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AOCAF 59 Host Bid - Freeport

Posted: Sep 24 2019, 02:30 PM

Official Bid to Host the 59th AOCAF Cup

Nation Background
An archipelago nation located in southwestern Atlantian Oceania, the Confederation of Freeport is culturally distinct from nearby Equestria, despite sharing the latter's majority equine population. Freeport boasts a rather tumultuous history, being previously ruled in past centuries by undesirables such as slavers and necromancers, and having long served as a safe haven for criminal activity. Although Freeport has seen considerable reform in recent decades, first under the Council of Thirteen and most recently under Archon Sunset Shimmer, the island nation remains decidedly less idyllic than Equestria, despite it's tropical climate. The heart of the Confederation is the city-state of Freeport, a former safe port for smugglers and pirates, now a rapidly-modernizing metropolis. Notable outlying settlements include Porthaven and Salty Shores.

Introduced to the sport of hoofball by foreign merchants, Freeport's club teams participate in the United Hoofball League alongside clubs from Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Freeport's national team made their international debut at the 56th AOCAF Cup, staging an upset draw against top-seeded Tropicorp in their first competitive fixture. The Condottieri made their WCC debut at the 68th Baptism of Fire, finishing just short of the podium in fourth-place. Unfortunately, Freeport has performed rather poorly since their initial run of success, crashing out of the 82nd World Cup in embarrassing fashion with a last-place finish in their qualifying group and missing out on the Cup of Harmony. The 83rd World Cup cycle was considerably kinder to the Freeporters, now managed by longtime Equestria NT boss Twilight Striker, as they just missed out on a playoff spot in their qualifying group to eventual quarterfinalists Eura, and put in a respectable showing at the Cup of Harmony and were narrowly eliminated on the final day of the group stage. It's clear that the team still has a long way to go before they can truly claim to be a member of the "Glorious" Southwest, particularly in the wake of their Equestrian neighbors' recent AOCAF and World Cup championships, but the Condottieri are up to the challenge.

Resume
The user behind Freeport is one of NS Sports' most experienced hosts, having co-hosted eight WCC events with their primary nation (Equestrian States) as well as numerous other smaller tournaments including the World Baseball Classic, World Cup of Hockey, World Bowl, Di Bradini Cup, and International Basketball Championship.

Format
I assume that we'll have similar numbers as in other recent tournaments, and thus have outlined plans for formats with 24-36 teams. The overall format will be simple enough, regardless of numbers: a single round robin group stage held in the Equestrian States followed by a knockout stage. If possible, I'd prefer to have 32 nations as it's the most straightforward format. Should it be necessary to accommodate the number of participants, alternate formats may be used.

24 Teams: 6 Groups of 4; Top 2 to Ro16, Best 4 3rd to Ro16
28 Teams: 7 Groups of 4; Top 2 to Ro16, Best 2 3rd to Ro16
30 Teams: 6 Groups of 5; Top 2 to Ro16, Best 4 3rd to Ro16
32 Teams: 8 Groups of 4; Top 2 to Ro16
36 Teams: 6 Groups of 6; Top 2 to Ro16, Best 4 3rd to Ro16

Tiebreakers
Overall Record
Head-to-Head Record
Head-to-Head Goal Differential
Overall Goal Differential
Head-to-Head Goals For
Overall Goals For
Playoff (if necessary to determine advancement)

Scorinator & RP Bonus
If chosen, I will use the latest version of xkoranate with the NSFS formula and xkoranate-style (additive) style mods. The latest AOCAF rankings will be used for the tournament. RPs will be judged based on quality and creativity over quantity and frequency. Bonuses will be fairly generous to encourage active RPing by all participants and a roster bonus will also be available, as usual.

Questions?
Got a question? Feel free to ask it here, shoot me a TG, post on the RMB, or get in touch via the NS Sports Discord. I'll try to answer it as best I can.

Note: Should another bid from a competent prospective host that I could support be posted, I intend to withdraw this bid. Additionally, should anyone be interested in hosting the AOCAF, but doesn't want to do so alone for whatever reason, I would be willing to entertain adding a co-host to this bid.

This post has been edited by Equestrian States on Sep 24 2019, 02:33 PM