Kazakhstan's anti-doping laboratory in Almaty "has been suspended" by WADA for four months. The ban was imposed "because it fails to comply with international standards." Almaty is the seventh laboratory "to be sanctioned by WADA in recent months" (BBC, 6/28).
SHAPING THE GAME: The image of agents, payments for emergency players and what is going to be needed in establishing the women's football league "are set to be discussion points" when Australian Football League player agents gather for a two-day conference in Melbourne this week. How agents "approach prospective teenage talent and reducing the number of years required to enter free agency -- with some support for that to be slashed to five years -- will also be discussed formally and informally when agents from across Australia gather at the Grand Hyatt on Thursday." The issue of match payments for emergencies "is also on the minds of several agents." Emergency players "do not receive match payments but there is a push for them to be compensated, especially when they are either rested or taken as the travelling emergency on an interstate trip" (THE AGE, 6/28).
FREE GOALPOSTS: The AFL is "taunting rival footy codes by erecting free goalposts in a staggering 100 schools throughout Sydney and regional NSW." It has left the National Rugby League, Australian Rugby Union and Football Federation Australia "deeply concerned." With cash, ambition and resources, the AFL "continues to push deep into the rugby league and rugby union heartlands." Parents "have noticed the AFL posts popping up around NSW." It is understood about "50 sets of posts have been constructed in Sydney schools, the other 50 in rural areas that stretch between Albury to Broken Hill and Coffs Harbour" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 6/28).
LEAGUE BRIEFS ...
Racehorse Owners Association President Nicholas Cooper used his maiden speech "to call for the British Horseracing Authority to have the final say on the sport's fixture list." Frustrations "have continued to grow over the geographical clashes that occur with days when fixtures are clustered in one part of the country and local tracks race in opposition rather than a more logical spread of meeting across the country" (London DAILY MAIL, 6/28).
The South Australian Cricket Association signed a "five-year agreement with the Shandong Cricket Association to help grow the sport within China." SACA Policy Manager Ben Page said that "this was the first partnership of its kind in Australia." At the same time, the South Australian Government has "finalized a sister state relationship with the Shandong Government" (ABC, 6/28).
