[FM42] A brave new world - Historical divergence

[Wolf_pd]

Yes, FM32, because by the time this puppy is finished, it will be FM32 (at least). Also, I need a few changes to be made in the editor to allow for some ideas to work

I have created the Iron Curtain mods for FM20 and FM22 (last one still WIP) on the assumption that the Berlin Wall never fell, the Iron Curtain was torn down and the 1988 status quo contined into the new millenium.

This time I will take many more moments in history and merge together on a world map. The result in game will lead to (hopefully a change dynamic in world football.

Baseline

• The game of football is not 'invented' in England, but has evolved from the Mesoamerican ball game. Yes, the cradle of football is outside Europe!
• I will not determine the exact effect of each historical change. There will be some historical context for the last 200 years, because that is our scope. Other than that, the map is just that, the map. While studying the butterfly effect is interesting, the goal is building a football world.
• History is very imporant! So teams, competitions and nations will have a complete football history.
• Things might be controversial. If things are controversial for you, let me know in a (respectful) way and I will listen and decide whether to change the map.
• I don't listen well to shouting by the way

One major thing to decide on is colonialism and the effect of it. The scramble for Africa took place in the era our history starts. Colonialism also has a big effect on the game with how newgens are created (see France, Belgium and The Netherlands for instance). The same applies to migrant workers. Depending on my decisions I will need editor changes to work out things the way I have in mind.

This thread will probably end being another 'Dev' diary similar to what I have done for the Iron Curtain mods. It helps to order my mind and while the Iron Curtain has a clear end result in mind, here suggestions are welcome. I have to work out football league and cup systems for about 150 nations afterall. And that is before I start thinking about international competitions!

[Spurs08]

You are absolutely insane. And brilliant. But at least mostly insane. ...This sounds amazing!!!

[Samuel77]

Great, I'm curious and eager to see where this is going !

[valve]

You might want to resort to some alt-history or conworlding forum to build a base to work upon, then come back to us to fill the football history details.

[Wolf_pd]

2 hours ago, Spurs08 said:

You are absolutely insane. And brilliant. But at least mostly insane. ...This sounds amazing!!!

Thank you for the compliment

34 minutes ago, valve said:

You might want to resort to some alt-history or conworlding forum to build a base to work upon, then come back to us to fill the football history details.

I have a list of 'divergent moments' and slowly are working out the details. It is like a huge sudoku.
On the alt-history side, someone made a what-if in case the World Cup was already created in 1904. It's one of my options as well.

[LazgoNNO2000]

2 hours ago, Wolf_pd said:

Thank you for the compliment

I have a list of 'divergent moments' and slowly are working out the details. It is like a huge sudoku.
On the alt-history side, someone made a what-if in case the World Cup was already created in 1904. It's one of my options as well.

FM 32 oh really i dont think Miles Jacobson will make an Football Manager in 2032 due to UEFA horrible formats and some bad stuff like that

[Tikka Mezzala]

Which meso-American empire invented the ball game? Did it spread outwards to other parts of the hemisphere prior to European arrivals? Did it even find its way up to North America relatively early on? 

I reckon traders, sailors, and railway workers are gonna have a big role in shaping this world! 

[TheWizard65]

I'm definitely a loyal follower again, your inspiration and ideas are unprecedented, I'll follow him immediately.

[Wolf_pd]

On 28/12/2022 at 00:10, Tikka Mezzala said:

Which meso-American empire invented the ball game? Did it spread outwards to other parts of the hemisphere prior to European arrivals? Did it even find its way up to North America relatively early on? 

I reckon traders, sailors, and railway workers are gonna have a big role in shaping this world! 

It was invented by the Olmecs, and from there it has spread over what in the year 1800 is known as the area of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. As much of the Americas is Spanish at the time it spreads through the Americas first and then through the travels of Spanish and Portuguese sailors it is introduced in Europe.

[Jorgen]

Back in the day there were some very interesting projects on these forums back in the day where people like @sakpase and @Booooooom started massive edits with entirely changed continents. Perhaps you could find some inspiration for new cups/nations/regions there:

See for example

 

 

 

[valve]

If association football came from the Americas, it would be as much popular as baseball in Europe, I reckon.

[rusty217]

On 28/12/2022 at 00:21, Wolf_pd said:

History is very imporant! So teams, competitions and nations will have a complete football history.

I really wish the editor would let you change start dates, so you could just start at the beginning rather than having to create the history and go from there. Would be pretty cool to be able to start in the 1800s or something.

Also, if you're basing it off of football developing from Mesoamerica, does that mean Mexico etc. will be football superpowers? Or will it mean colonialism never impacted Mesoamerica and instead we have the Aztecs and Mayans still around and with some of the best football teams in the world?

[Wolf_pd]

1 hour ago, rusty217 said:

I really wish the editor would let you change start dates, so you could just start at the beginning rather than having to create the history and go from there. Would be pretty cool to be able to start in the 1800s or something.

Also, if you're basing it off of football developing from Mesoamerica, does that mean Mexico etc. will be football superpowers? Or will it mean colonialism never impacted Mesoamerica and instead we have the Aztecs and Mayans still around and with some of the best football teams in the world?

Oh, that would be nice, it also creates a much larger timeframe starting wise.

Initially, I will change player nationality and see what difference it makes. The general level of players already heavily impacts how a nation can grow (much used example, but moving Dutch-Surinamese to Suriname made Suriname a constant qualifier for the Gold Cup and World Cup for instance) and depending on the result of that I will change other data. The balance will move towards the Americas based on their supposed development time.

With regards to colonialism for the Americas, I will write about that later when I describe the first nation.

[Wolf_pd]

8 hours ago, Jorgen said:

Back in the day there were some very interesting projects on these forums back in the day where people like @sakpase and @Booooooom started massive edits with entirely changed continents. Perhaps you could find some inspiration for new cups/nations/regions there:

See for example

 

 

 

Yep, I knew these. Some of the nations mentioned will turn up and Europe is mostly mapped already, but will not turn up for the moment as it isn't that important yet (history wise). Also, first Iron Curtain while I work out the kinks for the planning of this project. As I expect to carry over files between FMversions, I will have to work in a slightly different way and make sure that I keep an eye on teams being revived, added or removed between versions. So while I am working on mapping out the nations, and their history I am also thinking about how to do this in the editor without having to start over every time a new editor turns up.

[Jorgen]

@Wolf_pd Ah, good to hear you already knew them. I hoped those projects would see the finish line, but sadly they didn't. I know you are very thorough which makes a huge project even bigger.  If you need some ideas, I am happy to help.

An idea that I have for years myself, is instead of (re)creating countries, you could leave every league and nation in the world intact, but replace each and every cup (including regional, national, international and continental ones) Then Houston Dynamo and Inter Miami play the MLS as normal but qualify for the Viceroyalty of New Spain Cup together with teams from Mexico, Guatemala, etc. Rapid Wien would play normally in the Austrian Bundesliga and would play it's cup vs teams from Budapest, Triëst, etc. Or somekind of Champions League format where teams from the same historical region are always in the same group and in the next round the regional group winners compete for the title of the best team in history.

It's a shame I don't have much experience in the editor, as I would love to have something like this.

[Wolf_pd]

That's why I take the time to think out how to do the project. If you can't oversee it, it is bound to crash at one moment or another. Have seen too much projects go down that road on the forum here.

[Wolf_pd]

First on the menu is the continents. Since I want to merge North and South America to America, I have one left. The one option is to create an Arabian continent (they have their own football association UAFA) or not use it alltogether. Removing it via the editor doesn't seem possible, and from the skinning side I understand that removing it visually isn't possible either. So that's one to solve.

But since I start building in the Americas I luckily not have to think too much about that at the moment. First it is time to work out the final form of Nahua!

[Jorgen]

But if you find out that you can't lose a continent, you might have to start over again...

You could always fill a continent with smaller nations like islands, place Vatican City and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in their own continent, or do something with the North and South Pole.

[Wolf_pd]

28 minutes ago, Jorgen said:

But if you find out that you can't lose a continent, you might have to start over again...

You could always fill a continent with smaller nations like islands, place Vatican City and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in their own continent, or do something with the North and South Pole.

UAFA will move into the empty place if necessary.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

@Wolf_pd you are now starting to make my brain ache!

[Wolf_pd]

27 minutes ago, \'Appy \'Ammer said:

@Wolf_pd you are now starting to make my brain ache!

Don't worry, it only is going to be worse

Sorry!

[Wolf_pd]

Writing down the basis for Nahua takes a little longer than expected, but then I need to cover about 2000 years instead 200

I promise the other nations won't take that long. And now it is time to paint the ceiling, so if you don't hear from me untill tomorrow, you can find me face down in a puddle of white paint

[Jorgen]

If each and every nation and club gets its own history... wow... what an undertaking!

Keep up the good work. This is gonna be epic.

[Wolf_pd]

Nation: Nahua
Offical long name: United Nahuan States
Language(s): Spanish and many indigenous languages
Capital: Tenochtitlan
National stadium: Estadio Azteca
Bordering nation: in the north California and Texas, in the south Yucatán. Nahua is bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Caribbean Sea in the east.

Warning: As you might notice there are severals setups to other countries that will appear. Napoleon and his meddling in Europe will turn up a few times more.
Warning2: Long read

Although our FM history starts in 1800, we will have to go back for the roots of football, or the grass ball game as it is also know in Nahua.
The meso-american ball game, the well documented predecessor of football, was invented by the Olmec people who lived in what is now the border area between Nahua and Yucatán. From there it spread north and south to the point ancient ball courts can found from the southern Mosquite Coast up to Arizona. When the conquistadores reached the Aztec and Mayan empires, they quickly recognized the religious and ritualistic significance of the game. They failed to recognize the pacific nature of the game however. Prior to the Spanish conquests many conflicts were fought out on the ball courts instead of on the battle field. As the Catholic church urged the new lands to be converted to the Catholic faith, the ball game was forbidden. Little did the Spanish realise the ball game was still very much alive, just in a different form.
The ball courts would be used for many occassions such as markets, gatherings, feasts and could not be used for practices or games whenever the ball game players wanted. That is why the grass ball game existed. It was the practice form of the ball game. When the Spaniards forbade the ball game, the grass ball game gained traction. The Spanish oppressors saw it as an innocent way to exercise for the natives. The grass ball game would be played on the grass and dirt between the houses of cities and villages. All they needed was a house with a cover over the porch and two posts to hold up the cover and another house nearby with the same setup. Historians have found the general width of a house was about 7 to 7.5 meter while the roof would be about 2.4 meter in height. As goal sizes could differ slightly between both sides, sides would change goals at intervals. A blown up peccary blader would be covered with the sap of the hevea tree to use as a ball. This bladder ball was much lighter than the solid rubber ball used in the ball game. It also made it much easier to control and kick. An added bonus was that damage to houses was avoided. Nothing worse than to accidentally kick in the door of your neighbour afterall!

In the colonization years the area was known as Viceroyalty of New Spain. Slowly but surely a Casta system arose where the Spaniards born in Spain (also known as Peninsulares) would hold all high positions while Spaniards born in the Viceroyalty (known as New Spaniards) would receive the lesser positions. The Aztec and Mayan organisation were kept in place, but only as it suited the Spanish. The New Spaniards took an interest in the grass ball game or fútbol as it was now known, setting up small citywide competitions in the bigger cities. The first fútbol competition match took place in Ciudad de México** on Thursday June 17th 1779. There was no competition yet between cities and obviously there was no Viceroyalty wide competition. The Nahuan teams at that time also did citywide, but were not allowed to play against the New Spaniard teams. In the Nahuan competition discussions were underway to bring back the original ball game gatherings as they were before the Spaniards arrived, but the Nahuans were at that time forbidden to leave their designated territories. It took several years to get this overturned. In the meantime ideas were exchanged, schedules were set up, so when the Nahuans would regain their freedom of movement the sporting festivals would be return as soon as possible.

In the meantime tensions in the Viceroyalty were growing. The New Spaniards resented the Peninsulares for their power, and the Nahuans resented the Spaniards for being their oppressor. In 1802, in an attempt to ease tensions with the Nahuans, the Nahuans were allowed their freedom of movement. To avoid suspicion, only in the areas farthest away from prying Spanish eyes the first Nahuan competition games were played. The Nahuan Football Competition was born!

The Peninsular War in Spain when Napoleon invaded Spain created a power vacuum which led the New Spaniards to attempt to wrestle control from the Peninsulares. Seeing the opportunity, the Nahuan people joined in and the Mexican War of Independence started. The Nahuan competition was cancelled during the first year of the war. However, while the conflict would last 11 years, in many regions the Nahuan people would take over control in the area and the Peninsulares, seeing they wouldn't receive support from mainland Spain, would leave them. The result was that the conflict became mainly a war between the New Spaniards and Peninsulares while the Nahuans and former slaves would look on and clean up the mess after the fighting parties had left the area. This relative peace meant the Nahuan already in 1812 would restart the ball game competitions. In 1821 the war would end with the creation of the First Mexican Empire.

This empire did not last long as already in 1823 it was replaced by the First Mexican Republic. The same year the first split in the grass ball game would take place as the Federal Republic of Central America broke off from the Mexican Republic. In 1841 Yucatán would proclaim independence and join the Federal Republic of Central America. The Yucatán indepence declaration was a result of a previous succesfull secession when Texas left the Mexican republic after a short revolution. Rumours are that the United States had a hand in this, but these have not been proven. Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845 which introduced football into the United States. The United States eyed more Mexican real estate resulting in the Mexican-American war. The American gain of the California area strengthened the foothold of the grass ball game in the United States and ensured a stronger push of the game to east and north. But Nahua*** would not lose anymore area.

** Tenochtitlan was renamed to Ciudad de México because the Spaniards found it easier to pronounce.
*** After the Mexican-American war Mexico was renamed to Nahua to remove the humiliating connotation of the war, Tenochtitlan and other cities were renamed to their pre-colonization names.

[Jorgen]

@Wolf_pd Very nice read! 

[Wolf_pd]

And this is only the history, not football yet

[aeightBee]

*gets popcorn*

Ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna be here for a while.

[Wolf_pd]

Nation: Yucatán
Offical long name: Republic of Yucatán
Language(s): Spanish and various indigenous languages
Capital: Ichcaansihó
National stadium: Estadio Kukulkan (also known by opponents as the serpent's nest)
Borders: north Nahua, east Caribbean Sea, west Pacific Ocean, south Honduras

As previously mentioned in the Nahua history the Federal Republic of Central America broke of from the Mexican Republic in 1823. In 1841 Yucatán would proclaim independence and join the Federal Republic of Central America. This lead to a Mayan majority in the Federal Republic and major instability. It took only two years for a civil war to erupt and two more years for the Republic to split up. The northern areas, mainly inhabited by Mayans, stayed together and formed the Republic of Yucatán. The southern areas, despite their differences joined up to form Honduras.

On the football field, in 1842, Yucatán felt it was ready to challenge Nahua for the crown of best footballing nation in the world. The first international match was played in Tenochtitlan on Mrch 13th 1842 . Nahua beat Yucatán 4-3 that day.
in 1845 the Copa de la Luna was created and the first international club game was played. The Copa de la Luna would be (one of the) predecessor(s) of the Copa Libertadores.

Obviously, football wasn't limited to Central and North America. Texas, California and Honduras already knew the game as having been part of the former Mexican Empire. At the same time, sailors would introduce their favorite passtime to other Spanish speaking nations, moving the game north and south alongside the coasts of the Americas. Where there were peccaries to be found there was football played.

[mizzoufan69420]

This is going to be very interesting!

[Wolf_pd]

I am looking at the current day international competitions and club competitions and it is a bit of a puzzle. For the Iron Curtain I made a 4 year calender and used that as a base. I did the same for this project, but I am not yet done with deciding on the competitions. It also depends on the final list of nations and that's not yet finalized.

[Wolf_pd]

Nation: Honduras
Offical long name: Republic of Honduras
Language(s): Spanish and various indigenous languages
Capital: Tegucigalpa
National stadium: Estadio Nacional
Borders: north Yucatán, east Caribbean Sea, west Pacific Ocean, south Colombia

As you may notice we are slowly moving south even though there were already two nations to the north of Nahua mentioned. That's because I am still finishing up the north American history in my head.

The creation of Honduras was the direct resolution of the civil war in the Federal Republic of Central America and the subsequent dissolution in two nations. After the civil war things returned to peace quickly, allowing for the reboot of the Honduran competition into a national competition. Together with the national competition a cup competition was started and Honduras would have the first super cup in football in 1847. Honduras would see expansion in 1914 when the Panama canal was finished. The United States could not agree when the Panama Canal Zone would be returned to Panama. The resulting revolt split Panama into with two areas on either side of the newly build Canal. The north would join Honduras, while the south would join back into Colombia.

Honduras would be the third nation to join the international competition between Nahua and Yucatán in both in nation and club football. The Copa del Sol would be expanded and the Copa Centroamericana was born!

[Jorgen]

@Wolf_pd Will existing teams (with current or other names) from Costa Rica, Panama, etc participate in the Honduras league, or will it all be new teams? North America is historicly dominated by Mexican teams, but lots of teams from the Central-American nations did very well. Like Alajuelense, Saprissa, Communicacions, Olimpia, Allianza (and even Transvaal and Defense Force playing 9 CL finals). I suspect the Honduras league could be a fierce contender for the continental prizes.

 

Do you know about this website: https://www.mapchart.net/world-subdivisions.html ? You could use it per continent or the world in total to color your new nations. I've used it often for my own projects and it helps my giving shape to the world of my liking.

[Wolf_pd]

Interesting link. That might help with some of the nations that go over two continents.

Obviously teams like Saprissa have a role to play. I will use the existing teams, but depending on the nation and the background story some renaming may occur. If there are not enough teams for my competition ideas I will add new ones as well.

[Jorgen]

You're welcome!

 

May I do a suggestion to use the 5 Guianas as a nation? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guianas

Edited January 11, 2023 by Jorgen

[Wolf_pd]

No suggestion needed. That one was already going in. Only needed to work out the moment that Spanish Guiana breaks of from Venezuela as Venezuela is a part of Colombia and there has always been some discussion of that part and the British Guyana part.

[Wolf_pd]

Nation: Colombia
Offical long name: The Grand Confederation of Colombia
Language(s): Spanish and various indigenous languages
Capital: Bacatá
National stadium: Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez
Borders: north Honduras and Caribbean Sea, east Guyana, west Pacific Ocean, south Tawantinsuyu and Brazil

The history of Colombia starts in the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Just like in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the Napoleon invasion of Spain would be the start of the road to independence. In 1810 the United Provinces of New Granda were created in the westerpart of the country, while the east freed itself as the First Republic of Venezuela. Both would soon be reconquered by the Spanish, lost again by the Spanish and reconquered again. Not until 1819 when the first Republic of Colombia (also known in historical sense as Gran Colombia) was created out of the United Provinces of New Granada and the (by then already) Third Republic of Venezuela, the Colombian people finally knew freedom from the Spanish kingdom. Still unrest and several nation renaming would follow, such as the Republic of New Granada, the Granadine Confederation and the United States of Colombia. Great Britain made use of this unrest by invading the eastern part of the Granadine Confederation and expanding the area of British Guyana to encompass Spanish Guyana as well. In 1903 the territory of the Panama State achieved independence with the help the United States so the United States could build the Panama Canal. Social unrest and revolt would lead to the split of Panama and the southern part returning to Colombia. Since then Colombia has been a stable country in terms of its national borders.

Noteworthy in Colombian football is their push to include all willing nations from America in an American international club football competition. This resulted in the Copa Libertadores being played for the first time in 1913. As travelling took place mostly by boat in that period, the first Copas were organised in a cup competiton form where all teams were playing in a central organizing city. Not until the 60's home and way games were played.
Another noteworthy and less savoury aspect of Colombian football history was the involvement of drug cartels in Colombian football in the 70's and 80's.

And on we go, further south!

[Wolf_pd]

On 10/01/2023 at 02:19, Jorgen said:

Do you know about this website: https://www.mapchart.net/world-subdivisions.html ? You could use it per continent or the world in total to color your new nations. I've used it often for my own projects and it helps my giving shape to the world of my liking.

Turns out I had been using mapchart before, but only the subdivision maps for continents. This new mapping feature wasn’t available yet. Makes for some fun time (hours…) spend there. I should be able to redo my maps there. Best part is obviously that the Americas can be done as a whole. Only disadvantage is that for some nations I use a lower administrative level (for the Panama split specifically).

Tawantinsuyu should be done soon as I have figured out the borders with Brazil, Bolivia and Araucanía. Bolivia and Araucanía should follow soon as those are clear as well, except for a few disputed areas with Río de la Plata. Then it is Río de la Plata and Uruguay. There is one decision to make before I finalise Brazil, a possible extra nation and Guyana and then it is time for the Carribean Sea.

[Jorgen]

Glad to hear that it can be helpful for your stories!  This was the best map website I came across myself. Europe goes down many levels, other continents mostly provinces, but perhaps you could use a drawing app to do the finer details If necessary. Sorry if I have too many ideas. I just like this kind of stuff very much. 

[Wolf_pd]

I used it tonight to work on mapping the disputed areas and it works well. I think I have Central and South America mapped right now. Just doing a few checks on some clubs and cities to see where they end up and if they end up in the nations I want them.

[Jorgen]

Will you share some of the maps?

[Wolf_pd]

Of course, but right now the South America map contains spoilers

[Jabbos81]

En 27/12/2022 a las 19:08, Spurs08 dijo:

Estás absolutamente loco. Y brillante Pero al menos en su mayoría locos. ...Esto suena increíble!!!

genius needs a good dose of madness, otherwise... it wouldn't be 

[Jabbos81]

En 30/12/2022 a las 2:06, Wolf_pd dijo:

Fue inventado por los olmecas, y desde allí se ha extendido por lo que en el año 1800 se conoce como la zona del Virreinato de la Nueva España. Como gran parte de las Américas es española en el momento en que se extiende por las Américas primero y luego a través de los viajes de los marineros españoles y portugueses se introduce en Europa.

Soccer, like writing, was also born in Veracruz
The Olmec Giant Heads prove it, colossal busts of the rulers of the area (Veracruz, Tabasco, Oaxaca, Chiapas, etc.) carved by artisans of the time in giant blocks that weigh up to 40 tons each and that in many cases were moved uphill by Olmec workers and engineers..

If thinking about how the Egyptians did to build the pyramids is still a mystery, the same applies to the Olmecs.

Following the discovery, an attempt was made in France to lift and drag a 32-tonne block of stone 40 meters: it took the force of 250 men to achieve it.

In Indonesia they also wanted to verify it and summoned 325 men to move 4 kilometers, but uphill, a monument that 'only' weighed 9 tons. They could only advance at the rate of one kilometer per day. Almost like the Myth of Sisyphus, anyway...

All these experiments showed that the Olmecs were not only an intelligent and prosperous civilization but also organized. His physical condition was enviable.

The oldest pyramid in Mexico was built by the Olmecs and is located in La Venta.

Mexican writing
Cerro Manatí is one of the most important archaeological sites of the Olmec culture. It is located in the municipality of Hidalgotitlán, in Veracruz, 15 km southeast of the Olmec center of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan.

According to experts, this was a sacred place for the Olmecs, and they made sacrifices to their gods there at least since 1600 BC. c.

In that place, 12 balls for sports use were found, of various sizes (the largest is 31 centimeters in diameter), proof that they were the ones who invented the famous sport that would later be described by the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Mayas and that would leave several balls marked on the walls of the archi famous Ball Court of the 'new' Chichén Itzá, from the year 600 of our era.

Mexico. The Olmecs had writing in 1500 BC, two hundred years after the oldest record in Europe. They were religious, hunters and farmers, with a strong political presence in the region.
The discovery of another seven smaller balls, linked to ax handles, revealed that the Olmecs discovered vulcanization by adding the sap of the Ipomea alba plant, a vine with white flowers, very rich in sulfur, to hot rubber.

And, to conclude, the Olmecs could have been the advanced civilization that they were because they ate very well.

Throughout the San Lorenzo area, archaeological remains of corn seeds, seeds of various fruits such as custard apples and a squash stalk, as well as seeds of cucumbers, watermelons and pumpkins were found.

It is believed that between 1400-1250 B.C. The Olmecs already cultivated corn. That means they were sedentary, but had not yet given up hunting, fishing, and gathering wild vegetation for food. Its agriculture was incipient.

[Jabbos81]

En 4/1/2023 a las 15:38, Wolf_pd dijo:

Nación: Nahua
Nombre largo oficial: Estados Unidos Nahuan
Idioma(s): Español y muchas lenguas indígenas
Capital: Tenochtitlán
Estadio nacional: Estadio Azteca
Nación limítrofe: en el norte de California y Texas, en el sur de Yucatán. Nahua limita con el Océano Pacífico al oeste y el Mar Caribe al este.

Advertencia: Como puede notar, aparecerán varias configuraciones para otros países. Napoleón y su intromisión en Europa aparecerán unas cuantas veces más.
Advertencia 2: lectura larga

Si bien nuestra historia en FM comienza en 1800, tendremos que remontarnos a las raíces del fútbol, o juego de pelota de pasto como también se le conoce en nahua.
El juego de pelota mesoamericano, el predecesor bien documentado del fútbol, fue inventado por los olmecas que vivían en lo que ahora es la zona fronteriza entre Nahua y Yucatán. Desde allí se extendió de norte a sur hasta el punto en que se pueden encontrar antiguas canchas de pelota desde el sur de Mosquite Coast hasta Arizona. Cuando los conquistadores llegaron a los imperios azteca y maya, rápidamente reconocieron el significado religioso y ritual del juego. Sin embargo, no supieron reconocer la naturaleza pacífica del juego. Antes de las conquistas españolas, muchos conflictos se libraban en las canchas de pelota en lugar de en el campo de batalla. Como la iglesia católica instó a las nuevas tierras a convertirse a la fe católica, se prohibió el juego de pelota. Los españoles no se dieron cuenta de que el juego de pelota todavía estaba muy vivo, solo que en una forma diferente.
Las canchas de pelota se usarían para muchas ocasiones, como mercados, reuniones, fiestas y no se podrían usar para prácticas o juegos cuando los jugadores del juego de pelota quisieran. Por eso existió el juego de pelota de hierba. Era la forma de práctica del juego de pelota. Cuando los españoles prohibieron el juego de pelota, el juego de pelota de hierba cobró fuerza. Los opresores españoles lo vieron como una manera inocente de hacer ejercicio para los nativos. El juego de pelota de hierba se jugaría sobre la hierba y la tierra entre las casas de las ciudades y los pueblos. Todo lo que necesitaban era una casa con una cubierta sobre el porche y dos postes para sostener la cubierta y otra casa cercana con la misma configuración. Los historiadores han descubierto que el ancho general de una casa era de unos 7 a 7,5 metros, mientras que el techo tendría una altura de unos 2,4 metros. Como los tamaños de las porterías pueden diferir ligeramente entre ambos lados, Los lados cambiarían de objetivo a intervalos. Una cuchilla de pecarí inflada se cubriría con la savia del árbol de hevea para usarla como pelota. Esta pelota de vejiga era mucho más liviana que la pelota de goma sólida utilizada en el juego de pelota. También lo hizo mucho más fácil de controlar y patear. Una ventaja adicional fue que se evitaron daños a las casas. ¡Nada peor que patear accidentalmente la puerta de tu vecino después de todo!

En los años de la colonización la zona era conocida como Virreinato de la Nueva España. De manera lenta pero segura, surgió un sistema de castas en el que los españoles nacidos en España (también conocidos como peninsulares) ocuparían todos los puestos altos, mientras que los españoles nacidos en el Virreinato (conocidos como nuevos españoles) recibirían los puestos menores. La organización azteca y maya se mantuvo en su lugar, pero solo como convenía a los españoles. Los nuevos españoles se interesaron por el juego de pelota de hierba o fútbol, como se lo conocía ahora, organizando pequeñas competiciones en las ciudades más grandes. El primer partido de competencia de fútbol se llevó a cabo en Ciudad de México** el jueves 17 de junio de 1779. Aún no había competencia entre ciudades y obviamente no había competencia a nivel virreinal. Los equipos nahuanos de esa época también lo hacían en toda la ciudad, pero no se les permitía jugar contra los equipos novohispanos. En la competencia de Nahuan se estaban llevando a cabo discusiones para recuperar las reuniones originales del juego de pelota como eran antes de que llegaran los españoles, pero en ese momento a los nahuans se les prohibió salir de sus territorios designados. Se necesitaron varios años para anular esto. Mientras tanto se intercambiaban ideas, se establecían horarios, para que cuando los nahuas recuperaran su libertad de movimiento se retomaran las fiestas deportivas lo antes posible.

Mientras tanto, las tensiones en el Virreinato iban en aumento. Los nuevos españoles estaban resentidos con los peninsulares por su poder, y los nahuas estaban resentidos con los españoles por ser su opresor. En 1802, en un intento de aliviar las tensiones con los nahuans, a los nahuans se les permitió la libertad de movimiento. Para evitar sospechas, sólo en las zonas más alejadas de las miradas indiscretas españolas se jugaron los primeros partidos de competición nahuana. ¡Nació el Torneo de Fútbol Nahuan!

La Guerra Peninsular en España cuando Napoleón invadió España creó un vacío de poder que llevó a los nuevos españoles a intentar arrebatarle el control a los peninsulares. Al ver la oportunidad, el pueblo nahuan se unió y comenzó la Guerra de Independencia de México. La competencia de Nahuan fue cancelada durante el primer año de la guerra. Sin embargo, aunque el conflicto duraría 11 años, en muchas regiones el pueblo nahua tomaría el control de la zona y los peninsulares, al ver que no recibirían el apoyo de la España peninsular, los abandonarían. El resultado fue que el conflicto se convirtió principalmente en una guerra entre los nuevos españoles y los peninsulares, mientras que los nahuas y los antiguos esclavos miraban y limpiaban el desorden después de que los grupos combatientes abandonaran el área. Esta relativa paz hizo que los nahuas ya en 1812 reiniciaran las competencias del juego de pelota.

Este imperio duró poco pues ya en 1823 fue reemplazado por la Primera República Mexicana. El mismo año se produciría la primera división en el juego de pelota de hierba cuando la República Federal de Centroamérica se separó de la República Mexicana. En 1841 Yucatán proclamaría la independencia y se uniría a la República Federal de Centroamérica. La declaración de independencia de Yucatán fue el resultado de una exitosa secesión anterior cuando Texas abandonó la república mexicana después de una breve revolución. Hay rumores de que Estados Unidos intervino en esto, pero no se han probado. Texas fue anexado por los Estados Unidos en 1845, lo que introdujo el fútbol en los Estados Unidos. Los Estados Unidos observaron más propiedades inmobiliarias mexicanas, lo que resultó en la guerra entre México y Estados Unidos. La ganancia estadounidense del área de California fortaleció el punto de apoyo del juego de pelota de hierba en los Estados Unidos y aseguró un impulso más fuerte del juego hacia el este y el norte. Pero Nahua*** no perdería más área.

** Tenochtitlán pasó a llamarse Ciudad de México porque a los españoles les resultó más fácil de pronunciar.
*** Después de la guerra mexicano-estadounidense, México cambió su nombre a nahua para eliminar la connotación humillante de la guerra, Tenochtitlán y otras ciudades fueron renombradas con sus nombres anteriores a la colonización.

What a great epic!

lovely historical read

[Wolf_pd]

Nation: Tawantinsuyu
Offical long name: The Realm of Tawantinsuyu
Language(s): Spanish, Quechua, Aymara and various indigenous languages
Capital: Qusqu
National stadium: Estadio Túpac Amaru II
Borders: north Colombia, east Brazil, west Pacific Ocean, south Bolivia

The Viceroyalty of Peru started of as the largest Viceroyalty in South America, but would be cut up when the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created. The area remaining would be the core area of the former Incan empire. Again, Napoleon invading Spain would start things off. However, contrary to most South American nations the Viceroyalty of Peru would remain loyal to Spain. The Viceroyalty would reincorporate areas from Upper Peru (Bolivia), Ecuador and the Captaincy General of Chile into the Viceroyalty of Peru. The tide would turn in 1820 when a combined force of Río de la Platians, Chileans and free Peruvians would invade from the coast. By 1824 the loyalists would only control the highlands, but fighting had come to a standstill. The Incans who had suffered greatly after the Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II in the 1780s saw this as the moment to strike both parties and gain back control over the old Inca empire. In 1826 they declared the insurrection to be over when both the loyalists departed for Spain and the American born Spaniards surrendered to them. 10 years later the establishment of the Incan Confederation of Peru and Bolivia led to war as neighbours Chile and Río de la Plata saw the new nation as a potential military and economic threat. Dissolving the confederation after 3 years would leave Peru on its own again. In 1841 the American born Spaniards attempted to take over Bolivia so Peru and Bolivia would be one again. When that attempt failed in 1842 and the Spanish Peruvians were beaten back, the Peruvian government intervened and as extra punishment forbade the Spanish language. The language ban would be overturned in two years, but the government woudl also change the name of the nation of Peru to Tawantinsuyu in an attempt to de-spanify the nation.

Tawantinsuyu would see its greatest results in the 1970s when Teófilo Cubillas was the star of the team, winning the Copa America and taking part in three consecutive World Cups. 

Coming up next is Bolivia.

[Wolf_pd]

Nation: Bolivia
Offical long name: Plurinational State of Bolivia
Language(s): Spanish, Quechua. Aymara, Guarani and various indigenous languages
Capital: La Paz
National stadium: Estadio Simón Bolívar
Borders: north Tawantinsuyu, east Brazil, west Pacific Ocean, south Araucania, Río de la Plata and Uruguay

Even though the war for indepence in Bolivia started with in 1809, it wouldn't be until 1825 that Bolivia was created. The nation of Bolivia was named after Simón Bolívar, the military and political leader who took part in the independence struggles of South America. Bolívar at that time had just been ousted from Peru and was not willing to accept the Bolivian independence to avoid any backlash from Peru. As the indepence war had wrecked the economy the new nation was instable and faced neighbours who were very keen on recovering areas they considered theirs as Bolivia had previously been part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata and the Captaincy General of Chile at various times. The forming of the Incan Confederation of Peru and Bolivia led to immediate intervention from Río de la Plata and Chile and after 3 years Bolivia was on its own again. Despite limited resources Bolivia would be on the winning side of conflicts with Río de la Plata, Chile (later Araucania) and Paraguay which ensured access to the Pacific Ocean and the Chaco region which was thought to contain oil deposits.

Bolivian football fortunes are closely linked to their home advantage. La Paz is at an elevation of 3640 metres and while the Bolivian players are used to playing at that elevation their opponents usually are not. This advantage gave Bolivia a Copa America win in the 60s and a lost Copa America final in the 90s. Despite Bolivian request the American football federation CONAMAF has been hesitant to let Bolivia organize another Copa America. The advantage has not been shown in the Copa Libertadores as the home and away mitigates the elevation advantage.

Next up is Araucania

[Wolf_pd]

Instead of a nation reveal, some file and building notes

In the meantime I am slowly setting up the international football calender. It is for the World and American competitions right now. In a sense, it is the same as I did for the Iron Curtain, except that in this case I have full freedom and don't have to look at a previous incarnation. It is a puzzle for sure though and that's only for one calender. The point is that the calender already puts a framework in place and you have to keep in mind how the national competitions runs to avoid things ending up stuck.

Alternatively and it is a thought I have been entertaining is to have international games during the competition which would mean a definite disadvantage for the stronger. However....., if I am doing that, I need to decide early on as building competitions and then decide things need to be different is not the best way to go.

On that note, since America can exist standalone, I have already started setting up the base files. These are things are like adding cities to local regions, adding local regions (where needed) to nations and adding cities to clubs. Since I am going to move cities and local regions between nations this is needed before I can even start on clubs editing and competitions. It is a good way to jump between projects so I can take some time off from the Iron Curtain to refresh my mind.

Tomorrow I expect some nation reveals and this week should probably see them all for Southern America. I still have some puzzles to solve in the Caribbean, but I think I have some interesting solutions to change the balance.

On that note, another file I will have to start is the nationality part (the people file). It will be the file with the biggest amount of changes and the biggest amount of errors between each FM version, so the earlier I get a headstart, the better. The positive thing is that except for moving players between teams (this will be done when the project is close to completion) most changes can be made already. It can already show what the balance change is based on the existing nation. I have one Caribbean nation that should really become much stronger.

[Jorgen]

@Wolf_pd What will you do with the teams originally from French Guyana, Martinique, etc who are allowed to participate in the Coupe de France?

[Wolf_pd]

They won't be allowed to that anymore, but that's for different reasons and will come up by the time we hit Europe.

Martinique and Guadeloupe will be part of another nation.

[Wolf_pd]

Nation: Araucanía
Offical long name: Republic of Araucanía and Patagonia
Language(s): Spanish, Mapuche, Quechua. Aymara
Capital: Santiago
National stadium: Estadio Lef-Traru
Borders: north Bolivia, east Río de la Plata, west Pacific Ocean, south Antarctica

The nation of Araucanía would start of as the Captaincy General of Chile. Just as elsewhere in South America the Napoleonic invasion of Spain would provide the spark for simmering unrest. The region would gain independence as Chile in 1810, but would be reconquered by Spain by 1814 again. In 1818 once again Chile declared independence and would be lead by Bernardo O'Higgins for the next 5 years, until O'Higgins was deposed by a conversative government.
Another Frenchmen would end up the defining character in the history of Araucanía. In the 1830's and 1840s the Chileans would expand their influence southwards both on the westside and eastside of the Andes. This area was mostly inhabited by the Mapuche people who were known for their resistance against the Spanish, but were on better terms with the Chileans.
Enter Antoine Tounens. Antoine Tounens was a French adventurer who took a look at the map of Southern South America and considered the Araucanía and Patagonia not belonging to any other state and in 1860 proclaimed himself the King of Araucanía and Patagonia. Initially the Mapuches chuckled about this silly Frenchman, but took the message to heart. The Chilean army quickly responded by arresting and declaring Antoine de Tounens insane. They also set up a series of military campaigns to incorporate the Mapuche area into Chile. From the start this turned out to be the wrong decision. While the Mapuches were not as well armed as the Chileans, they were masters in the ambush tactic. Time and again this would gain them Chilean weaponry and allow to fight on equal footing with the Chilean army. The result was a prolonged guerilla war which would take until 1883 when the Mapuches occupied the final Chilean stronghold, Santiago. Minor skirmishes and Chilean uprisings would be beaten down until the Mapuche government ensured the governance of the whole of the now named nation of Araucanía.

Araucanía is the second oldest football association in South America, behind Rio de la Plata. The first South American championship (Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol), played between Brazil, Uruguay, Río de la Plata and Araucanía would be played in Santiago with Uruguay winning. Another highlight was Araucanía hosting the World Cup where they managed to win the third place playoff. Despite this success it took until the 21st century until Araucanía would win the Copa America.

Next up is Río de la Plata