Sport in Diadochia
Sport in Diadochia is centuries old and many of these sports such as Football and rugby have become national pastimes of Diadochia. Major sports in the Empire of Diadochia include Football, rugby, real tennis, tennis, golf, tzykanion/Polo, Lacrosse, horse racing, squash, and cricket. The sports of tzykanion/Polo, real tennis, tennis, lacrosse, horse racing, and hunting are favored by the nobility. The sports of football, rugby, cricket and horse racing are popular throughout the empire. The sport of rugby is by far the most popular sport in all of Diadochia.
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Popular team sports
There are six main sports in Diadochia that are popular throughout the empire. The six major sports of Diadochia are Football, Rugby Union, Rugby League,Cricket, Lacrosse, and Horse racing of these seven sports the most ancient is Horse racing. Of the six major sports of Diadochia, horse racing is the most ancient, while Football is the most popular. Football is the most popular sport and is played from August to May. Rugby union is a winter sport. Cricket is a Summer sport being played from April to September. Rugby league is played in the summer. Jousting, Polo, hunting, and both Real tennis and plain tennis are all popular sports among the Diadochian nobility and the upper class.
Football
Association football is one of the most popular sports in all of Diadochia. The national governing body is the Imperial Diadochian Football Association. The Diadochia national football team represents Diadochia in association football. Today Diadochia's football league system consists of:
- Super League Diadochia: 20 clubs
- Diadochia Football League Championship: 24 clubs
- Diadochia Football League One: 24 clubs
- Diadochia Football League Two: 24 clubs
- Diadochia Premier Conference: 24 clubs
- Diadochia North Conference and Diadochia South Conference: 22 clubs
- Northern Football League and Southern Football League: 24 clubs each
- Division One North and Division one South: 22 clubs each
- Local Championships
Rugby Union
Rugby is the second most popular sport in Diadochia, after Football.
Rugby League
Overall rugby league is a smaller sport than rugby union in Diadochia, but it does however draw healthy crowds of fans. The sport is most popular in northern Diadochia.
Horse racing and the Hippodrome
The spectator sports events held in the Hippodrome of Atlantis holds a special place in the hearts of the people. While in residence in Atlantis, the capital it is the Emperor's duty to preside at the circus games and chariot races in the Hippodrome. A special Hippodrome games are held annually on May 16 to honour and commorate the founding of the city. It is the duty of the Emperor to give the signal for the races to begin The Emperor makes the signal by dropping a white handkerchief called a mappa. Four races are run at morning, and four in the afternoon. The Emperor traditionally gives a lunch party between the two race times. At the end of each of the days events the emperor awards prizes to the final winner, consisting of an aurigarion (gold emblem), a silver helmet, and a belt.
During the intervals between the races the audience is entertained by theatrical performances, singers, mimes, dancers, acrobats and circus stunts.
National games
Diadochia has its own athletic games. The most senior of these games are called the Diadochi Games, because the vast majority of the sports are of Greco-Roman origin.
The Games draw large crowds and are quite popular among the People. The Diadochian national games stem from Ancient Diadochia.
Diadochi games
The Diadochi games are a series of athletic competitions among representatives of counties across Diadochia. The Games often take weeks since their are over 200 counties in Diadochia; a few have around a million or more inhabitants.
The main events at the Diadochi games are chariot racing, wrestling, boxing, pankration, stadion and various other foot races (Hoplitodromos, Diaulos, Dolichos), and the pentathlon (made up of wrestling, stadion, long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw). Historically, until the end of the classical age all the events were performed nude except for the chariot race.
Soon after the adoption of Christianity in Diadochia in the third century the tradition of competing in the nude was done away with, in the place of a more modest approach to the ancient games.
