SoccerProject

SoccerProject
Platform(s)	Any computer connected to the internet
Release date(s)	5 April 2004 (Beta)
Genre(s)	MMOG
Mode(s)	Multi player

SoccerProject (alternatively known as SP) is a browser-based online, football management game (MMOG) developed in Belgium and first released in 2004.

Comprising teams from 238 different nations and available in 27 languages, the game is played by around 12,000 users.^[1]

The game itself is free of charge, but users may purchase a SoccerProject Football Association membership to gain access to extra features.

Game overview

SoccerProject screenshot

As with any normal management game, users gain control over their team, both economically and tactically. Once a user registers for the game, s/he takes over a previously-vacated team (controlled by the AI), which then gets reset (a new set of players is generated, bearing the nationality the user chose to represent, budget and stadium size are reset to the basic default) and gets to name it, alongside the stadium. As the game progresses, and in order to achieve their goals, managers must learn to choose the ideal line-ups for matches, embark on the transfer market buying and selling players, improve their stadium and facilities, always keeping an eye on the finances and staff.^[2]

Game structure

Historical Division A and SP Cup Winners[3]
Season	Division A Winner[4]	Sp Cup Winner[5]
1	Ketoak	sparta kolmont
2	Heidebloem	La Gantoise
3	Racing Brugge	RacingFC
4	ReesingGenk	fc Italia
5	fb2004	maluyaca
6	fb2004	FC CRISIS
7	maluyaca	maluyaca
8	fb2004	Beringen United
9	The Naked Chef	Mado
10	Teefjes Vrolijke 11	FC Bruggenhof
11	Mado	team#SoaD
12	Teefjes Vrolijke 11	Westel
13	FC Bruggenhof	Westel
14	Nop's Heroes	SLB Carcavelos
15	kfc de pomp	Verbroedering Robbeke
16	AS Vlalex	Nespereira
17	Maccbi Natanya	Maccbi Natanya
18	Maccbi Natanya	Verbroedering Robbeke
19	The Skunks	Nop's Heroes
20	The Skunks	Nop's Heroes
21	The Skunks	S.A.T
22	Frrfrrr	AS Bosman
23	Frrfrrr	S.A.T
24	FC Inter Milano	cartus
25	S.A.T	FC Inter Milano
26	S.A.T	.The Simpsons.
27	S.A.T	De Zoeloe's
28	Juvenardus FC	Bunicii
29	Bunicii	Lion Team
30	De Zoeloe's	FC Widlaks
31	FC Widlaks	TJ Spartak Medzilaborce
32	FC Widlaks	u utd
33	FC Widlaks	Sokol Čejč
34	FC Widlaks	fc bruges
35	FC Widlaks	Fresh
36	FC Strakapůd	FC Inter Milano
37	FC JEREMY	FC Inter Milano
38	FC JEREMY	FC Inter Milano
39	fc mac	FC Inter Milano
40	FC Inter Milano	Bombalaii Zalau
41	FC Inter Milano	FC Inter Milano
42	FC Inter Milano	AB Craiova
43	FC Inter Milano	FC Remedy
44	FC Remedy	Fc Adjud
45	FC Remedy	FC Raffin
46	FC Raffin	Viastore
47	FC Raffin	FC Raffin
48	FC Raffin	FC Meangreen
49	FC Meangreen	FC Foresta
50	FC Meangreen	me_dinamo
51	Mccgrady City Football team	FC Meangreen
52	Damned United	Damned United
53	Damned United	Damned United
54	Damned United	Armia
55	FC Remedy	Noldor
56	Damned United	FC Remedy
57	Noldor	Chelsea champion
58	Noldor	Noldor
59	Noldor	FC Remedy
60	Noldor	Noldor
61	Noldor	Chelsea champion[6]
62	Noldor	FC Meangreen
63	Noldor	FC Meangreen
64	Viastore	Noldor
65	Viastore	S.A.T[7]
66	Viastore	Totemo Baka
67	The Last Mohycan	Hala Madrid
68	???	???

Divisional organization

Unlike other games of its genre, in SoccerProject teams are not assigned to leagues only with teams from their own nation. Rather, to accommodate nations with a small number of managers, and to avoid having the problem of having to refuse managers from one determinate nation due to lack of space, the leagues in SoccerProject are global. That is, teams from all nations compete directly with one another. As such, the game is based on one sole league pyramid, compressing divisions labelled by letters, from A to H, with A being the highest. With every step in the ladder, the number of leagues triples - i.e. there is one league in Division A, three in Division B, nine in Division C, and so forth. The winner of Division A is considered the 'winner' of that SoccerProject season. Leagues in SoccerProject are contested by 16 teams. After league play is concluded, the top two teams are promoted to the higher division and the six bottom teams are relegated to the lower division (except, of course, the ones in, respectively, Divisions A and H).

Even with this organization model, some large enough communities will hold their own 'national championships'. A significant number of users will arrange friendly matches between their teams and the results, after being tallied, will return the unofficial 'national champion'.

The season

SoccerProject presents itself as a heavy-paced game, when compared to others. A full season (or, within the game, a year) lasts only nine weeks.^[8] All leagues within the game consist of sixteen teams, all playing each other twice during the course of the season, rendering a total of 30 league games per season for every team. League games are played on every weekday, except Wednesdays, which means a league season is finished after eight weeks. Additionally, a SoccerProject Cup is played. In it, all human-controlled teams take part, and works as a single-elimination tournament. Cup rounds take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays, until the final week of every season, where the last five rounds take place.

As the game was originally started by Belgian users, it is not unnatural that, at the beginning, most of the top teams have come from there. In fact, Belgian teams dominated the Division A and the SP Cup during its early years. However, with the surge of new managers from a wider array of nations, this has become less and less so.

League and cup games are played at 04:00 (CET and server time). It is not possible for users to log in while the games are being played. During the course of the day, there are four other time slots, during which teams may, if they choose so, play friendly matches or tournaments.

Alongside these competitions, the community organizes other, unofficial, tournaments. The two best-known and most sought-after are the SoccerProject Champions League (SPCL) and the SoccerProject UEFA Cup (SPUC) (despite the name, teams from nations not affiliated with UEFA are also permitted to take part). The national coordinators of every interested nation nominate a number of teams (which varies depending on past results) to represent their nation in the competition. Teams in Divisions A, B and C take part in the SPCL; teams from other divisions take part in the SPUC.^[9][10] These competitions are sponsored by the Lithuanian SoccerProject community, which pays for a SPFA subscription for the winning managers.

Roles within the game

It is possible to encounter several roles within the game, on various levels. Users in these positions are, like other users, in control of their own team.

• Sheriffs – these deal with cheating accusations, and will decide on which punishments to give to users who violate the game rules.
• Beta Testers^[11] – these assist the programmers, providing feedback on possible new features before they are implemented in the proper game
• Translators – vowing to attract people from a greater amount of nations, users may voluntary as translators, translating the game into their own language. Currently it is available in 24 different languages, with almost as many others in phase of translating.
• Moderators – who are in control of their national forums, and make sure all communications within them adhere to the forum rules.
• National Coordinators^[12] – are in charge of selecting which teams from their nations enter the SoccerProject Champions League and the SoccerProject UEFA Cup

SoccerProject Football Association

In order to counter server costs and other expenses, SoccerProject allows its users to support the game financially, and become virtual members of the SoccerProject Football Association. Such will not improve the quality of the team or make it perform better, but it will make the gaming experience more enjoyable. Those features include getting rid of publicitary ads, assigning nicknames and choosing squad numbers for players, issuing press announcements, getting a trophy cabinet, and more.

The community

Being first released in Belgium, the game's initial user base came from there. For a long time, this had been the largest nation in terms of registered managers, until being surpassed by the Czech Republic, which now boasts 11000+ users.^[13] Other nations with a considerable amount of users within the game, and with a heavy presence within the SP community, include Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania^[14] and The Netherlands. Occasionally (often once every year) users from those nations will organize national meetings and reunite.^[15]

References

1. WorldOnlineGames. "SoccerProject". WorldOlineGames. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
2. Passe-Partout (2006). "Virtuele voetbalhelden op echte grasmat". Passe-Partout (in Dutch).
3. Flags refer to the nations to which users have registered their teams. These may or may not correspond to the actual nationality/place of residence of such users.
4. Huypens, Steven (6 December 2007). "20 seasons Division A". SoccerProject Behind the scenes. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
5. Huypens, Steven (11 October 2007). "SoccerProject Cup S19". SoccerProject Behind the scenes. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
6. Team Chelsea champion has changed his flag (nationality) from Ukrainian to Bulgarian
7. Team S.A.T has changed his flag (nationality) from Belgian to Australian
8. Gones, Les (3 October 2007). "V-Bal Special: Soccerproject" (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 April 2008.
9. Van Der Maele, Stijn. "Sp Champions League - Rules". SoccerProject FIFA. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
10. Van Der Maele, Stijn. "Sp Uefa - Rules". SoccerProject FIFA. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
11. Huypens, Steven (15 October 2007). "Beta-tester: Job Description". SoccerProject Behind the scenes. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
12. Van Der Maele, Stijn. "Soccerproject Uefa". SoccerProject FIFA. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
13. Velghe, Frederik (30 July 2007). "Online voetballers komen samen in Gent". Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 April 2008.
14. Giedrius, Aivaronis (September 2007). "Kur Ieškoti Internete". Computer Bild Lietuva (in Lithuanian): 36.
15. Van Der Elsken, Sarah (13 August 2007). "Voetbalspel verovert Oost-Europa". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch).

External links

• Official website
• Introductory video