The 2019 Champions League final "will be held in Baku or at Atlético Madrid’s new stadium after both submitted bids to stage the biggest club game in football." Hampden Park "was also put forward" to stage that year’s Europa League final and also the Super Cup -- which Belfast wants to host -- as part of UEFA’s "new procedure for awarding its major finals." No European final has "never been staged as far east as Azerbaijan, which has a land border with Iran and whose government has been accused of human rights abuses." However, Baku’s 68,700-capacity Olympic Stadium has "already been awarded group stage matches" and a quarterfinal (London TELEGRAPH, 2/3).
The National Rugby League will "look to negotiate a swap deal with the Global Tens rugby union tournament that could open the door for Brisbane to host next year's Nines tournament." The NRL is reportedly "keen to move the event from Auckland to the sunshine state next year." But the league "will have to strike a deal with Nines partners Duco Events," which is also "the brains behind the Global Tens." The NRL "will sit down with Duco in the coming weeks to negotiate a deal to be released" from the final year of its contract at Eden Park, however it is "unlikely Duco will come to the party" if the NRL wants to "invade Brisbane and take the gloss off the Tens tournament" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 2/5).
Iranian media reported on Sunday that the country has "lifted its ban on U.S. wrestlers, allowing them to participate in the Freestyle World Cup later this month." The report by the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Ghasemi saying that the ban was lifted after the "discriminative restrictions" on Iranian nationals traveling to the U.S. was suspended by a federal judge. The wrestlers "were originally banned from the Feb. 16-17 competition after President Donald Trump temporarily suspended travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran" (AP, 2/5).
The MENA Golf Tour, the developmental tour that "took root in the UAE, announced its 2017 schedule on Sunday, with a number of changes set in place." The new calendar "tees off on March 5 with its Q-School at Morocco’s Royal Golf El Jadida, moving from its Spanish location last year, while the circuit’s Thailand Swing has increased by one event to three with the addition of the Pattana Golf Championship on May 15." The 2017 Mena Tour will visit six countries: Morocco, UAE, Thailand, South Africa, Kuwait and Oman (THE NATIONAL, 2/5).
The annual Kenya national cross country championship lost its int'l status "after the athletics-mad nation failed to meet the stipulated obligations." For the championship to be classified as an IAAF event, the event "must have nationals from at least five countries and who are invited to compete at the organizer's own expense" (XINHUA, 2/4).
