COGNIZANT that, although thousands of nations have competed in the past 89 editions of the World Cup (the multiverse's oldest and greatest football competition), few get to reach football's pinnacle, and even fewer do so as rapidly and effectively as Nephara, known prior to the 69th World Cup as New sideburn;

IMPRESSED by what the Cormorants, as Nephara's national football team has always been affectionately known, have achieved with their renowned brand of pace-focused, physical and pressing-oriented football, most notably being:

• one of only four nations to win the much-coveted "Triple Crown" of World Cup Committee (WCC)-run tournaments: the 51st Baptism of Fire, the 61st Cup of Harmony, and ultimately the 74th and 87th World Cups;

• winners of Rushmore's regional football tournament, the Copa Rushmori, four times (including on each of the past three occasions), more than any other nation except Pasarga (4) and Polar Islandstates (5); and

• able to boast of winning five Campionati Esportiva (Esportiva's regional football tournament) - a figure matched only by their old colony of Brenecia, which also won the 80th World Cup;

RECOGNISING the Nepharan football league pyramid as one of the most organised, well-documented, and renowned such systems in the world, as well as one which has historically proven itself successful on the international stage; its clubs won two Champions' Cups, three Globe Cups, and a Youth Cup when those competitions were still run by the UICA (not to mention AFC Treason's youth team winning the Rising Stars Cup in the modern IFCF era twice, including a famous 0-0 win on away goals in the inaugural final);

APPRECIATING the international outreach efforts of Nephara's football association: both in helping to educate new or otherwise confused FAs about how to set up, maintain, and present their own national football leagues; as well as in organising an exchange where clubs in all football-playing nations can buy and sell players (at a sensible price, of course);

AWARE that, like all great sporting nations, Nepharan influence and values stretch far beyond the trophy cabinet; for example:

• Markus Rensenbrink has put in major commitment to serve in the two greatest roles of responsibility in international football, firstly as Vice-President and then, for one cycle, President of the WCC;

• The late, great Gethin Ramsey - whose daughter Triffid now manages the Cormorants - not only won the Baptism of Fire with his homeland but also led three countries (Nephara, Cosumar and The licentian isles) to the World Cup proper, the only manager in history to do so;

• The nation also overcame a lack of dedicated rugby stadia, plus flooding that devastated the city of Brinemouth and brought significant political tensions, to solely host the 13th Rugby League World Cup and its 40 participants;

• Nepharim sports publication KarlingSport oversaw the announcement of the list of Galacticos, a totally non-arbitrary list of the multiverse's best and brightest footballers in any given season, for five cycles of international football (the last two UICA and first three IFCF cycles), before compatriots and energy drink bottlers First Wind took over in time for IFCF 4; and

• The work of the Herald (previously called the Brinemouth Herald) must also be applauded for bringing the Cormorants to the attention of the wider world through a skilful journalistic combination of match reports, expert post-mortem analysis, and even the occasional dedicated article about Nepharan politics;

EMPHASISING the significance of Nephara's work during April 2017's nuclear apocalypse in helping the International Geese Brigades (IGB) become the world's third-most successful faction (and the only top-ten faction not to have been irradiated at all), especially considering their position as the IGB's Morale Officer and their participation in the final attack that brought the IGB's rank from eighth to third; and

BELIEVING that the international sporting community has never quite had it so good in large part thanks to the influence of Nephara - consistent, timely, occasionally sharp but never unappreciated:

HEREBY COMMENDS Nephara.