Spain's Education, Culture & Sports Minister José Ignacio Wert met with and congratulated Spain's national roller hockey team on Monday, following the team's fifth consecutive world championship, which it won Saturday in Angola. Wert said, "We have softened Spanish tax authority Minister Cristobal Montoro's heart. Montoro said that there will be a very important financial increase for Spain's roller hockey team next year. You all have made a sport with limited media attention be taken into account" (EFE, 9/30). ... Former Australian Football League player Dermott Brereton claimed that the Sydney Swans "are using their cost-of-living allowance to chase star forwards such as Lance Franklin rather than assist the entire playing list with household costs" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/2). ... Hong Kong Jockey Club stewards "will be armed with harsher penalties when they crack down on jockey safety, starting at today's National Day meeting at Sha Tin." Stipendiary stewards "cited careless riding charges that had reached 'unacceptable' levels in recent seasons as the catalyst for change" (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 10/1). ... All India Football Federation President Praful Patel "has stated that he hopes the planned Indian Premier League-style tournament will serve to drive viewers and investment back to the Indian game." The competition modeled on cricket’s hugely successful IPL "has yet to receive a name, but is due to launch in January" (SOCCEREX, 10/1). ... South Africa's cricket players "would like to see an 'urgent engagement'" between their board, Cricket South Africa, and its Indian counterpart, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, "to resolve fixtures over this summer's India series" (PAKISTAN TODAY, 10/1). ... Indonesian athletes "received a much-needed boost" as the state-owned Enterprises Ministry "signed an agreement with the National Sports Committee to fund their preparation for upcoming multi-sport events, including the Southeast Asian Games to be hosted in Myanmar at the end of this year" (JAKARTA GLOBE, 10/1).
