International Mootball Authority · Authorised Edition

The Laws of Mootball

A sport and a civic act. Neither purpose may be sacrificed in favour of the other without invalidating the contest.
A companion piece to O.Welles 19/8.4. The Laws of Mootball are the official governing document of the world's most consequential sport — as practised in the world of the novel. Mootball is played simultaneously as a physical contest and an intellectual argument. The physical result and the civic verdict are both binding. This is Law I. Further Laws govern the Proposition, the Crowd Argument Mass, the Grand Moot, and the conditions under which a match may be declared Null by History. The IMA convenes annually at Athena's Owl University, Atlas Campus. President O. Welles presided at the first ratification. Read the novel →
International Mootball Authority
The Laws of Mootball — Authorised Edition
As ratified by the IMA Council, Athena's Owl University, Atlas Campus
Law I
The Nature of the Game
1.1 — Definition
Mootball is a team contest of simultaneous physical and intellectual competition, played between two sides of twelve players each, over a fixed duration and in accordance with these Laws. Its purpose is twofold and inseparable: it is a sport, and it is a civic act. Neither purpose may be sacrificed in favour of the other without invalidating the contest.
1.2 — The Dual Mandate
A Mootball match is always played around something. That something is the Proposition: a question of genuine consequence, placed before the players and the world simultaneously. The match does not merely produce a winner. It produces a result — a physical and intellectual verdict on the Proposition, rendered by the players and weighted by the Crowd Argument Mass. Both the sporting result and the civic result are binding outcomes of every match.
1.3 — The Primacy of Simultaneity
In Mootball, the physical and the intellectual are not sequential. A player does not first compete physically and then argue, nor argue and then compete. Both occur at once, in the same body, in the same moment. This simultaneity is not incidental to the game; it is the game. Any format, rule or practice that permits the separation of these two capacities into distinct phases shall not be recognised by the IMA as Mootball.
1.4 — The Spirit of the Game
Mootball proceeds from a single founding premise: that the ability to think and the ability to act are not in opposition, and that a society which treats them as such will eventually find it can do neither well. Players are expected to embody this premise at all times. Victory achieved by physical dominance without intellectual coherence is not victory. Victory achieved by intellectual dominance without physical contest is not victory. The game demands both, always, from every player, for the full duration.
1.5 — Jurisdiction
These Laws govern all forms of Mootball recognised by the International Mootball Authority, from grassroots and community-level play through to the Grand Moot. Where a specific format — including but not limited to the Grand Bang, the Territorial League, the Scholastic Cup, or the Grand Moot itself — requires modification to these Laws, such modifications are set out in the relevant Format Appendix and take precedence only in those specific circumstances. In all other respects, these Laws are supreme.
1.6 — On Losing
It is noted, and the IMA considers it worth stating plainly, that in Mootball it is entirely possible to lose the sporting contest while winning the argument, and to win the sporting contest while losing the argument. The IMA does not adjudicate on which of these outcomes is preferable. History will.
Founding Note — attributed to President O. Welles, at the first IMA ratification ceremony
"The gladiators died because the crowd was bored. Our players win or lose because the crowd is paying attention. I'll take that trade."
IMA/Laws/I — v.4.1 Proceed to Law II: The Proposition
Laws II through XII are ratified and in the possession of the IMA.
Law II governs the Proposition and its selection. Law III defines the Crowd Argument Mass and how it is weighted. Laws IV through IX cover player conduct, substitution, the role of the Referee-Philosopher, and conditions of forfeit. Law X addresses the Grand Moot. Law XI defines Null by History. Law XII is sealed and has never been read aloud in public session.
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