A-League side Melbourne Victory will host Champions League finalist Atlético Madrid in a preseason match at Geelong's Simonds Stadium in July. Atlético, which is already scheduled to play Tottenham Hotspur at the MCG next month, "will take on the three-time A-League champions on July 31" to cap off its Australian tour. Atlético will also mark the second int'l club Victory will play during the period, with a clash against Serie A champion Juventus at the Melbourne Cricket Ground also scheduled as part of the Int'l Champions Cup (AAP, 6/16).
HK TO HOST PAPUA NEW GUINEA: The Hong Kong men’s cricket squad will host Papua New Guinea in a three-game one-day int'l series in November. The matches on Nov. 4, 6 and 8 "are not part" of the Int'l Cricket Council’s World Cricket League. The games will be played at Mission Road and come "two years after PNG hosted Hong Kong in a series in Townsville, Australia" (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 6/16).
CHARITY COLLABORATION: Formula E is collaborating with the StreetGames charity ahead of next month’s London ePrix. Championship contender Sam Bird is returning to his roots and joining Roehampton FC for a mini-football tournament taking place on June 27. StreetGames is a U.K.-based inclusive sports charity whose mission is to make sports more accessible to young people from the lowest socio-economic communities (Formula E).
EVENT BRIEFS ...
The Royal Belgian Hockey Association won the competition to host the Women’s and Men’s EuroHockey Championships in '19. The field hockey event will be played in Antwerp. Taking place in Aug. '19, the event will feature the top eight European women’s and men’s national teams. Six teams will qualify from the 2017 EuroHockey Championships in addition to the two top ranked teams at the 2017 EuroHockey Championships II. The EuroHockey Championships in '19 are a direct qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Int'l Hockey Federation).
Ironman secured a 10-year partnership with Sport Singapore, and will now become the operator of the annual Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore, beginning with this year’s event. With Ironman Endurance Asia’s acquisition of Spectrum Worldwide and the backing of Wanda Sports as its parent company, Ironman can grow the marathon both in scale and stature. This will be Ironman’s first running event in Singapore and will be the home of the new Ironman Endurance Asia HQ (Ironman).
The Int'l Equestrian Federation (FEI) World Endurance Championships 2016 will be held in Samorin, Slovakia. Three bids to host the Championships were received when the bid process was reopened in April of this year following the decision to reallocate the event (FEI).
