World Cup 102 Host Bid
The Interstellar and Holy Empires Bid to Bring You:
‘The Cup of Empires’
[space reserved for yet-to-be finalised super-amazing host logo that likely works better anyway if you merely imagine how super-amazing it's going to be]
The Interstellar and Holy Empires Bid to Bring You:
‘The Cup of Empires’
[space reserved for yet-to-be finalised super-amazing host logo that likely works better anyway if you merely imagine how super-amazing it's going to be]
Introduction
The Holy Empire [of Alasdair I Frosticus] and Interstellar Empire of Drawkland - assisted by Zwangzug and Ariddia - are proud to present this bid for hosting World Cup 102.
There is a strange dimension apparently known as ‘real life.’ It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of sentient entities’ fears and the summit of their knowledge, a dimension beyond sight and sound that rarely intersects with the World Cup multiverse. But in this dimension, in a year known to only the most arcane of scholars as ‘2003’, the Holy Empire hosted World Cup 2.
In obscure codices kept in the dustiest corners of the Great Library of the Imperial City, the words ‘scorinated by dice’ are sometimes pondered over, disputes over their meaning detaining those same arcane scholars for subjective decades at a time. The ‘pre-Jolt forums’ are discussed in hushed tones, and some say that the number of participants was so low, that no qualifiers were necessary to select the participating nations - it was merely the first 32 nations to sign up.
Few now remain who have knowledge of this most ancient of times in this strange and barely perceived reality - but in the Holy Empire there are those who still remember and seek to once more recapture those lost glories 100 world cups later; except without the dice (and with qualifiers).
And who better to co-host the World Cup with than another Empire; even if this one is interstellar rather than holy. But they’re still both empires, right? That sort of gives us a hook, right?
But wait, there’s more! At least when it comes to that mystical environment known as ‘RP setting.’
Ariddia - founder of the World Cup - has given us permission to use his nation as a non-participating co-host for the finals. In another nod to the tournament’s long history, every group in the finals will have at least one group-stage match take place in Ariddia. This may extend to the knock-out stages, but this is subject to further confirmation.
Also, there will be penguins. Again. For the second tournament in a row. If we’re chosen as co-hosts, then the Ninja Penguin Liberation Front (which featured prominently in the Holy Empire’s RPs for WC 101) will make their return, initially being drip-fed through qualifying round cut-offs, and then featuring more prominently in the finals. Nations who prefer a more realistic setting will of course be able to ignore this if they want to; but those who do want to engage with ninja penguins will be warmly welcome to do so.
In a similar vein, all travel between realms will be facilitated by a combination of Portalis – Drawkland’s premier dimensional travel enterprise - and those weird Dreamed Realm portal thingamajigs. This will make moving between nations, regions, and realms easier than it’s ever been, even compared to past hosting jobs. We think. We haven't quite tested yet what happens when a Drawkland Portalis accidentally intersects with a Dreamed Realm portal. We're sure that, when combined, they're at least as safe as a Star Trek transporter.
Ultimately we’re aiming to offer a rich RP environment that merges the Holy Empire’s long hosting history, the co-hosts’ joint status as empires (with some possible IC bickering over which type of empire is better), Ariddia’s generous offering of a supplemental finals setting, portals between realities, and ninja penguins (and we will deny to our dying breath that this is any way a slightly random collection of RP themes thrown together solely for the sake of having fun) alongside an easy-to-understand and traditional tournament format.
Scorination
We will be using xkoranate 0.3.3 for scorination throughout the World Cup. For qualifiers, we’ll use SQIS with home advantage activated. For finals, we will use NSFS. Both formulas will be deployed with additive style mods. This is in line with the formula structure used frequently throughout the 90s.
Throughout the tournament, the following tiebreakers will be used in this order:
Points, Goal Difference, Head-to-Head Results, Coin Flip (OOC scorination of match with only RP bonus used for input).
Qualifying
Our World Cup 102 will feature 48 nations competing in the final tournament. We will have 2 nations qualifying automatically (The Holy Empire and Drawkland), which leaves 46 slots to determine through the qualifying process. It looks like we have around 135 nations currently signed up for the World Cup, so we’ve assembled a few intended formats for the following signup amounts:
138 entrants: 23 groups of 6. Double round-robin, group winners auto qualify, all #2 and #3 to playoff
144 entrants: 18 groups of 8. Double round-robin, top 2 auto qualify, all #3 and top two #4 to playoff
150 entrants: 15 groups of 10. Double round-robin, top 2 auto qualify, all #3, #4, and top two #5 to playoff
161 entrants: 23 groups of 7. Double round-robin, group winners auto qualify, top #2 and #3 to playoff
The actual format will naturally depend on the number of sign-ups, and may be adapted accordingly. These formats are an outline of our general approach. We also reserve the right to cut puppet nations (LIFO) if needed to reach a convenient number.
Playoffs, where applicable, will be single-legged neutral site ties. Seeding will be done by group finish first, then the normal tiebreaker criteria.
Finals
We intend to mirror the RL WC format as closely as possible for the 48-team finals. This means 12 groups of 4, top 2 in each group + 8 best 3rd place finishers making the Round of 32. To provide further synergy between NS and RL, we will also be using the same group-based seeding for the Round of 32 used in FIFA’s WC26 (found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA ... age#Format). This ensures no group stage rematches can occur until the quarterfinal round at the very earliest. From there, it will be a traditional knockout bracket with 3PPO.
RP Bonus
We will use a cumulative RP bonus structure for World Cup 102. The exact weights will not be disclosed, but we strive for a balanced influence between rank and RP. We prioritize quality over quantity in writing and want to cultivate a rich RP environment throughout the tournament.
There will be a no-roster penalty for ranked nations. A ranked nation which has not posted a roster will lose 25% of their rank’s starting value each cutoff where they remain unrostered, resulting in a full loss of rank by the fourth cutoff. The penalty will be removed immediately once a roster is posted.
There will be a small RP bonus carryover between qualifying and finals, manifested as the average RP grade per cutoff for each nation (for a maximum of one cutoff’s full bonus).
AI should be used sparingly by participants. Text fully or partially generated by AI is not permitted, the only exception being translation services with original text included and the use of AI for translation declared. Images generated by AI, even if modified, should be declared. These will be treated the same as genuine images copied from elsewhere from a bonus perspective. Nations caught using undisclosed AI output for their RPs will have their rank and RP bonus reset to zero for the remainder of the tournament and barred from advancement to the next round, whatever that may be. To maintain a balanced schedule throughout the tournament, their past and future matches will not be forfeited.
Schedule
Both hosts will be away in late September. However, with the voting period and Baptism of Fire pending, we don’t anticipate these trips will interfere with the World Cup schedule. At the very latest, World Cup threads will be posted on Friday, October 2, with the first cutoff coming the next week.
The Holy Empire will be unavailable to scorinate for a week in the second half of October due to a RL commitment in Rome (archaeology is a harsh mistress, no doubt). Zwangzug has kindly agreed to scorinate THE’s qualifying groups during this period if necessary to ensure a consistent schedule, but they will not be involved in scorination of finals. Care will of course be taken to ensure that Zwangzug does not scorinate their own matches.
Cutoffs will be done in 48 hour intervals throughout the tournament. There may be some cutoffs during qualifying which will have two matchdays scorinated, likely bunched in the middle of the schedule. We aim to have approximately 8-10 cutoffs in qualifying, adjusting the exact matchday schedule accordingly once our signup number is solidified. This will ultimately depend on the number of sign-ups and the size of the groups.
Conclusion
We welcome any questions, comments, concerns, or additional discussion regarding our bid. Thank you for your consideration!
