Luthori

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Three months following the devastating terrorist attacks on Luthori’s capital, Fort William, which left hundreds dead and wounded, doubts have been raised upon Luthori’s capability to host the international football tournament, due to security concern following this attack. Luthorian Prime Minister Jay Parkford rejected these claims, stating that Luthori “was perfectly ready” to host the 5726 World Cup. The Luthorian government engaged increased security detail for international teams and raised the number of policemen mobilised for the event by 3.000, passing from 10.000 policemen mobilised for the event to 13.000.

The day came and the nation was in total euphory. Football mania had taken over the streets, which were filled with Luthorian flags, numerous individuals wearing the Lions’ kit in support of the national team. The Imperial Mall, standing before the Orange Palace, saw the numerous Luthorian flags being replaced by the flags of some competing nations in the tournament. The opening game was held at the Crystal Stadium of Fort William, seeing host nation Luthori playing Kafuristan on the opening day of the tournament.

The opening ceremony was designed by Todd Sharp, Emily Atkinson, and Evelyn Lowe. According to the organisers, it was aiming at “celebrating Luthorian values of openness, love, diversity and freedom in the time of great strife”, it saw a vibrant and energetic show being laid forward, divided in four parts, each representing a particular value. The first part was when a child holding a dim light advanced towards the centre stage, amid sounds of angry politician speech, bombing, screams all around him, in addition, dancers worked in cohesion, yet were divided, all of these emotions were notably conveyed helped by raw, tense musical instruments.

Then this anxious atmosphere shattered with a single violin playing Luthorian folk music, around the child, numerous people arrived, a symbolism of Luthori’s place as a “land of opportunity”, each immigrant community was represented in this second part of the ceremony, each of them, carrying a suitcase alongside them and then the stadium was filled with warmth as each of the suitcase were thrown off, revealing music instruments of different types – then on the large screen, faces of ordinary people living in Luthori were shown to represent Luthori’s diverse nature.

In the third act, a large statue of intertwined hands was placed at the centre of the pitch, then people of all colors and sexual orientation entered the pitch and begun to dance together, rival football fans, same-sex couples, elderly couples, heterosexual couples, disabled dancers, parents with children, all of them dancing in celebration of love – with a single message “No one belongs here alone.”

To conclude with the climax, Luthori’s artistic and rebellious culture was celebrated, with artists, gay rights activists, youth culture representatives, anti-establishment activists and those who challenged the system to make it adapt to the new realities of the nation were celebrated. Finally, skateboarders, BMX riders, street footballers all flooded the pitch as a live collaboration between the Imperial Philarmoanic Orchestra and DJs was playing, concluding this very impressive opening ceremony.

His Majesty the Emperor addressed the crowd before officially opening the 5726 World Cup. The octogenarian monarch said that the “values that bring us all of us today have been defied by those who do not wish that these values be celebrated today, around the beautiful sport of football [...] It is my sincere honour to see that our nation and the world have rejected these violent methods and has instead joined us in the celebration of this sport, in peace and harmony.”

“I hereby declare open the 5726 Male World Cup, organised by the International Football Federation, celebrating the glorious sport of football and bringing the world in harmony behind sports, throwing away weapons of destruction in favour of athletic skills and competition”, the monarch said among the crowd’s heavy applause.

The match wasn’t that interesting, the Luthorian national team easily overpowering the Kafuri selection, winning 6-1, the Luthorian side was already winning 4-0 by halftime, with leading goalscorer being Raja Sultan, who by the 45th minute, had already scored a hat-trick. This victory led to heavy celebration as Luthori takes the first place in its group, although the Luthorian national coach, Jeremy Falkwell aimed at remaining “cautious” after this victory.

“We might have won, and by a large margin, I do agree. But it’s not a reason to slack off of our efforts to win the tournament before our fans and the nation [...] winning 6-1 shouldn’t get us overconfident about our chances, as there are other teams out there that are going to play tomorrow or the next day and we might face them in the future...”

Luthorian fans were excastic after the victory with many saying that it might be “coming home”.