Football in Darmen

Football in Darmen holds the position of most popular sport in the country and has at times held the position of national sport. The sport is governed by the Darmeni Football Association, which is commonly referred to as the DFA. There are 1,567 registered amateur and professional clubs and 163,009 registered players, representing 1.9 percent of the total population of Darmen. Professional clubs compete in one of two leagues, the Series A and the Series B, as well as in the National Cup cup competition. There are also competitions for youth, collegiate and schools teams.

The Darmen national football team, nicknamed The All Greens, has reached the semifinals of the World Cup once, finishing fourth in the 64th edition. It has won both the Cup of Harmony and Copa Rushmori once, in the 51st and 13th editions respectively. In international club competitions, no team has won any major competitions. However, Scott City FC has reached a major final four times (Globe Cup 54, Cygnus Cups 19, 22 & 33) and Chuckio FC finished runner-up in the 45th Globe Cup. No Darmeni team has ever reached the final of the Copa de Campeones.

History
The 1860's and 1870's saw an increase of British immigrants into Darmen. By 1873, a sizable community of British expatriates were living in Scott City, and on Saturday, April 26th, 1873, the first game of football in Darmen took place between a British XI and a Local XI. The result of the match is unknown. Soon after the match, a group of interested individuals looking to further promote the game founded the Capital Football Association, the first governing body for the sport in Darmen.

By the late 1870's, the game had spread outside of the capital and was played throughout the northern counties. Numerous short-lived competitions, usually incorporating only teams from a single county, came and went throughout the rest of the 19th century and into the 20th as well. Most permanent clubs filled their fixture lists by touring the country and playing exhibition schedules, or by hosting those teams that chose to travel.

While most teams were amateur and organized on an ad hoc basis, professional teams did exist. Player wages were relatively low, just enough to cover the travel expenses of the player, plus a little extra for food and clothing.

Until the 1880's, most players were of British or Western European origin, with only minimal participation from native Darmeni's. After that point, the number of Darmeni players slowly rose, until by the 1910's a majority of players had been born in Darmen. At the start of the 20th century, the number of permanent clubs had risen to only 49, most of these based in the North. Attendances at most matches were usually between 1,000-2,000, while matches involving the best professional clubs could draw 5,000-8,000 attendees.

By the 1920's, to better distinguish the game from other forms of football, Darmenis began using the term Soccer to describe the sport. Most clubs however continued to refer to themselves as "Football Clubs", while local leagues used the two terms interchangeably. Today both terms are still used interchangeably, though use of the term "football" has clearly grown more popular.

A truly national governance system did not exist until 1946, when the Communist government's State Sports Committee was formed. Despite this, no attempts were made to establish a national competition. All teams were mandated to become amateur, and the number of clubs and players diminished with time.

The Darmeni Soccer Federation (DSF) was formed in 2010 following a change in government. A Darmeni national team was formed a year later, playing its first match on Sunday, April 3rd, 2011. The Rock Wallaby Cup group stage match against Fellow Citizens ended in a 2-2 draw. In addition to the formation of the national team, a truly national league was formed for the first time, the Darmeni Premier League. This followed two aborted attempts at forming national competitions. The league featured 12 teams, and was won by powerhouse Scott City FC.

Football flourished for the next four years, with the number of clubs exploding into the hundreds, and the number of players reaching into the hundreds of thousands. Darmen reached its first World Cup in the 64th edition, finishing in fourth place following an appearance in the semifinals. Darmen would appear in three subsequent World Cups, most recently the 68th edition. The national team achieved success in other minor tournaments, winning the 54th Cup of Harmony and 13th Copa Rushmori, while top club teams often reached the group stage of UICA competitions and occasionally beyond.

With the total collapse of the government in 2015, football was almost completely eliminated from the national consciousness. While many of the top clubs remained in existence; they played minimal schedules, no more than a handful of matches each year. The National Society for the Restoration of Darmeni Football (NSRDF) was founded in March, 2028 by former All Greens players, including future President of the Republic Tor Tong Lee. A Darmeni national team participated in the qualification for the 75th World Cup, and an unfinished Romanov Cup domestic competition marked the only accomplishments of the NSRDF. That organization eventually entered decline when its founding members turned their attention towards reuniting Darmen and establishing the Republic. The Darmeni Football Association was founded in early-2036 to govern a new era of Darmeni football.

Governance and organization
Football in Darmen is governed by the Darmeni Football Association, which is headquartered in Scott City. Darmen is a member of the World Cup Committee, the Confederación Rushmori de Fútbol and the International Federation of Club Football. The DFA was founded in 2036.

The Association of Professional Footballers is a labor union representing current and former professional players, and is affiliated with the Darmen Labor Alliance.