this whole thing had been an assignment he'd been given since no one more important could be bothered to do it. He showed Leo the FNRF executive boardroom with as much pride as if it had been the World Assembly Security Council. Leo smiled and nodded politely.

As Yves gave the tour, rambling about the history of the FNRF and the équipe nationale, forgetting that Leo had lived through that history himself, the retired player started to ask pointed questions about the hiring process for the new manager. When was he expected to start? Could Yves say how many other candidates were still being considered? What else was required before moving on to an official interview?

Yves tried to distract Leo by talking about the team. He talked about the training they were undergoing currently under Heissler, the interim manager, and how they were preparing for their qualification games, and hopefully the World Cup. But again, Beck knew far more about how the équipe nationale functioned than Yves did. After all, he'd played on the team for years. He'd been personal friends with Heissler, who'd played in the defensive line with him during the Baptism of Fire, back in cycle 72. (For Reçuecians, that was only a decade and a half ago.) Yves began to sense that Leo was getting bored, and looking for more substantial promises that his candidacy was being looked on favorably--promises Yves couldn't make without the backing of the executive board, not without telling a flat-out lie.

Yves tried to explain that the bureaucracy at the federation was getting in the way of the hiring process, and that things were slow and unorganized. All of this was true, to be fair. "I believe the hiring committee that invited you to visit today was hoping to jump-start the process and circumvent some of the red-tape that occurs when the entire executive board is involved."

Leo could read between the lines. "So you're saying the executive board as a whole isn't even aware of my application?"

"Um, no, that's not what I'm trying to say," stammered Yves. He could feel the situation falling through his fingers. But just at that moment, he was saved--Cesario Licciardi walked around the corner at the far end of the hall.

Cesario was a full-fledged FNRF representatives, although it was not thanks to his own doing. His father, a club owner, had pulled some strings to get his son the position, ignoring the fact that Cesario was deeply unqualified. He was the most junior member of the FNRF executive board, and had quickly learned no one else on the board respected him whatsoever.

"Monsieur Licciardi!" called Yves, hurrying Leo in Cesario's direction. "How fortunate we could run into you here! I know you're usually very busy." Cesario was usually nothing of the sort--the federation tried as much as possible to avoid giving him any responsibility at all--but Yves knew that flattery was his only lifeline in this situation. "This is Leo Beck, who used to play for the équipe nationale and just recently retired from Reçueçn FC."

"Ah, my pleasure," said Cesario. He was confused where this was heading. He was always confused, and usually had a sense that it was his own fault, but this time he had a feeling his own stupidity wasn't the issue.

"The pleasure is all mine, I'm sure," said Leo.

"Monsieur Licciardi is a member of the executive board, as I'm sure you're aware," said Yves. He turned to Cesario. "We were just discussing the possibility of Monsieur Beck interviewing for the position of équipe nationale manager."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed. I feel that if he had someone to champion his candidacy with the executive board, he is more than qualified to do a wonderful job. And I'm sure the rest of the executive board would gain a lot of respect for one of their members who was able to finally find the solution to the problem that has plagued them for a year and a half now."

Beck gave Yves a strange look. Cesario stared for a moment while the gears turned, and then his face lit up. "Is that so?" He turned to Leo. "Well perhaps after your tour you would like to come into my office and we could discuss your potential future as the next Reçueçn Manager."

Yves watched Leo keenly from the corner of his eye. Leo smiled, pleased. "I would love that."

Yves heaved a huge sigh of relief. Perhaps this could work out after all.

[Eshialand]

Follow-through
Eshialand 2-0 Paringo
Island Fusion 0-3 Eshialand

OOC: This is continued from my WC97 RP series, posted in 13 parts on both Eshialand and Aleirave. If you'd like to read them again, you may do so in this dispatch. However, I'll keep the story pretty digestible for those who haven't checked that out, as I'd imagine most of you haven't. Fair warning: they total 7759 words.

"So, I think that's everything we can do?" Detective Jacob Bronwyn asked his colleagues, Detectives Paula Hannelly and Neil Rollins, about the status of their magnum opus.
"Without finding Tony Beaujoleil, I don't think we're getting much more." Paula replied.

These three had spent the last year working on the Eshian Investigation Service's largest investigation to date, looking into the bribery scandal between Refilene Adari'ena and Tony Beaujoleil. Tony, desperate to stay out of jail for the myriad different crimes he's committed over the years, decided to bribe Refilene, the still-sitting Governor of Aleirave, to keep Union Stadium as one of Aleirave's national soccer stadia. As long as it kept that status, he would be providing a national service, and the king would, hopefully, hold off on formally arresting him. This document the three detectives had written together, informally dubbed the Lahaira Papers, had been a labor of love for quite a long time.

This investigation had been dragged on for so long partly because of all the obstacles it had faced in between the allegations being brought to light and today. First, Refilene, expectedly, had refused to talk without a warrant. Then, the entire nation's internet broke down for multiple months, hindering the investigation, which involved cryptocurrency transactions which the outage rendered inaccessible, until the internet came back. Once it finally did come back, Tony Beaujoleil was nowhere to be seen, so he couldn't be questioned. Heck, he still couldn't be found.

Eventually, they just had to give up trying to find him and release their documents so the world could see what happened and know why this man was so wanted. Not to mention they could finally arrest Refilene, who, until his arrest, could continue to serve as the Governor and even run for re-election (even though everyone knew about the investigation and wouldn't touch his campaign with a 29 and a half foot pole).

"Time to send it up to Director Monley and see what happens..." Neil said.

And so, the three brought a physical copy of the 'Lahaira Papers' to their boss, EIS Director Mark Monley.

"Wow, that's thorough..." Director Monley told the group, "but there's still so much left to be answered, it seems."
"That will be solved once we get our hands on Mr. Beaujoleil." Jacob told him.
"If we ever get our hands on Mr. Beaujoleil, that is." the Director corrected. "Are you sure nobody has spotted him so far?"
"You know, you wouldn't think a floating 60,000 seat soccer stadium would be easier to find," Neil commented, "but we've received 0 reports about where he is, anywhere! He truly seems to have fallen off the map..."
"Unfortunate indeed, but I think you're right about the fact that there is no time left to wait. I'll send this over to the Attorney General and once he's cleared it, we can get the arrest warrant and release it to the press."

The three investigators went to leave the room, before Director Monley stopped one of them in his tracks. "Neil, I'd like a quick word with you if that's alright."

Neil wasn't quite sure what Director Monley wanted from him. The two of them never had a great relationship, mainly stemming from Neil's own arrogance and sheer inability to get along with any sort of command. He could only expect bad things to come from the Director pulling him aside like this...

"Listen, Neil... I know we've never really gotten along, but I really want to thank you for everything you did in this case. I know I always doubted your skill as an investigator, but you've clearly proven your worth."
"Wait, what's going--"

Mark extended his hand, as if to shake Neil's. "Let's put the past behind us, and work together from here on out. I need more good investigators, and you three are the best the EIS has ever seen, whether you realize it or not."

Neil shook the Director's hand, smiling at him for the first time since Mr. Monley took office. "I won't let you down, sir."

[Pasarga]

This past window was exactly the sort of window that Thor and his staff had been working so diligently to try and remove from the Wanderers experience, where they completely bottled things against vastly overmatched opponents. Before the window they had won four games from four and were sitting entirely pretty at the top of the table with two of the worst teams in the group coming up. A home tie against New Crywyzyxycynya and then an away tie traveling away to fifth placed Vaishnavaria, both of them were games where the Wanderers were going to be heavily favored for. With how well the team had been playing in the campaign already, opening up with that win away in Juvencus and then being able to follow it up with an equally as important win over Oberour Ar Moro, there was no reason to believe why they should not get a full six points. How woeful the team was going to have to be to not get at least four points from the six on offer, as an away trip is always a bit tricky regardless of how tough the competition is or is not perceived to be, but the team definitely had to get the three points from their opening match of the window in Torgos.

Going into the match, it seemed like the perfect match to do a bit of squad rotation for, as the team had done in the previous window to quite a bit degree of success and allowing Thor to get a full grasp of his squad. Regardless of whether the team manages to qualify for the World Cup, which is definitely the goal for Thor and the staff for this Wanderers squad, or the Cup of Harmony, there was going to be a need to narrow down the pool from a selection of twenty-six players for the following tournament. Playing all of his youngest players again, the team definitely looked exactly like the group beaters they had been in the first four matches during the first forty-five minutes of the match, with Joska Rác and Szalyk Mezey getting first half goals for a two goal lead going into the break. Yet in the second half the defense was completely all over the place, seemingly acting like they had never played with each other before and the side allowed three goals off of three shots on target in the second half and failed to find the back of the net again despite subbing in the more veteran players. Surrendering all three points from a winning position and at home to one of the worst teams leaving the team and fans stunned.

Perhaps that stunned feeling lingered a little too long over the team as they were a bit disjointed in the first half away to Vaishnavaria despite playing the best eleven who were available to be selected from the match. The home side got on the board with a pretty effort through a bunch of passes in the twenty-ninth minute and were carrying that slender lead into the half. The second half was as cagey but slowly it seemed like the Wanderers were growing into the dominant position in the game, with the last half hour being a near on siege of the hosts half. Despite plenty of efforts on net, the hosts were standing to the task with blocks and the keeper standing on their head to keep the side out of it. Thankfully for the team in the eighty-second minute they would finally be rewarded for their efforts, as Moore Lafontaine would be the unlikely winner of corner thrown into the box and pushed it into the far post and caught the keeper out of position. It was only a single goal though and the team might have felt like they deserved more from the amount of chances they created in the second half, but it would be only a single point they would be taking back to the dual islands.

Now comes perhaps their second most difficult window here in the campaign, a game against fourth placed Adab, who sit only three points behind the Wanderers. Both themselves and Oberour Ar Moro are sitting on ten points and ready to pounce upon any more pitfalls that come the Wanderers way, as Juvencus catapulted themselves to the top of the group thanks to this poor showing in the past window. It will be a home game for the team and the crowd will need to be there and giving them the same energy that they have given them for the rest of the campaign to get the team rolling in the right direction, having a short memory and forgetting how poorly the past window went. As after Adab the side will host Juvencus once more and the group leaders will be looking to put a bit of distance between themselves and the rest of the group as well as getting revenge on the team for going to their place on the opening matchday and taking away three points. It is a pivotal window for the team, as getting results here will steady the ship after the team got rocked a bit in the last two games and solidify their position to qualify, while failure to do so will make the second half of the campaign full of stress and peril.

[Aleirave]

Bombshells
Aleirave 2-1 Libesia
Christian Brothers 1-2 Aleirave

The election campaign was just heating up in Aleirave, and the tides were starting to turn massively. Multiple news stories were starting to galvanize various sections of the population, and the candidates' reactions to them would practically end up deciding who would win this election.

For starters, one news story would prove to be Yekaterina Olayeva's big break: the Aleiravan national football team had finally gotten wins, first at home against Libesia and then away at Christian Brothers. Their return from Christian Brothers would be a prime opportunity for her to welcome them back and celebrate with them. While this was something that just came naturally to her, celebrating wins with her family, even if she wasn't a part of those wins anymore, it would have the fortunate side-effect of galvanizing the island's football fans, and getting them to identify with her in a way they just couldn't identify with any other candidate. In a moment where a lot of these fans were former Alinov voters left without anyone to support, this could launch her from a fringe candidate to second place in the campaign, without any additional legwork on her part.

Secondly, rumor had it that the Lahaira Papers were releasing, and soon. While nothing was known in terms of a timeline just yet, anyone watching Refilene Adari'ena's demeanor could tell that the writing was on the wall for him now. While he didn't have many supporters left to win over, each candidate's reaction to such a major news story could easily swing large sections of the population between them.

All of this was coming right as the first political debate in Aleiravan history was set to take place, by the docks. Every candidate still in the race was invited to take place, and all of them bar Alinov showed up on time. A lectern was still set up for him, however, with a cardboard cutout of him with glued-on googly eyes taking his place. The sight was quite an embarrassing one, which effectively knocked him right out of the race for good.

He did show up eventually, however, blaming his alarm for not waking him up right beforehand. He interrupted Kalaio Pahoteka's boring answer about foreign policy (an answer filled mostly with buzzwords said in an incoherent order which proved him to know absolutely nothing about what was going on), and despite the sight being a dramatic one that woke the audience up, it wasn't like it could save him or anything. His campaign was down the toilet.

Speaking of down the toilet, one of the moderators, noted comedienne Asana Viharaka, had a surprise announcement in the middle of the debate. "I've just received word that the Lahaira Papers have officially dropped, and Governor Adari'ena is formally being charged with corruption! While there were in fact no campaign finance violations involved, there sure are a lot of campaign existence violations going on!"

Uh oh, that isn't good timing... Refilene thought. Luckily, since this campaign was occurring at the docks, there was no easier time for him to make an escape from the island, as he hopped onto a moored fishing vessel, cut the rope tying it into port, and started sailing away.

"Well, is anyone going to stop him??????" Yekaterina yelled out as the crowd was too stunned to do anything but watch. They tried to stop the boat, but it was too late, he was leaving just like Tony Beaujoleil had. On the bright side, this meant the end of his campaign, as if he so much as stepped foot on the island again, he would never see the light of day for the rest of his life.

With that event, the stage was now firmly set for the second half of the electoral campaign, where the stakes were even higher. It was now clear that Malako Eterena and Yekaterina Olayeva were the favorites, but Sergei Alinov would keep stubbornly acting like he didn't need to work to get the win, something that was known to be blatantly untrue by this point in the campaign. Heck, even Kalaio had a better chance at this point... but for the most part, this was a two-horse race now, and the fun was just beginning.

[Zwangzug]

The Spenson Star

After defeat to Osterhalten, Zwangzug bounced back with a back-and-forth win against Gnejs. "We weren't entirely sure what to expect," admitted Stephen Marcus. "I mean, 'quiet dignity' is something you ought to respect, surely? But is it one of those phrases that loses meaning when it's being used as a self-description? I thought the players themselves were admirably stoic but I wasn't sure how exactly their manager [Enda Clentin of Delte] fit into all that. Then again, more than one country is allowed to have stoic people, it's a popular virtue!"

"All I knew about Gnejs was that they were rivals to Baggieland in a lot of sports," said Sullivan Brecht. "The Editors' Cup, and all. I was kinda wondering if we were going to get in on that but it looks like we're not eligible anymore and it would be weird to muscle in on somebody else's rivalry, like 'back in the day' blah blah blah we can get our own rivals if we really wanted them. Probably. Somewhere."

"And Baggieland is, of course, the place where they eat lasagna with spoons," pointed out Brian Spand-Maunk. "So I was really excited to see how Gnejsians ate their lasagna. But apparently that's not a big deal and they didn't have any?"

"Yeah, like, I don't know how people twirl their spaghetti with a spoon, that makes no sense to me," admitted Ernst Guthnick-Wolf. "I would just as soon cut it up. But I can totally sympathize with the desire to make sure you're savoring every speck of lasagna available."

"Why are we having a conversation about lasagna of all things, do you people have nothing better to do?" griped Sohini Dravid. "I never thought I'd be agreeing with Gregor Courtenay of all people, but this approach isn't clicking. We need to play to our strengths, which in this case might consist of giving Stephen and Brunnhilde [Lavrans] a chance to play alongside each other and not packing the starting lineup with defenders who can't pass, except maybe at the dinner table."

"The result against Osterhalten was disappointing, but it's part of the growing pains that come with a new approach," claimed Jubilee McGraw. "I mean, it happens to everyone. I think. I couldn't exactly tell you where and when, since I'm definitely not getting distracted by any of the matches in other groups and firmly keeping my attention focused here."

Zwangzug return home for a pair of back-to-back matches in the FTC, against Britonisea and Gopnikea; the latter have six defeats in their six matches to date.

MD5: Fischer 65
MD6: Fjällstrand 27, Bukt 81; Spand-Maunk 14, Brecht 51, Regins-Ybou 73

[Darmen]

NFS Commissioner Floats Potential Reorganization Of League System

SCOTT CITY - Speaking at the annual convention of the National Football Journalists Association, Commissioner of the National Football Series, Kenny Johnson, suggested the possibility that the NFS could reorganize the professional league system in Darmen. The league system currently consists of the 28 team Series A and the 94 team Series B.

"Over the coming months, the National Football Series will be engaging with our member clubs and the Darmeni Football Association as well as our media and sponsorship partners to discuss the possibility of reorganizing professional football in Darmen," stated Johnson. Johnson further commented that, "Our goal is to create a more permanent structure with greater professionalization and greater equity between the clubs in terms of their finances."

Johnson acknowledged that many clubs have voiced their frustrations with the current league set up in the country, with Series A clubs complainging about a lack of home matches as well as the unfairness caused by the league's single round-robin schedule. Series B clubs meanwhile bemoaned the uneveness between the various groups which make up the league, with some groups having as few as eight clubs playing a quadruple round-robin, while other groups play a double round-robin schedule with between twelve and sixteen clubs.

"The NFS has examined and will continue to be open to considering various structures for the Darmeni league system," said Johnson, "but at present we are primarily considering three divisions of twenty clubs each." Johnson would go on to describe that clubs who fail to qualify for the three leagues either by sporting merit or through a licensing process would be placed into regionalized intermediate football leagues or provincial amateur leagues, depending on the status of the club. Johnson clarified that any changes in the Darmeni league system would not take place until after the 2068-69 season, when the current five year media rights deal expires.

Reactions to Johnson's statements were generally positive, with fans and clubs filling social media with statements of support for a potential reorganization of the league system. Several smaller clubs, in potential danger of missing out on a spot in one of the three professional divisions, were more cautious however, with many saying they wanted to see more concrete plans before deciding whether to support the reorganization or not.

Any changes in the league structure would require the approval of a majority of the 122 member clubs in the NFS, as well as majorities within Series A and Series B seperately. The DFA will also likely have to give their approval. Johnson did not mention the Series Y, the other competition overseen by the NFS, suggesting that the 114 team youth competition will likely remain untouched by the reorganization.

[The Ko-orenite Constellation]

In Dhidiyah, Irithoreni leader Zeina Fizairdah has one goal, at least for the week. There are enough issues on her desk, but she was somehow enthusiastic to tackle another one. And hey, a stronger Constellation might actually remove a lot of the other problems from her office. To avoid a two-speed Constellation, she'll call for more integration - and more integration will mean tighter economic bonds, which in turn should (operative word: should) make Irithoren less dependent on the huge nearby economies in Esportiva. Sure, Dhidiyah's harbour grew through all the recent trade, but with it, issues arrived that the cozy cape is just a little too small to deal with. Smuggling, goods of unclear origin or destination, and outright economic domination by the countries across the strait, it's been a lot.

The Constellation has been a welcome distraction, until a big three - Mercatoren, Chanmingoren, Ndugutisaoren - decided to derail progress. The ancient four - Arhoren, Irithoren, Synephoren, Taloren - have been outmuscled as a result.

That said, if anyone of the old four could still muster some good will, it was Irithoren's Fizairdah.

"We're going to need something big to present in the conference. Something that will distract enough from the bigger issue... something that might actually solve issues. A charter, maybe? So far, if we've signed anything, it was in Ko-oren and it was on their terms. If we can suggest something of our own, something that presents the Constellation as an organisation that can hold up its own weight without outside interference, we could be on the right track. But it needs to be strong enough to actually supercede the disagreements and the power wrangling. It needs to silence, sort of, the big three, and it needs to not give too much credit to the old four. And still... I think only the old four can produce something that's true to the Constellation and its ideals. It just needs to smell of something new."

Within a few days, the leaders of the old four were on a call. Not the first time they were throughout this thing, too. With the work done by all the staff in the Dhidiyah office of the days prior, a few hours later there was some concensus on the following:

We, the people and the nations of the Constellation, commit ourselves to the principles of the Constellation; the pursuit of equality, the principle of meritocracy, the preservation of our environment. We seek out our shared ideals and overcome our differences.

I. This document founds the Constellation on our common principles:
Equality. We believe all persons in our nations to possess dignity, rights, and value. The Constellation and its member states must provide the people with the means to develop, prosper, and live in safety.
Meritocracy. We believe leadership and responsibility will be shared by those that display exemplary wisdom and ability, and that those leaders will recognise and advance those traits in others.
Environmental Stewardship. We believe decisions must demonstrate that humanity is part of the natural world and that decisions reflect the importance of its longevity.
Autonomy. We believe the Constellation and its member nations must have sovereignty over its affairs, subject to the contents of this Charter.

II. This document establishes the joint government of the Constellation:
Presidency over the Constellation rotates every year. Every member nation will, in turn, supply a President who oversees and organises the Constellation and this Charter. They will act in favour of the Constellation rather than their nation by setting the agenda and planning forums.

The President will lead the Constellation Council, in which one representative per member nation takes part. Member nations will send their representative on their volition. The Council will mediate disputes where they might arise based on the wording in this Charter. They will aid the President in setting the agenda, proposing initiatives and projects to benefit the Constellation, its member states, and its people, based on the founding Principles.

The Constellation Council can, with a 75% majority, make changes to this Charter. Other decisions may be made with a a simple majority.

III. Membership of the Constellation is free to all nations, territories, and organisations, subject to adherence to this Charter. Termination of membership is subject to adherence to this Charter in equal measure.

IV. Projects and Initiatives may be delegated to Committees, which are not limited to equal, shared participation and leadership of all member nations.

"That'll do. Any further stipulations can follow in a separate document which can be changed more often if the need arises. The idea is that this document shouldn't need to change very much at all..."

[Squornshelan Remnant States]

If the pre-qualifying tour was a revisitation of some old foes from among the Indies of yesteryear, then this qualifying group might be described as the Arrosian champions' whirlwind tour of Anaia. That's whirlwind as in a hurricane, not just a quick jaunt, because the Black-and-Reds are racking up the damage along the way. And sure, Xanneria are Esportivan, while Hmmland hail from Southeast Asia (weird made-up sounding region that it is) but the remainder of our group hail from that semi-sibling region of ours. Some estrangement there certainly, emotional, geographical, and likely metaphysical as well, but what's family without a bit of drama? In any case, having already seen off The Ko-orenite Constellation and Bostopia, the Black-and-Reds had similar performances against Vetrahjart and Audioslavia. Similar in that they nearly made a hash of the match that was much easier on paper and held the theoretically more dangerous opponent without a goal. Estina McGill had a pair of important goals, earning the Black-and-Reds full points against the stubborn Käskalas team that refused to be put away neatly, and securing breathing room for the SRS late against Audioslavia with the Bulls chasing threateningly for an equalizer.

The really odd thing though, is how no one is screaming for the heads of any defenders or team staffers over letting Vetrahjart equalize twice, over conceding 10 times in 6 matches. 28 in 13 if we count our friendly tour, which is a fucking lot of goals against. Yeah, we're still tied for the best attack and goal support cures everything, but look at Group 4 for Zark's sake, defense and goalkeeper could be a hell of a lot better. Being World Champions really does seem to chill people out. Even the crime wave that had been driving headlines and boosting a resurgence of conservative politics in the Confederacy seems to have died down a bit, though the arrests of several high profile members of Islander criminal organizations during Bureau of Police raids in Brantisvogan around the same time probably had something to do with that as well. Yes, there's still some goings on in Molvania, but (and I'll catch flak for this probably) there's always something a bit shady going down between Lutenblag and Lublova, isn't there? Now and then I think we all have a moment or two when we feel like giving the MNP what they keep asking for and letting Molvania go their own way might actually be what's best. The whole state seems a bit more trouble than it's worth sometimes.

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 2–3 SRS @ Instrum Arena, Oxelövik, Feldrland, VET
MD06: SRS 2–0 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

[Busoga Islands]

Part I

OOC note: while the first two parts are gospel, the third part of this article is understood to be estimations by the author, as opposed to being 100% gospel.

A history of the Oyo Crime Family
As written by Islamic University of Buosga History Professor, Dr. Ibrahim Ekinci

The Oyo Crime Family... Oh, where to begin?

The closest thing Banija and the Busoga Islands have to the mafia. Straight up organized crime. Source of myth and legend, across the Basin, around the Commonwealth, and throughout both Arrosia and even far beyond... both the Kingdom, and these Islands, have had their fair share of organized crime families. But the biggest, in its heyday anyways- and most important, naturally- was the Oyo Crime Family. A family of socialist revolutionaries turned crime lords, here is the short blurb of the story on who exactly they were, and how they went. If you want to learn more, of course- buy my book- The Oyos, Busoga, and Banija: A Life of Crime.

Let's talk about the history- they've been around for nearly 150 years. We're going to go all the way back to... 1907?

The Oyos: Short-Lived Socialist Revolutionaries

Something we don't talk about, a ton, are the revolutionary movements that swept through early Banija right upon its independence. It was largely a peaceful event- the famous Busukuma Riots of 1905 leading to independence a year, and a few months, later. A fairly quick turnaround- but remarkably, there was no War for Independence. No need to go into the Bush, or anything like that. While the civil wars of the Restoration Period(1835-1841) are well documented, mostly due to the fact that they led directly to the establishment of the modern-day nationstate of Nyowani Kitara, nobody really talks about the early instability in the first 10 or so years under the modern Banijan Constitution.

There were a number of miniature rebellions that needed to be put down. The Banijans basically achieved independence with the borders they had in 1806, as one, unified state- and not everybody was happy about that. Of course, we all know how it ended up. It's not like they were trying to really change the borders, however. There were a number of socialist/communist rebellions that had to be put down. They were all put down, fairly quickly- done so in enough time, with enough speed, that you really wouldn't say that the Banijans had a war, per say. But there were rebellions- small ones, mostly in urban areas across the country. One key one that was put down, rather quickly, was what's called the "Battle of Rukunbi."

Rukunbi, as many know, is the largest of Istria's 5 boroughs. It is also the poorest, and the more diverse- tons of Busogans live there now. Nowadays, maybe three quarters of a million Busogans live in Istria, and 85% of them are estimated to live in Rukunbi. So, in those days, Rukunbi, alongside Loyola next door(home to the famous University of Loyola), was a hotbed of activism. Stephen Oyo Sr., a factory worker at the time, wanted to overthrow the Banijan state, and establish a workers republic- or a 'Soviet', as he called it. He was able to organize a large-scale strike in Rukunbi, and encourage violent resistance- even setting fire to a monument in the city to Kabonero III, the Chief that united current-day Banija under its present borders(without Busoga).

Strike. Rebellion- get guns, and start rebelling. But, of course, the military was called in, and this was put down violently. Stephen Oyo was captured, and eventually executed, by the Banijan state for treason, and his band of revolutionaries, called the Istria Socialist Workers' Council, were largely arrested and disbanded. If you buy my book, you can get full details on this- how it happened, how the capture happened, how Oyo was betrayed, and if he really had a chance in hell at a successful rebellion.

From Politics to Crime- Follow the Money

Stephen Oyo, of course, went 6 feet under. The Oyo family largely lost their interest in politics from that moment- and at that point, went towards the underground. Not revolutionaries- Stephen Oyo Sr's son, Stephen Oyo Jr., didn't give a damn about politics- much to his father's chagrin. He was all about money, and as a radically independent personality, he knew that there was a way to get power (extremely locally), as well as cash. How was it? Via the quickest path to cash in history- selling drugs.

Junior wasn't quite so organized, but he didn't mind using violence, and simply put- he was bold enough to create an operation. Black markets have existed since the beginning of time, but Junior's approach was difference- he was able to get people consolidated under his own power, and then, those he couldn't, he was willing to bop off. But it was Junior's son, Enjura, who really ensured that they became a crime family. He had a bunch of sons, and from there, he ran it like he was a royal family. Establishing connections with foreign outfits, getting on turf outside of Istria- spreading quickly to the Busoga Islands themselves, and then, marrying a Busogan. He was a kingpin in cities across the Kingdom, and successive Banijan governments tried, and failed, to get rid of his organization.

It was all up and up- for well over 100 years, until the Banijan-Equestrian War. Enjura's successors accrued power, until, of course, that war. What happened then? The Equestrians, almost accidentally, nearly took out the entire family. They had regular bombing raids during the war, and Istria, being Banija's biggest city, and also, situated on the west coast, one of the nearest to Equestria, was the subject of some bombing raids. They accidentally took out two of the Oyo family's leaders within a three month period- the boss, and his successor as boss. Many members of the family died in that war. And then, following that war, the Banijan Royal Family had a period of year-long 'direct rule', where they ruled directly while the country got rid of Matthias Mutebi's Defiance Coalition(think: Far-right fascists), and preparing the country for an election. During that period of Direct rule, the then-Isebantu(Crown Prince), who is the current Kabaka(King) of Banija, Mwanga, launched a campaign in cities, across the country, to get rid of organized crime. He was in charge of Moravica directly, but worked with family members on coordinated campaigns across the country. Outside his purview? Maybe- but it worked. A large-scale crack down forced the death of several crime families, and pushed out others- like the Oyos.

The present day: Contributing members of society in Lakiska

Obviously, what a crime family is doing in the present day is not exactly the easiest information to gather. But it's rumored that much of the Oyo family- the remaining members who weren't killed during Mwanga's campaign, anyways- moved to Lakiska, the current capitol of the Busoga Islands. The Oyo family, despite the Banijan name and origin, is a Busogan one now. It was mostly junior members who were able to get to Lakiska, and they largely participate in society in functional ways. The person who would be the current senior member, who is named Isaza Oyo, is currently a 64 year old man, who owns a halal, grass-fed, rib chain in the Islander capitol city.

Yohana Oyo, at 27 years old, is probably the most prominent member of the family now. A nephew of Isaza, he has turned his back entirely on the family business- entering politics as a right-hand man, to one of the major Presidential candidates, Orag Saglik. We'll see what the future holds for the Oyos- but their role, in the trafficking of cocaine and other narcotics- is seemingly dead.

[Milchama]

"Well we need to RP now"

"Why?"

"Because, at best, we're headed to the CoH and they only take RPers"

"How do you know that?"

"Did you see our recent results?"

"No, hold on, oh my god yes we do!"

"See what I mean"

"That's really bad"

"Really really bad"

"I guess playing American football made use much worse at soccer"

"Big mistake"

"Apparently it was, did not see that one coming"

"Me neither"

"I'm glad that we agree"

"No more Brad Paisley"

"Ok"

"But wait"

"What?"

"Last time we were clear CoH candidates we didn't make it"

"Yeah, I can't tell some people seem to like our RPs because they are 'funny' and 'weird' while others hate it because they are 'shitposts' that are 'barely RPs at all' and 'basically OOC commentary' hard to tell with different folks and different hosts"

"Is commenting on whether the hosts like our RPs are not too meta even for Milchama?"

"Yes"

"Have we crossed another meta play by commenting on our own RPs in our RPs while commenting on our own meta-ness"

"Probably but that's normal"

"Oh good to know"

"Yeah that's pretty par for the course"

"Is it really?"

"Look who else is going to commentate blandly on games. Who even knows what really happened?"

"We watched the games"

"You did?"

"Ok, I was busy this time"

"See what I mean"

"I usually watch though!"

"Fair, you do"

"Want to come over tonight and watch the football?"

"Which one?"

"Gaelic"

"Sure"

"But first we need to something"

"What's that?"

"Pray to Margaret"

"Sounds good to me"

"Say what I say and do what I do"

"''Ringa pakia!''
''Uma tiraha!''
''Turi whatia!''
''Hope whai ake!''
''Waewae takahia kia kino!''
''Ka mate, ka mate''
''Ka ora, ka ora''
''Ka mate, ka mate''
''Ka ora, ka ora''
''Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru''
''Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā''
''Ā upane, ka upane''
''Whiti te rā, hī!''

"Now repeat after me!"

"Forini! Forini!"
"Finidi! Finidi!"
"George! George!"
"Oh Brother! Oh brother!"

*They strip and run around for 18 minutes*

"We pray the Margaret of SnubNose 38 and Random Number God that you may deliver us victory over all infidels that we face in international play"

"Sacrifice the Rubber Chicken!"

*Swoosh of an axe and the chicken is dead*

"Margaret we pray that you take this sacrifice of a rubber chicken in good faith and that by your deliverance Milchama does well in all international competitions"

"Amen"

[Auprussia]

THE AFF NATIONAL TOURNAMENT PART 1

This tournament was a spectacular even in size but many were skeptical about the organization surrounding it. The AFF did not want to be in Lorent but most other cities and regions either did not have the infrastructure nor the ability to host such an event. The chairman of the AFF Pentour De Valianne famously said "I'd rather be in Enfereont (Auprussian Hell) than be anywhere near this god forsaken city". This feeling was not because Lorent was a terrible place to live but because he dreaded having to explain to the AFF why most of the nation could not support his grand tournament while the one place that could ran a league that was not sanctioned by the AFF. This was compounded by the AFF having to pick up the travel bills for most of the smaller clubs that qualified and the AFF board was not going to be happy.

This feeling compounded when Pontmeosont destroys one of the smaller clubs 13-0 to start off the festivities. Upsets were few and far between in the groups stages of the tournament but some interesting results were:

Ithril Bleu 2-0 Eolorent:
An intense match undercut by a silly mistake by Eolorent's goalkeeper Marc Ferande. Eolorent's Manager Thierault Camarre depressingly said "Sometimes playing football makes you suffer. Watching our side today has made watching it worse". Ithril striker Larin Capritaux did not mince words: "I thought that shot was one of my worst of the tournament. I definitely shanked it and I guess the guy couldn't get a handle on it". When asked if that takes away the importance of the goal Capritaux laughed and exclaimed "I think it was more important to them than to us".

Alexia 0-1 Helensorc:
Alexia's fall could be traced to this match right here. The club even before this had issues playing in regional tournaments especially when they played Aingleaxe or Prus Sassenlan but no one thought they would get dropped by Helensorc. Helensorc for reference was not even on the same tier as Alexia as a club in fact they were two tiers below. Helensorc seems to be one of the few clubs that shaped up during this era as you will see later. Alexia on the other hand after this result did not make the Knockout stages while their rivals Prus Sassenlan did. That stings

Prus Sassenlan 3-2 Auprussia NF
Probably the best match of the groups stages. Prus Sassenlan managed to outplay Auprussia NF to top their group. Auprussia NF's issues were on the counter. Normally Auprussia NF plays on the counter themselves but Prus Sassenlan were content to sit back and let Auprussia NF have the ball all match. This was a blessing and a curse for Auprussia NF as they did manage to score two from long possessions but the midfield couldn't hold the ball which left Auprussia NF's defenders vulnerable on the counter. After the match it was alleged that the Auprussia NF players openly wanted to kick out a couple of players for their terrible performances throughout the tournaments and the manager agreed. They sent them home in a taxi and told them to never return to the club grounds.

After the group stages the knockout stages were drawn like this:

Pontmeosont-Intheol
Beorun-Ithril Bleu
Tessephines-Eolorent
Prus Ostrogia-Moorecambe
Angevines-Ostrogia Arca
Morgavin-Noechatel Athletike
Birivistice-Helensorc
Auprussia NF-Prus Sassenlan

The AFF took one look at the draws and knew in the coming days the amount of people that are going to shout at them to make Chagris its own region would be astronomical. 3/16 doesn't sound so dominating but look at who qualified. 5 out of 7 of the Auprussian regional spots were actually Chagris clubs. Not to mention they looked as if they had much better quality than the other big clubs. This is not the case but to be able to play in their own league to prepare for the tournaments gave them an edge. The AFF unsuccessfully tried to take down the Chagris league but the Auprussian courts shot that down with prejudice. The AFF was put in a bind: If a Chagris club won this tournament the AFF would have no choice but to let each region run their own regional leagues. Not to mention it would also mean the AFF would have to seriously consider separating Chagris from Auprussia OR even worse, have Auprussian clubs participate in the Chagris League. Why did the AFF want Chagris to stay with Auprussia? Money. The AFF found it more profitable to keep the Auprussian clubs with the Chagris clubs (gates in Auprussia yielded more money in matchups vs Eolorent or Pontmeosont for example). It also helps that the AFF had a heavy bias towards Auprussia as a region seeing as they were located there.

De Valianne knew that if a Chagris club won it would be a disaster for everyone involved and would likely mean he'd be out of a job but he could do nothing about the events that followed.

[City of Myrtle Beach]

Matchday 5 | Group 2
Grand Strand Stadium, Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach | Kickoff 6:00 pm | Attendance: 11,664

Myrtle Beach 1

1 Northwest Kalactin

Brennan 57'

82' player

Matchday 6 | Group 2
Lodger City Memorial Stadium, New Lodger City, Eastfield Lodge | Kickoff 6:00 pm | Attendance: 63,037

Eastfield Lodge 2

1 Myrtle Beach

Noble 15', 64'

34' Brennan

Lineup MD7 vs Olastor: CF Brennan, CF Meyers, RM Norris, CM Morris, CM Fulton, LM Anderson, RB Doyle, CB Hayes, CB Byers, CB Mathis, GK Wade

Lineup MD8 vs Nova Calania: CF Brennan, CF Farmer, RM Norris, CM Mann, CM Fulton, LM Potts, RB Doyle, CB Hayes, CB Newman, CB Mathis, GK Page

---

Richardson reveals new Myrtle Beach-New Fernia joint league

from CBC Sports

John Richardson, the head of the MFA, today revealed new information confirming long-time rumors: a new top flight league will be formed containing top teams from New Fernia and Myrtle Beach. The league will be placed at the top of the pyramid in both countries; it will consist of sixteen teams, eight from each country at first, and three teams will be relegated every season. One team from the MFA Gold League and the NFFF Championship will be guaranteed automatic promotion, and the second place team in both leagues will play in a playoff game to determine who will be promoted. Richardson said in a press conference following the announcement, "Our agreement with the New Fernian Football Federation will allow fans to watch extremely high-level football and make our clubs more lucrative to international investments and players."

Immediate reactions have been mixed. Albert Ronald, the owner of New Savannah FC, a mid-table team in the NFFF Championship, said to CBC Sports reporter Christine Week, "This decision will only serve to gatekeep clubs from international broadcasting and allow the top clubs to grow even richer." Ronald added, "It is already incredibly difficult for a team to enter the Championship. An even more selective process for promotion to the new league will create a valley of skill between Championship or Gold League teams and these new top teams." Not everyone is as negative. Evan Webber, president of Myrtle Beach FC, commented earlier, saying, "A higher level of play in the entire league will finally allow our club and others like it to become competitive in international competition."

Ashley Greene, a reporter at our partner company MSN, asked fans in Wilmington their thoughts on the new league. George Torn, a Craven County FC fan and season ticket holder, told her, "I'm worried about the longer travel times. Just traveling to teams here's been nice because the drives are two hours at the most, but it'd take several hours to travel to far-away clubs like the ones in Atlanta and Richmond. It's nice that we get to play better teams, though. The quality of play here has really declined lately." Some fans were also worried about the political situation impacting travel, as border checkpoints between the two countries have become more strict in recent years.

[Cobrio]

After six games -- almost half way through qualifying -- the Panthers find themselves sitting atop group three, with the best goal difference, second best goals scored tally, and second best defensive record. This, despite starting the campaign unranked, and not one of the players in the squad having played a single match in World Cup Committee sanctioned competition before.

"We are blessed," said Cobrio manager Marvelous Koleoso. "We have to just continue with this directions, na. The journey no be finish oh."

The Panthers' last game -- a cagey 1-0 win over Panay Islands and Guimaras at Tukari Kaita National Stadium -- saw them leapfrog Hapilopper, who suffered a 4-1 beating at the hands of Yuezhou. The Haps had previously drawn with Cobrio in Camaron, but along with Yuezhou and Al-Tamazgha, would have an opportunity to get revenge on their own turf in the second half of qualifying.

"I don't think about this, na." Koleoso said. "Just the next game we dey consider. Wetin benefit you bring if you dey look too far ahead? If a man put he eyes on horizon, he no dey see banana skin at he feet, na."

Next up for Cobrio is a home game against the Commonwealth of Baker Park. Captain Bérénice Quraishi noted that their next visitors play an "interesting" style. "Boss man has had us watching tape this week," she said. "The next game will be different to anything we have faced so far, I think. In some ways they are similar to Yuezhou, but also very different in the same time."

Marvelous Koleoso added that he believes the game will be won or lost on the wings. "When you look at the opposition players," he said. "You dey can see make attacks in the wide areas, and also you dey can see aggressions. It will be a long ninety minutes, na."

Analysts have gradually been increasing their expectations for the Panthers over the course of this qualifying campaign, but Onyekachi Udegbunam, speaking on Asompi, thinks that things will only get tougher for Cobrio from here. "When you look at the fixture list," he said. "What is striking to me, is that Cobrio have played only twice away from home. Still to play are five difficult away games. Plus the return game against Aphrilia. We are far too early to be talking about booking flights."

He's not wrong. Immediately after the visit of Baker Park, the Panthers will travel to Yuezhou. The home win, while a fantastic result, would be extremely difficult to repeat in Camaron, let alone on Yue turf. Similarly, the wins over Al-Tamazgha and Panay Islands and Guimaras occurred in Camaron. Neither was particularly convincing, meaning the return games are likely to be difficult to get points from.

"I don't think Marvelous will be worrying about this yet," Udegbuman added. "He is a focused man. He will be looking at the next game only, taking things one day at a time. His target was simply to get an invite to the Cup of Harmony. Nobody in the CFF expected to see Cobrio at the World Cup Finals, and even now, very few would. What is important for Marvelous, and the Panthers as a whole, is to not let their current standing become a noose. They must not allow themselves to succumb to the pressure."

                     Cobrio   1-1   Hapilopper                 
                 Oyekan 71'         McLamb 47'

                     Cobrio   5-3   Al-Tamazgha                
                Gilmore 11'          P̴̭͎̈̔L̶̝̃͝Ạ̴̙͛͝Y̵̼̒Ė̴̱Ŗ̷̢͐̔  23'
        Burke 37', 46', 71'          P̴̭͎̈̔L̶̝̃͝Ạ̴̙͛͝Y̵̼̒Ė̴̱Ŗ̷̢͐̔  54', 77'
               Ogunleye 84'

             Of the Godless   0-5   Cobrio                     
                                    Burke 2', 17'
                                    Kasukuwere 28'
                                    Anichebe 66'
                                    Ogunleye 80'

                     Cobrio   1-0   Panay Islands and Guimaras 
             Kasukuwere 88'

[TJUN-ia]

The Random Rambles of a Jaguar - WC98 Qualifying Edition
with Killian Looker

Welcome back to this Random Ramble and welcome back to World Cup Qualifying action! Four games down and with 10 points on the board, the general mood was one of calm - everything seemed to be heading in the right direction, David Seems and Li Xiu Ying were happy, Alexander Lopez was happy and the fanbase was generally in a good mood. Everything seemed according to plan... Oh, how things can change in an instant.

The Games
Up first in this third split was a road trip to Natkr and while we were hoping to put the slight frustrations of the Poafmersia game behind us, things did not go to plan at all. Everything was just as tight as the previous game but this time, the hosts took the lead - through Timothy Davenport in the 34th. From then on, we desperately tried to get back into things with Diana Sharafutdinov, Stephan Fiedtkou, Paek Un-hui and substitutes Belle Whitewater and Odysseas Issigonis all trying their damnedest to get that equaliser...but it didn't come. Naktr got their biggest win ever and now, we were looking a little bit more...precarious.

Then came Szensky, Beregozera, and the game against StrayaRoos. KS are a very difficult force to deal with, either as the home team or the visitors, and many in that crowd were expecting us to get back on track and keep pace with Baggieland at the top of this group. All we wanted was to just keep pace and at the start, it looked like we were doing that Diana Sharafutdinov taking us to 2-0 up at Halftime...but things changed when the 2nd half began. Cruz Kaiplo and Ella Vidya clawed this game back to 2-2, Kaniehtiio Lindiwe took the lead and Lara Jraena sealed the upset in spectacular style...to the boos from the KS stand. 2-4. Freefall.

Reaction
The wheels have come off this team. From 3-in-a-row to no win in three, TJUN-ia is now 8 points off Top and in danger of falling out of the Top 2 altogether. The fires were burning online, as you would expect, as many questioned what was going on and how do we fix this. And I thought we were supposed to be in a better era now...

Up Next...
We must to Hawthorn to face 6-0 Baggieland before heading to Rinkan for our rematch with Ralsalin. Nothing is easy in this game...we had to remember that the hard way. Now, we must press on GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group 13)
(Stadium Guide can be found here)
MD1: vs Ralsalin (UR) - Estádio do Pacífico, Rio Pacífico W 5-0 (1st)
MD2: @Delitai (105) W 2-0 (1st)
--------------------------------Rambles--------------------------------
MD3: vs Darkmania (153) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong W 5-0 (1st)
MD4: vs Poafmersia (67) - Stade de la Victoire, Roi Ville D 0-0 (2nd)
--------------------------------Rambles--------------------------------
MD5: @Natkr (215) L 0-1 (2nd)
MD6: vs StrayaRoos (48) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky L 2-4 (2nd)
--------------------------------Rambles--------------------------------
MD7: @Baggieland (24) - Dartmouth Hill, Hawthorn
MD8: @Ralsalin (UR) - Ralsalien Grandmaster Kotarlok Arena, Rinkan
--------------------------------Rambles--------------------------------
MD9: vs Delitai (105) - Estadio Universidad Carlandas, Carlandas
MD10: @Darkmania (153)
--------------------------------Rambles--------------------------------
MD11: @Poafmersia (67) - Libira National Stadium, Fiskadaha City
MD12: vs Natkr (215) - Ke Kahua Pāʻani o Pua Aloalo, Kepu Manu
--------------------------------Rambles--------------------------------
MD13: @StrayaRoos (48)
MD14: vs Baggieland (24) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City

[Mytanija]

Continued from here.

OPINION: BRIDGING THE DIVIDE - CAN ROGINA HEAL MYTANIJA?
ARRESTS MARK PROGRESS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ACTS OF TERROR, BUT DEEP DIVISIONS
REMAIN AS THE NATION FACES ITS MOST DANGEROUS CROSSROADS IN DECADES

by Sonja Nastasić

The recent arrests of 92 key operatives from the warring paramilitary groups ZPOV and Privremeni Otpor represents a pivotal moment in Mytanija’s ongoing struggle for peace and reconciliation. After months of bombings and fear, the arrests offer a glimmer of hope for stability. Premijer Željka Rogina and her government had to deal with the first significant spasm of political violence since the time of the Provisional Government which saw Mytanija through the wreckage of the Mytanar Conflict and the slow response has damaged confidence in the government. The arrests shine a harsh light on the fractures which remain in society and repairing those fractures represents a daunting challenge.

The coordinated raids by the Policija, OZNA and VOiKo in Esca, Težia, Ebor, and Miago were hailed as a significant victory by Minister of the Interior Đuro Periša. These operations not only disrupted ZPOV’s separatist ambitions, seizing key operatives and weapons, but also curtailed the retaliatory violence of Privremeni Otpor. Periša was circumspect about the meaning of the arrests when asked about them recently:

“We must see the arrests as a milestone, not as a solution. This is the first time we’ve had serious violence of this nature in Mytanija in a long time and nobody is under any illusions that these views still exist and that for some lethal force is the means of achieving the goals that these views seek to achieve.” Periša explained. “We believe that the majority in Mytanija reject this divisive point of view, particularly younger generations, and we will not allow anybody to commit acts of terror to achieve political goals. Nor will we allow groups to carry out retaliatory attacks which damage community relations by playing into the divisive views that some are trying to promote.”

The Minister of the Interior makes an interesting point. The Otpor did not target civilians in the manner that Privremeni Otpor have and they definitely did not carry out reprisals of the nature that this group claiming their legacy have. ZPOV may espouse horrific Zrnskian supremacist views, but Privremeni Otpor have almost fallen into the trap that ZPOV’s attacks essentially set – they have become the barbarians at the gates, the threat which all Zrnskians, Magevs, Nastans and Avnalis must fear. You can imagine the Otpor leaders turning in their graves, their fight was never about reprisals, it was about removing the murderous Kalinina regime and trying to build a Mytanija which worked for all Mytanars – Mytanars of any ethnicity.

Whilst the arrests were widely welcomed, the delay in being able to make them has drawn harsh criticism from all quarters. For many, the government’s slow response allowed the violence to escalate and worsen – damaging trust in Rogina’s administration. Public opinion, already shaken by months of attacks on sporting arenas, transport hubs and other public events, has been eroded. Premijer Rogina has urged the public to keep calm, to look after one another and emphasised that these arrests are a turning point – an opportunity to rebuild trust throughout Mytanija – but her critics argue that her government’s inefficiency has cost lives and exacerbated tensions.

Opposition leader Krsto Gojković has been scathing in his critique, remarking that whilst the arrests disrupt the operational capabilities of ZPOV and Privremeni Otpor, they do little to address the underlying causes of the tension in Mytanija at the moment. He may be trying to score a political point, trying to garner wider support for his ponovna decentralizacija (‘re-decentralisation’), i.e. returning lawmaking powers to the regions, something which would essentially allow Zrnska to write separate laws. Many believe that Gojković would use this to push for a Zrnskian ascendancy, to privilege adherents of the Zrnskian Orthodox Church within society and to bring back some of the Kalinina-era policies which made life insufferable for ethnic Thessians, Visoravs and Rakniks. These policies eventually led to genocide during the Mytanar Conflict.

Premijer Rogina’s handling of the crisis has been scrutinised at every turn. Her government has made efforts to heighten security measures in an attempt to prevent further violence. It has also maintained a ‘business as usual’ approach through initiatives to support key areas of the economy, including financial support packages for sports clubs – something which has been met with positive reactions from ordinary supporters but has been less well received by club suits.

Critics have accused her administration of prioritising optics over substantive action, but her government have been operating in an immensely challenging context and at least some of the blame for the slow response to the attacks must fall on the shoulders of the Policija and OZNA – where was their information on these paramilitary groups? Were they not monitoring criminal groups who have provided finance and firepower? How were these groups able to build up such sophisticated communications networks to avoid detection? There is only so much the Premijer can be blamed for when the police and security services have failed in their roles and there will undoubtedly be an inquiry into their failings in the coming years if peace is recognised.

Rogina’s calls for unity and her condemnation of both ZPOV and Privremeni Otpor have been consistent throughout the last few months, she has not taken a side in the same way – even in vague terms – that Krsto Gojković has. There has been no talk of ‘legitimate concerns’ which might only serve to embolden and legitimise violent actions. However, her consistency has not yet fully resonated with a divided populace, evidence perhaps of the fractious state of Mytanija in the aftermath of these attacks. Younger generations, who grew up in a relatively stable Mytanija under Premijer Ana Mećava-Čatić, largely support Rogina’s vision of a unified, secular and ethnically and religiously pluralist state. However, older generations across Mytanija and residents in regions such as Zrnska remain skeptical, still influenced by memories of interethnic violence and the Conflict; and grievances over the diminishing role of their faith in modern Mytanija.

This latest spasm of violence has reopened old wounds that many thought had healed. ZPOV’s demand for secession of the south and western regions of the country, regions with significant Zrnskian Orthodox populations, echoes the dark days of the Mytanar Conflict and the supremacist regime that Natella Kalinina introduced. Their claim that the government is subverting the will of ethnic majorities in those regions taps into long-standing grievances about cultural and political representation and those grievances are being signal-boosted all the time by MNK leader Krsto Gojković. Conversely, Privremeni Otpor’s retaliatory attacks evoke the resistance of Otpor fighters against the Kalinina regime, conjuring up historical narratives of protecting Thessian, Visorav and Raknik communites from oppression – despite the fact that the Otpor never carried out such callous acts of offensive violence against civilians during the Mytanar Conflict.

This dynamic has reinforced the polarising rhetoric of Gojković, who has positioned himself as the champion of ponovna decentralizacija, a policy which he claims will address those ethnic grievances and prevent further conflict. However, it is clear to anybody that has been listening to Gojković in recent years that his calls for decentralisation are a thinly veiled attempt to stoke tensions and to advance a Zrnskian nationalist agenda. This is a man who has spoken out of both sides of his mouth to different audiences for years. When in Zrnska he will talk about looking to restore the great power of the region within Mytanija that was lost after the Conflict, when elsewhere he will talk about wanting to promote unity by allowing the regions to choose their own destinies. The intention of the words may be similar, but the wording is very different and has been used in an attempt to conceal his true intentions.

Premijer Rogina, with one eye on the general election which is merely two months away and is still intended to proceed as planned, must build on the momentum of these arrests and prevent further violence. This requires not only continued security operations, but also meaningful engagement across the country, attempting to address the grievances – both real and perceived – or presenting an argument capable of changing the viewpoint of those who feel that a unified Mytanija is not a positive advance for the people of these lands is crucial in moving beyond recent months, repairing trust and preventing further radicalisation.

Fostering dialogue between communities could play a vital role, civil society organisation, youth groups and local leaders can play a pivotal role in working across man-made divides and promoting reconciliation. Younger generations have already showed us the way, with a majority of 16–35-year-olds polled feeling as Mytanar as their ethnic designation (e.g. Zrnskian, Thessian, Vojovitican etc), they are able to get along and older generations perhaps need steering down the same path. Educational initiatives that emphasise shared histories and mutual understanding could also help counter the narratives of division propagated by extremist groups.

The upcoming general election is going to be a defining moment for the future of Mytanija. Premijer Rogina’s ability to articulate a vision of unity and stability is going to be crucial to her prospects, along with reestablishing security and addressing the root causes of the unrest. Ponovna decentralizacija, a policy which Rogina has so far resisted, will be on the table. As writer Alen Valjarević noted in my interview with him, Premijer Rogina may be foolish to ignore calls for it in the long-term if it’s a genuine political demand. Any implementation would require stringent safeguards to protect minorities and to ensure that the decentralisation does not become a pretext for enacting different privileges and rights for different ethnic groups. This writer does not believe, given the proliferation of Kalinina-lite politicians like Krsto Gojković, that such an implementation is possible.

It’s time to take a stand and to fight for what she believes in. Premijer Rogina must articulate her vision for a unified Mytanija, one which is secular, one which is proudly religiously pluralist, one which makes the argument that we are stronger together than we are separate. The future of Mytanija depends on it.

[Oberour Ar Moro]

"There are many reasons. The biggest reason is that this is not just a Regium issue. There's a snow situation beyond the capital into the entire Capital Region." So said Mathieu Pueyrredon, an unwelcome guest in Goustan Beauregard's office.

Goustan leaned back on the couch, holding the cup of coffee in both of his hands. The central temperature in the entire municipal center had been reduced to 17°C to try and ease the strain on the heating system. The heat of the coffee was therefore a pleasant feeling. Goustan looked over the man on the opposite couch. He sat ramrod straight, feet flat on the ground, his hands interlocked on his lap. His briefcase was open on the table between them, overflowing with paperwork.

"It is of critical importance that the citizens of Regium and the whole of the Dominion are reassured that this weather is a mere oddity, and that Oberour Ar Moro responds with confidence," Mathieu Pueyrredon continued. It wasn't the best excuse for Oberour Ar Moro refusing to move government operations from the capital, thought Goustan, but it would have to do.

"Monsieur Pueyrredon-" Goustan started. He built in a pause and hoped that Mathieu would dispense of formalities here. Mathieu pointedly did not. "Monsieur Pueyrredon," Goustan repeated. "I am the Mayor of Regium. You were appointed by the Chancellor; I was appointed by the Chancellor. I can request supplies, oversee snow removal. I know the directors of every hospital in the city. These are my snowplows that you would be ordering about."

Pueyrredon was completely stone faced in response. "My service in the Army was focused entirely on logistics, and I have more experience in directing wide-spectrum emergency management than anyone in the Dominion. I was selected very purposefully."

Goustan took a long sip of coffee, before putting the coffee down again. "I just don't understand the purpose of a disaster coordinator-"

"NOT a disaster coordinator." Pueyrredon interruppted. Pointedly.

"Pardon?" asked Goustan.

"Environmental Conditions Response Coordinator. That's my position." Pueyrredon clarified.

"Enviro-" Goustan shook his head. He slowly got up and walked to his desk, finding a notepad and picking up a pen. "Could you repeat that?"

"Environmental Conditions Response Coordinator. It is the Chancellor's position that there is no disaster."

Goustan finished writing down the long title then turned his head to look out a window which had a massive snow drift that creeping up it.

"No disaster. Of course." Goustan didn't even bother to hide the sarcasm. At least Goustan found one thing that could get under Pueyrredon's carefully maintained facade.

"Your background, Monsieur Beauregard, was... parks?" Pueyrredon inquired with faux innocence.

Goustan noted that Pueyrredon was also keen to find a weak spot in his armor.

"I worked in construction before I joined Oberour Ar Moro and took a position in Regium's Parks and Recreation Committee. I worked up the ranks from there. I assume that you are implying that since I don't have your logistics background, I wouldn't be able to handle your...Response Coordinator job." Goustan slowly sauntered back to Pueyrredon, standing to his side and starting to lean down, crowding his personal space.

"I've read and absorbed Chancellor d'Eaue-Bonne's directive. Fully." Goustan put on the pressure. "Chancellor d'Eaue-Bonne speaks for Oberour Ar Moro, and he says we, you as Environmental Conditions Response Coordinator and I as Mayor of Regium, are going to work together to help the citizens of this city, and preserve Regium as the ancestral, current, and future capital of Oberour Ar Moro. His goals are your goals are my goals. I was born in this city, these are my people, and I look forward to your cooperation just as much as you look forward to mine."

Goustan stood back up to his full height. "We started setting up a Operations Center here in the municipal center. Or a "Coordination Center", I suppose. Would you like to see it? We can set it up for your needs."

Pueyrredon tried to not look rattled and mostly succeeded. "That would be very kind, thank you."

[Kimi-Suomi]

You see? You see how easily things can fall apart for the Huuhkajat once someone breathes on them?

Kimi-Suomi 0-0 Kronbinen
Pesä Kaksoisotsikko, Act I - Refund Material. Did anything really happen here? There were chances, of course there were, but both Rosendo Porfirio and Alexander Ekdal just weren't allowed anyone past in this game and so it finished 0-0. Simple as that.

Kimi-Suomi 1-1 Tumbra
Now this game? A miracle. Hosting the world #2 was always going to be tough, but we took the lead through Jason Jenner-Pokka in the 14th minute...and kept it until halftime. 1-1 was knocking on the door and it arrived through Edward Maddison in the 67th...but no KO punch would arrive. We held on to a point aginst the Tumbra. The Black Eagles marched into Pesä and could only take a point. Another point of pride in a difficult campaign.

Though, to be fair, Top 3 is only 2 points away. We are not out of this dance just yet. Back-to-back road games up next, in the Marsin Itsenäinen Tasavalta and Darmen. Two crucial games we will need to win. Confidence is middling...but we must carry on until we rise or fall. NOSTA KUIN HUUHKKAJAT!

---

SCHEDULE/AJOITTAA (Group 4)
MD1: vs Darmen (54) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki W 1-0 (T-2nd)
MD2: @Hispinas (142) D 1-1 (3rd)
---------
MD3: vs Chromatika (32) - Galaktien Colosseum [Colosseum of the Galaxies], Lumikukkulat L 0-1 (4th)
MD4: @Bir Matras (UR) - Yamal Community stadium, Yamal(?) D 2-2 (5th)
---------
MD5: vs Kronbinen [Kronbia] (82) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki D 0-0 (5th)
MD6: vs Tumbra (2) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki D 1-1 (T-4th)
---------
MD7: @Marsin Itsenäinen Tasavalta [Martian Independent Republic] (177)
MD8: @Darmen (54) - Northumberland Stadium, Oldtown
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MD9: vs Hispinas (142) - Galaktien Colosseum [Colosseum of the Galaxies], Lumikukkulat
MD10: @Chromatika (32) - RCK Field, Alnio
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MD11: vs Bir Matras (UR) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki
MD12: @Kronbinen [Kronbia] (82) - Estadio Cerro del Sol, Ciudad de Halcon
---------
MD13: @Tumbra (2) - Bencoolen City Stadium, Bencoolen
MD14: vs Marsin Itsenäinen Tasavalta [Martian Independent Republic] (177) - Galaktien Colosseum [Colosseum of the Galaxies], Lumikukkulat

[Siovanija and Teusland]

A Different Campaign
Volume IV
A Borograd Minute

Foreign Minister Josef Wimmer glanced at the photo of his family on the desk. His wife, Magdalena, and the twin children - Jonas and Elsa. He’d met his wife in university - actually, she had been best friends with Chancellor Hauser. The children weren’t quite children anymore, either - both starting at the University of Stelburg in the fall.

Josef, ever the workaholic, was in Borograd for a few reasons. The main event was a fundraising dinner for the National Democratic Union party that evening with many of the party’s top Siovanijan fundraisers - it was an important event, and Josef was assigned to mix and mingle with them. Secondly, because the work of the foreign ministry never stopped. The Chancellor had jokingly said that planning post-election work was a bad omen - but Wimmer cared more about work than the election. He was planning a trip to the Ferdinand Islands and Kap-Moselle following the election - two small former Teus colonies located far across the ocean. As a result, it was good to get into the office and review some documentation.

He was about 74 pages into Siovanija & Teusland Development Aid Policy in the Ferdinand Islands Post-Isolation, - a true page turner - when that photo on the desk had caught his eye, and reminded him to pick up the phone and call home - like he did almost every night he worked in the Borograd office.

“Hi, J”

“Hi darling, how are you doing?”

The conversation carried on as normal - how were the kids doing, how was the weather in Stelburg, how was it in Borograd, all of those simple things.

“When will you be home?”

“In a minute,” he replied, an inside joke the couple had shared since their university days.

“A Borograd minute,” she joked - that meant a long time, since Borograd meant ‘the office.’

“No, this time a Stelburg minute,” he said with a smile. “I was actually thinking of flying home after the dinner tonight. I want to sleep in my own bed and there’s been a lot of reading today.”

“Call me if you do, I’ll wait up.”

“It’ll be late, darling, I’ll just see you in the morning.”

There was a pause on the line now. “J, I’m worried.” Magdalena’s voice was a bit nervous.

“What’s wrong?”

“Aren’t you worried too? Karamov is always trashing you and Lara and everyone else in the media. He’s encouraging crazy people - I mean, it’s scary. What if…”

“Darling. It’s going to be ok, yeah? Karamov says a lot of crazy things, it’s true, but that’s not going to stop us. And I’m certain that nothing is going to happen - I wouldn’t be here if I thought otherwise. Ok?”

“I know. I’ll always worry about you.”

“It works both ways,” he said with a smile that both could feel through the phone. “What are you making for dinner?”

“Spaetzle. Your favourite.”

“Well, there had better be enough left over for tomorrow!”

“Of course there will be.”

“I’m sure it’s better than whatever I’ll eat tonight,” he said.

“What time do you have to go for the dinner?”

Josef glanced at his watch. “It’s about a 10 minute walk, I should probably head out now. I’ll let you get back to the spaetzle. Give the kids a hug from me, and I’ll call you after.”

“Love you,”

“Love you too darling, goodbye”

With that, the Foreign Minister hung up the phone, stood up and grabbed his blazer, shuffling away the documents on his desk back into their cabinets. He walked out of the office now, with a farewell greeting for his secretary and some of the other employees in the building. It was a cool, sunny spring evening as Josef left the office. He noticed the sounds of birds chirping, of the roads packed with traffic as public servants escaped the downtown core after the work day ended.

He didn’t notice the man sitting on a park bench, watching his every move.

Josef continued to walk down the street. The restaurant was only about a minute or so away from his office. A Borograd minute, he laughed to himself. Thank God he had walked, because in a taxi the short trip would’ve taken up to 10 minutes in the current traffic. Plus, the extra exercise and sunlight was good having spent all day holed up in his office.

Josef spotted the restaurant drawing closer - Nasa Hisa it was called, or ‘our house.’ It was one of the fanciest restaurants in Borograd, and its reservation list was a who’s who of national politics. It was a right of passage for unmarried National Chancellery members or political staffers to have a first date here, and sometimes, if you were lucky, you could share the dining room with footballers from Olympia Borograd or FK Metropola Borograd. Tonight, the NDU had rented out the private room for their dinner.

Josef heard the sounds of conversation all around on the street, of cars passing by, of an airplane flying somewhere overhead - and his wife’s voice, too, telling him about that spaetzle. Nasa Hisa was a great restaurant, but it couldn’t compete with Gasthof Magdalena Wimmer in his mind.

Josef didn’t hear the man who had followed him all the way from his office to the restaurant stopping to reach for something from his coat. He barely registered the gasps from others on the street when the man lifted his gun.

In fact, Josef heard nothing more. Everything just went black.

What the people gathered outside the restaurant saw and heard was chaos. 3, or was it 4, gunshots. Blood on the sidewalk. Screaming.

One scream rose above the rest: “End imperialism and war!” The man with the gun then turned and ran off into an alley.

Jeckland 0-2 Siovanija & Teusland

XI: Bodeker; Wimmer (Schwefel 70'), Sanner, Rosler, Mesko; Gruber, Prekmurje (Winter 70'), Rosberg; Korlikov (Vadimic 90'), Zschokke, Seidl
Goals: Uwe Seidl 16', Hans Gruber 61'
Man of the Match: Hans Gruber
In Brief: Not the total domination some fans wanted out of the trip to Jeckland, but the home side looked in with a shout all the way until Hans Gruber's goal made it 2-0 for the Goldhorns. Gruber was the story, with a dominant midfield performance, but it must be noted that Dejan Mesko put in a really great shift in his international debut at right back, with a great run in the first half being key to Uwe Seidl's opening goal.

Siovanija & Teusland 3-1 Lisander

XI: Gottschall, Schwefel, Steinhausl, Rodl (Sanner 75'), Reichenbach; Porsche, J. Kosch-Kovarik (Winter 75'), Le Meji; Vadimic, A. Kosch-Kovarik, Hackl (Burger 87')
Goals: Einar Hackl 4', 51', Aleksander Kosch-Kovarik 26'
Man of the Match: Einar Hackl
In Brief: The TSV Marzig duo of Einar Hackl and Aleksander Kosch-Kovarik took care of business at home. Hackl opened things up just 4 minutes into the match with a great effort from long range, before Kosch-Kovarik knocked in the 2-0 shortly thereafter. Lisander grabbed one back at the end of the first half, but when Hackl repeated his early-goal trick in the second half, you had a feeling this one was over. The first win for the Goldhorns in Marzig puts them back on track in qualifiers. .

Siovanija & Teusland 25 man squad for international window 4
at United Hawkland, at Drawkland

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

Expected XI vs United Hawkland: Kranz; Schwefel, Steinhausl, Apel, Mesko; Gruber, Winter, Le Meji; Vadimic, Trstenjek, Zak
Expected XI vs Drawkland: Holz; Wimmer, Steinhausl, Rodl, Reichenbach; Porsche, Prekmurje, Le Meji; Korlikov, A. Kosch-Kovarik, Hackl

Preview: Following the 6/6 points haul in window 3, the Goldhorns will face the toughest part of the campaign in window 4 as they embark on 2 away matches, against the rhyming couplet of United Hawkland and Drawkland. United Hawkland are ranked 96th in the world, and despite a difficult campaign so far (1-1-4) they will be a major challenge for the Goldhorns in their own stadium. In their last outing, the side fell 4-1 to Damukuni, and will be eager to pick themselves up from that loss. The Goldhorns will call upon a new-look XI in this one, with a mix of players from the usual starting XI and some bench players. Look out specifically for the FK Metropola Borograd union up top, with Veljko Vadimic and Marjan Trstenjek on the wings joined by Blahoslav Zak up top - this trio was dynamic in their year together at the Vijolicni. Drawkland away marks the first rematch of the campaign for the Goldhorns, who dispatched the home side 6-2 in the opening match of the campaign at the Nationalstadion. They will need just as strong of a performance to grab a result from the world #45 on the road, with Drawkland going into this one needing a big win over the Goldhorns to keep themselves alive in Group 12. It's been a mixed campaign so far, including a 2-0 loss to the Busoga Islands in the last round of fixtures. Dusan Korlikov and Leon Wimmer join the usual suspects in the starting XI for this one, with Einar Hackl looking to continue his excellent form with 6 goals so far in the campaign, including a hat-trick against Drawkland on matchday 1.