Nvarian Football

## History

Visten Football popped up in Maxe Nvar in the early 1700's, and the people loved it!The sport was an instant success, but the government banned it because it was Visten. So, they created their own sport, that had similar features to Spakeltrev (Visten Football) but changed a lot so it would be a completely different sport. The ball was changed from a circle to an oval and the goals were replaced with a stretch of grass at the end of the field. They called it Spakjamaro. Spakeltrev means 'game of Kelterev' (Kelterev Faigle invented Visten Football), and Spakjamaro means 'game of Jamaro', named after Denavk Jamaro, a politician, and the main inventor of the game. The game gained attention in Vistaain in the 1760's after two politicians saw a game in Maxe Nvar and thought it was amazing. Northeastern Vistaain loved the game, and the Visten government thought it might be a good idea to ban the game for being Nvarian to 'show Maxe Nvar who they were messing with', but they decided against it when they realised that if International tournaments were created, they could beat their rivals at their own game. Vistaain ended up creating the Spakjamaro Cup of Ebrak Nations, (now known as the Nvarian Football Global Cup) where each participating country would create an all-star team of the best players from their country. Maxe Nvar ended up winning the first tournament by a mile, as Vistaain was the only other country that played the game, and the other teams were just Visten Football players or random athletes who had been selected to compete. And in the game Vistaain had been building up to, against Maxe Nvar, they got destroyed- 56 to 12. But the randomly selected athletes ended up loving the game and bringing it back to their home nations, popularising the game even more. By the 1790's, almost all the teams were competitive against the Nvarians, and in 1798, Vistaain finally won it for the first time, defeating Maxe Nvar 6.3-33 to 5.6-31 in the grand final.

Northartica was divided between liking Visten and Nvarian Football, with Spakeltrev being more popular in the North and Spakjamaro in the South. When they were colonised by the Russians, settlers saw Nvarian Football being played by remote villages, and they adopted the game themselves. When they travelled West, to the more populated parts of the country, they discovered Visten Football as well, which became popular among the settlers in the Western part of the country. Nowadays, Visten Football is popular in Western Northartica and Nvarian Football in the East. It was the Northarticans who spread the game to Hildachen and Slavaka.

## Rules

### Playing Field

The game is played on a rectangle grass field which is 130m long and 60m wide, not including the two 10m end zones at the end of the field. There are two lines 35 meters out from each end zone and a centerline at the middle of the ground.

### Players

Each team has 20 players on the field and 5 on the bench. There are unlimited substitutions. Positioning is not strict, players can start out they want. When a player breaks a rule intentionally or attacks another player/spectator/referee they will get a yellow card as a warning, a black card, meaning they are sent off but can be replaced with another player, or a red card, meaning they are sent off and their team goes down one player. Two yellow cards equal a black card.

### Positions

Teams will usually have 3 full forwards, who are always near the attacking end zone, 3 full backs, who are always near the defending end zone, 3 half forwards and half backs, who stay around the 35 meter line , two wingers, two central midfielders and 4 players who are always chasing the ball. Coaches can position players however they like.

### Time

Each game has 2 halves of 40 minutes plus added time. Rather than a clock which counts down and pauses for every stoppage, the clock counts up, with the stoppage time added on top. The teams swap sides at half time. The team with the highest score at the end of the game wins. If the game is a tie, it will be left as a tie. If the game needs an outcome (knockout tournament, finals fixture), there will be two additional “halves” of 10 minutes. If there is still no winner after that, next score wins.

### Equipment

The game is played with an oval, rubber ball, similar in size to one used in Rugby League.

### Game

Each quarter begins with a ‘ruck’. The umpire will throw the ball high into the air, and each team has to try and tap it down. Teams can lift players up, use teammates as launchpads, whatever they want to get the ball down, as long as it isn't interfering with the opposing team's attempt. Once a player has possession of the ball, they can keep possession by:

-         Running with the ball. There are no limits for how far you can run with it.

-         Passing the ball. You can handpass or throw. If an opponent is tackling you, you cannot throw the ball.

-         Kicking the ball. There are no consequences for kicking the ball.

The opposition may try to get the ball back by:

-         Intercepting a pass.

-         Tackling an opposition player. If the opposition player is unable to get the ball free from a tackle, a ruck will be called. If the player can get the ball free, they must handpass (no throwing out of tackles, remember!) or kick the ball out from the tackle. Failing to do either will result in a free against them. If your tackle is around the neck or head, tripping the opposing player, pushing or shoving the opponent, slinging them around or intentionally aggressive or violent the opponent receives a free.

### Boundaries

If the full ball crosses the boundary line on the side of the ground, the team who did not last touch the ball will be awarded a free from where it went out. If the ball goes out on the end of the field, behind the end zone, a kick-in is called, where the defending team gets a free from the end of the field, before the end zone.

### Free Kicks and Penalties

A free is called whenever someone breaks a rule, the ball goes out of bounds, etc. When you get a free, you have 10 seconds where you have the ball, and no one is allowed within 10 meters of you. If they interfere, you get a 20-meter penalty and you are moved 20-meters up the field. If a rule is broken within 10 meters of the attacking team's end zone, a penalty is called. When there is a penalty, the ball is placed on the ground and the two teams line up on opposing sides. The penalty will start with a player on the opposing team flicking the ball up to a teammate. For a penalty, you only have to carry the ball over the line to score like a touchdown in NFL. If you throw or kick the ball over the line and a teammate catches it, you get a goal. If you run the ball over the line, you get a goal, if you throw or kick the ball over the line but it is not caught by a teammate, you get a point. A penalty ends once the defending team takes possession, the attacking team scores or the ball goes out of bounds.

#### Advantage & Play On

If a free is awarded but the team who it would be given to is in a better position than where they would be if the free were paid, advantage is called. If the foul was worthy of a card, the card will be shown to the player after the next stoppage in play.

When you have a free kick, you are allowed to play on. When you play on, anyone can tackle you again. You can play on by tapping the ball on your foot. If you leave the 10 meter bubble without playing on, the free is reversed.

### Playing After the Siren

When the siren sounds to end the half/game, the player with possession can either continue playing or hold the ball up to signal the end of the half. If the ball is in the air/on the ground, whoever gets the ball next will decide whether to end the play. During an after the siren play, anyone can signal to end the half if they have the ball. The half will automatically end if anyone scores, there is a ruck or the ball goes out of bounds.

### Scoring

Nvarian Football doesn't have any goals, only an end zone. There are two ways to score:

* Goal- Pressing the ball against the ground in the end zone- 5 points
* Point- When the ball touches the ground in the end zone without being pressed down- 1 point

After a score, the conceding team will resume the game with a kick-in.

#### Counting Scores

The way you count scores in Nvarian Football is quite similar to the way you count scores in Aussie Rules.

Scores often look like this:

SCOREBOARD
 Northartica

This may look confusing, but it's quite simple. The first number is the amount of goals the team has scored, the next number is the amount of points and the third is their total score. Remember- goal = 5 points, point = 1 point. All you need to understand is that final number to know who's winning.

### Video Review

The video review is only used in professional leagues, and some pro-leagues still do not use it, but it is becoming increasingly popular. Whenever the referee is unsure about a decision, they must make a call and then look at the replay. If the replay has conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the field, the decision is overturned, if not, the on-field call remains. There are also people in charge of the review system (usually located at the headquarters of the league). If they think the referee has made the wrong call, they can ask for the ref to have a look, but the final decision, after looking at the replay, is always down to the ref. Video review can be used for any decision made on the field but is usually only used for important decisions like scoring or penalties.

## Biggest Leagues

Here is a list of the most popular Nvarian Football competitions in the world. Popularity is based on match attendances, TV ratings, overseas viewers, social media followers and hashtags, etc.