Tim Horton's Yakball Canada

When Major League Yakball formed, all the 16 teams were all American. This angered some Canadians, due to the growing following of the sport. The game was picking up steam in Quebec, and the Canadiens' ownership group persuade a club. When they were denied, Patrie Montreal formed and started up a small league. This quickly formed under the Yakball Association umbrella.

National Hockey League owners began following suit, because they could give themselves discounts on arena leases. Many of the teams are similar to their hockey brothers. In 2019, the league started. There were 16 teams, split into 3 divisions. The West was the largest, stretching from Winnipeg to Victoria. The Ontario division was 5 teams located around the province. The East included both Montreal teams, and stretched to St. John's. It was decided the top 2 in the division would make the tournament, then the top 2 wild card teams advanced too. Each team would play 46 games over the course of the summer.

The national team grew rapidly with 16 teams producing Canadian talent, and made the league easy to promote the league with. Companies jumped on board with naming rights and sponsorships for teams. The Canadians would go on to host, and beat the Americans in the 2024 World Yakball Cup. This was huge for the country, as they would be known for a non-winter sport.

The Championship rotated to a different division every event, and this one took place in Montreal.

It felt right that the two Montreal teams won the East. Ottawa and Hamilton won in Ontario, and Vancouver and Calgary moved on in the west. The wildcards were tight. The best wildcard team was St. John's, which only was 2 games clear. Rapid Saskatchewan lost on the last day of the league to Toronto, letting Winnipeg into the playoffs.

The teams were seeded, setting up the tournament that started the next Sunday. Patrie Montreal was the first seed, and lost to Winnipeg at home. Vancouver took care of St. John's, Calgary beat Hamilton, and the Montreal Maroons beat Ottawa. They were the last hope to defend the Bell Centre. Calgary got to play the 8th seed, and they won by 12, embarrassing the Patrie fans who bought tickets to the semifinals. Vancouver played the Maroons, and they ended the hopes of the city.

Vancouver had a core of players since day one, they had one of the best passing attacks in the league. Calgary became a huge producer of talent, only to sell their players to richer teams. Vancouver had beaten Calgary 5 of the 6 meetings this season, and didn't come out in their best form. Calgary United was hard hitting, and controlled possession. They went into half 6 points clear. Vancouver couldn't get any rebounds, and couldn't get points. Calgary, as a 4 seed, went out and won their first title.

Calgary has the traditional striped sleeves, same as the original series. The crest is based off of the city crest, and pays homage to the Flames. Vancouver is similar to the original look, but with straight stripes on the chest. The pattern also was introduced to the sleeve, to give more of a hockey look.

Click here to vote for the Isles Premier Yakball champions

Major League Yakball

The original league is still considered the strongest club league in the world. The American Major League Yakball is full of original players, and attract the big names in the world's yakball scene.

The league was officially formed in 2018 by 16 teams, the 16 teams were assembled by the best club teams in the country, or financial backing by investors who saw a future of the sport. Typically played in large arenas, the league fits between the NHL's regular season and the opening of the next.

In 10 years, the league produced some of the best talent in the sport. With 16 stable teams in the league, they had youth teams that produced talent to fill the depth chart, and the money to bring in top talent from around the world. The league refused several attempts to expand th league to keep the 16 team rule, and several bootleg leagues formed. They, obviously, became a source for talent that MLY teams used to bring up players. In 2022, the league decided to split the teams into two 8 team divisions. 

The regular season starts the first week of May. The teams play in division opponents 4 times, and out of conference division opponents twice. The 42 game season lasts until the first week of October. Then the fun begins. Modeled after the NCAA's conference tournament, the MLY had the original Yakball Championship week. Eventually, the first week of October became the biggest event in the sport. With the division split, the top 4 teams in the division would travel to a neutral location decided the year before. Each team would get a chance to host the Yakball Championship before a team hosts it a second time. The 2028 event took place in Raleigh, home of the struggling Carolina Flyers.

Michael Taylor was winding up his final season in 2028. He was no longer the best center in the league due to the 34 year old showing age. He captained the Tampa Bay Tridents to the Championship as the 3 seed. A victory against rival Empire NYC put them in a game 2 days later against Boston YC. Boston was the strongest team in the league, built up from years of poor play and high draft picks. Boston put an end to his career with a 49-41 win. In the west, Seattle and Sporting LA were on a collision path. They brushed off Dallas and Denver in the first round. Sporting LA played from behind the first 3 quarters, but came back with a 10-1 run to start the 4th quarter. Los Angeles held on to win 43-39 and advance to their 3rd all time championship.

Boston's halves remained the same for the 10 years between events. They formed in 2012 as the local club team. A group of supporters built up support and found the funding to join the league. Sporting LA was an attempt by a wealthy group of celebrities to start the European model of a sporting club. The only difference from year 1 to 10 is the replacing of navy with a darker grey. The sashes still remain on the kit. The crest eventually was replaced by the monogram on the crest.

Boston had a strong attack lead by an enforcer out of UConn they got in the draft. But Sporting LA had the best defense in the league. This was built up by money and age. The core starters played together for 6 years, and they had the money to keep them. Boston went into half down 21-15. There must have been a motivated half time speech, because Boston played much better. The passing rate after the half was up 25%, and Boston began using their size to come back. Los Angeles couldn't match it, and lost grip of the game. Boston would go on to in 42-35 for their first championship.

Adding to the Yakball Canon

As mentioned before, there are 16 top tier leagues in the world. Originally, the Yakball Association started Major League Yakball in 2018. They decided that there would be leagues in Canada and the British Isles as the 2nd and 3rd leagues. These leagues would be known as the Charter 3. In the Magna Carta of yakball, it was written that these 3 countries would host the first 3 World Yakball Cups. The USA hosted in 2020, Canada in 2024, and the UK in 2028. The first two hosts won.

They're the 3 leagues I completed in full on my original run. Here are their new logos.

As interest grew from other countries, the sport recognized that it would be hard for countries to meet the 16 team limit alone. Yakball carefully set up a league in Southern Europe called the Orange MediLeague. They had teams in Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, and Portugal. Though not traitionally Mediterranean, the geography worked and travel wasn't bad. Yakball established the 3.1 rule. Vancouver and St. John's are roughly 3,111 miles apart. Leagues couldn't pass this, all teams had to be within this distance to be logistically playable.

After the MediLeague started, leagues in Central Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, and China started. This brought up an interesting strategy. Teams saw that national teams could be built on domestic leagues, such as the USA and Canada. But since they couldn't support 16 teams, some national teams opted for one team in their country. That way, their national roster could play together year round, if not broken up. A typical yakball roster has 12 players, but only 10 can dress for the game. The good players would be bought by bigger leagues, and they could just slide in a young player in replacement. Iceland was the first to come up with the strategy when Reykjavik was admitted to the SKF Nordic Liga.

Over the next 5 years, many new leagues started up. Brazil and Mexico started 16 teams domestically. Russia has 14/16 when they started their league. Japan shared a league with Korea, with the majority being Japanese due to the national player pool's depth.

Yakball always said that each league must have 16 teams or nothing. The sport single handily brought world peace, allowing "pan-leagues" to form. Pan Leagues are leagues that span several countries, some with troubled pasts. The Union League in Southeast Europe is a good example. Teams in Greece, Turkey, and all over the Former Yugoslavia allowed the citizens to finally have top level yakball. The Arab League spans over Islamic nations, and two from Israel. People believed they should not judge based on religion, and just play yakball (I had to write this in for any of this to make sense). The Air Asia Yakball League spans 7 countries from India to the Philippines.

The newest league is the Vodaphone PanAfro League. Sixteen teams began playing in Africa last year, with 11 national teams wanting to bring teams to their country. South Africa has 4 teams, and is considered a rising team in the Yakball world.

So why am I telling you all this? I wanted your help.

Here is a map of all the teams

Here is a list of all the teams

I need suggestions for names before I post the polls for the teams. I relied a lot on the followers for team names last time, and want you guys involved in as much as possible. So if you have any suggestions for teams in the 13 new leagues that just have a pin on the map(those that do are off the table), please send them in below

Yakball Suggestion Box

Yakball Revolution

You guys, it's back.

A few weeks ago, I started reading back the historical fictional football league threads on the boards. It was so cool because they decided the teams, brands, and performances. I wanted to do a similar series based around Out of the Park Baseball, but I wasn't in love with the idea.

Then I remembered something I had complete creative control in.

The year is 2028. This year is significant because it has a few milestones. It will be the 10th year of Major League Yakball, the original league based in the United States. Founder and GOAT Michael Taylor(that's me, let me have that one) has announced that he will retire by the end of the year to become the Yakball Association president. The sport is booming. Sixteen recognized top level leagues exist. Major sporting clubs like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have bought local clubs and put them under the umbrella organization. The 3rd World Yakball Cup begins play in the UK in mid December, the last of the original nations to host. This is the last time it will be on the original 4 year sequence, as the sport will begin being played at the Olympics in 2032.

Yakball is played in the summer, between April and October. The leagues are always 16 teams, they play between 40 and 50 games a regular season, depending on the structure of the table. Each season ends the same week with a tournament at a neutral location, much like conference tournaments in college basketball. The winners in each league advance to the Super League, a week long tournament between the 16 champions.

For those of you still confused by what's going on, search yakball. Just about any search engine will bring up the old concept series I did based on a sport I made up.

Or you can click this link.

A quick run down - I invented this sport in high school. It's a 4 on 4 game similar to half court basketball. The goal is to throw the ball in the target located in the center of a wall. The wall is playable, and can be used in passing, or provide a backboard for missed shots. The field is broken up into three zones. There is a face off dot, used at the beginning of every quarter, outside the 2 point line. Then closest to the wall, there is a box. The box is where the center plays/lives. They aren't allowed to leave unless a teammate raises their arm when the center has possession, running the ball out to behind the line. The center acts as a goalie on defense, and the best attacking option on offense. Each point results in the other team taking it out behind the 2 point line.

Here's the nitty gritty. The clock is running, four 20 minute quarters. There's on the fly substitutions too, with the substitute zone being made bigger. Each team has to pass the ball twice before a shot is allowed. Shots before then will be waved off and possession will be given to the opponents. Only 2 players on the attacking team can be in the box at the same time. If a third is there, the shot will be waived off. No one on offense is allowed in the crease in front of the box, or possession will be lost. The game is physical, but no tackling. If a player gets tackled, tripped, or hit by a player who ran up to them, the offender will have a penalty and have to sit in the sub-zone for 2 minutes. 

I think that's it, I haven't played in 3 years. Here, have a diagram.

The sport has been ever changing. Simple rules have been adapted to make the game better. As mentioned, the sub zone has been made bigger. The wall has been updated to a more stable netting. Much like an arena football goal post net. The target now has censored pads that will easily tell if a ball went in. The uniforms have also changed. The referees decided that sleeve numbers would help differentiate players. The Yakball Association crest now is moved between the team crest and manufacture logo.

Check it out.

Here is a svg link to the new template (based on my soccer template), font, and the yakball field.

I was going crazy not having a series up, and I miss the sport. 

Here's how the concept series will work. I'll post a voting link. You all will vote for a final of the year end tournament. So each league will have 2 teams done, determined by the most votes. I'll do a little write up of the league since I last left off. I'll post the competition logo, the teams, and who advanced. After the Super League is decided, I'll post full concepts of all 16 teams and how the Super League went. Eventually, I'll post the international teams that have a shot to qualify for the World Yakball Cup. We'll end it then, with the 16 team international tournament. How does that sound?

Thank you for reading, and vote for your favorite Major League Yakball teams. Go read that thread for full sets.

Vote for the Major League Yakball champions

Legione Roma

Hey guys, I really haven't had much time to do personal concepts, just paid jobs. But here is one for everyone. I might post everything for one project soon on here, so stay tuned.

Tim suggested this name, and I really liked it. I did a few things you see in Italian soccer, mainly the crest shape. Teams like Milan, and Juventus have oval shaped crests, and people even call it an Italian-style. I did a maroon and orange similar to Rome's soccer team Roma, and put vertical stripes on the kits, like so many Italian teams have. I arched Roma over it, and put a Roman soldier's helmet on it, which is just from the Senators' logo. Also the Roman numerals for the year.

I did vertical stripes matching the crest, but added a twist. I really like Barcelona's kits, which instead of the traditional red and blue, there is a gradient purple color. I tried to match that, just for effect. I did a color in between the two, so it looks like the stripes transition into eachother. The clash is white and black just because it can be. I wanted to do something different than maroon and orange, so I did.

Avant Lyonnais

Another Burmy suggestion, this time for Lyon. I went with a color scheme I haven't really used that much in red and navy. I threw in gold for good measure, too. The Lyon comes from the OL logo. I put it on a roundel and thought it looked really good. 

The kits are adidas, with a touch of the Portland Timbers. I did a darker shade on one side and sleeve and made a pattern. I did big cuffs to balance the opposite colors on the red and navy.

Club Alpino Torino

Burmy suggested name that I liked, and the crest takes after the crest of Torino. The current one has a yellow bull and a crown on top of the crest. I replaced the crown with a mountain similar to Denver. I tried to make a modern bull looking at some examples from guys like Davidson, but made it my own. Also, I put a sublimated mountain on the field! 

I did a yellow band running across the chest that stands out on a blue background. The white sock on the blue set is like what Chelsea has, so it can work. Everything matches with logo color and such, so I ended up really liking this concept. 

Aberdeen Energy

The Edmonton team used an oil theme, so that's why I was always so hesitant about the suggestions. Well, one of Aberdeen's nickname is the Energy Capital of Europe, so I thought I could do a really good identity. I LOVED the crest mcrosby used for Angola in his African Soccer concepts(go check it out, it's great). I did a color scheme for the Nashville Predators on my new tumblr that I liked, so I brought it back. I did a lightning bolt, yakball, with scripts on the crest to fill space. I feel like the bold colors helped out the concept a lot.

Another Kappa team, on a uniform that's a mix of Birmingham's uniform, and the old Dortmund ones. I went with monochrome yellow and white, and tried to be as bold as possible!

Glasgow Nationals

Finally a team in Glasgow! A national symbol for Scotland is a unicorn, and I thought it was unique enough to include in a crest, hence the name Nationals. I wanted to make it different from other blue and white teams I did, so I used Buffalo Bills blue and white, and went for a more modern look. 

The uniforms have horizontal pinstripe as this motif. Blue with white pants and socks, kinda like Tampa. The clash is highlighter, because it would be unique to the league, and because I can! 

Nottingham Sherrifs

Knocking out the last team from England! Honestly, I didn't know what kind of imagery to use for this team, I just liked the suggested name. I went with a red, vintage white, and black. I made a modern yakball and put it on a crest and made it look good. If anyone has an idea for something to add to improve, be my guest.

The jerseys were pretty cool, I thought. I went with vertical red and black stripes with vintage white to offset that. I wanted a classic AC Milan feel. The clash is off color with darker stripes because it looked better than it did being plain.

Harps YC

FINALLY getting to this team after knowing the name since the Isles league started. The harp is one of the national symbols of Ireland. I used the one from the Dublin flag, cleaned it up a bit and put it on a crest. I wanted this team to have a regal feel, or atleast classy. So I put it on a white and black crest with a cursive script. The field is not team specific, because they split time with the other Dublin team I'm yet to do.

I wanted the team to be recognizable, so I gave them gold pants balanced with a black top. Guinness will be the sponsor for both teams in Dublin so no one is exiled, like Carling sponsors both Rangers and Celtic in Glasgow. The clash is all white.

Manchester Four

I wanted to do a concept for a team with the number. Four is how many players on the field on a team, and how many quarters there are in a game. I didn't want to exile the fans of City of United choosing a color palate used by one of them. I chose purple and gold(U of W Huskies colors), and went from there. A big 4 with 4 stars and a crest and I was set.

I LOVE the plaid pattern that Nike used this year for United, and carried it over. Over white pants and it looks different from every other team. The clash is gold with purple accents and I feel the colors carry this concept.

YC Cardiff

I wanted to do a simple and classic concept that reflected not only Cardiff, but all of Wales. I did a simple C in a circle with the dragon from the Welsh flag. I toned down the green, and kept the red because that color scheme is awesome. Simplicity was the key to this set.

I originally wanted to do a white top and green bottom set, but the color scheme made me change my mind. I went with red over white like the national teams customary to Wales. Just some simple designs similar to Manchester United's former white kit. The clash kit is all green.

Birmingham Workshop

Went with another one of you guy's suggestions with this one. Originally, I was going to do a royal blue and white team, but realized that it'd basically be like Tampa. I knew I wanted a team that was light blue and changed Birmingham to that. I used navy as an accent color and went from there. The crest has an anvil for the industry, and a BW for the team initials.

Went with Kappa and a crazy design(because I forgotI wanted to do a sash like the logo) I played around with the colors and patterns and ended up with the following.

Sheffield Union

First, i wanted to do Sheffield Steelers, but that's the name of the hockey team(they even use the same colors!), so then I tried the typical club names. But since Sheffield is known for it's industry, I went with Union(workers union, you know). Orange, grey, and black, with diamond plating on the crest underneath the Yorkshire Rose.

The kits are simple, I know I wanted to do an orange top with a dark grey bottom. I went with adidas, and sort of based it of some teams, but made it my own. On the clash I wanted to do as much on the uniform as i could, but not use it as the actual color of the part.

Magpies upon Tyne

I thought this was fun. Magpies is a nickname for Newcastle United, which is a bird in the UK(and is one of the cooler birds ever). I drew a magpie, and tried to make it modern. The name is based off of Newcastle upon Tyne, which is the name of the city, so I replaced Newcastle with Magpies. Tyne is the river that runs through Newcastle, if you didn't know. But, I liked the color scheme because it's the same colors as United!

I really didn't want to do stripes like united, so I matched the crest and did a half and half uniform. I used puma and tried to make it similar to the crest, with piping and stuff. I really like these! The clash is the light blue version of the home. 

Belfast United

You guys suggested Seahorses for Belfast, and it got me going in this direction. The seahorse in the actual city crest was poorly rendered, so I redrew this one. I tried to make it sleek looking, like Aston Villa's lion. I did maroon, and light blue on a simple crest shape with a banner and team name under it. I wanted the motif to be vertical stripes, so prepare yourself now.

Stripes. A lot of them. Other than that, pretty tame. With stripes, you have to use them just right, and I thought by not overbearing everything with them, they actually turned out cool with this scheme.

Edinburgh Fortress YC

I played with a team name like Nottingham Forest, or something that goes (city noun). I went with Fortress because of the castle that has been standing at the center of Edinburgh since the city was founded in the 12th century. The top of the logo is castle decor, with a Scottish lion in the crest, a banner for the name, and the year Edinburgh was established.

The kits were going to be a little crazy, because I chose Warrior to be the brand for this team. I played around with shades of green, did some piping, and other design. The clash kits are minimalistic and white, a la Real Madrid.

Liverpool Mariners

I was really close to naming this team the Liverpool Four, but I went with an easier brand. I used Liverpool's old colors(circa 2007ish), and did a nautical theme. Under the banner, I put an anchor and compass together like an old Mariners concept(I didn't realize they had the same name until just now), but also because Halifax AND Quebec already has a ship in their logo. Above the banner I did a rope pattern that comes up in the jersey.

The jerseys are fairly simple. I ran a strip across the chest and did an all red look. I know it would exile Everton fans, but Liverpool has more fans so I tried to throw it to them as the team to base off of. Pretty simple adidas uniforms here!

Leeds Owls YC

So I went with the colors of Leeds United, another homage to another club in the city. The name was suggested, and when I was looking at Leeds, the crest had 3 owls. So it was perfect! I did yellow and white hoops as the motof for the team, and I thought that looked really neat.

The kits are directly taken from the crest. I did a puma detail on the sleeve The clash is light blue with white accents.