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World Sports News Roundup
AUSTRALIA
2013 tour to Australia confirmed for Lions
The Australian Rugby Union has confirmed the schedule for the
British & Irish Lions’ tour of Australia in June and July of 2013. They
will play three Test matches against the Wallabies on their nine-
match tour. The Lions visit Australia once every 12 years.
The 2013 tour will start with a match against Super Rugby side the
Western Force in Perth on Wednesday, 5th June, and ends with
the Third Test in Sydney on Saturday, 6th July.
ARU managing director and CEO John O’Neill, said: ‘The Lions
tour here in 2001 was an extraordinary event and one which
provided significant economic benefit to those cities which hosted
major matches.’
‘More than 8000 Lions supporters came to Australia from the UK
and Ireland on official tour packages and many more thousands
made their own way here.’
‘Four years ago in South Africa there were said to be 40,000
Lions fans that made the trek there to support their team. A Lions
Tour is a massive occasion. Behind the Rugby World Cup it is
the most engaging, high-profile and popular event our game can
showcase. It is not just about the three Tests. It is about the hype
and momentum a tour of six weeks develops.’
The Lions will kick off their campaign in Hong Kong against the
Barbarians on Saturday, 1st June.
UK
Olympics synchronised swimming tickets
oversold
Thousands of synchronised
swimming ticket holders for
London 2012 have been
asked by LOCOG to return
them, after a human data
error meant that too many
tickets were sold for four of
the sessions.
When tickets were put back on sale in the second round of sales,
the error meant that 20,000 tickets were put on sale rather than
10,000.
Those affected have been offered the chance to exchange their
tickets for other events that they also applied for – which potentially
means they could end up exchanging their sychronised swimming
tickets for some of the most high profile events. Therefore those
affected are unlikely to be left disappointed by the error, but is
another example of ticketing issues following online difficulties
to cope with demand during the latter stages of the first round of
ticketing.
AZERBAIJAN
Baku 2020 launches Olympic bid campaign
The Baku Bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games
has formally launched its campaign.
Vice-President of the Baku 2020 Bid Committee, Chingiz
Huseynzade said: ‘In the20 years sinceour country’s independence,
we have come a very long way as a nation. If we realise our dream
of hosting the Games in 2020, with the Olympic Movement at our
side, I believe that together we can take the next great leap forward
in our country’s development.’
‘Together we can reinforce and continue the positive social and
economic changes that have already taken place in Baku and
Azerbaijan over the past two decades and help Baku to become
a leading global destination far sooner than it would without the
Games.’
‘Together we can also accelerate the development of team sports
and introduce new sports into the country that will benefit the young
and old, men and women of Azerbaijan. And finally, together we
can enable our country to fulfil its true sporting potential, giving
an enormous boost to the development and diversification of sport
and society in Azerbaijan.’
‘Hosting the 2020 Games will be ‘life-changing’ for Baku and the
country.’
He said that an Olympic Games hosted in Baku would become
a role model and an inspiration for other less well-known cities
around the world to bid – cities which, like Baku, have the potential
to achieve great things way beyond people’s perception.
INDIA
Barcelona targets Indian market
Barcelona will target India as an
‘important and strategic’ market,
linking up with Conscient
Football to launch a series of
FCB Camp training camps in the
country this year.
The club plans to work with
10,000 Indian children over the
next three years in the next step
for a project that reached 22 countries and 18,000 children last
year.
‘India is an important and strategic country for FC Barcelona,
given their growing interest in football,’ said Xavi Marce, director of
FCBEscola, to www.fcbarcelona.com.
Barcelona are not the first major European club to set their sights
on India. In September, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis told
the Sport Industry Breakfast Club that the country is high on the
Premier League club’s list of target markets.
Football in Ludhiana, Punjab
.
Photo: www.mangopeel.il
Photo: Kevin Hamm; www.krhamm.com