Raidodassi

The Raidodassi is the premier football competition in the country of Sankt Konrad. It is contested by 8 clubs, and was founded in 1917 by the Sankt Konrad Football Association as a successor to the Regionalliga Sankt Konrad, which had been the premier football competition under the Teus Empire and the early days of the new country of Sankt Konrad. At the end of the season, the last-placed team is relegated to the second-tier Silbadassi. There are 16 football clubs in Sankt Konrad, of which 8 are professional, 5 semi-pro, and 3 amateur. Historically, the league has been dominated by the two capital clubs Kolonial and Nomadik who play the New Guard derby 4 times a year, and have won a combined 82 league titles between them.

History

Football was quickly introduced to Sankt Konrad after it gained popularity in the Teus Empire, and by the mid-1890s the first amateur clubs started to be founded and participate in the short-lived Regionalliga Sankt Konrad. There were only 2 seasons of this competition played before the tournament was suspended due to the Great War, and Sankt Konrad having sent a sizable brigade to fight for the Teus Empire - there were few people available to play football at the time. After the war, clubs played in a revived version of the Regionalliga, however, due to the independence of Sankt Konrad after the war it was no longer affiliated with the Teus leagues.

In 1917, the top clubs and the government came together to standardize the national football and handball leagues, and thus the Raidodassi was formed. It was dominated by the 'Old Guard' of clubs (FK Wilhelmstadt, Hafenarbeiter, Poliisa) who were committed to amateurism. By 1925, however, new clubs had been founded to challenge this status quo, and there was a lengthy debate over whether the league should accept professional clubs. While the 'Old Guard' supported the amateurism, the 'New Guard' was led by the newer clubs of Kolonial and Nomadik, who earned the backing of most other clubs in the country for professionalization. Since that point on, Kolonial and Nomadik have shared an extended duopoly over the league, as the clubs with the most resources and largest bases of support in the capital of Wilhelmstadt.

103 seasons of the Raidodassi have been completed since its founding. In that time, Kolonial have captured 47 league titles and Nomadik have captured 35. The Old Guard clubs captured the first 8 league titles, FK Wilhelmstadt with 4, but have not won a single trophy since the 1925 schism. 5 other clubs have captured league titles since 1925: Divtasvuodno (5), FJ Girona (4), FJ Gaivuotna (2), GS Deatnu (1) and Davvenasti (1).

Structure

The Raidodassi season is played in the summer months due to the harsh winters that the island faces. The season usually begins in late March and is played through to the end of August, which does include the 'storm season' in late June. Weather can be a factor in matches, with the west coast (the capital, Wilhelmstadt, and the second largest city, Girona) facing much harsher weather than the east coast (GS Deatnu, FC Sankt Leopold).

Each club plays the others in the league 4 times for a total of 28 matchdays each, in addition to the SKFA Cup which is played over 2-leg ties in each round before the final. At the end of the season, the last-placed team is relegated, while the clubs in the top 4 positions will compete in the various IFCF tournaments. The decision to join the IFCF marks a new beginning for the league: the SKFA has declared that all titles won in the prior era will still count, naturally, but that the 2020 season on would be considered the modern era of the league.

Current Clubs

All clubs are participants in the league ahead of its 104th (2021) season.

All-Time Trophies

Rivalries

One of the key aspects of the Raidodassi is the fact that due to the small population and size of Sankt Konrad (61,000 people), the club rivalries are exceptionally heated. The biggest rivalry in the country by far is the Kolonial-Nomadik rivalry, commonly referred to as the New Guard derby after those clubs role in the 1925 professionalization of the league. The two clubs hate each other for several reasons, including ethnic tensions as well as general competitiveness throughout the years. This is by far the most heated derby in the league.

Other derbies include the East Coast derby between FC Sankt Leopold and GS Deatnu and the Girona derby between FJ Girona and Davvenasti, and while they are definite rivalries, they aren't as heated as the New Guard. Most league clubs also have a disdain for Kolonial and Nomadik due to various reasons, and so matches involving these teams are considered to be the 'big game' for many teams in the league.