The national FAs of the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations, along with Iraq and Yemen, have agreed to hold the "much-awaited" 23rd Gulf Cup in Kuwait from Dec. 15-29 this year, provided FIFA "lifts an ongoing ban on the country." In case the ban is not lifted, "the eight national associations have decided that Qatar would host the tournament," but in Dec. '17. A final decision will be taken by the eight nations on June 7 (AL BAWABA, 4/28).
The Int'l Mixed Martial Arts Federation announced the '16 installment of the IMMAF World Championships of Amateur MMA will return to Las Vegas as part of the 5th Annual UFC Int'l Fight Week, the world’s largest celebration of combat sports, taking place from July 5-10. The 2016 IMMAF World Championships will be hosted at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the week, with the championships featured on July 10 at the UFC Fan Expo (IMMAF).
French Sports Minister Patrick Kanner announced on Wednesday that €24M ($27.2M) will be “devoted to fan zone security during the Euro 2016.” Initially expected to be between €10M ($11.3M) and €12M ($13.6M), the budget was raised after Kanner signed a “financial agreement” in Paris. Kanner said that the fan zones are “expected to attract 7 to 8 million people” during the event (L’ÉQUIPE, 4/27).
