SoccerProject

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.
The game itself is free of charge, but users may purchase a SoccerProject Football Association membership to gain access to extra features.
Game overview
As is typical in management games, users gain control over a team, both economically and tactically. Newly registered users take over a previously-vacated team (controlled by the AI), which then gets reset (a new set of players is generated, bearing the user's chosen nationality; budget and stadium size are reset to the basic default) and named by the user, alongside the stadium. 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, and improve their stadium and facilities, always keeping an eye on the finances and staff.
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. 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. 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 teams.
* Sheriffs - these deal with cheating accusations, and will decide on which punishments to give to users who violate the game rules.
* Beta Testers - 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 number of nations, users may volunteer to translate the game into their own language. Currently it is available in 24 different languages, with almost as many others in some 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 - 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. Other nations with a considerable number of users within the game, and with a heavy presence within the SP community, include Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania and The Netherlands. Occasionally (often once every year) users from those nations will organize national meetings and reunite.

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