The League of Federations tournament, which I have been organising for the past 15 editions, will be the last.
The reason:
At the start of the new season, my Federation (Chad) disappeared for no valid reason, nor could the admins even explain why (in the past, other federations have also disappeared).
Reason: it’s a complete mystery; no one can explain why, and none of the admins can fix it either.

It’s only a game and no one’s died, but it’s a bit frustrating given that I’d been looking after this federation for quite some time – starting from scratch and building it up bit by bit until it regularly ranked among the 15th or 20th best federations in the game.

Worse still, as I’d put myself forward for the next election straight after my last one, I can’t even try to take over another federation now, because if I stand as a candidate, I get this message

Unbelievable: I’m now blocked for several months because I’m a candidate in a so-called ‘other election’… which hasn’t existed since my federation was dissolved!

Several official administrators are aware of this, but even with the best will in the world, they don’t have the tools to rectify and resolve the situation.

So what’s the point of continuing to run a section of the game that clearly doesn’t interest (or no longer interests) the person who created it:
see also the other bugs in this module, reported countless times to no avail, which often forces me to deal with complaints – sometimes legitimate – regarding the impact of these bugs on the competition I’m in charge of, to which I can offer no other response than:
“Sorry, but that’s just the way it is; there’s nothing I can do about it”.

This competition had gradually gained legitimacy, particularly thanks to the collaboration I’d had with Morten, and it had become an official competition with entries in the roll of honour and the awarding of prize money, which was, from my point of view too, a source of satisfaction in seeing the work done recognised.

This competition also had the merit of fostering self-regulation amongst participants and helped put a stop to the systematic cheating that some had introduced by ‘optimising’ the federations, given the loopholes it contained (and still contains).
There is no doubt that if this competition were to end, the ‘optimisers’ would resurface and discreetly resume their shameless practices.
I therefore suggest that the anti-cheating administrators keep a close eye on things;
if necessary, I can explain some of the methods used to them.

Well, all this is to explain why I’m throwing in the towel in the face of the indifference I’m encountering.
If I’m stopping, it’s not solely because my federation has disappeared, but because this unexplained and unresolved disappearance is, in a way, the (big) straw that breaks the camel’s back.

As I’m not the sort to penalise those (an ever-growing number) who are interested in and motivated by this competition, I’m not walking out in the middle of nowhere without warning, as I might be tempted to do.
A new edition has just kicked off, so I’ll continue to run this one ‘as normal’ with the same commitment, as if nothing had happened, but it will be the last.

If anyone wants to take up the baton, let them come forward; I’ll gladly pass on all the tips to bear in mind to ensure the competition runs smoothly (be warned, organising it is quite – or rather, very – time-consuming if you take it seriously).

Good luck to all the selectors for the current edition…… of which I am not one, for the reasons set out above.

Thank you for all the time you’ve spent over the years organising this competition. I think it’s a shame that your federation has been disbanded overnight for no reason. If Aymeric happens to see this, it would be great if he could have a look into it and sort the problem out!

Thank you for all the effort you put into this competition ❤️ It’s such a shame to see it come to an end, but it’s completely understandable 👍

A big shout-out to you, Myforsans, for all the time you’ve put in and the effort you’ve made to organise one of the best VF competitions so well.
It’s a shame to see you blacklisted like this when we can see just how much energy you’ve put in.
And as you say, setting up this sort of competition is very time-consuming; I’m not sure we’ll find a coach as dedicated as you. But we’re keeping our fingers crossed that things will turn out well again. Stay strong

Thank you for these kind words of appreciation; I really appreciate them.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’ve been blacklisted; I’m simply the victim of a bug that the admins, unfortunately, are unable to resolve.
In fact, as I said, this isn’t the straw that broke the camel’s back in my decision, as it’s just one in a whole host of other bugs that you’re asked to deal with as the competition admin, whilst being completely powerless to provide a satisfactory solution.

The most classic example:
every season I receive a good half-dozen complaints from managers demanding a walkover victory, backed up by a screenshot showing that their opponent has, for example, 12 players on the pitch or, say, 2 defensive midfielders.
But it’s difficult to say the other side has cheated when they haven’t even logged in for the match!
Yet a decision has to be made.

Thank you for everything – it’s at least thanks to this competition that you’re organising that I have this trophy in my collection ❤️🫶