From the Ground Up

Karka 22, 2078, m249

Goalkeeper dreams - Wayne Oborobinson hopes to stay in the program as Columbia Hills struggle to make an MAFL club.

As season 2 approaches the midpoint, the pressure is on expansion teams to get their teams off the ground and ready for entry into the 3rd MAFL season.

Of the two new clubs, Columbia Hills faces an uphill battle. With a population size of just 3000, it is the smallest of all of the other settlements in the MAFL. Working with a limited talent pool has already slowed progress and unlike Wendland, they are not in a position to recruit back local residents, like Sulzberger and Marysa Waaijer, to bolster their ranks.

They do have a few local heroes like Alan Sawyer who gained fame for his excellent performance in the Marineris Pathfinder Marathon, but they are far from meeting the minimum 14 player roster requirement from the league.

“At this point, we have 6 players confirmed,” said Tod Dodderham, “We have a lot of work ahead of us. It isn’t the same as the original 8 that were able to easily recruit across colonies.”

New regulations and processes adopted by colonies makes it prohibitive for Columbia Hills to hire in players from its larger neighbours, namely Marineris and San Olympus, however, they are actively trying to attract ex-pats back for tryouts.

Leaning on loyalty may be their best hope.