Apox National League
 | |
| Organising body | Independent Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 563 A.T |
| Country | Apox |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | ANL2 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Marshall Cup |
| International cup(s) | Champions' League Challenger's Cup |
| Current champions | Exton F.C (1st title) (607) |
| Most championships | Dwile Warriors (9 titles) |
| Most appearances |  John Lockwood (368) |
| Top goalscorer | Tolgus Tregajorran (216) |
The Apox National League was the premier football competition in Apox. It is the top level of Apoxian football, and has 16 teams competing in it, with the bottom two being relegated to the ANL2. The league went on hiatus for six years, following on from a corruption scandal during and after the 590 season. It returned in 596 and is currently in its tenth season since returning, although it no longer supplies teams to international competition. The league had an all time high rank of 1st in the UICA coefficients.
History
Foundation
The idea of a national league to replace the faltering regional leagues was first mooted shortly after the civil war ended in 550, but with the country in a state and rebuilding, it was a number of years before serious talks of a national league began.
In 560, a large summit was held, with many of the top football clubs being represented, to talk about the formation of a national league. In the later 550's there had been sporadic attempts at recreating the regional leagues and even a failed attempt to start a national league. These all failed due to not having the combined support of all the participating clubs and the AFB. The talks in 560 were an attempt to create a sanctions AFB league, and they were a success.
In the interest of fairness, an equal number of clubs from each of the original regional leagues were invited, based on current and historical strength, with Dwile Warriors, Dwile Central and Issington F.C joining from the Dwile area, Urbanista, Exton F.C and Southtown joining from the Seafront area, Gwinevra Barbarians, Wye United and FC Brimstone joining from the Midlands area and Wrexton F.C, Barbury Town and Cierbana United joining from the Northern area.
The 560's
While it was initially thought that five clubs would share honours amongst themselves (Urbanista, Dwile Warriors, Gwinevra Barbarians, Dwile Central and Barbury Town, this was not to be the case. The league was initially dominated by two teams, Dwile Warriors and Gwinevra Barbarians, with the Warriors winning the first two seasons, before the Barbarians won the next two seasons. Neither team was really challenged for dominance, with players such as Keri Ularu, John Carpenter, Chris Maarsden and Rancisc Tenian being the star players of the league. Urbanista was the only other team to regularly qualify for the Globe Cup but even they never looked like challenging for the title. Dwile Central and Issington F.C basically merged for the 565 season, which meant that a contesting giant could be formed.
Issington F.C had new investment pumped into the side from their merger with Dwile Central, and this resulted in the creation of a club which could finally contest the "Big Two" of Dwile Warriors and Gwinevra Barbarians. Led by captain Gregari Stanislav and new, record signing Chris Maarsden in the 568 season, they beat out the Barbarians to take their first ANL title. Dwile Warriors fell to 5th in this season, and from then on followed a period of rebuilding for the side. For the next two seasons, the title moved between Issington F.C and Gwinevra Barbarians, with the Barbarians taking their 3rd title to become the team with the most titles in the ANL era.
The 570's
Dwile Warriors returned to take the title in the 572 season, storming to victory with glorious attacking football from Keri Ularu and Agustin Caruzzo of Sargossa propelling them to the title. 574 was Urbanista's year, and they stormed to a first ANL title, record ANL signing Tolgus Tregajorran scoring a phenomenal amount of goals, backed up by captain Olim Benzari and Eugeny Ivanov. FC Endeavour was a historic and incredibly successful side dating back to the old days of the ANL, unfortunately dissolving in the late 540's. However, it had been resurrected in 566, and was instantly promoted to the top tier, quickly becoming a UICA regular along the way. In 576, having assembled an expensive squad, containing stars like Alex "King" Keir and Nikita Pirinen, they stormed to their first title in the modern era, only 10 years and 7 seasons after being resurrected.
FC Endeavour's win meant that 5 clubs had won the title in the last 5 seasons, but in the 578 season, ten seasons after the first ANL, Dwile Warriors returned to the top, their season being a last huzzah for retiring players such as Keri Ularu and Jack Forster's, both stalwarts and multi-league winners. After fending off Barbury Town in the 578 season, Dwile Warriors had to put up with stiff opposition in the 579 season, with Barbury Town pushing them all the way until the last matchday of the season, with Barbury eventually being pushed into 3rd place, after Issington F.C passed them into second. Notable in the 579 season was Exton F.C finally qualifying for the UICA spots after many years of steady improvement in the right direction.
The 580's
The pre-season contenders for the title were defending champions Dwile Warriors with FC Endeavour and rising force Barbury Town also being relevant in the title race. Barbury Town were in the lead for the majority of the season, with a surprisingly resurgent Gwinevra Barbarians challenging until a few matchdays before the end. It was a close end of season, with FC Endeavour coming close, before Barbury overtook them on the final matchday to win the title by a single point.
FC Endeavour stormed to their second title in the 581 season, getting to the top of the table early on and not looking back, losing only three times all seasons and gaining 65 points, an Apoxian record. The season was also marred by controversy, with Cierbana United kicked from the league system due to a matchfixing scandal.
In 582, Dwile Warriors stormed to a 6th ANL title, further extending their record, with FC Endeavour close behind in 2nd, really surrendering the title after being 7 points ahead with 9 games to play. Notable is Gwinevra Barbarians[ finishing third, only 4 points behind, as they begin to rebuild. Urbanista and Issington F.C both have poor seasons, finishing 10th and 11th respectively. Meanwhile, Alex Terán makes league history in winning the Golden Boot despite playing from central midfield - the first midfielder to win the honour.
The 583 is historic for a number of reasons - it's 20 years since the ANL was founded and conveniently, the ANL is ranked 1st in the multiverse for this season. FC Endeavour and Barbury Town seize their opportunities early and the league title is between them for most of the season, a gap of 14 points between 2nd and 3rd come the end of the season - as FC Endeavour win their third title with a record equalling 65 points.
Prior to the 584 season, Dwile Warriors went on something of an extreme splurge, spending an almost inconceivable £59 million on Laborius Hawk and Yurpá Mêndêlöíndçêl. As a result, they created the most fiersome line-up in all of ANL victory and they ran away with the title from the start, scoring a record 77 goals and obtaining a record 71 points.
Barbury Town finally won a second ANL title under the fantastic management of Ken Rickwright, having threatened to do so for some time, with a surprisingly open race for the title. Gwinevra Bulls continued their record of finishing bottom in the ANL ever time they've competed, looking thoroughly outclassed all season. The following season Gwinevra Barbarians won their 4th title and first for 13 seasons, propelled by the goals of the previously unknown Weverton Rodriguez-Torrejon, while the landmark 20th season of the ANL was won by Barbury Town, who recovered from a poor start to win in one of the closest seasons ever, under the management of Rodin Vidal, who was in his first season with the club.
Gwinevra dominance & league collapse
The 589 & 590 seasons were both won by Gwinevra Barbarians, meaning in the league's last 4 seasons, the Barbarians had won 3 titles - thanks to an inspired squad and Vanorian manager who knew how to get the best out of his team. And in both seasons, Dwile Warriors were the runners-up, harking back to the older days of the league, and proving that it was once again more of a duopoly than an open, flowing league as the middle years would suggest.
During the 590 season, various allegations with regards to corruption and match fixing rumbled on, and in the end, widespread matchfixing was discovered throughout the league pyramid. Many were banned and arrested, and the ANL (through all 4 tiers) was permanently disbanded, leading to an exodus of top players out of the country and the suspension of the Apoxian National Football team.
The Return of the ANL
The ANL returned for the 596 season, with only eleven teams participating including Halholzer United of Mareibat, with Mareibatian teams in the Apoxian football pyramid as well. Gwinevra Barbarians won their seventh title to draw equal with Dwile Warriors as the most successful ANL team of all time. There was a large amount of restructuring in the offseason, as the Mareibatian clubs left the Apoxian football pyramid and the ANL returned to 16 teams participating once more. The 597 season saw FC Endeavour return to the top and get the domestic double after many years without trophies, while Oldem Mechanical stunned the league to finish third and pick up a UICA place. Egloskerry also nearly performed well enough to pick up a Globe Cup place, and finished in fifth.
Performance by Club
| Club | Titles | Runners-up | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dwile Warriors | 9 | 9 | 563, 564, 572, 578, 579, 582, 584, 602, 604 |
| Gwinevra Barbarians | 8 | 8 | 565, 566, 569, 586, 589, 590, 596, 599 |
| FC Endeavour | 5 | 3 | 576, 581, 583, 597, 598 |
| Barbury Town | 4 | 5 | 580, 585, 588, 600/601 |
| Issington F.C | 2 | 3 | 568, 570 |
| Urbanista | 1 | 1 | 574 |
| Oldem Knights | 1 | 0 | 606 |
| Exton F.C | 1 | 0 | 607 |
Season Overview
| Season | Winner | Runners-up | Top Scorer(s) | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 563 | Dwile Warriors | Wrexton F.C | Stan Miller
|
Dwile Central | 18 |
| 564 | Dwile Warriors | Gwinevra Barbarians | Stan Miller
|
Dwile Central | 22 |
| 565 | Gwinevra Barbarians | Dwile Warriors | Chris Maarsden
|
Gwinevra Barbarians | 19 |
| 566 | Gwinevra Barbarians | Dwile Warriors | Dravid Scott
|
Urbanista | 18 |
| 568 | Issington F.C | Gwinevra Barbarians |  Rancisc Tenian
|
Gwinevra Barbarians | 18 |
| 569 | Gwinevra Barbarians | Issington F.C | Maxim Kolo
|
Barbury Town | 18 |
| 570 | Issington F.C | Dwile Warriors | Chris Maarsden
|
Issington F.C | 16 |
| 572 | Dwile Warriors | Gwinevra Barbarians | Keri Ularu
|
Dwile Warriors | 21 |
| 574 | Urbanista | Issington F.C | Rancisc Tenian
|
Gwinevra Barbarians | 19 |
| 576 | FC Endeavour | Urbanista | Tolgus Tregajorran
|
Urbanista | 20 |
| 578 | Dwile Warriors | FC Endeavour |  Mateus Carvalho
|
Dwile Warriors | 22 |
| 579 | Dwile Warriors | Issington F.C |  Danny Leighton
|
Issington F.C | 23 |
| 580 | Barbury Town | FC Endeavour | Tolgus Tregajorran
|
Urbanista | 24 |
| 581 | FC Endeavour | Dwile Warriors | Tolgus Tregajorran
|
Dwile Warriors | 20 |
| 582 | Dwile Warriors | FC Endeavour | Alex Terán
|
FC Endeavour | 21 |
| 583 | FC Endeavour | Barbury Town | Tolgus Tregajorran
|
Dwile Warriors | 22 |
| 584 | Dwile Warriors | Barbury Town |  Laborius Hawk
|
Dwile Warriors | 23 |
| 585 | Barbury Town | Gwinevra Barbarians | Laborius Hawk
|
Dwile Warriors | 21 |
| 586 | Gwinevra Barbarians | Barbury Town | Corinna McKenna
|
Barbury Town | 18 |
| 588 | Barbury Town | Dwile Warriors | Laborius Hawk
|
Dwile Warriors | 23 |
| 589 | Gwinevra Barbarians | Dwile Warriors | Alpha Gandhi
|
FC Endeavour | 22 |
| 590 | Gwinevra Barbarians | Dwile Warriors | Laborius Hawk
|
Dwile Warriors
FC Endeavour |
20 |
| Hiatus | |||||
| 596 | Gwinevra Barbarians | Dwile Warriors | Winston Arrowsmith
|
FC Endeavour | 21 |
| 597 | FC Endeavour | Gwinevra Barbarians | Winston Arrowsmith
|
FC Endeavour | 23 |
| 598 | FC Endeavour | Gwinevra Barbarians |  Kel Koromin
|
Dwile Warriors | 22 |
| 599 | Gwinevra Barbarians | FC Endeavour | Miriam Oakstone-Sandoval
|
Gwinevra Barbarians | 22 |
| 600/601 | Barbury Town | Gwinevra Barbarians | Marcy Blake-Tatum
|
Dwile Warriors | 19 |
| 602 | Dwile Warriors | Barbury Town | Marcy Blake-Tatum
|
Dwile Warriors | 22 |
| 604 | Dwile Warriors | Gwinevra Barbarians |  Lewis Phoenix
|
FC Endeavour | 20 |
| 606 | Oldem Knights | Barbury Town |  Jack Jevđenijević
|
Oldem Knights | 19 |
| 607 | Exton F.C | Dwile Warriors | Marcy Blake-Tatum
|
Dwile Warriors | 22 |