The FA said that Women's FA Cup final is "set for a new attendance record after initial ticket sales of more than 30,000." Chelsea Ladies face 13-time winners Arsenal at Wembley on Saturday. A competition record of 30,710 attended last year's final, "the first to be held at the national stadium." Last year's "bumper crowd came only a month after England's historic third-place finish at the World Cup" (BBC, 5/10).
WINTER CRICKET: Townsville, Mackay and Brisbane will this winter host the largest cricket tournament to be held in Queensland since the 2012 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup. Cricket Australia confirmed that a Quadrangular Series featuring Australia A, South Africa A, Cricket Australia's National Performance Squad based at the Bupa National Cricket Center and a fourth int'l squad to be confirmed, would take place during July, August and September. The series will include 18 matches and 30 days of cricket, spread between 4 four-day matches and 16 one-day games (CA).
EVENT BRIEFS ...
Real Madrid revealed its plans to award the 19,550 tickets the club received for the Champions League final after "deciding that a lottery will be used to determine the bulk of the supporters that will be lucky enough to head to Milan with a match ticket." Despite the San Siro holding a capacity 81,277 fans, both Real and Atletico Madrid "received just over 19,000 tickets for the final," a figure that represents fewer than 25% of the stadium’s available seats (London INDEPENDENT, 5/10).
National Rugby League side Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles will turn the Broncos' "cherished" Suncorp Stadium into its own "maroon and white fortress." Having "shifted a home match to Brisbane as part of an NRL double-header," Manly is "playing hardball with the Broncos," which will "be made to feel like second-class citizens in their own home." Aside from taking over Brisbane’s "luxurious home dressing room, Manly will also use the Broncos’ warm-up and recovery areas." As the venue hirer, Manly also told Brisbane it cannot use its own cheerleaders or have its mascot on the field (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 5/10).
Trainer Richard Gibson will have his first Group One runner at Royal Ascot next month with sprinter Gold-Fun to "tackle" HK$6.7M ($860,000) Diamond Jubilee Stakes on the final day of the meeting. An electronics firm owned by Gold-Fun Owner Pan Sutong "is a sponsor at Royal Ascot. The seven-year-old gelding "has only once missed the first four in any race in more than two years" (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 5/10).
A wheelchair basketball match in Germany "has been abandoned after an all-in brawl between fans of bitter rivals Galatasaray and Besiktas." The Turkish clubs were playing in an IWBF Eurocup game in Zwickau. About "60 fans, some armed with weapons including knives and baseball bats were involved in the brawl, according to media reports" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 5/10).
