The South Korean field hockey team has withdrawn from the Asian Champions Trophy in Doha, Qatar from Dec. 21-27. Asian Hockey Federation Secretary General Tan Sri P. Alagendra said that it has "now invited Bangladesh" to play instead (THE STAR, 10/18). ... London's Wembley Stadium is scheduled to host two NFL games in '13 "in a deal that is a blow to Croke Park's hopes of holding a game." The Dublin stadium "had been hoping to host a game" involving the Pittsburgh Steelers, owned by U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney, next fall (IRISH INDEPENDENT, 10/17). Swimming's governing body FINA has received bids from the federations of Hong Kong, Windsor/Detroit (Canada/U.S.), and the UAE (city to be confirmed) for the FINA World Swimming Championships in '16 and eventually '18. The vote will be made on Dec. 11, in Istanbul after the presentations of the three projects (FINA). ... The name of an int'l team playing two Twenty20 matches in Pakistan this weekend was changed on Wednesday, but "World XI" was retained "despite an objection" from the Int'l Cricket Council. Organizer and Sindh Sports Minister Mohammad Ali Shah said, "We have changed the name to Int'l World XI" (AFP, 10/18).
