Micronational Rocket League

Micronational Rocket League
MRL
Countries	International
Founded	10 July 2015
First season	2015/16
Number of teams	5
Levels on pyramid	1
TV partners	Various (Pre-recorded; and live matches)
Website	Official Website
	2015/16 MRL season

The Micronational Rocket League, or MRL, is a league competition based around the PC and PlayStation 4 game, Rocket League, released on PC only 3 days prior to the announcement of the intention to form the MRL. The league was founded by 3 former teams of the M-League, C.D. Vertigo, Vyktory Dragons RFC and Woking Dales M.F.C., which had hoped to find a replacement for FIFA World prior to its shutting down by Electronic Arts in June 2015. The League debuted with 5 teams.

On November 13, 2015, the league voted to rename the competition Rocket SuperLiga (abbreviated to RSL) beginning at the conclusion of the 2015/16 season.

History

The Micronational Rocket League can find its roots with the M-League, the first inter-micronational virtual sports league to feature a number of human controlled teams from a mixture of micronations located around the world in countries such as the Untied Kingdom, Australia and Israel. However, which the M-League was popular with its competing teams and was seeking expansion in 2016 it was before the end of the Spring League that it was announced by Electronic Arts that multiple free to play games, including M-League platform FIFA World would have their servers shut down on July 14, during what would be scheduled as the summer break for the M-League. Despite efforts by M-League teams to find a worthy alternative to FIFA World one was not found in reasonable time and the league ceased operations at the end of the 2015 Spring League.

That was until July 10 that M-League founder D Sherman proposed and outlined Cardinal and Woking Dale support towards the recently released to PC game Rocket League. It was quickly agreed for a new league, a successor of the M-League to be founded by a majority of former M-League teams, Cardinals, Royal City, Vertigo, Vyktory Dragons and Woking Dales, as well as the support from teams both previously seeking expansion into the M-League as well as teams not involved in until the announcement of the MRL.

The MRL saw a gradually increasing list of teams unassociated with the previous M-League displaying interest in joining the MRL, with Palazu FC of Nedland being the first to confirm its place in the MRL 2015/16 season, this was followed with the first confirmed Micras team, Mercury City, securing its place the following week. Palazu FC then dissolved after the dissolution of Nedland, and Cardinals N.F.C. failed to obtain a copy of the game, thus ending their involvement.

Competition Structure

The MRL consists of as many as 8 teams per division and the season split between the summer and winter with breaks in the spring and autumn periods with exact dates determine by the league on a season by season basis and games played on a forenightly basis. The inaugural season did not inclue an autumn break because of a late start and subsequently ran through the autumn to winter period.

From the 2016/17 season the teams will compete in the Open Challenge Cup, a competition open to MRL and outside teams and will run alongside the MRL season, the first stage of the competition are seeded on a regional basis to inprove network connections.

The MRL are also pro-expansion with the league opening with 5 teams but planning to expand by at least 3 to 8 teams, likely resulting any further expansion beyond this requiring the addition of extra divisions to accomidate a larger size.

Broadcasting

MRL matches broadcast internationally
Seasons	DNA TV	Vertigo 1	VBC Prime	Total
2015/16	TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC

The MRL has limited regulations over the broadcasting rights of member clubs and instead gives clubs unrestricted access to determine who is responsible for broadcasting matches with primarily local broadcasting services such as Dale News Agency TV and Vyktoryan Broadcasting Corporation being the largest and responsible for broadcasting over half of MRL games of their respective clubs. All clubs are allowed to broadcast their prospective live or pre-recorded and later posted perspectives online without restriction unless specified by the Board of Directors or the MRL Disciplinary and Constitutional Committee. However, the rules allowing video evidence as to what transpired within the events of an M-League or M-League Cup fixture with constitute as an equivalent amount of evidence as providing two pieces of written evidence, was abolished, resulting in all MRL members requiring to complete Match Report Forms.

Home teams are given priority broadcasting rights when both teams are able to record their respective views of the fixture. However, the away team may record the fixture if the home team is unable, or unwilling, to do so.

Sponsorship

Despite being the successor of the M-League, the Dale News Agency has not continued its sponsorship agreement with the MRL following the closure of the M-League earlier in the year, instead focusing on sponsoring individual teams with as many as 4 MRL teams, with 2 having received DNA Sponsorship as part of an initiative to support players looking to join the MRL without sufficient personal finances to purchase the game themselves, leaving the door open for a new title sponsor for the league.

Clubs

Number of MRL teams per nation

Macronation	No.^[1]
United Kingdom	3
Australia	2
Israel	1
United States	0 (1)
Total	6 (1)

Previous Winners

No.	Season	MRL 1
1	2015/16	SportsToid Strickers RLC¹

¹ League leader before season was cancelled early