Team-by-Team Commentary
Bloomfield National completed their three-season turnaround with their third Premier League championship and first since the Patty Heatherly/Debbie Sherman era. Striker Tom Hovi won his second straight top scorer title, and should be a shoo-in for the national team for World Cup 55. Defender Roger Provencher may join him.
Zarahemla All-Sport continue to serve notice of their arrival in the top tier with back-to-back second-place finishes. All-Sport's young captain, 22-year-old Claire van de Graaf, finished third in the MVP balloting after winning last season. Comparisons to Tegan Nash are inevitable and very premature, but she is showing the same flexibility of style at a younger age.
Belgium FC still look like one of the world's top 30 clubs (they actually rank 31st), although as the core players age and retire fresh blood will be needed. Veteran midfielder Rachel Conti was a surprise pick as league MVP, and Kelli Alder fired up the side with her first injury-free season in several years.
Red Devils FC are smarting from the FFB selectors' decision to send Dover City to the next Globe Cup (City were third in season 38, whilst Red Devils are fourth in season 39). Captain Sophia Valentine is coming into her own leading the "midfield from Hell".
OGC Nancy are the comeback team of this season, recovering from an awful 13th-place campaign to place fifth. Goalkeeper Stephanie Curry led the league in goals allowed per match and may have played her way onto the World Cup side alongside stalwarts Ronald Dennis and Chloe Morris.
Viktoria Baden hovered just outside the top five in this campaign. However, they have now brought defender Lucy Barton back to the islands from Sportgirls to anchor the back line and all-time great Wilhelm Freudigmann out of retirement to manage.
Lehi FC had a mid-pack season marked by a career performance from midfielder Thibault Constant and a breakout year for 20-year-old defender Ffion Price. The jury is still out on their potential to move back up the ladder.
Dover City's Glen Svoboda may have finished second for MVP because of his surname and club in some eyes, but the young striker is still a powerful talent and Elizabeth Hanna is still a world-class keeper. Don't read a lot into eighth place here, the fundamentals are sound.
North Fork FC have played under the radar all year.
Southland FC seem to be settled back into the premiership after their record of over three decades in the league was unceremoniously snapped. Defender Kenneth Macleod, on loan from Belgium FC, is their player to watch.
Parisian will not be mistaken for the side of its glory years. But they appear to be cementing a return to the top tier, if not yet to the elite of Babbage football.
FK Tesla's Dagrún Hallvarðsdóttir, a 19-year-old striker, is Rookie of the Year. Expect her to be sold to build a stronger base of players.
FK Maribor have been in the transfer market of late, acquiring former internationals Noah Marshall from South Side and Nicole Curtis from Gernsback United. The pair should strengthen the defence in front of a still-gifted Gene Little in net.
Greenville Rovers are feeling the financial pinch of the smallest market in major professional sport. Veronika Hennicke is a distinguished midfielder, but she needs a supporting cast.
Baden 98 suffered from internal dissent capped by the midseason sack of manager Randy Ashbrook. Their talent pool should still let them escape the relegation derby in the coming year.
Gernsback United are hoping for a good price for defender Carson Campbell as they are cash-strapped and need to fill several spots to avoid dropping from the premiership.
Blue Ridge FC lost out on relegation by the thinnest of margins, unsurprising given last season's performance but a difficult blow to a struggling community.
Four Towers never quite recovered from losing Bethany Martin to Hastmead Diamante. Now they have to fight their way back to the top division.
FFB Premier League Season 39
Team P W D L For Ag +/- Pts
1 Bloomfield National 34 18 8 8 68 44 +24 62
2 Zarahemla All-Sport 34 17 9 8 57 44 +13 60
3 Belgium FC 34 16 10 8 73 46 +27 58
4 Red Devils FC 34 16 8 10 62 49 +13 56
5 OGC Nancy 34 13 16 5 52 35 +17 55
6 Viktoria Baden 34 14 9 11 42 45 -3 51
7 Lehi FC 34 12 14 8 52 46 +6 50
8 Dover City 34 12 12 10 50 39 +11 48
9 North Fork FC 34 13 8 13 52 51 +1 47
10 Southland FC 34 12 10 12 45 48 -3 46
11 Parisian 34 13 5 16 50 59 -9 44
12 FK Tesla 34 11 9 14 49 64 -15 42
13 FK Maribor 34 10 11 13 35 41 -6 41
14 Greenville Rovers 34 9 12 13 43 44 -1 39
15 Baden 98 34 7 13 14 20 36 -16 34
16 Gernsback United 34 6 12 16 32 54 -22 30
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17 Blue Ridge FC 34 6 12 16 34 52 -18 30
18 Four Towers 34 4 16 14 25 44 -19 28
FFB Championship Series Season 39
(writeup to follow)
FFB Championship Series Season 39
Team P W D L For Ag +/- Pts
1 South Side AC 34 17 11 6 37 21 +16 62
2 Fylkir 34 17 8 9 53 36 +17 59
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3 Handcarters 34 16 7 11 55 43 +12 55
4 Cardiff FC 34 14 12 8 50 41 +9 54
5 Real Valencia 34 14 11 9 38 29 +9 53
6 Real Santa Catalina 34 15 7 12 47 44 +3 52
7 West Scoville Tigers 34 14 8 12 28 29 -1 50
8 Cardston FC 34 13 11 10 29 21 +8 50
9 West Scoville Athletic 34 12 12 10 26 23 +3 48
10 FK Kabe 34 12 11 11 48 51 -3 47
11 Capital AC 34 12 9 13 45 42 +3 45
12 Forest Park Rangers 34 9 16 9 39 39 +0 43
13 Wye Celtic 34 10 13 11 43 43 +0 43
14 Moroni Blue 34 10 9 15 39 47 -8 39
15 Brigham City Pioneers 34 9 9 16 32 43 -11 36
16 UMFK 34 8 11 15 42 56 -14 35
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17 Gimnastic 34 6 9 19 13 35 -22 27
18 Charleston FC 34 4 14 16 24 45 -21 26
UICA Tournament Berths:
- TakilQuip Champions' Cup: Bloomfield National (season 39), Belgium FC (season 38).
- Globe Cup: OGC Nancy (Islands Cup holders), Zarahemla All-Sport, Dover City.
- Chronowire Series B Champions' Cup: South Side AC, Fylkir, Handcarters, Cardiff FC.
Additional Season 39 Results
FFB Second Series Season 39
Team P W D L For Ag +/- Pts
1 Great Falls Cymru 34 16 9 9 31 22 +9 57
2 Moroni White 34 15 10 9 32 24 +8 55
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3 Sporting Boulder 34 14 13 7 54 34 +20 55
4 AC Santa Catalina 34 15 10 9 31 19 +12 55
5 Dover FC 34 14 10 10 36 25 +11 52
6 SV Knizia 34 15 6 13 40 41 -1 51
7 FC Green Star 34 13 11 10 32 34 -2 50
8 Xianggang FK 34 13 10 11 37 27 +10 49
9 Three Rivers Pilots 34 14 5 15 35 35 +0 47
10 FK Verdurbo 34 12 10 12 35 35 +0 46
11 Windsor FC 34 12 10 12 35 47 -12 46
12 Far Point Islanders 34 10 12 12 30 36 -6 42
13 Golden FC 34 11 9 14 36 45 -9 42
14 Ysbeilwyr Caerdydd 34 8 14 12 23 27 -4 38
15 Futbalo-Libereco 34 9 10 15 45 49 -4 37
16 La Movado 34 8 12 14 22 32 -10 36
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17 The Orange 34 8 11 15 42 51 -9 35
18 Charleston United 34 8 10 16 22 35 -13 34
FFB Third Series Season 39
Team P W D L For Ag +/- Pts
1 AD Getafe 34 19 7 8 44 24 +20 64
2 VfL Uchtdorf 34 15 13 6 57 35 +22 58
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3 AS Paris 34 16 9 9 33 21 +12 57
4 Hooligans 34 16 9 9 30 25 +5 57
5 Wright FC 34 14 11 9 36 27 +9 53
6 Jiayi Kickers 34 13 10 11 42 47 -5 49
7 Atletico Valencia 34 12 13 9 38 31 +7 49
8 Beachcombers 34 13 9 12 27 22 +5 48
9 Marines Club 34 11 14 9 30 27 +3 47
10 Tardis FC 34 13 8 13 41 48 -7 47
11 Centralia FC 34 13 7 14 28 26 +2 46
12 Eintracht Augsburg 34 13 6 15 38 40 -2 45
13 Moundsville AC 34 12 5 17 45 60 -15 41
14 Urbana FC 34 10 10 14 24 35 -11 40
15 SA Middleton 34 10 7 17 29 34 -5 37
16 Longview FC 34 9 10 15 21 26 -5 37
17 FK Waringhien 34 8 8 18 24 39 -15 32
18 Guardians FC 34 6 10 18 30 50 -20 28
Islands Cup XXVIII
(writeup to follow)
Quarterfinals
OGC Nancy 2-0 West Scoville Tigers (2-0 agg)
West Scoville Tigers 1-0 OGC Nancy (1-2 agg)
Dover City 0-2 Brigham City Pioneers (0-2 agg)
Brigham City Pioneers 2-0 Dover City (4-0 agg)
Real Santa Catalina 1-1 Belgium FC (1-1 agg)
Belgium FC 1-0 Real Santa Catalina (2-1 agg)
Beachcombers 2-0 Gernsback United (2-0 agg)
Gernsback United 3-1 Beachcombers (3-3 agg) (Beachcombers wins on away goals rule)
Semifinals
OGC Nancy 1-0 Brigham City Pioneers at Charleston
Belgium FC 2-0 Beachcombers at Dover
Final
OGC Nancy 2-1 Belgium FC at The Great Dome, Gernsback
(OOC: Domestic league scheduling runs on a RL calendar not synced to the international season.)