Baker Park national football team

The Baker Park national football team is the national team representing Commonwealth of Baker Park in international football competition. Is is governed by the Football Association of the Commonwealth (FAC).

Following World Cup 86, former NT managers Trevor Richmond and Pamela Scott were inducted into the World Cup Hall of Fame as Baker Park's first two nominees for their contributions to the success of the NT during the NSWC era.

Modern Day
The BPNT has amassed an all-time record of 348 wins, 218 defeats and 110 ties in 676 matches; since joining the World Cup Council (WCC), their record is 169 wins, 56 defeats and 41 ties in 266 matches. Currently, Baker Park is the only nation to have qualified successfully for the Finals in every World Cup tournament they've entered.

Competitions
The senior team made its debut in the 67th Baptism of Fire, hosted in Qasden & Banija, during the World Cup 80 cycle, progressing to the Final, where they lost to Beepee 4-3

Prior to the BOF, the FAC entered the 42nd DiBradini Cup, the Under-21 World Championships, with an all-male team; reaching the quarterfinals, U21 coach Liam Sullivan noted the success of female and mixed gender teams in the tournament, and recommended a trial of the concept at the next competition on the calendar, the Under 18 Sporting World Cup, to be held in Abanhfleft. The squad was the first fielded by the Commonwealth consisting of both men and women in the same team, and surprised the pundits by defeating the hosts 5-2 to win the championship. From that point, mixed gender national teams became the policy of the governing body for all age group levels.

The FAC has also sent squads to participate in several invitational tournaments, notably the Mike Sarzo Memorial Cup in Sarzonia, the Twicetagria Invitational and the Wonder Cup 1 & 2; in addition, they have hosted three editions of it's own Baker Park Open Cup, developed as an opportunity for nations to send single gender teams, mixed gender teams, or other squads that would not necessarily comprise a national side in a major tournament.

On two occasions the nation has sent sides to the Summer Olympic Games; for the XIII Olympiad, an Under-23 men's team competed, and in the XIV Games, a women's U23 team represented Baker Park.

History
The Commonwealth National Team played it's first official match in 1934, a 9-0 defeat. There were no other fixtures scheduled until 1948; over the next five years, BP went winless in 14 straight contests, losing 10 and drawing four. October 1952 saw the team earn their first ever victory, followed in March 1953 by a second win in the first international match played in the Commonwealth, at Sportsmen's Park in Belle Haven. This sparked a run where the team won six and drew three over the next 10 fixtures from 1953-56, followed by another lean period where they drew twice and won just three time in a 12 match span to the end of 1959.

Frank Neilson became manager for 1960 and had a winning record in 10 matches in charge (5-4-1). He was replaced by Henry Swanton ahead of the national team's 50th match, another home win at Sportsmen's Park, which left the record at 17 wins, 23 losses and 10 ties.

Colin Riordan was named manager in 1970 and in seven years amassed a record of 19-18-7, which made him the winningest and longest serving NT boss up to that time. Another period of poor results followed, capped off by an 11 match winless run ending in 1981.

1980's and "Mr Charlie"
George Charleston took over in 1981 ahead of the team's 179th match, a 4-0 win followed in early 1982 by a 5-1 victory. The next seven years saw the most successful period in Baker Park soccer history, as the team won 30 and drew 10 in a 50 match span.

NS Era
The first match of multiverse competition took place at the Stadium of the Restoration in Busukuma, Banija, against Norcambria on the first matchday of the Baptism of Fire 67, a 3-3 draw. Six victories in the next seven contests brought the side back to Busukuma for the Final against Beepee; the 4-3 defeat was seen as a further validation of the decision to move to a mixed-gender NT selection, following on from the success of the Under-18 side winning the SWC/U18 World Cup.

World Cup 80
Newmanistan was the first opponent in the Qualifying Tournament for EquiStar World Cup 80; a 1-1 draw at Tundra Falls Proving Ground was followed by a similar run as the BOF, with victories in six of the next eight fixtures. The second half of the campaign brought four wins and four defeats as well as another draw, the but 32 points gained were enough to see the Commonwealth finish third in the table, sending them to a two-legged playoff round where second & third place teams from all 15 groups would be drawn at random to determine the final places in the 32 team field. Baker Park were drawn against Qasden, the co-host of the Baptism of Fire and near neighbor in the region. The first leg at Keller Field in Belle Haven saw the home team come out 1-0 winners, with the return leg at the Royal T.V. Stadium in T.V. City considered just a formality for the Vans; needing a clear victory by two or more goals, Qasden was unable to pull away from BP, and although a 4-3 final was a win on the night for the hosts, it was an aggregate draw, with the Bees qualifying for the World Cup on their first attempt via the away goals rule.

In Starblaydia, Baker Park were drawn into a group against The Holy Empire, Valanora, and Ceni, but consecutive 2-1 losses made the final day win over Ceni by a 2-0 scoreline a moot point (although it was the nation's first win in the World Cup) and they were eliminated after just three matches.

AOCAF LVI
The first appearance in the regional championship came in the Equestrian States (now Equestria) and BP opened with a 2-1 win over Demot, followed by a 2-0 defeat to Chromatika. The final group stage match came against Busoga Islands, the newly independent nation that had broken away from Banija during a drought crisis and subsequent war between Banija and the host nation; Baker Park had been at the forefront of relief efforts in both the Kingdom and on the islands. The Commonwealth won 4-3, but they fell short of advancing to the knockout rounds. It was the 200th all-time victory in NT history.

Home Venues
Throughout history, the BPNT has played home fixtures at a wide variety of stadiums across the nation. The first match played within the Commonwealth occurred on May 2, 1953 at Sportsmen's Park in Belle Haven, a 3-0 win; five days later they played at President's Park in Shirley (drawing 2-2); on May 13 at Queen Victoria Stadium in Ezriquay (a 4-1 victory); and May 17 at the State Stadium in Oceana (losing 4-2). The four match series was witnessed by a total of nearly 76,000 spectators. President's Park has hosted more NT fixtures (41 up to the start of WCQ 87) than any other stadium, with Sportsmen's Park second (33). The NT have also hosted matches at 26 other stadia in their history; their all-time W-L-T record in 241 fixtures (up to the start of WCQ 87) is 162-38-42.

BBP National Stadium
Following the successful co-hosting of AOCAF 58 with Banija, the question of a replacement of the country's largest outdoor sports venue, Keller Field, drew the attention of authorities in the FAC, the City of Belle Haven and the national government. The announcement of a new National Stadium in the capital came on the eve of the World Cup 83 Finals, although the location was still undetermined. Eventually the project took shape, with a site on the north shore of the Belle Haven River, 1.3 miles west of Belle Haven Arena, selected; in addition to the stadium, the plans called for a long awaited solution to cross-river traffic in the form of the 3T Tunnel (Traffic, Truck, Transit) connecting West Belle Haven to the western suburbs on the southern bank of the river. The 74,000 seat stadium was designed by Grossman Abbot Cole, the country's largest architectural firm; the plans allowed for the venue to be used in different configurations depending upon the crowd size expected. The Bank of Baker Park, the nation's fourth largest financial company who are a long time sponsor of the FAC & the national team, agreed to a 25 year, CBP$177 million deal for the naming rights. In addition, BP Telecom have a 15 year, CBP$45 million agreement to be the title sponsor of the 17,000 seat lower level where Victoria & Albert SC now play their home matches following their return to the National League Championship Division. The first match came against Cassadaigua, with whom Baker Park had won the rights to co-host World Cup 84; the visitors spoiled the party with a 5-2 win during the leadup to the Finals, where the stadium played host to all three Group E matches played by the BPNT, a 4-3 victory over Drawkland and a 4-2 win against Free Republic bookending a 2-0 defeat to Nephara. Later in the same tournament, the 3rd Place match was contested by Nephara and Eura, with the Cormorants coming out on top 4-2

The stadium has also hosted the Finals of the AO Champions League, the NSCF Championship and the IFCF Cup Winner's Cup.