American and British Olympic leaders will "firm up plans for a multisport event between the countries" at a meeting in N.Y. later this month, according to Rob Harris of the AP. The trans-Atlantic rivals, which occupied the top two spots in the Gold Medal standings at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, "are exploring plans for a biennial contest that will alternate between the countries featuring about a half-dozen sports." The first event could be staged in '19 "as part of preparations for the following year's Tokyo Olympics." British Olympic Association CEO Bill Sweeney said, "The question now is to identify which sports this works best for and speaking to those sports and our stakeholders about it. A number of our sports have said they are interested in doing it and the concept is based around a home-and-away series, every two years, as we see in the world of golf." The Ryder Cup was a U.S.-Britain contest until '79 "when players from across Europe were also welcomed." British Olympic sports have "had their funding cut from UK Sport, despite the country finishing second in Rio, because of a decline in National Lottery sales." The sports "showdown" with the U.S. "could plug further funding shortfalls in the future." European Olympic rights holder Eurosport and American broadcaster NBC are "involved in the planning discussions" (AP, 3/6). The PA's Matt Slater reported the benefits of "adding a biennial money-spinner to the calendar are clear to all concerned" -- including the BOA's new broadcast partner Eurosport/Discovery and the USOC's long-term media collaborator NBC -- "in terms of boosting Olympic sport's profile between Games and raising money" (PA, 3/6).
