1. Elections
So this is where it all begins, election week. Happens in Week 1 of each season, alternating whether it's youths or seniors. Well, not quite. It's easy to believe it begins here, but it actually begins whenever you want it to begin. That could be today. Why you ask? Well...
How to be Popular
The title explains essentially what is required. Other managers who are voting need to know who you are, they need to see you or your team(s) around the place.
And it needs to be seen well before you decide to run. Doing any of the following for one week, or one season, will not be enough proof for some. There's a few ways you can do this, they all have their own pros and cons. I am sorry in advance that this is going to feel like you need to prepare for a job interview, but many of the things do translate across to this.
A. Picking a nation and sticking to it
A simple thing that someone can do is make their club side have players from the one nation, whoever you choose to want to support. It's obviously easiest with youth pulls but if you don't have membership you can make it work by using the transfer market. Having around 50% of a club side from one particular nation will hold you in a positive light when someone then sees that you are running for that nation.
"At least they support this nation" - your average FTP election voter, probably.
Note: Whilst it's preferable to also run in the same nation you choose here, that's not a complete barrier to entry.
B. Run your club side excellently
This is self-explanatory. In addition to managers seeing if you have a national preference in the way you run your club side, if they see that you are routinely in the top 2 divisions if not a consistent Div 1 winning manager then that will also sit well with voters. It shows you have at least a basic understanding of the game mechanics and have been able to stick to the game to at least beat some other seasoned managers.
It's also slightly better if you can show good youth results for a U20 election, and senior results for the senior election.
C. Be seen
Use the forums, use the discord. If people see your username, knowing who you are and knowing your character is likely a positive thing. When I'm not starting wars in the NAT channel (Don't mess with the middle east guys, seriously, we're gonna win eventually), use it to talk about your nation of choice, some of the good players and match situation.
I really can't talk up the discord enough. The forums still hold a place in my heart especially for long posts like these, but for the quick chat, the quick message and question, use the discord. Contribute amongst the league channels, schedule friendlies vs teams you wouldn't otherwise play. Also, you'll find that the boss answers questions more openly on discord, you might get some interesting information out of him.
D. Volunteer
This ties in a little bit with all of the above. See if you can get involved on your own accord. For example, it took no official title for Moose to do often daily writeups of UAE U20 matches (C. Be Seen). It has resulted in a U20 assistant spot (so far, who knows what else is to occur). There's also plenty of vacant NAT assistant spots (A. Pick a nation). Being involved with an already established manager gets you to see the workings of a NAT scene more intimately than what any explanation can do, even this one. Also you might get some good tips on how to set up orders for matches and good bowling combinations (B. Run your club side excellently).
But this is where I will call out the existing managers.
Do your part, get someone new involved. Even if it's just to shadow the way you operate. Also go find someone yourselves, don't wait for someone to ask you. I would argue though that every nation should have an idea of their future stars, and they should message the managers of those players, maybe once every two seasons just to give an update. I can guarantee that under half of the 18 nations do this consistently. Get an enthusiastic assistant in to compile your list for you, show them around, engage in discord conversation. Doing a NAT role is more than a one person job if you want it to be, so why not play a part in growing the game
And on a personal sidenote, shoutout to radar who I am crediting for his work in the last OD tour for the UAE. In case it wasn't known, we won it
Election Week
There's not really much to say about election week itself, the work is done before hand. All that is required in election week is the ability to convey your above achievements and learnings into a forum post. It's a requirement to have one anyway, but posting one outlining what you've done is only going to help you out, especially if there's positive things which have occurred.
Next up: NAT page overview
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