Arucian Football Association

Arucian Football Association

Most recent season or competition: 2022 Arucian Football Association Season
Formerly	National Football Association (1940-1944)
Sport	Arucian football
Founded	May 11, 1940 (1940-05-11)
President	Henri Richard
No. of teams	32
Countries	Ardesia Aucuria Bonaventure Carucere Eldmark Île d'Émeraude Imagua and the Assimas Sainte-Chloé Satucin
Most recent champion(s)	AFF Vaxholmen (2021)
Most titles	FC Sainte-Chloé (7 Finals)

The Association Arucien de Football (Arucian Football Association), commonly abbreviated as the AAF, is the preeminent international professional men's competition of Arucian football. Through the AAF Commission, the AAF also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the game. Founded in 1940 as the National Football Association, after five Arucian football clubs from Sainte-Chloé and Carucere jointly founded the organization in order to codify the rules of the game and organize professional competitions. The association's inaugural season began the following year. Under the United Provinces, in 1945 the association adopted its current name and added two teams from Bonaventure and Imagua and the Assimas the following season. Teams from Aucuria's, Eldmark, Satucin's Arucian islands joined during the 1980s. Other teams from the countries of Île d'Émeraude, Ardesia, and TBD would be added after 1978.

The Association currently consists of 32 teams spread over nine countries, with matches taking place in all participating countries. During each AAF season, each team plays 12 regular series games, popularly known as the Coconut League, which runs during the dry season (January to June). The team with the best record after the regular series is awarded the "minor premiership". The top twelve teams then play off in a four-round series known as the Coupe Arucian, culminating in the Arucian Final; the Final winner is awarded the Champions Trophy. Since the league's founding in 1940, there has been a total of 81 seasons and 40 Coupe Arucians and Finals. Of these games, FC Sainte-Chloé has won a record seven Finals. The most recent champion is the AFF Vaxholmen, who defeated the Canicule Suns in the 2021 Final.

The Arucian Football Association is one of the two main sport leagues in the Arucian, the other being the Arucian Baseball League. Although the league, along with the sport, is confined to the Arucian and the surrounding countries, it is widely popular across the region. The sport and the association is strongly associated with the Arucian and the AAF is considered to be one of the region's defining cultural institutions. It is the most popular sport in Carucere and Île d'Émeraude and has a significant presence in Sainte-Chloé, Ardesia, Bonaventure, and Imagua and the Assimas. In addition the league also has a presence in the Arucian islands of Aucuria, Satucin, and Eldmark. The Association is governed by the AAF Commission, which is responsible for the administration of AAF competitions and for controlling the rules of Arucian football. The Association is officially a publicly held nonprofit corporation whose shares are held by over a million people across the Arucian and it is governed by its member clubs' fans.

Organisation

Governance

The Arucian Football Association is collectively owned by the members of all clubs in the AAF who each own a share of the organization. A share of AAF stock does not include an equity interest, does not pay dividends, cannot be traded, and has no protection under securities law. However they are given voting rights, an invitation to the corporation's annual congress, season-ticket purchasing privileges, and an opportunity to purchase exclusive merchandise. Shareholders elect delegates, based upon club affiliation, to the AAF Congress, the supreme legislative body of the organization. Originally the Congress solely consisted of indirectly elected members appointed by its member clubs, but reforms in the 1990s expanded the franchise to all shareholders. The Congress has the authority to elect the members of the AAF Commission and its President as well as remove them from office as it sees fit.

The AAF Commission is the main decision-making body of the organization between the sessions of the AAF Congress. The Commission simultaneously functions as a board of directors by supervising the the activities of the Association, as the governing body of the game by regulating the competitions it oversees, and as the governing body that oversees the rules of the sport. In addition to its regular members appointed by the Congress, the Commission also includes representatives from several affiliated associations such as the AAF Players Association, AAF Coaches Association, and the AAF Owners Association. The Commission is lead by the President who is also the official head of the organization. The Commission consists of various departments that oversees all aspects of the organization.

Teams

The AAF is comprised of 32 teams: 9 from Sainte-Chloé, 6 from Bonaventure, 5 from Île d'Émeraude, 4 from Ardesia, 2 from Carucere, Eldmark, Satucin, and Imagua and the Assimas, and 1 from Aucuria. The league has no system of promotion and relegation. The teams are divided into four divisions of seven teams each, and matches are played in a round robin system, where all teams play against all twice in a season. The divisions are the National, Western, Central, and East. After 12 rounds of regular season games every week, the best 4 standing teams in each division will qualify to the AAF Championship, a knock-out stage that goes from round-of-16 to the Final; a third-place match is also played prior to the final.

Division	Logo	Team	City	Country	Stadium	Founded	Joined	Notes
National		FC Sainte-Chloé	Port de la Sainte	Sainte-Chloé	Stade Universitaire	1869*	1940	Began as an amateur club founded by graduates from the University of Sainte-Chloé. Founding member of the AAF.
		FC Tranquille	Tranquille	Sainte-Chloé	Champ de Sainte Croix	1906	1940	Founding member of the AAF.
		FC Sainte-Geneviève	Sainte-Geneviève	Sainte-Chloé	Stade Sainte-Geneviève	1920	1940	Founding member of the AAF.
		FC Port Imperial	Port de la Sainte	Sainte-Chloé	Champ du Port Impérial	1925	1940	Founding member of the AAF.
		FC Escalade	Escalade	Sainte-Chloé	Stade Criteo	1948
		FC Decouverte	Decouverte	Sainte-Chloé	Champ Decouverte	1954
		Canicule Suns	Canicule	Sainte-Chloé	Parc AXA	2004
		Éclair Crusaders	Éclair	Sainte-Chloé	Stade Atisreal	1991
Western	File:XXXX	FC Chiltic	Ravelle	Ardesia	Estádio Araujo	1983
	File:XXXX	CR São Agostinho	São Agostinho	Ardesia	Estádio São Agostinho	1978
	File:Vaxholmenaff.png	AFF Vaxholmen	Vaxholmen	Eldmark	EldmarkFlyg Arena	19XX
	File:Bkgronsund.png	BK Grönsund	Grönsund	Eldmark	Krigsminnesstadion	1991
		FC Carrefour	Carrefour	Carucere	Stade Préval	1888	1940	Founding member of the AAF. Formerly known as the Carucere Football Club.
		Marien Pirates	Fort-Royal	Carucere	Stade du Rocher de L'Aigle	1978
	File:Cuanstad Dockworkers.png	FC Cuanstad Dockworkers	Cuanstad	Imagua and the Assimas	King's Park Field	1923	1945
	File:AFC San Pietro.png	AFC San Pietro	San Pietro	Imagua and the Assimas	Quinzio Cedro Stadium	1945
Central	File:LOGO	AP Sermoni	Sermoni	Bonaventure	XXXX Stadium	1978
	File:LOGO	AA Armada	Sermoni	Bonaventure	XXXX Stadium	1978
	40px	AP Piazza Ottobre	Sermoni	Bonaventure	XXXX Stadium	XXXX	1945
	File:LOGO	CF Riga	Riga	Bonaventure	XXXX Stadium	1991
	File:LOGO	AP La Vallatina	La Valla	Bonaventure	XXXX Stadium	2004
	File:LOGO	CF Toucans	Accapucchi	Bonaventure	XXXX Stadium	1945
	File:XXXX	Rémont AC	Rémont	Ardesia	Estádio Zapote	1978
		AFK Rokiškis	Rokiškis	Aucuria	XXXX Stadium	1978
Eastern	File:XXXX	Porto Sotiri FC	Porto Sotiri	Ardesia	Estádio Argola de Ouro	1980
	File:LOGO	XXXX	XXXX	Satucin	XXXX Stadium	1978
	File:LOGO	XXXX	XXXX	Satucin	XXXX Stadium	1978
		Port-au-Grégoire Pumas	Port-au-Grégoire	Île d'Émeraude	XXXX Stadium	1978
		FC Mathiasville	Mathiasville	Île d'Émeraude	XXXX Stadium	1978
		Saint Clair Sailors	Saint Clair	Île d'Émeraude	XXXX Stadium	1991
		Port-au-Grégoire United	Port-au-Grégoire	Île d'Émeraude	XXXX Stadium	2004
		Fort Anne FC	Fort Anne	Île d'Émeraude	XXXX Stadium	2004

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