Kirav national soccer team
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| Nickname(s) | Lumpers | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Pan-Kiravian Soccer Promotion Association | ||
| Confederation | LFA (Levantia) | ||
| Head coach | Yves LeBœuf File:Burgundie flag.png | ||
| Captain | Séan Ó Ruairc | ||
| Top scorer | Ngubu | ||
| Home stadium | Pitchblende Park, Béyasar | ||
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The Kiravian National Soccer Team (Coscivian: Kiravix Térnafosuv Sókkersk) represents the Kiravian Federacy (except for the Sydona Islands) at the international level of (((association football))). Affectionately nicknamed "the Lumpers" for their consistently disappointing performance, the Kiravian national team is usually a non-factor in international tournaments despite representing one of Ixnay's wealthiest and most populous nations.
Due to the limited popularity of soccer in Kiravia - where it is overshadowed by Kiravian gridiron football (fieldball), Gaelic football, hockey, sampakuv, and hurling - and a consequently shallow bench of native Kiravian footballers capable of competing at the international level, foreigners have always comprised a majority of the team's players and coaching staff. Foreign players most often hail from Pauldustllah, Cartadania, and Burgundie, while most Kiravian players come from a Tryhstian, Gaelic, or Levantine rather than Coscivian ethnic background. Due to the predominance of Cartadanians and Tryhstians, as well as a tendency to hire Cartadaniaan coaches, most team activities were directed in Portuguese until around 21176.
The team was first organised by the Pan-Kiravian Soccer Promotion Association (PKSPA) in [YEAR] in order to play exhibition matches and arouse popular interest in the sport to lay the foundation for a domestic professional league. It was unsuccessful in this goal, as watching their team routinely get shafted on the pitch by foreign squads did little to stoke the enthusiasm of Kiravian fans. The team's organisational fortunes improved under Kirosocialism, when it was integrated into the Unified National Sporting System under the Department of Sport, and made the apex of a government-run league system that stretched all the way down to the local amateur and youth soccer leagues. The team's performance improved under Kirsok, as the government invested somewhat heavily in promoting soccer as the primary youth sport and as an educational tool. More children playing soccer in school and in state-run youth leagues resulted in a stronger bench of players for the national team. The team also became homogeneously Kiravian during this period, as the government ended the practice of recruiting and naturalising foreign players, which it denounced as "bourgeois cosmopolitanism". After Kirosocialism, the Department of Sport and Unified National Sporting System, and the reconstituted PKSPA resumed control of the team as a private organisation.
On [October 14 2023], an explosion destroyed the KiliGas liquefied natural gas depot in Béyasar Harbour, less than 500 meters from Pitchblende Field. The blast tore through Pitchblende while the team during a workout, killing the entire team and coaching staff, along with eight other team employees.