The Vilitan Job
The Story of The Vilitan Job
The Loose City-State of Nova Britannicus first sent its footballers onto the International stage for the Pre-World Cup 18 Baptism of Fire in Starblaydia and Vilita. There they came third, having met such teams as Legalese and Fmjphoenix. Two wins and Four Draws later, they finished the Qualifiers for World Cup 18 with little to show for their Herculean efforts. Neither was their first Cup of Harmony experience a good one, only salvaging a win against Maserrat, a nation long-since departed in a self-created fireball.
In the Qualifiers for World Cup 20 in Starblaydia and Druida, 'Bowman's Army' had travelled to Nanakaland, the Five Civilized Nations and had now come to sing in front of Vilita who they hand't played for four years since the last World Cup Finals when they met in Turori.
Nova Britannicus had come through a record fifteen consecutive matches in World Cup-related matches without being beaten (in normal time, at least). Vilita had been included in that run when Charlie Bowman gave the Navy-Blues a One-Nil victory in Turori in their opening match of World Cup 19. Aquiliana, Liverpool England, Vilita, Starblaydia and Audioslavia were all part of the 'You can't beat us in ninety minutes' myth that had been created around 'Bowman's Army'.
With each success had come more publicity, more fans, and more money. The Navy-Blues of Nova Britannicus marched ever-onwards, hopefully towards their second World Cup in succession. One thing that was not known to many, however, was the fact that Nova Britannicus' footballing success was not just down to 'Bowman's Army', be it on or off the pitch. Secret machinations within the Nova Britannicus Football Association had been giving some 'supernatural' help to their brave boys in Navy-Blue.
Their first idea had been prayer, to call upon the power of the Judeo-Christian deity to give them an edge. That, unfortunately, didn't help much. With no real artefact of power with which to focus all that latent psychic energy, most of the energy generated by the prayers of the good (and some employed) people of Nova Britannicus simply dissipated into the void. A mysterious Guru named Yandaki came to the NBFA's aid, saying that he knew of an artefact that could bring the nation some real footballing success. In a secret plan, he deceived Nova Britannician archaeologist, adventurer and all-round super-babe Keira Hamilton into stealing the Rejistanian symbol of power known as The Sinijiil. Concealed with in the NBFA HQ, it provided Nova Britannicus with a focus for the psychic energy produced by prayers, chants and litanies. This led to five straight wins at the end of World Cup 19's qualifiers, propelling Nova Britannicus into the Finals at the expense of the Philosophers of Liverpool England.
Alas, the Sinijiil was recovered by two ex-cop Monks of Rejistania from the Temple of Taderekansa named Jaju and Taka, just in time for Nova Britannicus to lose their Second Round match against Audioslavia on penalties. Now, however, Nova Britannicus were recognised on the International Stage. With confidence and extra support they lived up to their billing as one of the Top 32 teams in the World. Greater, they were, than such well-known names as Krytenia, The Weegies, Kingsford and Giant Zucchini. But that was not enough for the greedy men in control of the Nova Britannicus Football Association. They desired the ultimate prize, the World Cup itself, lifted by only a handful of nations.
To this end, they unleashed a second malevolent plan. They required another artefact of religious power, and searched the history books for something akin to the Sinijiil. Then, they came across something quite unexpected, whilst "surfing the 'net" a youth-phrase for "looking at the internet". One of their opponents in the World Cup 20 Qualifiers, Vilita, had an artefact of their own creation, but no ancient treasure from biblical days was this.
Not too long ago, a Vilitan striker by the name of Callum Banda scored Vilita's first ever international goal. He can be likened to Starblaydia's Simeone Di Bradini or Nova Britannicus' own Charlie Bowman. Banda became such a national hero from that moment on, that he was almost worshipped by the tropical island nation of Vilita. Even the boots he wore that day, known to the Vilitans as 'cleats', were worshipped. "Callum's Cleats!" or "By the Boots of Banda!" are still slang terms in Vilita and even Turori that can be used once one has witnessed something unbelievably good, skillful, or lucky.
It didn't take long for Guru Yandaki to realise that this pair of football boots would be like a lightning-rod for prayers and psychic energy. Having recovered from the magical duel that he lost to Jaju and Taka, Yandaki set a plan in motion to take the Boots of Banda from under the very noses of the Vilitans. Whereas The Sinijiil could grant a defensive bonus to a nation, the Boots of Banda would most certainly provide them with a lethal goal-threat.
So it came to pass that Charles 'Charlie' Worsley was to lead a group of armed robbers to steal the Boots of Banda from within Vilita itself. And the cover for their robbery and getaway? Why, the Vilita-Nova Britannicus game on Matchday Seven, of course...
