The National Rugby League pledged to donate A$100 ($73.90) from every point scored in this year's finals series to "help struggling farmers." Farmers will also be able to apply for finals tickets for free. NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said, "[It's a] no-brainer, this one. Ninety-nine percent of New South Wales is in drought, and a huge number of our players are from regional NSW" (ABC NEWS, 8/5).
Irish Minister for Sport Shane Ross said that field hockey will benefit from a "significant share" of an additional £1.34M ($1.73M) funding for Olympic sports. The Ireland women's team returned home on Monday after a group of "largely amateur players" reached the final of the World Cup (BBC, 8/6).
Cricket Wales expressed concerns that the Welsh Rugby Union's interest in moving mini and junior rugby to the summer months "will force youngsters to choose between the two sports." CW also revealed that senior members of the boards of Cricket Wales, Glamorgan County Cricket Club and the WRU will meet in the next few weeks. In June, the WRU revealed that 59 grassroots clubs signed up to its "seasonal repositioning" scheme, which has seen 4,500 children playing rugby over the summer (WALES ONLINE, 8/6).
The Japanese Amateur Boxing Federation announced it will "set up an independent committee to investigate allegations of improper conduct" by President Akira Yamane. The announcement on the association’s website follows requests by the Japan Olympic Committee and the Japan Sport Association for an "investigation into the allegations against the 78-year-old president." Yamane was accused of a "long list of improprieties including pressuring referees to fix the outcome of matches" (KYODO, 8/6).
