England has confirmed it will play Ireland in a friendly in Dublin. The Ireland FA is keen to play England in Nov. '14, or Feb. '15, the 20th anniversary of "the Landsdowne Road riots which forced the abandonment of the previous meeting between the two countries" (London DAILY MAIL, 5/30). ... The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, setting sail on Sept. 1, will start and finish in London. The fleet is expected to return in July '14 after racing 40,000 miles and visiting 14 ports on six continents in the world's longest ocean race (CLIPPER ROUND THE WORLD). ... Cuba is preparing for a three-day int'l tournament in '14 in honor of World and Olympic boxing champion Teofilo Stevenson. Cuban Federation of Sports Referees & Judges VP Alejandro Barrientos said that "the plan is to invite squads from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan to contest along with the hosting island" (XINHUA, 5/31). ... La Liga side Sevilla will spend part of its preseason in Latin America "with a tour of Ecuador, Puerto Rico and one from Peru and Chile." The club has confirmed that from July 17-27, it will "travel out to South America and the Caribbean to take part in the Copa Euroamericana, alongside Porto, Atlético Madrid, eight South American teams and the Puerto Rico national team" (FOOTBALL ESPAÑA, 6/1). ... South Korea and int'l football officials are discussing "moving the country's upcoming World Cup qualifier in Lebanon to a third location because of security concerns in the Middle East country" (KOREA HERALD, 5/31). ... The UAE claims to rival China in the bid to host this year's Italian Super Cup between Serie A sides Lazio and Juventus. The Italian Super Cup is "the traditional season curtain-raiser between the winners of Serie A and the Italian Cup" (GULF NEWS, 6/2). ... The Association of Surfing Professionals Int'l announced the acquisition of the global Big Wave World Tour, with arrangements for support in '13 and formal sanctioning commencing in '14 (JAKARTA GLOBE, 5/31).
