MAFL Week 8 Roundup

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Wuji Sports Club - Al'amal

Karka 2 • Tiangong Stadium

baddour scores with a brilliant header—but it’s not enough for al’amal to gain a victory.

Wuji is jubilant as they move up the ranks to tie with Al'amal and Dynamos.  

Al’amal is a mess after this game as THREE of their key players were benched in the second half—with Sodhi suspended for the following match. With Guler out of play with a sprained ankle and Baddour and Fayad ejected from the match for their fouls, Al’amal’s offensive abilities were seriously crippled as the game spilled into extra time.

GOALS

• 1ST 15' Lian scores a penalty kick for Wuji

• 2ND 4' Baddour scores with a header for Al’amal

• ET 6’ Farra proves herself once again with a goal for Al’amal in extra time

• ET 11’ Wong scores for Wuji

• ET 15’ Gallo scores for Wuji

NOTABLE FOULS

• Baddour and Fayad were both benched after earning their second yellow cards in the second half.

• Sodhi red carded and suspended for the following match for intentionally striking another player’s helmet.

• Wuji plays with one man short after Alvi is ejected from the game for his second yellow card.

SHOTS ON GOAL
21	12

POSSESSION
61%	39%

FOULS
3	5

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Titans - United

Karka 3 • San Olympus Stadium

Titans put a a fight, but succumb in extra time to United's superior attacks

Twenty minutes into extra time, Dennis scores the winning goal with a cross-field strike that flies past just out of De Sisto’s reach. Dennis has definitely proven his worth to United since he was traded over by Huacheng last season. With 8 goals under his belt so far, the 28 year old forward has overtaken Nash and is nipping at the heels of Lanka.

With this victory, Europa United moves to the top of the club standings.

GOALS

• 1ST 6' Ware for Titans

• 1ST 19' Langanah for Titans

• 1ST 24' Khosla for United

• 2ND 15' Robinson for United

• ET 6' Ivanova for United

• ET 12' Terrel for Titans

• ET 20' Dennis for Titans

SHOTS ON GOAL
16	24

POSSESSION
44%	56%

FOULS
3	36td>

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Dynamo - Comets

Karka 4 • Novyimir Stadium

comets celebrate their latest victory as they slowly but surely move up the rankings.

Comets continue to build steam as they best the Dynamo's at Novyimir Stadium.

The Dynamos were obliterated by the Comets in their first back-to-back loss of the season 2. Meanwhile, Comets fans who have been patiently waiting for their team to turn around are ecstatic. Bradley and Elliot both scored their third goal of the season during this game. Dunn is shining so far despite this being his first season his clever footwork has become his signature as he easily evaded Dynamo’s defense before scoring.

GOALS

• 1ST 8'  Shelton scores for Comets

• 1ST 14’ Budnik scores for Dynamos

• 2ND 7’ Dun scores for Comets

• 2ND 18’ Bradley scores for Comets on a penalty kick

• 2ND 23’ Elliot scores for Comets

SHOTS ON GOAL
10	18

POSSESSION
37%	63%

FOULS
2	4

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Dongji - Immortals

Karka 4 • Dongji Field

Dongji join the Immortals at the bottom of the pack as Immortals gain another victory.

It’s taken a long time for the Immortals to get going, but they are starting to look more like the team they were last season. Donovan lead the attack today with a long range strike from centre.

Disappointed fans blamed Ekberg’s absence for Dongji’s loss in momentum. However, Ekberg’s return to the field at today’s game did not inspire an spectacular gameplay—with Fan scoring the only goal for Dongji. As Tiangong’s Wuji Sports Club continues to climb the ranks, fans are also blaming Lian for abandoning the team.

GOALS

• 1ST 7 ‘ Donovan for Immortals

• 1ST 16’ Fan scores on a direct free kick for Dongji

• 2ND 10’ Lanka scores for Immortals

• 2ND 16’ Aurak scores for Immortals

SHOTS ON GOAL
15	16

POSSESSION
31%	69%

FOULS
6	5

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Stats & Standings

Rankings

Team	M	W	L	Goals
United	8	6	2	21
Dynamo	8	5	3	22
Al'Amal Sports Club	8	5	3	17
Wuji Sports Club	8	5	3	21
Comets	8	4	4	24
Titans	8	3	5	16
Dongji	8	2	6	15
Immortals	8	2	6	14

Top Scorers
	Uday Lanka	9
	Darkeem Dennis	8
	Readale Nash	6
	Qigang Lian	6
	Ilya Petrovich	5
	Arwa Farra	5
	Sergey Samrend	4
	Yvonne Barnato	4
	Zhou Geng	4
	Lennard Fuchs	4

MAFL Week 7 Roundup

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Al'amal - Titans

Cancer 23 • Al'amal Stadium

Nash ejected from match after an outburst with referee.

Al'Amal shutout Titans at every turn.  

Al'Amal S.C. had little opposition as Titans were disorganized from the start. Baddour opened scoring early in the 1st and Arwa Farra added security in the 2nd; her 4th goal of the season. Readale Nash lashes out at officials earning himself a red card.

SHOTS ON GOAL
20	12

POSSESSION
58%	42%

FOULS
3	5

GOALS

• 1ST 5' Al'amal Captain Musaddiq Baddour
• 2ND 24' Al'amal Arwa Farra beats DeSisto with a header

NOTABLE FOULS

• 2ND 18' Red card Titans Readale Nash 

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Immortals - Dynamo

Cancer 23 • Amrita Stadium

The Immortals are ecstatic as they celebrate their first victory of season 2.

Stunning Upset!  Dynamos lose, finally ending the Immortal's drought.

In a coordinated team effort, Immortals earn their first win of the season. Lanka continues to hold his status of lead scorer in the league with an impressive 8 goals in just 7 matches, but this has only exacerbated concerns that something is terribly wrong with the club. Immortal's owner, Vijya Pandey hopes this is a turning point for his team, which he previously referred to as 'shameful'.

GOALS

• 1ST  6' Immortals Jag Parkar
• 1ST 15' Dynamo Sergey Samrend
• 1ST 26' Immortals Captain Uday Lanka
• 2nd 8' Dynamo Avideh Karaaria
• 2ND 18' Immortals Laurien Hagendoorn on a penalty pick

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• 2ND 14' Dynamo Stadnyk substitues Rozalia Budnik after she suffers tear in lining of suit.

SHOTS ON GOAL
19	14

POSSESSION
53%	47%

FOULS
2	3

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Dongji - Comets

Cancer 24 • Dongji Field

Comets unleash in the 2nd half.  Decisive win helps lift spirits, but still a far cry from their former glory. 

The Comets needed this one. With nice plays, good opportunities and big goals, it was reminiscent of the performance that earned them last year's championship. Yet the win only ties them with San Olympus Titans in the standings with only 3 wins a piece, nothing for either team to be proud of.

GOALS

• 1ST 8' Comets rookie, Dalton Dunn, beats Su with a corner kick
• 1ST 14' DJ Minhat Saqqat
• 2ND 7' Comets Amanda Coronel
• 2ND 12' DJ Jai Cheng 
• 2ND 15' DJ Olga daCosta 
• 2ND 18' Comets Captain Liddell Bradley scores on free kick
• 2ND 21' Comets Alessandro Ferraz
• 2ND 23' Comets Defender Marysa Waaijer scores on a long kick.

SHOTS ON GOAL
16	21

POSSESSION
44%	56%

FOULS
2	2

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United - Wuji

Cancer 24 • Europa Stadium

captain qigang lian leads up the wuji sports club in season 2 of mafl

Tiangong Wuji moves up to 4th place as they conquer United.

United served a lesson as they give up two goal lead in the 1st. Captain Qigang Lian fought back to single handedly tie the match, deflating United. Wuji seal the deal with goals by Alvi and Zeng. "Absolutely no regrets!", says Lian on moving to Tiangong.

GOALS

• 1ST United Captain Lennard Fuchs
• 1ST United forward Darkeem Dennis
• 1ST 27' Wuji Captain Qigang Lian
• 2ND 5' Wuji Captain Qigang Lian
• 2ND 13' Wuji forward Ozil Alvi
• 2ND 19' Wuji midfielder Qigang Zeng

SHOTS ON GOAL
18	17

POSSESSION
53%	47%

FOULS
5	3

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Stats & Standings

Rankings

Team	M	W	L	Goals
Dynamo	7	5	2	21
United	7	5	2	17
Al'Amal Sports Club	7	5	2	15
Wuji Sports Club	7	4	3	18
Titans	7	3	4	13
Comets	7	3	4	20
Dongji	7	2	5	14
Immortals	7	1	6	11

Top Scorers
	Uday Lanka	8
	Darkeem Dennis	7
	Readale Nash	6
	Ilya Petrovich	5
	Qigang Lian	5
	Sergey Samrend	4
	Yvonne Barnato	4
	Zhou Geng	4
	Arwa Farra	4
	Lennard Fuchs	4

United's Sulzberger Anxiety

Of all colonies, Europa has the deepest roots to the 'beautiful game', thus a lot to live up to..  Now, even though season 2 looks to be shaping up better than season 1, there is growing anxiety among United fans that the club will lose a key player, Kevin Sulzberger.

Sulzberger took on the goalkeeper position after a late-season shuffle that saw Yvonne Barnato become a forward in an attempt to bolster the club's anemic offence.  It was big shoes for Sulzberger to fill; even though United had only won 7 of 15 matches with Barnato in goal, she was a fan favourite; most of the blame falling on Captain Fuchs and the forward line up.

Sulzberger's was a natural.  When he was between the posts, United was more likely to win than lose.  It wasn't enough to get United into the playoffs, but his performance has only improved this season.

Season 1

Sulzberger had 4 win in the last 6 matches of season 1.

Season 2

With 5 matches in goal so far, Sulzberger has only lost once.

With the looming possibility that Sulzberger will join the new Wendland club for season 3, it may mean losing him before the end of the season.

"I'll be looking at my options," says Sulzberger, "Wendland is where I grew up after we arrived almost 10 years ago.  It is where my family lives, so there are a lot of compelling reasons to go home."

Both expansion teams, Columbia Hills and Wendland, will be aiming to build from local talent, so it is expected that players like Sulzberg and Comets' Marysa Waaijer will be courted heavily by their home colony.

Europa United has been actively nurturing Manfredo Riva as back-up goalkeeper.  He got his first win in Week 3 against the Comets, so is a promising candidate should Sulzberger terminate his contract early.

When United manager, Matthäus Reinmann, was asked about losing Sulzberger, he simply responded, "It makes sense."   

 With cross-colony transfers proving to be both logistically challenging and risky when players can't adjust to their new colony, keeping clubs local may be the healthiest path for many clubs in this young league.

"We can't pretend things operate like sports clubs of the past," added Reinmann, "This is Mars and our circumstances here are unique to any Earth history lessons. What's best for players will ultiimately be best for the league."

MAFL Week 6 Roundup

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United - Al'amal

Cancer 16 • Europa Stadium

pernet breaks her arm near the end of the first half.

United victory leaves fans roaring for more as they tie with the Dynamos at the top.

No longer plagued by the missed penalty kicks that hung over him in Season 1, Darkeem Dennis sent the ball straight into the corner to win the game for Europa United. Dennis has contributed steadily to goals in the last games for United—making on of the top three scorers in the current standings.

Pernet is out with a nasty arm fracture. The injury could potentially put the United forward out of play for the rest of the season.

SHOTS ON GOAL
22	29

POSSESSION
52%	48%

FOULS
3	4

GOALS

• 2ND 21' Dennis scores the only goal of the game— a penalty kick for United

FOULS

• Fayad is given a red card for denying Dennis' shot at the goal.

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Dynamos - Titans

Cancer 16 • Novyimir Stadium

Dynamos rally after last week's loss and easily steamroll the Titans at Novyimir Stadium.

Many are questioning the Dynamo's meteoric rise through the standings. Club manager, Ludomir, is crediting the team's success to discipline and working hard throughout the off-season.

Titan's midfielder, Sarah Kelly, is out of play with a sprained ACL. "We're looking at a recovery time of at least three weeks with knee injuries—even with all the medical tech that we have," says Titan's coach Salgado. 

GOALS

• 1ST 13' Budnik scores for Dynamos
• 2ND 8' Stadnyk scores for Dynamos
• 2ND 14' Samrend scores for Dynamos
• 2ND 24' Terell scores for Titans

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• Kelly (Comets) is out for at least three weeks with a sprained ACL

FOULS

• Etefu (Dynamos) is ejected with 4 minutes left in the game after his second yellow card

SHOTS ON GOAL
17	13

POSSESSION
65%	35%

FOULS
3	3

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Comets - Immortals

Cancer 17 • Marineris Stadium

badal dives for the ball, but is unable to reach it due to an alleged equipment malfunction.

Immortals are stuck in a rut, gave game away amidst mounting frustration.

Although the teams were evenly matched on the field, the Immortals missed the mark due to sloppy play. Lanka's streak of goals came to an end today. The Comet's winning goal has been hotly contended by Immortal goalkeeper, Chamanda Badal—who claims that she missed the save by a hair because her thrusters did not fire when activated.

So far, no malfunctions in Badal's suit has been reported in post-match equipment inspections.

Fingers are beginning to point as fans blame Cezar Vaduva's coaching for the Immortal's poor performance. Immortal's manager, Andam Mirza backed up Vaduva, but promised change, saying, "Vaduva has innumerable years of experience with football clubs on Earth and we trust him. We're approaching this as a team here. And things are going to change, we're not going to let our fans down."

GOALS

• 1ST 17' Elliot scores for Comets
• 1ST 23' Hagendoorn scores for Immortals
• 2ND 6' Benjamin scores for Comets

SHOTS ON GOAL
24	23

POSSESSION
57%	43%

FOULS
2	4

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Wuji - Dongji

Cancer 17 • Tiangong Stadium

Dongji puts up a good fight, but is unable to ward off Wuji during extra time.

Without Ekberg to lead the team, Dongji fights hard to in an equally pitched battle with Wuji, but is defeated in extra time by a well-aimed header from Beldad. Unable to perform under the pressure, Geng misses his penalty kick, costing Dongji their chance to take the lead and possibly win the match in the second half. 

This win puts Wuji ahead of Dongji on the standings as the rivalry continues between the two teams. Ekberg has taken personal responsibility for the loss and apologized to fans and teammates post game for his display of immaturity that earned him the suspension.

GOALS

• 1ST 21' Hachette scores for Wuji
• 2ND 3' Xie scores for Dongji
• 2ND 19' Wong scores for Wuji
• 2ND 22' Geng scores for Dongji
• ET 7' Beldad scores for Wuji

FOULS

• Bortel (Wuji) is red carded at 24' of the second half for handling the ball and denying Geng his shot. 

SUBSTITUTIONS

• Ekberg is sitting out this week's match due to his red card last week

SHOTS ON GOAL
18	17

POSSESSION
53%	47%

FOULS
5	3

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Stats & Standings

Rankings

Team	M	W	L	Goals
Dynamo	6	5	1	19
United	6	5	1	15
Al'Amal Sports Club	6	4	2	13
Titans	6	3	3	13
Wuji Sports Club	6	3	3	14
Dongji	6	2	4	11
Comets	6	2	4	15
Immortals	6	0	6	8

Top Scorers
	Uday Lanka	7
	Readale Nash	6
	Darkeem Dennis	6
	Ilya Petrovich	5
	Yvonne Barnato	4
	Zhou Geng	4
	Sergey Samrend	3
	Husain el Guler	3
	Marcus Ekberg	3
	Mariya Nikitovna	3

MAFL Week 5 Roundup

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Comets - Dynamo

Cancer 9 • Marineris Stadium

despite liu's brilliant aerial Maneuvers and goal, the dynamos easily ran circles around the comets in today's match

Dynamos dynamite as they school the Season 1 champions!

The Comets are left licking their wounds yet again as the Dynamos ran circles around them to take an early lead in the match. Though the Comets were able to net two goals in the second half—including an amazing aerial kick that spun the ball right past Dynamos Danilovich—they were unable to keep up the momentum in the second half..

"We've had a hard time getting the team to click this season," says Comet's captain Liddell Bradley, "We had a huge shuffle in positions, and I think everyone is still trying to figure out their spot."

Comet's manager Gordan Pryce is increasingly taking more heat as the team's performance so far has many shaking their heads and asking questions. Loyal fans however, are quick to recall that the Comets also took a while to build up the momentum that ultimately lead to their win in Season 1.

SHOTS ON GOAL
22	29

POSSESSION
45%	55%

FOULS
4	3

GOALS

• 1ST 17' Nikitovna scores for Dynamos
• 2ND 12' Liu scores for Comets
• 2ND 14' Petrovich scores for Dynamos 
• 2ND 16' Samrend scores for Dynamos
• 2ND 20' Marsh scores for Comets
• 2ND 26' Petrovich scores for Dynamos

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• 1ST 28' Ramirez (Comets) subbed out due to injury
• 2ND 3' Karaaria (Dynamos) out due to suit malfunction
• 2ND 14' Kyrlyuk (Dynamos) out with a sprained wrist

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Dongji - Europa United

Cancer 9 • Dongji Field

attitude from the dongji captain resulted in a red cards and suspension for 2 matches

Dongji is thoroughly gutted by Europa United in their encounter at Dongji Field. 

Ekberg and the Dongji forwards are shut down in all their offensive plays as United inexorably took total control of the field. Dongji goalkeep, Xue Su was left to deal with a increasingly leaky defence as the Dongji team started to lose their rhythm.

The field was not pretty today as Dongji players expressed their frustration, earning themselves 5 bookings—two of which resulted in ejections from the match. Zheng is ejected from today's match after his second yellow card while Dongji captain Ekberg is suspended for 2 matches for unsportsmanlike conduct after repeatedly directing offensive gestures at officials and United players. 

United extend their winning streak to 3, sharing top spot in the league with Dynamo and Al'amal.

GOALS

SHOTS ON GOAL
9	37

POSSESSION
27%	73%

FOULS
5	2

• 1ST 4' Dennis scores for United
• 1ST 18' Fuchs scores for United 
• 2ND 7' Barnato scores for United
• 2ND 15' Khosla scores for United
• 2ND 22' Dennis scores a penalty kick for United

FOULS

• Zheng is ejected from the game after his second yellow card, leaving Dongji a player short in the last 10 minutes.
• Ekberg suspended after unsportsmanlike conduct.

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Titans - Immortals

Cancer 10 • San Olympus Park

The One-Man-Lanka show continues as the Immortals' losing streak becomes legendary. 

Seemingly the butt of every MAFL joke across the colonies, the Immortals have got to step up their team game or Lanka will have to score more. Ware scores the first goal of the match as she nails a free kick—a good sign for the Titans forward as her detractors were getting loud.

Nash and Lanka went head-to-head today as Nash chases Lanka for the title of top scorer. Carballel is out with a twisted ankle after scrambling for the ball and ending up tumbling into Kaafi. Naik is ejected for the rest of the match after her second yellow card.

GOALS

• 1ST 19' Ware scores for Titans on a freekick
• 1ST 27' Lanka scores for Immortals
• 2ND 6' Nash scores for Titans

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• 1ST 19' Carballel replaced by Girma due to injury
• 2ND 15' Fox is out due to suit malfunctions

FOULS

• Naik ejected in second half after being awarded two yellow cards

SHOTS ON GOAL
27	22

POSSESSION
61%	39%

FOULS
3	5

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Al'amal Sports Club - Wuji

Cancer 10 • Al'amal Stadium

Al'amal keeps the momentum going with another win at home.

Al'amal hit hard and fast today as they built up a large lead of 3 goals early in the game. Wuji mounted a comeback in the second half but it was unfortunately too late to make a difference. Farra proves she can perform under pressure as she calmly scores on a penalty kick in the first half. 

A late game scramble to find a sub for Al'amal goalkeeper (Pour) put defender Naaila Amer in the net for the first time. Wuji capitalizes on the changeup to score two goals. After an inspection and testing, officials determined the alert had been a false warning—much to the dismay of Pour.

GOALS

• 1ST 13' Farra scores a penalty for Al'amal
• 1ST 23' Sodhi scores for Al'amal
• 2ND 11' Baddour scores for Al'amal
• 2ND 21' Repsas scores for Wuji
• 2ND 27' Lian scores for Wuji

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• 2ND 20' Goalkeeper Pour subbed with Naaila Amer due to "equipment malfunction".

SHOTS ON GOAL
17	19

POSSESSION
52%	48%

FOULS
3	3

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Stats & Standings

Rankings

Team	M	W	L	Goals
Dynamo	5	4	1	16
United	5	4	1	14
Al'Amal Sports Club	5	4	1	13
Titans	5	3	2	12
Wuji Sports Club	5	2	3	11
Dongji	5	2	3	9
Comets	5	1	4	13
Immortals	5	0	5	7

Top Scorers
	Uday Lanka	7
	Readale Nash	6
	Ilya Petrovich	5
	Darkeem Dennis	5
	Yvonne Barnato	4
	Marcus Ekberg	4
	Sergey Samrend	3
	Zhou Geng	3
	Husain el Guler	3
	Mariya Nikitovna	3

MAFL Week 4 Roundup

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Immortals - Wuji

Cancer 2 • Amrita Stadium

Immortals can't break their losing streak. Wuji gives their strongest performance so far with their second win of the season.

Despite Lanka's brilliant plays and scoring ability, he can't hold up the team on his own. After the game, spectators reported Immortals manager, Andam Mirza, attempting to calm down the agitated owner of the team. Pandey reportedly screamed at Mirza "We're looking like fools out there."

The Wuji are in great shape so far, with former captain Hachette scoring his first goal of the season. "It's much easier to play without the burden of the 'C' on my arm," claims Hachette.

SHOTS ON GOAL
11	19

POSSESSION
39%	61%

FOULS
4	4

GOALS

• 1ST 23' Lanka scores for Immortals

• 1ST 25' Hachette scores for Wuji

• 2ND 4' Lanka scores again for Immortals

• 2ND 16' Repsas scores for Wuji

• 2ND 20' Lian scores for Wuji

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Dynamos - Europa United

Cancer 2 • Novyimir Stadium

barnato expends a boost to intercept a high pass before smashing it into the dynamo's net.

Europa United brings the Dynamo's winning streak to an end. 

All good things must come to an end and the Dynamos' high is over. Despite dominating the in first half, the Dynamos lagged in the second half as the women of Europa United played an effective midfield. Barnato, Pernet, and Rosenblad all contributed goals to tie up the game at full time, while Fuchs and Dennis finished off the Dynamos in extra time.

GOALS

SHOTS ON GOAL
27	21

POSSESSION
57%	43%

FOULS
6	3

• 1ST 8' Petrovich scores for Dynamos

• 1ST 14' Barnato scores for United

• 1ST 18' Pernet scores for United

• 2ND 5' Nikitovna scores for Dynamos

• 2ND 12' Rosenblad scores for United

• 2ND 22' Leonidovich scores for Dynamos

• ET 2' Fuchs scores for United

• ET 6' Dennis scores for United

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Titans - Comets

Cancer 3 • San Olympus Stadium

Season rivals Titans and Comets face off for the first time in Season 2.

The Comets lost the game to the Titans at San Olympus today, putting them near the bottom of the pack with only 1 win and 3 losses so far. Like Lanka, Liu has netted the most goals for the Comets so far, but despite his scoring prowess, the Comets have not been able to consistently win matches yet.

Nash is a close second behind Lanka on the scoring rankings, and looks to be gunning for the top.

GOALS

• 1ST 6' Nash scores for Titans

• 1ST 19' Carballel scores for Titans

• 1ST 24' Bradley scores for Comets

• 1ST 28' Ferraz scores for Comets

• 2ND 18' Liu scores for Comets

• 2ND 23' Terrell scores for Titans

• ET 4' Nash scores for Titans

SHOTS ON GOAL
17	18

POSSESSION
53%	47%

FOULS
3	3

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Al'amal Sports Club - Dongji

Cancer 3 • Al'amal Stadium

Al'amal outplays Dongji in the second half as Baddour scores his first goal of Season 2

Al'amal forward Massadiq Baddour gave an impressive performance against Dongji on Cancer 3—the captain has been regularly praised for his leadership skills by teammates and opponents alike, and tonight was no different. This win puts Al'amal neck and neck with the current leaders of Season 2, the Dynamos.

Meanwhile, despite losing tonight's game, Dongji flying along quite solidly under the leadership of Marcus Ekberg. They were able to pull into the lead slightly in the first half, but ran out of steam after half time—giving the game away.

GOALS

• 1ST 4' Fara scores for Al'amal

• 1ST 12' deCosta scores for Dongji

• 1ST 21' Fan scores for Dongji

• 2ND 9' Baddour scores for Al'amal

• 2ND 17' Mohar scores for Al'amal

SHOTS ON GOAL
20	18

POSSESSION
55%	45%

FOULS
3	6

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Stats & Standings

Rankings

Team	M	W	L	Goals
Dynamo	4	3	1	12
Al'Amal Sports Club	4	3	1	10
United	4	3	1	9
Titans	4	2	2	10
Dongji	4	2	2	9
Wuji Sports Club	4	2	2	9
Comets	4	1	3	11
Immortals	3	0	4	6

Top Scorers
	Uday Lanka	6
	Readale Nash	5
	Marcus Ekberg	4
	Zhou Geng	3
	Ilya Petrovich	3
	Yvonne Barnato	3
	Husain el Guler	3
	Darkeem Dennis	3
	Avideh Karaaria	2
	Sergey Samrend	2

Fans react to Season 2

Just 3 weeks into Season 2 for the MAFL and the results have upended all our expectations. Fans in Novyimir are overjoyed as the Dynamos currently reign supreme in the standings with 3 wins and zero losses.

The Dynamos were a middle-of-the-range team in Season 1, with a few outstanding fowards such as 25-year-old Ilya Petrovich, and 24-year-old Avideh Karaaria. However, the team is singing to quite a different tune for Season 2.

“It’s been very exciting,” says club manager, Sergey Ludomir, “we’ve been putting in a lot of hard work during the off-season, and it’s immensely satisfying to see that it's paid off and we’re getting results.”

The fans are equally pleased.

Calling themselves “Dynamaniacs”, evidence of their support and pride is seen in the packed live-casts and sold out Spectator Tours for the home games. Some dedicated fans are even shelling out the M-creds to travel to Huacheng and Tiangong to show their support.

“There’s nothing like being in the stadium and seeing the Dynamos in action,” explained one Dynamanic, Rinn Khomenko, “I was able to see them play in Tiangong, and it was amazing!”

Dynamaniacs celebrate the dynamos latest victory

Meanwhile the Immortals have had a rough go of the season so far. They also finished Season 1 solidly in the middle of the pack. But despite having star player, Uday Lanka, and solid offensive players in Hagendoorn and Naik to back him up, the Immortals have not been able to secure a single victory.

“We’re still working out some kinks in the roster,” Immortals coach, Cezar Vaduva, says about the team’s dismal performance so far, “we’ve had a couple new recruits but we’re confident that once we hit our stride things will start turning around.”

Most fans in Amrita are determined to keep a positive outlook, though many are questioning Vaduva's expanded role and taking many responsibilities that previously fell on Manager Andam Mirza. 

“It’s still early in the season and things can swing around really quick. I think the Dynamos are going to burn out pretty soon. They’re on a streak right now, but those never last,” a Immortals fan staunchly predicted.

Fans in Marineris and San Olympus have been quietly disappointed, perhaps in disbelief. Season 1 runner-ups, the Titans, have been sitting consistently at second last. The Comets have fared slightly better as they currently stand at fifth place in the rankings. Nevertheless it’s still a far cry from the title of ‘champion’ they’ve proudly held over the off-season.

MAFL fandom, itself, is still relatively new to colonists, but it is consistently revealing behaviours responses that are atypical of real and virtual stimulus baselines.  According to Doctor Luden Madenoxialax of the Psychiatric Studies Department of Marineris, there is a noticeable drop in the aggregate data from the colony's Emotional Surveillance program. 

"I don't have access to actual data from the other colonies that monitor emotional wellbeing," says Madenoxialax, but the values we see coincide with the Comet's performance, with the last few weeks presenting depressed averages.

In general, Madenoxialax and other specialists do not regard this as a negative for the community, that these are natural responses for engaged fans, however, ongoing monitoring is necessary to identify potential issues, especially for those who are predisposed to depression.  


 

MAFL Week 3 Roundup

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Wuji - Dynamo

Mithuna 21 • Tiangong Stadium

zeng prepares to take a corner kick for wuji

Dynamos continue their red hot winning streak and take the lead in the standings.

Petrovich once again delivers the deciding goal of the match. Senturk and Nikitovna also contribute goals to Dyanmo's victory at Tiangong Stadium. Wuji started strong with and took the lead early after halftime. They were unable to hold onto their lead despite a valiant effort by Lian to lead his team, but were unable to find off the relentless offence of the Dynamos..

SHOTS ON GOAL
16	25

POSSESSION
34%	66%

FOULS
3	4

GOALS

• 1ST 5' Senturk scores for Dynamos

• 1ST 6' Wong scores for Wuji

• 2ND 12' Lian scores for Wuji

• 2ND 14' Nikitovna scores for Dynamos

• 2ND 19' Petrovich scores the deciding goal for Dynamos

---

Dongji - Titans

Mithuna 21 • Novyimir Stadium

a frustrated ware waits out the rest of the first half in the pit as technicians raced replace damaged components in her tech pack and thrust nozzles.

Dongji proves they're not the same squad we saw last season with this week's victory.

Many are attributing Dongji's new spirit to the newly minted captain, Marcus Ekberg. The team ran like a smoothly oiled machine as they successfully ran counterattacks the Titan's offensives pushes. Nevertheless, it was Nash and Ekberg that stole the show this match with 2 goals apiece, but Ekberg has the last laugh as he punts the ball into the top right corner at the 24 minute mark for the second half.  The pressure is on Titan captain, Raenia Ware, as concerns mount from the losing trend that is keeping them at the bottom with the similarly struggling Immortals club.

GOALS

SHOTS ON GOAL
15	22

POSSESSION
43%	57%

FOULS
2	4

• 1ST 4' Nash scores for Titans

• 1ST 6' Ekberg scores for Dongji

• 1ST 9' Geng scores for Dongji

• 2ND 4' Terrell scores for Titans

• 2ND 12' Saqqat scores for Dongji

• 2ND 15' Nash scores for Titans

• 2ND 24' Ekeberg scores for Dongji

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• 1ST 26' Ware forced to stop play due to damaged boost thruster

• 2ND 10' Fan replaces Feston after she sprains
  an ankle on a bad landing.

---

Immortals - Al'amal Sports Club

Mithuna 22 • Amrita Stadium

Al'amal Sports Club and Amrita Immortals meet for the first time since Season 1.

Lanka fights hard for the Immortals after an anemic first half—scoring 2 goals for the Immortals in the second half. The home crowd were on the edge of their seats as Lanka is almost tied the match when he hit the post with 3 minutes left. Season 2 has been hard on Lanka, despite currently being the top scorer in the league, his team has yet to win any games. 

Mancebo is red carded in the second half for smashing her elbow into an Al'amal forward's faceplate as she tried to intercept a pass. New league rules on head contact are being strictly enforced this season.  

GOALS

• 1ST 6' Guler scores for Al'amal

• 1ST 18' Baddour scores for Al'amal

• 2ND 19' Lanka scores for Immortals

• 2ND 22' Lanka scores for Immortals

• 2ND 25' Fayad scores for Al'amal

NOTABLE FOULS

• 2ND 22' Mancebo given a red card and suspended for one match.

SHOTS ON GOAL
17	18

POSSESSION
49%	51%

FOULS
4	3

---

Europa United - Comets

Mithuna 22 • Europa Stadium

A intense game with both teams pouring their all into the match at Europa Stadium.

United threw everything they had at the Comets, clearly gunning for the win as they came up against last season's champions. Manfredo Riva gets his first chance in goal as United Manager, Matthäus Reinmann, gives Sulzberger a day off. The Comets pressed but were shut down as the United defence targeted Comets forward, Stephen Liu.

Increasing frustration on the Comet's side lead to an uncommon number of bookings, ending with Brooks being ejected from the game after receiving his second yellow card. United's captain, Fuchs, capitalizes on the change and converts the penalty kick into the winning goal.  

Saprai is back on the field after sitting out the last match.

GOALS

• 1ST 12' Marsh scores for Comets

• 1ST 26' Dennis scores for United

• 2ND 14' Elliot scores for Comets

• 2ND 22' Barnato scores for United

• 2ND 26' Fuchs scores for United

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• 2ND 16' Shelton is replaced by Marsh after a suit malfunction

SHOTS ON GOAL
20	18

POSSESSION
55%	45%

FOULS
3	6

---

Stats & Standings

Rankings

Team	M	W	L	Goals
Dynamo	3	3	0	9
Dongji	3	2	1	9
Al'Amal Sports Club	3	2	1	7
United	3	2	1	4
Comets	3	1	2	8
Wuji Sports Club	3	2	1	6
Titans	3	2	1	6
Immortals	3	0	3	4

Top Scorers
	Uday Lanka	4
	Marcus Ekberg	3
	Zhou Geng	3
	Readale Nash	3
	Husain el Guler	3
	Ilya Petrovich	2
	Avideh Karaaria	2
	Yvonne Barnato	2
	Sergey Samrend	2
	Darkeem Dennis	2

Tale of Twin Colonies

Mithuna 18, 2078, m249

Fans in Dongj have been upended with Season 2 changes, particularly losing former Captain to Wuji Sport Club.

After a dramatic season 1 with high stakes, it is no surprise that the MAFL is going through changes.  Beyond the changes to the Aero Football rules, technology upgrades, and growing licensing deals with Earth affiliates, the players remain the key ingredient.

For most fans, the experience of seeing players change positions or getting traded is a big deal on its own, but the last minute trade activity between Tiangong and Huacheng at the tail end of the off-season, brings it to a new level.  The sister colonies have always had their differences, with Huacheng often considered the “Chinese capitol” on Mars there has always been a sense of competition, however, the MAFL can take credit for stirring it into a true rivalry.

Back in Season 1, Huacheng was devistated by Darkeem Dennis' unexpected trade to Europa. Qigang Lian's move from Dongji to Wuji has been regarded by many Dongji fans as an outright betrayal of the colony.  They have also been reluctant to accept Marcus Ekberg, a non-Chinese, with the role of Captain.  With all the moaning, the benefits of Ekberg's leadership along with gaining forward Jai Cheng, and midfielder Anne-Marije Feston, the Dongji squad is actually looking better than ever.

Ekberg, a Martian-born native of Wendland colony, is not a fluent Mandarin speaker and previously showed little interest in picking up the language.  At the last press briefing, however, Ekberg responded to local media questions in Chinese.  Although he was certainly aided by a virtual translator, the gesture was well received.  In the world of sports, the language of 'wins' is the true prize, so long as Ekberg can bring in the goals, he won't likely need to fallback on his Chinese.

As for Lian, he had been openly looking to move to the sister colony after his wife had moved to Tiangong to take a role on council.  They were living apart for most of season 1.  Had Wuji owner, Koh Chen, not encouraged the Wuji shakeup, the opportunity would not have been on the table for him.

“It’s an opportunity to continue my journey as athlete and captain,” says Lian, “I'm grateful for this opportunity and I’m excited to work with my new teammates.”

The serious drama, though, is in Lian’s usurping of Hachette’s captain title. Stanislas Hachette has been widely panned in Season 1 for ineffective leadership, lack of scoring ability, and general unawareness of the flow of gameplay. Some see his demotion as a gift to the team.

“We love Hachette though,” says his teammates, “His nickname is The Hachet. Not because he’s a sharp player, but he’s got a really sharp sense of humour. We feel bad for him, but relieved he's still on the team.”

However, to those loyal to the charismatic former captain, his demotion coupled with the cutting of Wuji’s manager Bobby Chung has fans grumbling. And even in the general fanbase, not everyone is quite warmed up to the idea of having Lian as captain, despite him leading Wuji to a solid start in Season 2. Time will tell, as play continues, whether the trades will prove a wise move for the two teams.

The first highly anticipated face off between the two clubs happens on week 6, the 17th of Cancer.

MAFL Week 2 Roundup

---

Immortals - Dongji

Mithuna 14 • Amrita Stadium

Lanka dazzles, but it isn't enough as DongJi steal the win in Extra Time Play.

Immortals heartbroken after Dongji steals the win in extra time with a goal by deCosta.

Dongji was on defence for the majority of the game, with 2 solid goals from Amrita Captain, Uday Lanka. With 6 minutes left in the second half, Cheng was able to convert a pass from Ekberg and tie the game, bringing it into overtime. This is the first 10 minute overtime of Season 2 as officials test out the new rules replacing the sudden death shoot out model of Season 1. Unfortunately, the Immortals faded fast during the 10 extra minutes of overtime, giving deCoast the chance to break the tie for Dongji. 

GOALS

• HT 27' Lanka scores for Immortals
• FT 9' Geng scores for Dongji
• FT 23' Lanka scores again for Immortals
• FT 24' Cheng scores for Dongji in counterattack
• ET 4' DeCosta scores winning goal for Dongji

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• FT 8' Cheng substituted for Saqqat due to suit malfunction

SHOTS ON GOAL
17	12

POSSESSION
60%	40%

FOULS
4	3

---

Dynamos - Al'amal

Mithuna 14 • Novyimir Stadium

Petrovich celebrates his first goal of the season after beating goalkeeper Ahmed al-Pour with a penalty kick.

Al'amal gives away game after foul by Mohar gives Petrovich a chance at the goal.

Dynamo captain Ilya Petrovich #91 nails the penalty and scores his first goal of the season, a beautiful curve straight into the top right corner, to win the match for the Dynamos. Al'amal burned through their roster too quickly with early substitutions and paid the price.  Dynamos back-to-back wins puts them on top of the early season standings. 

SHOTS ON GOAL
21	18

POSSESSION
57%	43%

FOULS
4	4

GOALS

• HT 8' Baddour scores a goal for Al'amal
• HT 10' Nikitovna scores for Dynamos
• HT 12' Samrend scores for Dynamos
• FT 5' Guler scores for Al'amal
• FT 25' Petrovich scores the winning goal for Dynamos

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• HT 19' Sodhi replaces Gonzalez when she sprains her ankle after an attempted header

---

Comets - Wuji Sports Club

Mithuna 15 • Marineris Stadium

Season 1 veteran, Stephen Liu, opens up the comet offence in his new role as forward while Rookie, Dalton Dunn, makes his first mark in MAFL.

MAFL newcomer, Dalton Dunn, scores his first goal in the final minutes for the match to net a victory for the Comets!

Liu is settling into his new position as the Comets' forward as he opens up scoring with a fantastic header. The Comets are in great form as they rally after last week's loss to Al'amal—their play is flawless tonight. The referees are much more strict this year. McKay is warned with a yellow for bumping into Comet's midfielder, but booked a second time and sent off when she charged into Shelton as they chased the ball. 

GOALS

• HT 13' Lui for scores for Comets
• HT 19' Repsas for scores for Wuji
• FT 27' Dunn scores for Comets

SHOTS ON GOAL
21	12

POSSESSION
67%	33%

FOULS
4	5

---

Titans - Europa United

Mithuna 15 • San Olympus Stadium

Tarik Girma gets her first goal as forward and first goal of season to earn a Titan victory in the final minute of extra Time play.

Titans and United battle it out in extra time to tie-break a scoreless match.

The teams were evenly matched at San Olympus Stadium as zero goals were scored for the entirety of regulation time. Scoring was opened up by Darkeem Dennis in the first 3 minutes of extra time, but the Titans roared back with 2 goals in quick succession. Titans forward Maria Carballal is taken out of play early on due to a sprained ankle—but she is not expected to miss next week's match against Dongji.

GOALS

• ET 3' Dennis scores the first goal for Europa United
• ET 6' Laganah scores for the Titans
• ET 9' Girma scores the winning goal for the Titans

SUSPENDED

• Saprai is still benched after being slapped with a red card last week.

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• HT 5' Maria Carballal is pulled out of play after a sprain
• FT 10' Barlas is replaced by Rouselle after his suit malfunctions

SHOTS ON GOAL
22	17

POSSESSION
59%	41%

FOULS
3	6

---

Stats & Standings

Team Rankings

Team	M	W	L	Goals
Dynamo	2	2	0	6
Comets	2	1	1	7
United	2	1	1	6
Dongji	2	1	1	5
Al'Amal Sports Club	2	1	1	4
Wuji Sports Club	2	1	1	4
Titans	2	1	1	3
Immortals	2	0	2	2

Top Scorers
	Uday Lanka	2
	Avideh Karaaria	2
	Zhou Geng	2
	Sergey Samrend	2
	Husain el Guler	2
	Marcus Ekberg	1
	Qigang Lian	1
	John Ming Wong	1
	Adrián Gallo	1
	Readale Nash	1

Hanging up the Cleats

Mithuna 10, 2078, m249

Season 2 is finally underway, but could there be troubles with player retention in the MAFL? 

In the off-season, 7 players made the decision to hang up their cleats and walk away from the game. In the grand scheme of things, it is only 7 out of the more than 140 players across the 8 clubs, but there are serious fears that this could be just the beginning of a much larger exodus.  

Professional sport culture is a new phenomenon and in the absence of career athletes in the general population, the MAFL had to start from scratch to recruit colonists to fill in the ranks.  With the exception of the younger players, 90% of the players are coming from typical occupations and roles.

"I'm a scientist, damn it", says Dr. Meghana Singh.  Born in 2045, she is one of the 'original 100' the first one hundred native Martians. Born in Marineris and finishing her studies in Amrita, Singh was raised to follow in the academic footsteps of her parents.  Two years ago, however, she took an unexpected MAFL detour. After making the 2nd round try-outs, she put her career on pause to join the Comets training camp.

"I was lured by the 'what if'," she explains, "The MAFL opportunity and what it meant for the colonies just resonated with me. I knew it was something that I had to be part of."

Her former Comets teammate, Ellis Black, had similar motivation, describing the MAFL as a 'miracle'.

"I was 13 when we arrived on Mars," he says, "And as you grow up, you let go of many Earth memories, until something like this happens. It was completely improbable and irrational, but it happened."

But after dedicating more than 2 years to the league, Ellis confesses he was never going to make a career out of it.

"Back in the day, super stars would make fortunes playing for the major leagues.  Then, inevitably, they would score less or get the career-ending injury, and that was it. Even in a time when there was incredible wealth and celebrity in it, the life of an athlete was always short-lived.  I'm leaving on a high, proud of what I was part of, but it's time for me to get back to work."

"You will certainly see other exits, especially the specialized individuals who came to Mars with greater purposes and goals in mind," says Aiger Masing, CEO of the MAFL. "Joining a club shouldn't be like serving time in a detention centre. The idea that an astrophysicist, logistics engineer, cargo pilot, or machine programmer can make the cut to play a year or two in the MAFL should be what's great about life on Mars."

Others, like Titan's Eduard Rotaru, left for other reasons. At 25, Rotaru is a San Olympus born native who should fit the bill for an eager, next generation colonist looking to break ground in a new career path, but after season 1, he simply washed out.

"I had a hard look at myself and where it was all going," he said, "And I realized that despite all the great experiences of playing the game, it isn't who I am. The constant competition isn't for me."

Other young players have expressed similar sentiments, particularly with the unexpected pressures on and off the field. Though there is nothing the league can do when a colonist has another calling or a change of heart, according to Aiger, they are taking retention seriously. 

"There are many things we have and will continue to improve for the benefit of our players. Last year, the long road trips were a major complaint from players, but working with club owners and partners, we've come up with solutions to significantly reduce travel times for this season, shaving days off the long haul trips between the furthest colonies. "

Even if trouble is stirring, the MAFL and other sporting initiatives are still in their early days.  It may take some time to see how the whole 'professional athlete' space shakes itself out, but as long as there is enough players in the the MAFL pool, there is certainly no shortage in demand to watch them play.

MAFL Kicks off Season 2!

---

Europa United - Immortals

Mithuna 7 • Europa Stadium

Forward Yvonne Barnato #58 claims the only goal of the match on a free kick.

Europa flies to a home victory with Barnato beating Badal on a free kick.

Suit malfunctions force Captain Uday Lanka out early in the first half.  Without their striker, Immortals put in a good effort but lagged behind Europa United in shots on target. Instead, they picked up 6 yellow cards as they hassled the Europa United midfielders.  

GOALS

• FT 26' Barnato scores on free kick for Europa United

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• HT 12' Fox substituted for Lanka due to EV suit malfunction

• FT 14' Hama substituted for Aurak due to EV suit malfunction

SHOTS ON GOAL
19	15

POSSESSION
55%	45%

FOULS
4	6

---

DongJi - Dynamos

Mithuna 7 • Dong Ji Field

Marcus Ekberg #95 sparks new evergy for DJ, but are outgunned in their opening home match.

New captain Ekberg leads Dongji  after Lian is traded to Wuji for Cheng and Feston. 

The Dynamos command the game in the first half, but newly minted Dongji Captain claws their way in the second half. Karaaria wins the game for the Dynamos with her second goal of the match.

SHOTS ON GOAL
9	17

POSSESSION
27%	63%

FOULS
4	4

GOALS

• HT 6' Samrend scores for Dynamos

• HT 22' Karaaria scores for Dynamos

• FT 3' Geng scores for Dongji

• FT 12' Ekberg scores for Dongji

• FT 18' Karaaria scores for Dynamos

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• HT 15' Leonidovich substituted for Chisty due to injury

• FT 22' Mao substituted for Chang due to injury

• FT 25' Sertac substituted for Zhao due to malfunction

---

Wuji Sports Club - Titans

Mithuna 8 • Tiangong Stadium

new captain, Qigang Lian, leads wuji to decisive victory over San Olympus Titans. 

Titans are deflated after Wong successfully converts a penalty kick in the 2nd half to give Wuji the lead. 

The teams are evenly matched with Lian leading Wuji with strong offense in throughout the game. Saprai is awarded a red card after smashing an opponent's lifepack with her knee. The serious offence resulted in the Titans defender being suspended for 2 matches. Nash allegedly has post-match 'hissy fit', lashing out at teammates.

GOALS

• HT 14' Lian scores the first goal for Wuji

• HT 22' Nash scores for Titans

• FT 21' Wong scores a penalty kick for Wuji

• FT 25' Galio scores the final goal for Wuji

NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS

• FT 20' Zheng taken out due to suit malfunction

SHOTS ON GOAL
17	22

POSSESSION
49%	51%

FOULS
2	3

---

Comets - Al'amal Sports Club

Mithuna 8 • Marineris Stadium

Captain Liddell Bradley #95 and Comets lick their wounds after losing a match they should have won.

Comets left baffled as Al'Amal steals the win despite being outplayed and outgunned by the Season 1 champions.

The Comets were in perfect form controlling much of the match.   Uncommon missteps were what let the match slip away from the disciplined team. Guler was able to cross a shot into the bottom left of the net. Many are calling the goal a lucky fluke, but time will tell whether Guler will perform consistently in his new role as forward.

GOALS

• HT 14' Shelton scores for Comets

• FT 17' Farra scores for Al'amal

• FT 27' Guler scores for Al'amal

SHOTS ON GOAL
25	14

POSSESSION
78%	22%

FOULS
2	3

---

Stats & Standings

Standing	M	W	L
Al'Amal Sports Club	1	1	0
Dynamo	1	1	0
United	1	1	0
Wuji Sports Club	1	1	0
Comets	1	0	1
Dongji	1	0	1
Immortals	1	0	1
Titans	1	0	1

Top Scorers
	Avideh Karaaria	2
	Yvonne Barnato	1
	Marcus Ekberg	1
	Geng Geng	1
	Sergey Samrend	1
	Qigang Lian	1
	John Ming Wong	1
	Adrián Gallo	1
	Readale Nash	1
	Susanna Shelton	1

Something foul in Tiangong

Gemini 28, 2078, m249

Maintenance technicians are unable to rid the mold causing foul smell across the colony.

Wuji will be starting off the season in rotten shape and not only because of their dismal display in their first season.

Tiangong has been plagued by widespread issues with the colony's environment controls.  Mold infestations have produced  a foul, rotten odour that is being circulated through the entire facility.  To make matters worse, the right solution will require a complete replacement of filtration equipment, which could take weeks to source, build and install.

Tiangong officials have ensured residents that this does not pose a health risk for most people.  Those who have untreatable sensitivity have already been relocated to Korolev and Amrita. For everyone else, however, until abatement, there is little that can be done about the smell.

"We wish we could just flush the system and get back to normal," said a Tiangong spokesman, “But, unfortunately, we need to address a design flaw to get at the root of the problem.  Until we can safely swap out all of the impacted components and deploy the anti-microbial measures, we will have to endure."

Until that time, the Wuji players have decided to moved out of the habitat and have been camping in their club land transport vehicle.

Interim manager, Desmond Dino Yu, expressed disappointment in the distraction leading up to their opening game against the Titans, but found some positives, "There is nothing like a crisis to bring the team together," he said, “Living out of the transport keeps us close to the pitch and, I expect, we’ll have a capacity crowd as people will want to get out of the colony for a breath of fresh air."

Wuji will face the San Olympus Titans on the 8th of Mithuna, who will, no doubt, have a a lot to prove after their defeat in the finals at the hands of the Comets.

Flash Back to Forward Attack. MAFL Season 2 Predictions

Gemini, 27, 2078, m249

Everyone is wondering how things will shape up for this season of MAFL  What clues can we get from last season's performance?

Let's flash back to some key Season 1 trends to see how Season 2 might play out as we countdown to the MAFL opening weekend.

As runners-up of Season 1, the Titans started strong. They roared in with a 12 game winning streak after week 3, ending with the best overall record—16 and 5. However, many wonder if the Titans peaked too soon as they limped to the playoffs with only one win in their last four matches.

“We might have tried too hard to impress early on, and we suffered a number of injuries down the stretch,” said Titans manager, Pablo Salgado. “Captain Raenia Ware went down mid-season, then our leading scorer Readale Nash, and then the list kept growing. We were definitely not at full strength at the end.”

Ware elaborated on adjustments for Season 2, “This off-season, we stepped up our endurance training and Pablo will be managing the minutes of our key players more carefully this season. That means all of us will need to step up and provide more balanced play.”

Balanced play was key to the Comets’ championship run.

They did not experience the same peaks and valleys as the Titans and ended the season with strong. Going into the playoffs 4-2. The Comets were also far less reliant on a few star players, with more balanced play on both the defensive and offensive end.

“Coach made sure we stayed even throughout the season,” said Comets Captain, Liddell Bradley. “Even after all three losses to the Titans, Coach wouldn’t let us get too down having us just focus on fixing our mistakes. We’ll need to keep that kind of focus throughout Season 2 if we are to defend our title.”

Defending that title will not only mean fending off the Titans, but also the offensive fury of Amrita (with leading scorer Uday Lanka), and Al’amal’s trio of Musaddiq Baddour, Arwa Farra, and Hamad Fayad.

Based on off-season rumblings, both teams have been busy. Amrita is looking to add complementary players to Lanka while Al’amal is reportedly dangling either Fayad or Farra to get some high level defenders back.  

And what are the other teams up to?   

Europa is hoping that Darkeem Dennis to help enhance their anemic offence. However, Dennis was relatively quiet after Week 4 having scored only one goal for the remainder of the season.

Tiangong is hoping the subtraction of manager Bobby Chung will help add a new winning culture and enable growth such as the type that forward Vygintas Respsas started to show at the end of Season 1.  

Huacheng is hoping additional training, player growth and potential new players will help their Season 2.

They can hope but new additions are unlikely to come. If anything, there is a trend towards players leaving MAFL as at least 8 players have confirmed they will opt out of their pro-sporting career.

While most of these players are from the larger squads (Europa, Comets and Titans), this will have a ripple effect across the league as teams will look to aggressively poach and recruit from others.

For now though, barring any injuries, the Comets and Titans are still the front-runners for Season 2. However, if Al’amal can engineer a deal to shore up their defence, they would be our dark horse pick.

Can Comets Defend Their Title?

Gemini 20, 2048, 2078

To defend one’s championship title requires one’s defence to be just as good if not better than in the previous year.  And balanced defence was a calling card for the Marineris Comets led by Defender of the year Stephen Liu. 

Yet Liu will be tasked to take on more as the Comets will return this year losing significant defensive depth as Meghana Singh and Vitor Medina have confirmed their withdrawal from Season 2 MAFL play. 

“We’ll miss them [Meg and Vitor] as they were unsung heroes in our championship run. They ate a ton of minutes for us, shut down opponents consistently, and were first class citizens for team chemistry,” said Liu. 

And to add to manager Gordan J Pryce’s troubles, forward Ellis Black has also made the decision to return to his career in the space sciences.  Black, who is 31 years old, accepted a role with Tyconika Gam, a contractor for Earth space agencies.

“The grind of the season and gruelling demands of being a full-time athlete isn't for everyone,” said Pryce. “Even when you are talented, it doesn't mean it is your calling.  We thank all of them for their contributions to not only our championship, but to the 2 years they invested to make MAFL a reality.”

The Comet's unique gradient colour scheme is out.  Bradley and team appeared in the their new uniforms during pre-season training session.

Even with a the loss of 3 players, the Comets will still have one of the largest rosters in the league with 22 members.   A bigger issue may be the club's lax off-season approach compared with many other clubs that have had little or no break..   

“Truth be told, I haven’t thought about Season 2 a whole lot,” confessed Liu. “I’ve been trying to enjoy some down time out with friends – we caught the Pathfinder sprint rounds in the mobile settlements and made it to a few hockey games."

This raised concerns with Captain Liddell Bradley upon hearing how his teammates have utilized their off season. 

“I don’t want any complacency sinking in,” said Bradley. “Look, we earned our fan base at home, and thus more expectations for season 2. We will need to work harder. The road to repeat starts now.”
 

Owners Contribute to Relief Effort

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Unprecedented devastation rocks the Earth with submerged landmass and dozens of cities left in ruins.  

The crisis continues to unfold on Earth after last week's cataclysmic events.  The series of earthquakes have taken a global toll affecting countries that straddle the boundaries of the Ring of Fire.  Japan and the West American Quadrant were the hardest hit.  The exact loss of life is still unknown after the initial wave of tectonic activity began 6 days ago, but hundreds of thousands are thought to have perished.

Following protocol, Martian Councils convened late on Martis, shortly after receiving reports of the incident.  A key part to the Martian response, confirmed by the United Council of Mars and the Immigration Council, will include a mass evacuation of all pre-approved, waitlisted applicants from the affected regions. This effectively means expediting off-world relocation of more than 35,000 people, many of which have already been airlifted from the disaster zones to makeshift camps near launch centres around the world.

There is an attempt to move 5,000 of these survivors and rendezvous with the next immediate passing craft. It's a very narrow window as significant preparations are required to transport such a large number of human passangers.

The circuit between Earth and Mars currently has 12  freighter crafts that perpetually circle the two planets, making cargo transfers every 2 Martian months.  Moving the remaining 30,000 would take at least 1/2 an Earth Year according to specialists, however, mission planners are looking at ways to accelerating the program.

Colonies have less than 7 months to prepare for the staged population influx.  Osumi colony has committed to receive all of the first inbound evacuants, largely coming from affected regions in Japan.  This number represents 5 time the current capacity of the colony.

Receiving the evacuees will be a massive undertaking and this initiative is largely possible due to the financial and resource contributions of Martian organizations, most notably the MAFL.  

"Luckily we were all in Europa for a meeting when we caught wind of the crisis," said Aiger Masing, commissioner of the MAFL, "All club owners, including Kamden Lewis (San Olympus Titans) , Vijya Pandey (Amrita Immortals) , and Jubair Muhammad (Al'amal S.C.) have signed on to support the UCM in these efforts."

The United Council of Mars, representing all settlements, have approved resurrecting the former British colony mission that was abandoned in late 2067.  Key members of the original operation, who ended up in other colonies, will be reactivated to lead the operation and administration. By leveraging the existing infrastructure and construction, it is conceivable a new colony can be established to house between 8 to 10 thousand people.  Growing the organics components required for life support for this population size will be the biggest challenge for environmental engineers.

Additionally, integration of new colonists is also a concern, especially due to the traumatic circumstances.  Transition programs are typically 24-40 weeks (depending on the host colony); pre-colonists are required to live in replica facilities on Earth that resemble their target colony. On average 15% wash out for one reason or another, so this safety net won't be there to filter cold-feet or screening unfit individuals.  

Kamden Lewis, who continues to operate multiple businesses on Earth, is said to have lost at least one of his California-based facilities and headquarters.  In a statement, he stated, "Mars resources will be put to the test both in terms of infrastructure and the social impact.  Our part to welcome these new colonists will be easy compared to the ongoing recovery efforts back on Earth. We will work tirelessly on both planets to help in any way we can."

In the near-term, MAFL and other sport organizations will play an important role in helping keep colony morale up.  

“We’ve never assimilated new migrants under these extenuating circumstances before,” said Rjek Someni, head of Martian Immigration Control Council, “We are asking everyone to support this mission, including the burgeoning sport community.  It's going to be culture shock on a massive scale, so sports may be one way to ease the transition.  It's going to affect all of our lives.”

Outfits and Upgrades for Al'amal

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MAFL clubs have been upgrading equipment to meet new specifications and updates for safety, but some clubs have taken the opportunity to come back for season 2 in style.

In a recent outdoor training session, Al'amal players were seen sporting completely new EV suits.  The reported capacity increases for life support are not significantly noticeable against the new design and colours .  Style-wise, Al'amal has definitely stepped up their game.

Abandoning their previously green and gold palette, the club has added grey and introduced handsome Teal accents. 

"These [uniforms] make us feel powerful," said team captain Musaddiq Baddour, "A number of issues we had with the previous equipment has largely been addressed, so this is a huge improvement that will contribute to performance across the league."

Tech pack components extend life support capacity and will include newer safety countermeasures.  The packs are reverse compatible with the propulsion systems integrated into previous generation EV suits.

Al'amal Sport Club has proudly announced they are returning with 100% of their original roster from season 1.  After rumours from Marineris earlier in the week that the championship team will be losing multiple players, this was welcome news for Al'amal fans.

"Trades were just not interesting to us.  If we learned anything, it is how our team embodies and represents our great colony," said club manager, Haajid Nasr, "We did spend a lot of time looking at local recruits over the break.  Though we won't be adding anyone to the lineup, we intend on investing in top candidates to grow the talent pool for the future."

Al'amal SC will officially fund a junior club program starting in parallel with season 2.  An inter-colony junior league remains unlikely due to the tremendous costs and time commitments associated with cross-Mars transport, so actual benefits of a local junior program will have the same limitations as recreational sports clubs. 

MAFL Countdown

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Same Teams and almost all of the players from season 1 will be returning to the pitch in the much awaited 2nd Season of the MAFL.

In just 4 weeks, the MAFL will kick off season 2.

The league and the club owners have been quiet during the break, sharing little news or updates while training camp has been underway for weeks.  Mr. Aiger, President of the MAFL, broke silence today to officially announced Mithuna the 7th to be the opening weekend of play.

He confirmed that the original 8 teams will be returning for season 2, but revealed that Wendland and Columbia Hills will be joining in the league expansion for season 3.

He called out a number of key points related to "build on the learnings" and making changes that will make the game "even better" than than the first season.

Restricted team changes

In the spirit of growing talent, clubs have agreed to limited player changes, including no more than 1 trade and a maximum of 2 new recruitments.

Club owners will be sharing final roster in the upcoming weeks as they continue to make adjustments.  Several players have bowed out during the off season for personal reasons, but otherwise, virtually all of the familiar faces will be returning.

"Not all teams were made equal, but none of us wanted to see drastic changes.", said Matthäus Reinmann, manager of Europa United, "This seasons is about continuity and refinement.  I expect that it is going to be different than the inaugural season as every club has had time to reflect and work out issues."

Though Tiangong Wuji restructured their management team and said good-bye to head coach Bobby Chung after finishing in last place last season, the club expressed support on the team change restrictions, ironically saying:  "You never give up on your people.  That isn't the  Martian-way."

Rules Refinements

Aiger has implied that minor 'tweaks' have been made to the rule book, but here are a few notable outcomes:

• An actual referee on the pitch. The official will be supported by 2 members in the control room and the same distribution of robot officials.

• Ball deceleration – this one is a bit controversial among the clubs as this season's balls will be adjusted for programatic deceleration. The league claims this will improve safety, however, it seems counter intuitive considering boost propellent capacity will also be increasing this year.

• Life support requirement have also been upped after multiple incidents in season 1. In addition to a number of EV suit specifications updates to address safety concerns, tech packs must support greater oxygen supply and helmets have new requirements. Some clubs have have taken this opportunity for equipment redesign and branding.

• The Penalty Kick shootout will be replaced with Extra Time (AET) to resolve tied matches.

Spectator Seating

5 colonies have approved and have retrofit stadiums to support new outdoor seating, including Europa, Amrita, Marineris, Al'amal, and Tiangong.  There will continue to be pitch-side viewing in the safety of the spectator vehicle, but  these stadiums are provided covered bleachers where spectators will be able to enjoy the games in consumer-grade EV Suits that they can rent or buy.  The canopies are required to provide additional radiation protection and the suits are also designed to plug-in to a the stadium seating which both augments the suits life support and provides a direct feed of programmed in-came content.

Going Nowhere Fast

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Now that the final adrenaline rush for ISMO hockey has come to an close, little is actually known of what is in store for the experimental sport.   

Beyond the drama prior to the championship series, ISMO has been tight lipped regarding next steps, only announcing the training program and exhibition to be a 'success'. With all of the test players now released from their temporary contracts, it is unclear what, if anything, will come of the skills they have developed over the last several months.  And without any follow-up plans for the 75 test players, what does ISMO have to build on?

Vicki Li and Laura Hall clear out their personal effects from their Europa locker room.  Their hockey future is unknown as they return to their respective colonies, San Olympus and Chariton. An emotional Li vows that they will play together again.

Despite a rough start in the first round of exhibitions and the amateur quality of play due to inexperienced players, the sport did capture the imagination of fans.  With no follow through, however, even the initial participating colonies are skeptical that ISMO have the capability of forming a league anytime soon.

"It's a shame," according to Marp Unigeny, a planner at Europa, "We were ready to talk about the future possibilities of hockey, but there isn't a lot of faith in the Ice Sport Organization from a business partner perspective."

Many, including Mr. Unigeny, think this is a byproduct of the 'trust-fund' start-ups and non-profits that come and go across the colonies.  The challenge for the significant ultra-wealthy segment of population is, there's little they can spend on, limited local investment options, and it is incredibly difficult to influence colony policies.

Sports have become a new investment option and play-thing that, it turns out, not only is it proving to be a viable venture, but a back door to shaping Mars culturally, making it that much more enticing for would-be entrepreneurs and investors.

It may not be entirely fair to question the motives of ISMO president, Fredrick Seulovik, and others like him, as their contribution to Martian sports cannot dismissed.  What Seulovik lacks, however, is commitment.  With no outlook for a next stage, no indications on upcoming seasons or exhibitions, the momentum is sure to evaporate.  It's fine for ISMO to concentrate their efforts on research and development and leave it to others to find a way to make it work.  There is nothing wrong with others shepherding the ice sport experiments and take it to the next level. As we've seen with the hockey finals, perhaps it will be the players themselves that will take up the mantle.

After getting our first appetizer of Martian Hockey, we have to accept that there isn't a main course, at least, not yet.  With that said, we all know that things can happen very quickly here on Mars, so anything is possible.

Until then, we can rest assured that Martian Aero Football is sticking and just around the corner with a season 2.