During the civil disorders attendant on the collapse of the rule of Mounir II, organized football competition in our nation ceased. "Professional" teams were not able to hold matches with any regularity, and their players and coaches could in any case not be paid for their services. With the reestablishment of effective government this year under the Altlandic Protectorate, football in Afrazure has been able to begin its comeback. The announcement of a Melanian tournament provided the incentive for the reoganization of the National Team, which is composed of a few veterans and many newcomers. Try-outs for the team were arranged hastily last week after large display ads soliciting participation were run in the nation's only newspaper, The Sedhiou Sentinel, and large posters were put up in all the major towns and many smaller settlements. The turnout was gratifying, with more than 150 potential players traveling to refurbished pitch outside the city of Khalilou to display their skills to National Team Coach Étienne Tanguay and his assistants. From this pool of players, which included many more very promising young athletes than could be placed on this year's team roster, the eighteen listed in the box above were finally selected.

      The teams hopes for the upcoming Melanian tournament are riding above all on experience Goalie Abdul Oufkir of Sedhiou, assisted by two other players with considerable experience, Defensemen Mounir Abdullah and Mahmet Bullahlah. The attack will be spearheaded by Forwards Ngomo Jubala and Akhbar Moloko, both of whom managed to get some playing time in with their local professional teams before the cessation of organized sports two years ago. These experienced players, under Coach Tanguay, a former Phenixian star who has been settled here for nearly a decade and has become an Afrazurean national, are sure to bring the younger, less tested members of the team up to a professional playing standard before the start of tournament play. A "second team," which includes a small number of retired former National Team players has also been organized to give the new National Team a run for its money in practice matches.

      The fielding of a team for international competition once again is thought of by the government of the Protectorate as in important step in the rebuilding of national self-respect in Afrazure after a period in which the nation practically disappeared from the international scene. The best wishes of Governor General Sir Genthar Jengling and all true Afrazureans go with our National Team as it hits the comeback trail.

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