Kaiserlich und Koeniglich Wienner Zeitung - 1917

[Borys]

OOC - me bad, I should had asked the CSA first ...

[Borys]

Autumn 1917

The Kaiser and King was going through the Army and Navy Estimates for the next year.
Certain items caught his eye - one was that the Army apparently finally decided to manufacture that novel weapon system concocted by Messers Skoda and Porsche.  - "Gott in Himmel! It was expensive!" 
He was not so happy about the resulting postponent in the launch of the Heimwehr rearmament programme, but those mortars were a necessity.

The Naval part held no surprises, as Stafan had attended a meeting on the subject the last Friday. The Iberian Order was progressing like a mouse through a snake, and was more than half advanced. Still, it caused  perturbations - the cruisers which the fleet so badly needed would be delayed. But the year 1919 should rectify the situation. In 1920 construction of battleships could resume. The navy was playing it safe and decided both to explore the possibility of new guns, of unparalled calibre, as well as developing a new gun with proven technology. So, depending on how successful the engineers were, the new battleships could either ship fewer, but bigger guns, or a plethora of smaller, though still sufficiently deadly ones.

His mind wandered to the visit of his Colombian counterpart, which he was to meet at La Valetta. Apprently he was to be the first sovereign to ever set foot on the island ...

[hooper82]

OOC : I am puzzled why the UNK chooses to accept a Hapsburg recruiting station.  Presumably if such was acceptable to the CSA, the station would be located there.  Instead placing it just outside the CSA creates the impression the CSA did not want such, and the UNK is allowing it.  Considering the CSA and UNK are allies under Nassau, and haven't had any published rift in relations, it seems strange.

OOC : The UNK government is currently unhappy with the CSA.  Allowing the recruiting station is a way of showing its displeasure, while claiming it had no reason to not let such go ahead.

[Borys]

Autumn 1917

Amid coverage of the closing games of the first season of national football, there is speculation upon the significance of the latest events in the Far East. What does the expulsion of the Dutch and Confederate Ambassadors bode for the future?
With the Internal Strife preventing any agressive moves of the NeoSwiss for the time being, would it be turn of the land of the Blooming Cherry to provoke a conflict? Did the Chrysantenum Throne not only take the Japanese Islands from the NeoSwiss, but also some strain of NeoSwiss destructiveness? Was it bad Feng Shui?

[Borys]

Autumn 1917
The first season of national football has ended. It was a roaring success in both Klasse, with huge gates, as the punters mobbed the turnstills to see their favourites in action against new opposition.

The surprise champions of the A-Klasse are the Czechs from Sparta Prag - however, the title was won after a tie-breaker game against  Rapid Wien - 3:1.
The last place went to Hajduk Split.
The winner of the B-Klasse was FK Olomouc which for the next season will switch places with Hajduk and compete in the Top Flight. The Wooden Spoon was "won" by Ukraina Lemberg.

For the first time in living memory the Polish and Ukranian clubs agreed on anything - it IS a long way to Split.
Hence the northern clubs mutter darkly of a Transcarpathian League. Nevertheless, nobody is taking them seriously, as there are too few quality teams in Galizien or Kleinpolen. Without some sort of Moravian or Czech support any form of a Northern League is stillborn.

The Hungarian champion was MTK Budapest.

Due to a glut of replays, the Emperor's Cup was abandoned. Some sides made it to the Quarter Finals, while other XI's were still waiting for their 1/16th oponnents. A rules revision for next year is expected.   

Taking cue from the Home Realms and - principally - the NUS, the Kingom of Parana also made some moves towards a league system for its football teams. The problem in the trans-Atlantic part of the Empire are not provicial petty rivalries, but the issue of paying players. An issue which, sadly, has been swept under the carpet in the European part. Anyhow, in Parana there is a three-way struggle between supporters of the amateur game, of payment for "lost time", and of full professionalism.

The several bodies representing parts of the footballing community, and each claiming to be the sole repository of the "spirit" of the game, made an appeal for arbitration to the Vice-Roy. After listening to arguments for several hours - and missing lunch AND dinner -  from the sport-minded gentelmen, Vice-Roy Schmydtke left the room.

A "suum cuique" approach was finally adopted. The Koeniglisch Paraner Fussball Bund will to be an umbrella organisation for affiliated organisations, such as the Amateurs, the Juniors - the part timers, and the Seniors - who condoned professionalism. Each of these bodies will run separate competitions, organised respectively by the PAFB, PJFB, and the PFBL.

The different visions of these bodies immediately became apparent, with the PFBL establishing  a 12 team national league, with a 10 club B-Klase division below, while the PJFB embarked upon the setting up of four regional leagues - Parana, Santa Katerina, Rio Grande and Iguassu.  The Amateurs did not care about leagues at all, living in their world of pick-up friendlies and parish-level cups ...

[Walter]

Was it bad Feng Shui?

Nah, just bad breakfast. :D