Socceroos officials are "seeking urgent answers" from FIFA after it was claimed that Honduras players had the yellow cards hanging over them in Friday's World Cup playoff canceled -- but not Australia's. Football Federation Australia has yet to receive any guidance from FIFA, but the secretary of the Honduran FA claimed its players will not be "at risk of missing the second leg if they get a yellow card in the first leg" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 11/5).
Australia's best Super Rugby players "might not be eligible to play in the Indo Pacific Rugby Championship" after organizers were "forced to change the playing dates of the new competition." Billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest initially planned for the IPRC to run after the Super Rugby season from August to October. But he had to switch the playing window to the March-June period "because of seasonal weather conditions in Asia." The IPRC will now launch in '19, instead of next year (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 11/5).
Riot Games provided an update on the status of its League of Legends World Championships' prize pool -- "fan contributions have more than doubled the pool" from its $2.25M base. The total prize pool value now stands "just shy" of $4.6M. Fan contributions to the prize pool "come from purchases of in-game items." While $4.6M is "nothing to scoff at, it is notably short of the prize pool's amount for last year's World Championships." The '16 prize pool broke $5M "before November even began" (ESPORTS OBSERVER, 11/3).
Istanbul and Lisbon are competing to host the 2020 Champions League final, according to UEFA. Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium, the scene of the '05 final, is bidding to host for the second time. Portuguese side Benfica's Estadio da Luz is also bidding for a second Champions League final (REUTERS, 11/3).
Santiago was confirmed as the host of the 2023 Pan American Games after the Chilean capital's bid was "unanimously approved" by PanAmSports members on Saturday. Santiago was the sole bidder for the 19th edition of the Games, following the withdrawal of Buenos Aires earlier this year. The city will also stage the Parapan American Games (INSIDE THE GAMES, 11/4).
