What is Spineball?

Spineball is a popular Unathi team sport, with every city-hold having a team.
Millions of Unathi throughout the galaxy consider themselves fans of Major Leage Spineball.
In Spineball, two teams of five compete to strike the ball into the other team's goal. However, players may only touch the ball with their tail.
The only exception to this is the goalie, who may touch the ball with any part of their body. However, they may not leave the goal.
Teams may either consist of five field players or four field players and one goalie. The goalie, or a player, may be swapped out at any time.
Touching the ball with any part of the body besides the tail, for any player besides the goalie, may result in the player sitting on the sidelines for ten minutes.
When a goal is made, players are to return to formation around the ball. The ball will be placed at one of three starting points - Center, Quuarter, and Three Quarters.
After a goal is scored, the ball is moved to the next closest starting point to where the goal was scored.
The ball will either start in the center of the field, or in the half of the field in which the previous goal was scored, depending on where it had started previously.
The players proceed to take formation around the ball, two on each side with a fifth player centered. They may stand no closer than two and a half meters from the ball.
In the major leagues, the team with the highest score after four quarters - each forty five minutes long - wins.

History of the sport

Spineball is a truly ancient sport. Records show that variants of the game have been played for the past 10,000 years.
The original version of the sport had no restrictions on kicking the ball - however, the tail-only rose in popularity merely decades after the invention of the sport.
Before long, the kick-and-tail version was forgotten in favor of the tail-whip only one.
Curiously enough, the amount of teams was not set in stone until about four hundred years ago, with the rise of the Official Global League, or OGL, for short.
The Official Global League went strong until about two hundred and thirty years ago, when it was officially purchased by the newly-formed Moghes Sports Network.

MSN Major League Spineball features an extremely long list of teams, though not many have become household names.
The Sareszhi Slashers have been a fan-favorite since they were founded, an impressive feat for an original OGL team.
The Arrak Avengers, a newer team, have taken the world by storm. Only founded in 2558, they've kept up an impressive 75% win rate. To date, they are the newest team to win the global championship.
The Szizstan Sabres are well-known for their aggressive playstyles and frequent community events held in their city-hold. They are one of the few teams officially sponsored by their clan's leaders.
The Kraaz-chal Champions are known for their unusual playstyle, being able to turn the tides of almost any match.
The Moghresian Menaces have been known to help sponsor smaller teams, with their coach trying to push for more categories in MSN League Spineball such as four-way-split and no-goalies.