CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani has instigated a review of an "archaic" format that leaves only six out of the region's 35 teams still in with a shot at qualifying for Russia in '18. Alongside a potential new name to replace the "corruption-tainted" CONCACAF brand, revamping qualifying to be "more inclusive has emerged as a key objective for Montagliani after five months in charge of the confederation covering North and Central America and the Caribbean." He said, "Something needs to change because you can't have 85 percent of your members who are on the outside looking in two years before the World Cup. It doesn't make sense" (AP, 10/9).
The Asian Surfing Championships, Asia's biggest professional surfing tour, will hold its Rote Open at the Bo'a Beach in Rote Island, East Nusa Tenggara, "where the event also took place last year." This year's Rote Open will "offer millions of dollars in prizes." Both local and int'l surfers "will participate in the event" (JAKARTA GLOBE, 10/7).
The second biggest crowd ever has "flocked to Mount Panorama for this year's Bathurst 100." The four-day attendance of 204,512 is the highest since '12 (50th anniversary) of 207,205. This year's event has "celebrated nine-time Bathurst winner Peter Brock, on the 10th anniversary of his death" (STUFF, 10/9).
