Football in Artadesia
| Football in Artadesia | |
|---|---|
 Zikam Stadium of Lights during the Zikam Derby | |
| Country | Artadesia |
| Governing body | Commonwealth of Artadesian Football Associations (CAFA) |
| National team(s) | Artadesia |
| First played | 1850s |
| Clubs | 12,000+ clubs (organised into Artadesian Football League System |
National competitions | |
Men's Competition
Women's Competition
| |
Club competitions | |
| |
International competitions | |
Men's Competition
Women's Competition
| |
Football is the most popular sport in Artadesia, far surpassing both Cricket and Pawlaan. Artadesia was one of the earliest countries to adopt football, and has the world's two Xth oldest football clubs outside of Arnynsland, Lala Hati F.C. and Shaw Brothers F.C. as well as the world's Xth oldest national football competition, the Challengers Cup. The Artadesian Football League System contains 6 tiers of official leagues, with the Artadesian top flight competition, the Primaersieren, being the most-watched and strongest footballing competition in Sorenwey and Agleia.
The Artadesian National Football Team is one of only 9 teams to win the IFFCA World Cup, doing so while hosting during 2022, as well as the only team not from Cesylle or Marius to do so. The senior men's, U-23 Men's, U-17 Men's and U-17 Women's teams are considered the best respective national teams in Agleia or Sorenway. A total of 5 Artadesian clubs have won the SAFCA Champion's League a total of 8 times, participating in 11 finals.
History
Football in Artadesia has a long past, with the game being introduced to locals in Zikam by the Arnynsh soldiers stationed there in the 1870s, and it wouldn't take long to spread, with the two earliest official football clubs being founded on July 7, 1889, in the Lala Hati villa of the Shaw Brothers, two prominent officials of the Arnynsh Udesian Company. One was the aptly named Shaw Brothers Football Club, owned by the brothers Harold and William Shaw themselves, and the other was the first Udesian owned club, "Lala Hati Football Club", named after the villa itself.
These two clubs would be joined by three others, from Zikam as well, those being Zikam Rela FC, formed by the railway workers of the region, Zikam Kamaran FC, founded by industrial workers, and Maheshpratha FC, founded by a wealthy Artadesian businessman. It wouldn't take long for them to start informal matches, and by 1893, a United Udesian Football Association had been formed.
The UUFA organized its first cup competition, the Udesian Challengers Cup, in 1894, hosted in Zikam. The competition featured 16 teams, 9 from Zikam, 2 each from the nearby cities of Zakaran and Cochit, 1 from Etilabad (Now Mauryabad), and 1 from Ayunagaram. A crowd of 35,000 attended the final between Zikam Rela FC and Shaw Brothers FC, won 7-4 by Shaw Brothers.
The sport began to grow, and in 1913 history was made as Zikam Rela FC beat [ARNYNSH CLUB] 1-0 in a friendly match, making it the first Indian team to ever beat a European side. This first great era of Artadesian football would last until 1919, with notable clubs outside of Zikam being Club de Reyes, founded in 1903 in Isabellan Cochit, and the Gaonitanian "Super 3" clubs of Sporting Club de Nueva Suerte, Clube dos Reis, and Atlético de Nueva Suerte. This period would come to an end, however, with the rising civil war and the eventual collapse of the UUFA due to internal disputes.
After the UUFA's collapse, Artadesian football went through a period of chaos and uncertainty. With the country plunged into civil war, some football clubs disbanded, and others were left to struggle with the absence of resources and infrastructure. However, there were a few clubs that managed to survive amidst the turmoil. A major example of this was Shaw Brothers and Lala Hati FC, with both teams having established themselves as dominant in previous Artadesian competitions. They managed to maintain their dominance in the years that followed, winning several domestic titles throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Other notable clubs that managed to thrive were Zikam Rela and Zikam Kamaran, who gained a lot of support due to their socialist histories, as well as the Nova Sorte super clubs.
It took until the 1950s for Artadesian Football to make a comeback, with the scars of the civil war mostly dealt with, interest in football grew. This led to the foundation of many new football clubs, and preexisting ones were given more attention and were able to expand and improve their facilities. The national team also gained huge success, with the "Holy Trinity of Artadesia", Aakrimana Balaram, T.D. Prakit, and Sikha Ghat, whose brilliant attacking displays brough Artadesia to a bronze medal in the X YEAR [OLYMPICS], a gold medal in the 1955 Sorenway Games, a semi-final in the 1956 CAFAS Sorenway Championship, and a 4th placed finish in the [OLYMPICS].
On the club level, Shaw Brothers reached the finals of the SAFCA Grand Cup, before getting humiliated in a 7-0 defeat to [ILBONESE TEAM]. This momentum would slow down, and the first National Football League formed in 1962 would close unceremoniously in 1966. The concept of a national league stayed popular though, and in 1971 the Artamarsk Primaersieren was founded. Its regional system allowed for more clubs and meant that a wider base of support was established, with the first team to win the Primaersieren being Red Star Enqilapur, who won the first ever Artadesian domestic treble, winning the Challengers Cup and the Playoff Title. Later on, during 1977-1985, the Gaonitanian clubs Club dos Reis, Sporting Nueva Suerte, and Atlético Nueva Suerte won every league shield, all finished no less than 4th place in their leagues, and won 6 Premier Cups and 3 Challengers Cups.
In 1989 , Lala Hati FC would become the first Artadesian club to win a SAFCA Grand Cup trophy after beating Shaw Brothers in a 2-1 final of epic proportions. This marked another era of brilliance, and the national team would go to its first ever world cup in 1994. There, a front line including Priya Khalati and Tivesh Prathan Swamyvishyanagarayan, and a back line including Tsushida Kou managed to beat West Valkia in a shocking upset 1-0. They then lost both of their next matches to Nastanovo and [MARISIAN NATION], progressing in 3rd place to the knockouts where they were unceremoniously dumped out by Aosta 4-0.
Artadesian football would somewhat stagnate for the next decade on the international stage, and most club teams failed to go anywhere meaningful in SAFCA competitions. They missed out on the 1998 World Cup and got ejected from the group stage of the 2002 World Cup, however in 2005 an Agnikaadu team containing a young Sunil Chhetri would become the only ever team to be invincible in the Primaersieren and Premier Cup, and they would win a SAFCA Champions League final over [ILBONESE CLUB], making them the first club to ever win all their matches in the CAFAS CL. This did not kickstart a new golden age, however it proved the strength of Artadesian football and Artadesian clubs would continue to compete more and more in Sorenway. Artadesia would make it to the Round of 16 in the 2010 World Cup, and to their second ever Semifinal in the 2012 SAFCA AS Cup. 2014 brought a close Round of 16 with new young talent, however 2016 marked a turning point.
Artadesia won their only ever SAFCA AS Cup, with a young exciting squad playing attacking football, and going into the 2018 World Cup they were a dark horse pick, however they were not expected to progress farther than the quarterfinals at most.They started out strong with a 1-0 win over Druermark where they displayed the core tenets of their exciting football, before surprising the world with 3-1 and 3-0 victories over Ilbon and Aldlocke. In particular, 18 year old right winger Ishaan Singh stood out with 2 goals and 2 assists, contributing to over half of Artadesia's goals. In the Round of 16 they would face Elesthra, beating them 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 game, before shocking West Valkia with a 1-0 victory. They then beat Nastanovo 2-1 after going down 1-0 in the 7th minute due to a spectacular long goal from Ezhilarasan Takayuri and a bicycle kick winner by Ishaan Singh in the 90+3rd minute. They then would shock Aosta in the final by winning 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw salvaged by a Sunil Chhetri header in the 119th minute of the game. This caused nationwide celebration for weeks on end in Artadesia, and Ishaan Singh would ultimately be named Young Player of the Tournament, with the 25 year old goalkeeper Akamoru Ramasamy winning Golden Glove and the Bronze Ball, while the team was voted as the most entertaining team and Ishaan Singh's bicycle kick against Nastanovo was voted Goal of the Tournament.
Domestically, Zikam Kamaran had the most dominant stretch by a single club in Artadesian football, winning a total of 2 Challengers Cups, 2 Premier Cups, 2 Midartamarsk Primaersieren Shields, and 3 successive SAFCA Champions Leagues over 3 years, winning an average of 3 trophies per season, as well as the third ever Treble and only Quadruple in Artadesian football history, in the 2019-20 season and 2021-22 season. This time period also coincided with the first ever Premier Cup and League Shield for Red Star Enqilapur since 1971 with their domestic double in 2021.
The 2020 CAFAS Sorenway Championships had Artadesia touted as favorites, topping their group and winning 4-1 in their Round of 16 match, however they were shocked by a 2-1 loss to Ilbon in the Quarterfinals.
Men's League System
The organized league system in Artadesia follows a system of various leagues linked by promotion and relegation, with a total of 992 teams spread across 6 tiers of football, divided into regional sub-leagues. Each league uses a double round-robin system with a win awarding 3 points and a draw awarding 1. Teams are ranked by points, with various positions entailing promotion, relegation, or qualification for various competitions.
The Structure
At the top of the league system is the Artamarsk Primaersieren, with 4 subdivisions, two with 15 teams and two with 12. Below that is the Artamarsk Sekundaersieren, with 4 subdivisions, two with 21 teams and two with 14. Below that are the three divisions of the A-Liga, the Mesterskap with 4 subdivisions with two 24 team and two 16 team leagues. The A-liga 1. Divisjon, 2. Divisjon, and Distriktsierener A are made up of 11 state sub-leagues with 24 teams each. Below that is "Non-league" football, divided into state subdivisions.
The Pyramid
|
Level |
League(s)/Division(s) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Primaersieren | |||||
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2 |
Sekundaersieren | |||||
|
3 |
A-Liga Mesterskap | |||||
|
4 |
A-liga 1. Divisjon | |||||
Primaersieren
The Artamarsk Primaersieren is the top-flight of Artadesian football, and is one of the most-watched leagues in the world. [LINE ABOUT STATUS COMPARED TO OTHER SORENWIAN LEAGUES]. It is contested by 32 teams divided into two subdivisions, the Nordliga Primaer and the Sorliga Primaer. The Nordliga consists of teams from Airyavej, Chorap, Chakhadesh, Hwarsan, Spentavrata, Adipashratta, and Mehrdesh, while the Sorliga consists of teams from Tolavil Nadu, Venikarikam, Tahar Nadu, and Haomkisak. Each league plays a double round robin tournament home and away, as well as 4 home and 4 away games against teams from the other league. At the end of the season, the top teams in each subdivision are awarded the division shield, and the top 5 teams in each league qualify for the following season's Primaerpokal. The league winners and league runner up with the highest points qualify for the following seasnon's CAFAS Cup, while the runner up with less points qualifies for the following season's CAFAS Conference Cup. The bottom 2 teams in each division are relegated to their respective Sekundaersieren division.
Sekundaersieren
The Artamarsk Sekundaersieren is contested by 40 teams divided into 2 divisions, the Nordliga Sekundaer and the Sorliga Sekundaer. Each league plays double round robin home and away, as well as 4 home and 4 away games against teams from the other league for a total of 46 games. At the end, the top team in each division wins a league shield, the top 2 teams in each division are promoted to their respective Primaersieren division, and the bottom 3 teams in each division are relegated to their respective Mesterskap division.
A-Liga Mesterskap
The A-liga Mesterskap is contested by 40 teams divided into 2 divisions, the A-liga Nordliga and the A-liga Sorliga. Each team plays double round robin home and away with the teams in their league as well as 4 home and 4 away games against teams from the other division for a total of 46 games. At the end, the top team in each division wins a league shield, the top 3 teams in each division promote to their respective Sekundaersieren division, and the bottom 3 teams in each division relegate to their respective 1. Divisjon divisions.
A-Liga 1. Divisjon
The A-liga 1. Divisjon is contested by 64 teams divided into 4 divisions, the A-liga Norddivisjon, the A-liga Hwarskdivisjon, the A-liga Sordivisjon, and the A-liga Middivisjon. Each team plays round robin home and away against the other teams in their division as well as 3 games home and away against teams from each of the other 3 divisions for a total of 48 games. At the end of the season, the top team in each division wins a league shield and promotes to its respective Mesterskap division, with teams from the Norddivisjon and Hwarskdivisjon promoting to the Nordliga while teams from the Sordivisjon and Middivisjon promote to the Sorliga.
Women's League System
Men's Cup Competitions
Artadesia has multiple major cup competitions, primary among them the Premier Cup contested by the top teams from the Primaersieren from the previous season, and the Challengers Cup, the worlds 4th oldest cup competition, contested between all members of the Artadesian Football League System.
Artadesian Challenger's Cup
The Challenger's Cup is the oldest still existing football competition in Artadesia, with the 2023-24 edition being the 130th edition of the competition. The cup is known for creating major upsets and fairytale stories, with many teams from lower divisions making deep runs into the competition. Prizes are alloted based on league and run length, with teams that make deeper runs and that are in lower leagues gaining more in cash prizes. All unused cash prizes are then redistributed again among the lower league teams. The cup is divided into a regional and national round, and the amount of regional rounds can differ, with regions like Adipashratta only having two regional rounds while Chakhadesh holds 6 regional rounds.
Schedule
| Round | Month | Leagues entering this round | Total teams this round | New entries this round | Teams from previous round | Format
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Rounds | August-November | 6th Tier
5th Tier |
528 | 528 | none | Single-game knockout |
| 1st Round Proper | December | Regional winners | 128 | 0 | 128 | Single-game knockout |
| 2nd Round Proper | A-liga 1. Divisjon | 128 | 64 | 64 | Single-game knockout | |
| 3rd Round Proper | January | A-liga Mesterskap | 104 | 40 | 64 | Round robin group stage* |
| 4th Round Proper | none | 64 | none | 64 | Single-game knockout | |
| 5th Round Proper | February | Artamarsk Sekundaersieren | 64 | 32 | 32 | Single-game knockout |
| 6th Round Proper | Artamarsk Primaersieren | 64 | 32 | 32 | Single-game knockout | |
| 7th Round Proper | March | None | 32 | None | 32 | Single-game knockout |
| 8th Round Proper | None | 16 | None | 16 | Single-game knockout | |
| Quarterfinals | April | None | 8 | None | 8 | Single-game knockout |
| Semifinals | April | None | 4 | None | 4 | Single-game knockout |
| Finals | May | None | 2 | None | 2 | Single-game knockout |
- The 104 teams in the 3rd round are organized regionally into 26 groups of 4, playing round robin at neutral venues. The winners and runners-up of each group qualify for the 4th round, while the 12 best 3rd place teams also qualify.
Premier Cup
The Premier Cup is the second oldest existing cup competition in Artadesia, with the 2023-24 edition being the 52nd edition of the competition. The Premier Cup is contested by the top teams from the previous season's Primaersieren, with the top 5 teams of each division qualifying. The group stage involves 2 groups of 5, with each team playing each other team at a neutral venue, with 3 points awarded for a win and 1 point for a draw. The top three teams with the most points from each group advance to the knockout stage (ties are broken through various criteriae*). The knockout stage is composed of one-legged ties and contains a quarterfinal, a semifinal, and a final. All of the matches are drawn completely randomly, except for the round of 16, where the worst two teams from the group stages are drawn with the best two teams from the group stages. A team that plays the entire tournament and reaches the final will play 8 games.