For my main series “Totalitarian football” I’m going to be managing the made up club CSKA Aransk in the made up post-Soviet totalitarian Communist nation of Bordavia. I have covered the creation process in a series called “Creating Club and Country”:
The idea from the beginning was for CSKA Aransk to get invited into the Russian league system, where most of the adventure would take place. I was going to create a Bordavian league, but only the top tier, as a backdrop. However, after a literal hurricane of interest in getting involved in this adventure the idea took a turn into something completely different. Over 60 people have reached out and contributed with ideas for towns and clubs and stories. Bordavia has turned into a mystic but rather grim nation, full of quirks, stories and lore. I fell in love with both the commitment shown by you and the nation of Bordavia, which has lead to the creation process of an entire Bordavian database. This has been a real team effort, which I have enjoyed massively, but it has also meant that I haven’t had much time to write blog posts or record YT videos. Therefore I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone, by sharing stories from the nation of Bordavia up until the db release around Christmas.
The first two tales are:
Today’s tale comes from Just Me Aloo, one of the most frequent contributors to this project, and tells the story of the rise and fall of both a family and football.
Nikolai Gegerchev, the father of AFK Gaska
There is a town called Gaska and there lived a man called Nikolai Gegerchev who loved
football and at the end of WWI, he came from the war and decided to create his own
football team which he called AFK Gaska. After going around for two years of looking
for players, he finally got everything sorted and the team was playing football by 1921.
It is also during this time that he got his first of 7 children – Alexandrei, Danill, Gora
and Fedir(Twins), Tit, Yuriy and Inna(Twins)
Fast forward to 1946… The team is doing so well that everyone in the town is
supporting it. Now unfortunately, Nikolai gets infected with a brain tumor in January
and by May, he dies 😢. Thus, the ownership of the club is given to the sons. The club
continues being successful under the sons, gaining reputation and increasing the
popularity among the USSR population
The signing of Georgiy Zakharov
Fast forward to Summer of 1950… The team is still doing well although there begins to
be formation of groups of fans who are following specific children creating groups of
fans and some animosity within the club. The transfer window opens and the club
wants to sign a beast of a striker and skiller in Georgiy Zakharov. The Gegerchev
children had decided to go together to meet Georgiy but some children had other things
in mind. The first set of twins, Gora and Fedir, went early to meet with Georgiy to
discuss a possible contract only to come and meet Danill, the second born, already
discussing with Georgiy. This made them angry and thus called for a meeting to
rage about how Danill went behind their backs to discuss a contract with Georgiy
without telling anyone. Yuriy and Inna, the last born twins said that they had already
discussed a contract with Georgiy and he was already coming to the club. This drove
Alexandrei up the wall throwing his chair on the floor and stomping around the room
in a furious rage. As the meeting went on, Tit couldn’t hold it in and also said that he
had also approached Georgiy on a possible contract. This revelation caused a
pandemonium within the hall where the meeting was being held and within a few
minutes the fans, waiting outside the hall waiting for a verdict, began fighting –
Claiming that it was a particular person who caused Georgiy not to sign!
The fights went on for three days straight with people losing their lives and a lot of
properties destroyed including the Nopk Stadium which was the stadium of AFK Gaska.
This fights were halted by the then mayor, Foka Gusev, who called a meeting with the Gegerchev children and told them to sort out their issues. This resulted in the children
deciding to close the club for good. This was received well by the fans especially
because there was more going on behind the scenes.
Football reborn
The Sunday following the announcement of the breaking up of AFK Gaska, Alexandrei
is seated at home. It’s 3pm and the sun is out. The radio is on playing beautiful USSR
Hard Bass when an announcement came on:
It is seems that the Gegerchev Children are continuing with football after all… Some
of the Children have created their own teams as follows: Twins, Gora and Fedir,
with the team F.K. Chempiony Gaska and will be playing their football at the Nopk
Stadium at the former Nopk Stadium Site. Tit and Twins, Yuriy and Inna, with the
team Gaska United F.K. and will be playing their football at the Stadion Nikolai
Gegerchey. Danill with his team F.K. Istrebiteli and will be playing their football at
the Stadion Vostaniye. We still have no information on whether Alexandrei will be
establishing his own team…
This was the last stroke for Alexandrei who took his own life later that day. And in
memory of him, his followers and a few players who had no team established a team
called Byvshiki Gaska and named a stadium in his name.
The Gaska teams in the database
If you want to take part in this family feud you’ll find both Gaska United and Chempiony Gaska in the top tier of Bordavian football. If you feel like toppling your superior siblings you could go for Istrebiteli or Byvshiki further down the pyramid!
This was the third “Tale from Bordavia” and I’d like to thank Just Me Aloo for his great contribution. There will be a new one every day leading up to Christmas. I hope you’ll enjoy these little stories and that they will spark an interest large enough to follow my main series “Totalitarian Football” and maybe even try the database when it comes out!?
I stream my “Building Bordavia” creation process on Twitch on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Come hang out and say hi!
I also upload episodes about the creation process to my YouTube channel. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss any content!
MikaelinhoFM 