corinthiano

June 2064 We are really hitting a stride, I never expected us to go 100% this month with the performance away to CS Duguwolofila particularly pleasing as we went down, clawed the game back and then made it work when it mattered, scoring twice in the last 5 mins. Next Fixtures We finish the season with fixtures mostly against teams lower down the table and will try to see if we can move up to 5th place.

May 2064 What a great month, with comfortable victories against the sides lower down the table and we even ran CO Bamako close at their place. Next Fixtures June is going to be a lot tougher but hopefully we can get something out of our home games.

April 2064 The month went a bit better than expected with 7 points picked up and two away defeats which we saw coming. We are nicely settled into mid-table right now. Next Fixtures A few kinder fixtures this month which hopefully means we can pick up a fair few points.

March 2064 A frustrating month as we only collect 4 points in the league and are knocked out in the Coupe du Mali at the first time of asking by Yeelen Olympique. Next Fixtures A month with a tough set of pictures, main aim is to keep a healthy distance to the relegation spots.

February 2064 We lose a tight game againt Mamahira AC but then finally end a 7 game winless run against USFAS with a convincing performance. Next Fixtures We start our Coupe du Mali campaign this month and were handed a tricky draw against fellow Ligue 1 side Yeelen Olympique.

January 2064 We thought it was going to be a tough month and were proved right, with just one goal scored and 2 points picked up that see us drop down to 10th place. Transfers In Out Another foreign slot opened up due to nationalization so I moved quickly to get a decent young midfielder in Decimus Pathinvo. Other than that we just got more cover for our full-back position and released another non-contract player. Next Fixtures Just a couple of fixtures in February after the break, I am hoping we can end our winless run here.

November/December 2063 We started with a heavy loss against Stade Malien as expected, but actually had a very decent December after that, grinding out some good results and remaining unbeaten to finish the month in a lofty 6th place. Transfers In Out Musa Joof is a Gambian international with Malian citizenship so when I spotted him I decided to make a move despite the transfer window only opening in 2 weeks time. On the outgoing front Claude was on a non-contract and nowhere near good enough, so when he complained about playing time releasing him made sense. Next Fixtures Some tough fixtures before we head into the mid-season break.

2063/64 Season Preview The league in Mali has 18 teams and we also have a cup to contend with so there will be a few more games than in Guinea. The Media have us down as a mid-table team but I think our squad is not the greatest and with 4 teams going and the board just wanting to avoid relegation that will exactly be our aim this season. Transfers In Out This feels like the worst transfer window of the save for Kojo. With it taking some time to hire staff and a transfer deadline fast approaching we took a lot of shots in the dark and overpaid for a lot of players. The squad still feels fragile at best so lets hope it is enough for us to keep to our goals and build something from. These players make the First XI: The best right back I could find. Not great but considering we had no one in the position at the club I cant really complain. I can't believe I paid money for him, but again no one in the position when we joined the club so it is what it is. Our most expensive signing and whilst we probably overpaid he is actually a decent AP. Best XI Dont match much of what my Assistant thinks but what this highlights is that whilst we are good up front and with centre backs, the rest of the positions lack quality. Initial Fixtures Nothing like hosting the best club in the country followed by a December marathon to get us started. We'll have a good idea of where we are by the end of December.

Avenir A.C. de Tombouctou Avenir AC de Tombouctou is a club from the historic city of Timbuktu on the edge of the Sahara Desert. As usual not much is known about them other than them being founded in 1975 and being nicknamed Les Verts in allusion to the clubs colors. They are the biggest club in Timbuktu but never made much of a mark in Malian Ligue 1, pre-save with 10th placed finishes in 2015/16 and 2019/20 their best campaigns. Since the save began fortunes are not better as they only managed to avoid relegation once when they got promoted, finishing 14th in 2036/37 before being relegated in the next season. Avenir AC play their games at the Stade Municipal de Tombouctou, a small council owned stadium which is shared by the cities teams. Top Rated Players Again with not staff I am going by the highest market values. Decent midfielder with good physicals for this level. Versatile, could play at the back or as DLP for us. Young attacking midfielder, doesnt look too exciting. Finances Plenty of room left in the wage budget which is great. Initial Fixtures We have 2 months until our first game at home against the might Stade Malien, plenty of work to do until then!

2062/63 West African Review CAF Champions League We have 6 teams from West Africa at this stage and oddly they were separated into 2 groups, with 3 of them making it through. The gigantic duo of Ghana are missing here again... All three West Africans make it to the Semi Finals and CNEPS Excellence get past Kano Pillars and ASEC Mimosas to win their second Champions League! CAF Confederation Cup 5 West Africans here, with 3 of them from Ghana, with Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak making it out of here along Enyimba Aba. Hearts of Oak avenged last seasons Semi Final defeat to Asante Kotoko to make it to the final and claim their record breaking 8th Confederation Cup. West African League Rankings Impressive movement as the top as the top two leagues in Africa are from West Africa and 3 out of the top 5 are from the region too. League Champions Kojo again is the only one to claim a new champion as the big sides keep being big. Former Champions MC Breweries: A set back from last season as they drop to 6th and are knocked out in the First Round of the LFA Cup. Kamboi Eagles: Average season from them as they finish 9th in the SLPL. Nô Pintcha da Brava: Terrible in the Liga Brava, finishing 4th from 7 and out early in the Taça Brava too. AFC Nhacra: Were not able to defend their title, finishing 4th and went out early in the cup too. Ayéma FC: Fail to qualify for the Championship Group for a second successive year and this year dont even do that well in the Relegation Group, although they were 8 points ahead of the drop. CNEPS Excellence: Another excellent season as they claim a treble of Ligue 1, Coupe du Senegal and Champions League! Banjul Utd: Great season as they finish 4th in the First Division. ASN NIGELEC: Back in the top flight and managed to avoid relegation by finishing 11th. Unisport: A better performance as they finish 3rd. CFFEB: A slow start meant they couldnt defend their title and finished second. They were disappointing in the Champions League, losing in the Preliminary Round but had a good Coupe du Faso, losing in the final on penalties to ASFA-Yennenga.

Chapter 12 - Mali Mali is a landlocked country in West African that borders Algeria to the Northeast, Niger and Burkina Faso to the East, Ivory Coast to the Southeast, Guinea and Senegal to the West and Mauritania to the Northwest. It is the 8th largest country in Africa by landmass and has close to 22 million inhabitants. French is the official language of Mali, but there are 13 other native languages recognized officially, with Bambara the most widely spoken one. The name Mali derives from the Mali Empire, who along with the Ghana Empire and Songhai Empire was part of the three empires that controlled the Trans-Saharan trade. At its peak in 1300 Mali was the wealthiest empire in not just Africa, but the entire world, with its leader Mansa Musa believed to be one of the wealthiest individuals at that time. At the time Mali was not just an economic powerhouse, but also a cultural center, with the university in Timbuktu one of the oldest still active. The Mali empire gradually lost power in late 14th century until being overtaken by the Songhai Empire. In the late 19th century Mali began to fall under control of France and by 1905 most of its area was recognized as French Sudan, by 1960 Mali and Senegal joined to form the Mali Federation to seek independence from France. After independence was granted the countries separated, leaving the Republic of Mali to be led by Modibo Keita, who established a socialist one party stated focused on extensive nationalization. Moussa Traoré took over in a bloodless coup in 1968 and led the country from there until 1991. During that time there were several coup attempts and protests, which were retaliated violently by him. At the end of his reign he was sentenced to death for the mass killings which happened in the 1991 protests. In 1992 the first democratic election in Mali happened after which an almost 30 year period of stable democracy followed. In 2012 there were attempts by the Tuareg and later islamists linked to al-qaeda to take control over Northern Mali, but with the help of French intervention the Mali government took back control of Timbuktu. Since then there has been constant unrest in Norther and Central Mali. This spread to national unrest in the 2018 elections, with claims of irregularities there was a coupe d'etats in 2020 and 2021, with Mali's military leader Assimi Goita sworn in as president. Due to international protests that followed Mali closed its borders in 2022 and recalled several of their ambassadors from ECOWAS countries. There have been numerous reports of executions in Mali, including the presence of Russia mercenary Wagner Group. There are also close links between Russia now with a recent visit of the foreign minister to Mali and Mali being one of only 7 countries to vote against the motion from the UN for Russia to withdraw troops from the Ukraine. Mali's economy is vastly dependent on agriculture and is one of the poorest nations in the world. It's biggest export by a distance is gold, accounting for over 90% of everything that is exported. Due to the recent conflicts Mali's tourism has declined, however it is a cultural hotbed due to the histoy of the Mali empire. Timbuktu was a world centre of Islamic learning between the 13th and 17th centuries. Football in Mali Football is the most popular sport in Mali, with the popularity peaking in 2002 when Mali hosted the African Cup of Nations. Pre-save their best performance was a runners-up spot in 1972 with no World Cup appearances, but since then they have won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2055 and made 5 appearances at the World Cup, which includes a last 16 appearance in 2046. The domestic league was quickly established after independence and has been completely dominated by the teams from the capital Bamako and in particular Stade Malien and Djoliba who had 23 titles each pre-save, with the only other winning team being Real Bamako with 6. That dominance has continued, particularly for Stade Malien who have now won the last 14 national titles and are walking towards the 15th in a row. The only clubs to break that dominance have been Yeelen Olympique, who are the first team outside of Bamako to lift a title, and Onze Créateurs. Mali also only has one active league in the game, but with so few teams having won the title and it being an 18 team league there should be more options to pick from. It certainly will be a lot harder to get a job though. With the season still ongoing Kojo will wait for the end of season movements to see if any opportunities arise.

2062/63 Season Review Somewhat surprisingly we finish first as a newly promoted side. We did have a few strong players in the initial squad and did make good improvements to the first team, but didnt have any sort of depth. The short season and the fact that the Guinean league is relatively balanced right now helped push us through comfortably in the end. Squad by Appearances With a short season we didnt use that many players very often, which was a good thing. Best XI Two big names on the bench, Tchato I dont understand as he was sublime when he joined halfway through the season, but Sirima was dropped at around the same point as he was our biggest underperformer disappointingly. Awards Not that many awards for Flamme Olympique as Pedro Sano from Horoya AC wins both Best Player and Best Young Player of the Year. We do have 6 of the Best XI though and Kojo collects another Manager of the Year award for his collection. Top Performers I debated whether to put him on here as he only played 11 games due to injury, but he played so well in those that I think he deserves a mention. We brought in two strikers but it was the one here already that consistently delivered as Faouly scored some decisive goals. I didnt rate him but the Mozambican international played really well throughout the season. Finances Looks nice and rosy now at the end of the season but that is only because the board put in close to $500k into the club. Progress After long spells in the previous two countries it is nice to get one done so quickly, especially as I think the last 4 remaining ones are going to take a long time considering the big dominant teams we will have to de-throne. Up next we move inland to Mali!

April/May 2063 Absolutely walked the last 4 games and ended up with a surprisingly comfortable 9 point lead at the top to complete Guinea in the first season!

March 2063 Another excellent month as we dont concede any goals, win 3 and get a great point at Fello Star. Between that and Fello Star losing to Horoya AC we are now 5 points ahead with 4 games to go and in prime position to win the league at the first time of asking. Next Fixtures We have 3 away games to finish the season, but all games are against teams in the lower half, so we do have to fancy our chances here.

February 2063 The month started a bit rocky as we let a 3 goal lead slip against Horoya AC in a crucial game and then were beat late on at FC Séquence. But we rallied on from there and with our rivals inconsistent now sit a point clear at the top with 8 games to go. Next Fixtures We go back to one game a week in March and have a crucial game at Fello Star we need to get at least a point from.

January 2063 Two comfortable wins means we are keeping pace with Horoya AC and Fello Star. Transfers In Again only incoming transfers as we desperately needed some depth which I got through loans. Two foreign signings come in for the first team on a free. Isaac Kanu becoma a Guinean national in December and whilst we had other priorities to fill the squad Tchato was too good a talent to pass up on. Adebowale got an injury which would see him out for 8 weeks 2 days before transfer deadline, with no decent back-ups available and key games coming up I signed up Marcos to fill the gap at least until the end of the season. Next Fixtures A busy February will decide if we are going to be in the title mix towards the end of the season, especially if we can beat Horoya AC.

December 2062 A decent month for us which keeps us in a decent position. The draw against Milo FC was a bit frustrating as a goal in literally the last kick of the game denied us what would have been a great result. Milestones Next Fixtures Just a couple of games before the mid-season break.

November 2062 Gotta be happy with 9 out of 12 points, especially considering that against Horoya AC we were the better team, but just werent as clinical. Next Fixtures West African leagues love cramming games into December and Guinea is no different. Our squad is thin so lets hope all key players stay fit.

2062/63 Season Preview We were predicted 7th when Kojo took over and after signings made are predicted 4th, with the board also expecting a top half finish. This all seems like a lot for a promoted side but we did make some good signings. With only a 14 team league to play and no cups, seasons will be short here. The dynamic in the league also feels weird and is probably why it has slid down the rankings in the last few years. You are allowed 10 foreigners in the squad, way more than any other league so far, which is great but has resulted in a lot of overage foreign players around the league and a lack of good Guineans. It was really hard to find them and you had to pay a bit of money to get them in. Some of the also get paid a lot, there is one midfielder in Fello Star that earns $17.25k per month, which is insane for West Africa. Anyway, I feel we made some good signings in the first window and hopefully can get that mid-table finish. Transfers In With a small squad we only brought players in. First we focused on filling the biggest gaps in the First XI with the unallocated foreign slots we had, bringing in some familiar faces in the process. Then towards the end of the transfer window we focused on bringing in some Guinean talent, which was hard to find. We had to pay for two signings but I think they will be worth it. Here is who make our First XI. My scouts rated him highly, turns out he is not that great, but does make starting spot at right back. Signed him as a youngster back at Unisport, he has developed into a great player and will be our Mezzala. Great young and versatile Guinean. Have him as our BBM right now but can slot him as DLP or at the back if needed. When I saw he was still available I had to bring him in, so happy to have our Burkinabe goal machine. Another great young Guinean, will slot next to Sirima at DLF, but can also play AP if needed. Best XI Me and the assistant are not on the same page on where to play Barry, with me having him in midfield and pushing Zangré up to AP. Initial Fixtures Not sure what to expect, we should in theory have a good side, lets see how that plays out.

I don't know where in the US you live but the pitches my daughter plays at here in California are way better than where I used to play as a kid in the UK haha Love the crazy ideas as usual @Makoto Nakamura

2061/62 West African Review CAF Champions League It was always going to be difficult to follow up from 9 teams at this stage last season, but a drop to 5 is significant, with the biggest absence the Ghanaian sides. 3 teams made it to this stage, all three on the same side of the draw. CNEPS Excellence knocked out the other two before being edged out by ES Tunis, who win their 10th Champions League and first since 2046. CAF Confederation Cup Some of the sides dropped down here as we had 7 West African sides, however only the Ghanaian gigantic duo and Kano Pillars made it past this stage. At least here we have West African success as Asante Kotoko beat their arch rivals in the Semi Final before dispatching Orlando Pirates to win their second Confederation Cup. West African League Rankings No movements between leagues but Nigeria climbs into the African top 3 whilst Burkina Faso closes the gap on Mali. League Champions The only new champion is CFFEB's Kojo as in the top leagues the successful sides hold more of a grip. Former Champions MC Breweries: Another good year with a 3rd place finish and a Quarter Final LFA Cup campaign. Kamboi Eagles: Another step up from last season as they finish second, only 4 points off top spot. Nô Pintcha da Brava: Failed to win the Liga Brava again, but at least claimed the Taça Brava this season. AFC Nhacra: Back at the top as they win their 6th title, but get knocked out early in the cup. Ayéma FC: Fail to qualify for the Championship Group for a second successive year and this year dont even do that well in the Relegation Group, although they were 8 points ahead of the drop. CNEPS Excellence: An amazing season where they were one game from a perfect quadruple. In the end ES Tunis edged them out in the Champions League Final but they claimed the domestic treble! Banjul Utd: Manage to stay up comfortably this time as they finish 9th. ASN NIGELEC: Spent a year in the unplayable leagues, TBD on them coming back up. Unisport: At least they finished a place better than last season, claiming 5th place.

Flamme Olympique de Guinée Flamme Olympique de Guinée is a club from the Guinean capital Conakry. Founded in 2009 there is, as usual in this save, not a lot of information about the club, other than a Facebook page that seems quite entertaining. Fomr the little information I found it seems to be a bit of a yoyo club between the top two tiers, something that continued throughout the save, despite a recent 3rd place finish in 2059 the club was relegated two seasons later and is back in the big time again. They got promoted with Santoba FC, who also offered Kojo a job but had a small wage budget compared to what Flamme Olympique put on the table. Flamme Olympique play their games at the Stade du 28 Septembre, which is where the national team plays, as well as Horoya AC and 3 more Ligue 1 teams. It definitely has more than the capacity needed for Flamme Olympique. Top Rate Players With no staff whatsoever and few players I am just going to show the 3 with the highest market value. Looks like a good left back but already signaled he may leave at the end of the season. Looks to be a decent striker. Versatile player, which will be important this first season. Finances The club has a little bit of money and a very big wage budget, but I am not sure how sustainable that will be. Initial Fixtures Good thing there are over 3 months before the first game as there are few players and zero staff at the club. Lots of work between here and November.

Chapter 11 - Guinea Guinea is a country in West Africa that borders Guinea-Bissau to the Northwest, Senegal to the North, Mali to the Northeast, Ivory Coast to the Southeast and Liberia and Sierra Leone to the South. It was formerly known as French Guinea before independence in 1958 and is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry in reference to the name of its capital and to distinguish itself from the other Guineas in the region. French is the official language, but there are 24 native languages spoken in the country, with Susu, Pular and Maninka the most popular ones. There are around 13 million inhabitants in the country, most of which live in the capital Conakry, with a population of 1.6 million. What is now Guinea was at the fringe of various West African empires before colonization, such as Sosso, Mali and Songhai Empires. European traders started using the cape for slave trade in the 17th century, with French colonization of the area beginning in the middle of the 19th century and made official in 1898. In 1958 the French Republic gave its colonies the option of independence or autonomy in a new French Community and unlike most colonies Guinea chose independence. In reaction and to make Guinea an example to other colonies the French took everything they could from Guinea, going as far as unscrewing lightbulbs and burning medicine. As a result Guinea aligned itself to the Soviet Union and China and created a socialist government, that ruled under one party for 24 years under the leadership of Sékou Touré. After his death in 1984 there was a bloodless coup, with colonel Lansana Conté taking leadership of the country. Despite announcing a return to civilian rule in 1993, several maneuvers to undermine elections and extend his terms had him viewed as a dictator in the country. He did remain in power until his death in 2008, after which another coup followed and Moussa Dadis Camara declared himself leader of the state and head of the military junta. Violent protests followed, which led the army to kill 157 people. After an aide shot Camara in 2009 as result of the violent actions there was an attempt to re-establish civilian rule, with elections in 2010 electing Alpha Condé as the new president. Despite the attempted return to democracy violent protests became the norm in protest of transparency with regards to elections. In 2021 Colonel Mamadou Doumbouya seized control of state television and declared that the government of Alpha Condé had been dissolved. Despite protests from the UN, EU, AU and ECOWAS he was sworn in as interim president. Due to all instability the economy of Guinea is mainly reliant on export of prime materials. It holds up to half of the world bauxite reserves and has large deposits of iron ore. diamonds, gold and uranium, however widespread corruption makes it difficult for widespread investment to extract these resources. Tourism is also limited in the country, despite the numerous beaches and waterfalls with natural beauty. The Labé falls are one of the moust famous attractions in the country. Football in Guinea Football is the most popular sport in Guinea. The national team, known as the Syli Nationale (National Elephants), have never reach a World Cup pre-save, with their best African Nations campaign a runner-up spot in 1976, In-game they reached another Africa Nations Cup Final in 2033, but finished runners-up again. They have also reached their 4th World Cup in 2062, although they never progressed past the Group Stage. The Guinée Championnat National was established in 1965, with Horoya AC, Hafia FC and AS Kaloum Star being the dominant forces from Conakry pre-save. The seventies was also a golden era for club football as Hafia FC won three African titles and Horoya AC won a African Cup Winners Cup. In-game Horoya AC also won a Confederation Cup in 2028 and was a dominant force in the country until the 2040s, since then they have declined and over the last decade the new dominant team in the country is Fello Star, winning the title in 6 of the last 7 seasons. Guinea is going to be a lot trickier in terms of getting a job. There is only one playable league in the game and out of the 14 teams in Ligue 1 only 4 have not won the title before, and one of them just got relegated. We'll have to see who becomes eligible once two new teams get promoted but the 3 ones we need to look out for are Soumba FC, Milo FC and Wakriya AC.

2061/62 Season Review A great season where we managed to balance an excellent league campaign with very good African and Cup campaigns. The team just clicked and walked over most opponents, which allowed us to have the odd bad results against the other top teams. Squad by Appearances We had the most games by far in a season with CFFEB, which meant 29 of the 30 registered players got some game time. Having depth proved to be crucial as we managed to navigate a busy schedule and even got through a couple of Coupe du Faso rounds with a rotated team. Best XI A lethal triangle up front supported by an excellent team. Awards As expected we sweep all the awards, with 6 out of the 11 in the Team of the Season and Kojo collects another Manager of the Year in a different country. Top Performers Signing of the season and one of the main reasons we did so well this year, the DLF in my tactic doesnt usually score that many goals but Mamadou was ruthless. Player of the Year and central to everything we did, another great season for Guychel and I am surprised there still isnt interest in him. Moctar the goal machine! Unfortunately it does look like he will leave CFFEB though. Finances This is why it is so important to get to the Group Stages in Africa, $275k prize money wins we turn a very decent profit for the season. Progress 8 seasons in Burkina Faso, with 5 of them at CFFEB. Kojo was 60 days from the longest spell at a club and the time here was great with steady development and in the end a really solid team. Now onto a country whose league has been sliding in recent years, Guinea!

May/June 2062 We carried out our great form and comfortably won our last 3 games to win the Fasofoot D1! We also did well to get to the final of the Coupe du Faso, where we played better but Salitas FC had the lucky break and sealed the win in the second half.