The Australian Rugby Union and the Australian Turf Club announced a strategic partnership that will see the two parties work closely across future events and activations. The alliance will kick off during the Bledisloe Cup Festival, when the Bledisloe Cup Festival Race Day takes place at Royal Randwick on Aug. 9. The ARU has partnered with the ATC to stage an Australian/New Zealand-themed race day that celebrates the rivalry between the two countries on the track and on the rugby field (ARU). ... UEFA confirmed on Thursday that in the face of "ongoing rocket fire towards Tel Aviv and central Israel," Maccabi Tel Aviv and Santa Coloma will "exchange venues for the home and away legs of their Champions League second round qualifier." Maccabi will "now be playing in Andorra" on Tuesday and will host Santa Coloma a week later (JERUSALEM POST, 7/10). ... Sunni militant outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has urged FIFA President Sepp Blatter to "withdraw the decision to hold the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar contending that the country will soon be a part of the caliphate." The outfit asserted that the Caliph of the Islamic state "does not allow corrupt practices to flourish in the land of Islam and therefore, if FIFA refuses to change the venue, they will launch long-range Scud missiles at stadiums in Qatar" (ANI, 7/13). ... OCBC Bank is "committed to holding a premier cycling event" in Singapore even as it recently terminated its six-year partnership with Spectrum Worldwide as sponsor for the annual Cycle Singapore event. The bank posted an announcement on its official Twitter page, saying that it will be "working with new organisers for a new event called OCBC Cycle 2015" (STRAITS TIMES, 7/13).
