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South Korea to
make GP debut
As one of the many changes in this year’s F1 schedule, South
Korea will host its first grand prix, with Bahrain being the opener
for the season.
The South Korean event, which will be held in Yeongam in the
south-west of the country, was listed on the 19-race calendar for
the season. Scheduled for 24 October, South Korea will be home
to the third to last race, with Abu Dhabi the last race of the season
on 14 November.
The inaugural Korean Grand Prix is now the only race marked as
provisional, with its approval subject to the homologation of the
newly-built Yeongam circuit. The 2010 FIA Formula One World
Championship calendar is as follows:
Sweden – Moving the
goalposts - literally!
Kim Christensen, the IFK Gothenburg goalkeeper, was seen on
camera kicking in both sides of the goalframe to reduce the
target area ever so slightly at the start of a crucial match in the
Allsvenskan (All Sweden)
Referee Stefan Johannesson spotted the posts had been moved
a few centimetres about 20 minutes into the game and pushed
them back into the right place but, because he was unaware that
the goalkeeper was responsible, took no further action.
Faced with clear television evidence, however, Christensen later
admitted that this was not the first time he had moved the
goalposts — which, in the Swedish game, often rest on top of the
artificial playing surface and can easily be manipulated. “I got the
tip from a goalkeeping friend a few years ago, and since then I
have done it from time to time,” Christensen told a reporter
The Swedish Football Association is investigating the incident.
“I have never heard anything like this before,” said Swedish FA’s
disciplinary chief Kheneth Tallinger. “It’s unique.”
World Sports News Roundup
25 July - Germany
1 August - Hungary
29 August - Belgium
12 September - Italy
26 September - Singapore
10 October - Japan
24 October - Korea*
7 November - Brazil
14 November - Abu Dhabi
*Subject to the homologation of the circuit.
14 March - Bahrain
28 March - Australia
4 April - Malaysia
18 April - China
9 May - Spain
16 May - Monaco
30 May - Turkey
13 June - Canada
27 June - Europe (Valencia)
11 July - Great Britain
South Africa - $420m prize
money for 2010 World Cup
FIFA, the World football governing body, has announced that total
prize money for the 2010 World Cup has been set at $420m, a
61% increase on the levels at the last tournament in 2006. The
winning team will get $30m with the runner-up pocketing $24m.
At the bottom end of the scale, the lowest 16 teams will receive
$8m each. This figure is in addition to a $1m set amount for
‘preparations’, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke announced.
An additional $40m had been set aside for clubs whose players
would take part in national teams. Part of this amount was to
cover the cost of insuring those players.
FIFA also revealed that it has
received 500,000 World Cup
ticket requests in the third
phase of the sales process,
only 10 days after the
allocation opened. 386,300
of those tickets were
requested by South African
residents (77% of the total
applications), while 114,237
tickets applied for came from
the rest of the world. The United
States heads the list of foreign countries
for this phase with 22,942 ticket requests, followed by the United
Kingdom (20,232), Mexico (7,981), Germany (7,697), Australia
(6,277) and Brazil (4,760).
UAE denied America’s Cup by court
The New York Supreme Court has ruled that the next edition of
the America’s Cup cannot take place in the United Arab Emirates
as planned by reigning champions Alinghi according to the rules
that govern the sailing regatta.
Alinghi announced that it had selected the Gulf emirate of Ras al-
Khaimah in the UAE for the race next February where it will go up
against US challenger Oracle to decide the 33rd edition of sailing’s
premier competition. Oracle filed suit over Alinghi’s choice of the
site, arguing the venue is unsafe due to its proximity to Iran as
well as being a violation of the rules.
Justice Shirley Kornreich based her decision on a stipulation in
the ‘Deed of Gift’, the 19th century rules that govern the oldest
competition in international sport, that say that the race cannot
be held in the northern hemisphere between 1st November and
1st May.
India – Commonwealth
Games chief warns Delhi 2010
Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell has warned
Delhi that it must overcome major challenges in order to be ready
to host next year’s games. With numerous facilities being built
for the event already missing deadlines, Fennell has insisted that
there can be no more setbacks.
The warning comes on the heels of Fennell’s recent criticism of
the Indian organisers, saying construction delays posed a serious
threat to the games. Suresh Kalmadi, organising committee
chairman of the event, however, insisted India was up to the task,
assuring the Commonwealth Games Federation that Delhi would
‘live up’ to the challenges it is facing.
The games are due to take place in October this year.
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