Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 7 May 12:30 pm

Good day, let’s look at the latest sports news and scores:

# We start with motorsport: Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie says South Africa will first make sure everything is in place before submitting a bid to host a Formula One Grand Prix. To that end, an expert will be appointed to inspect the bid. McKenzie confirmed the required hosting fee of 1.7-billion-rand had been secured through private sector partnerships. He says the bid will include the business model, hosting and event management experience, infrastructure, logistics and government endorsement. South Africa last hosted a F1 race in 1993.

# Rugby: The Lions say they are in Dublin to beat Irish powerhouse Leinster in their United Rugby Championship group match on Saturday, despite being regarded as the underdogs. The Johannesburg team is currently third on the log and only needs another one league point to qualify for the quarterfinals for the very first time. They won their last six matches. Defence coach Jaque Fourie says the players are focused, knowing it’s tough to tour in Ireland and playing one of the oldest clubs in the world.

# Cricket: The final of the Indian Premier League will no longer be played in Bengaluru at the end of the month. It had been moved to Ahmedabad because of operational and logistical issues. Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s victory celebrations led to the death of 11 people during a stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium last year, whereafter the local government reviewed safety arrangements before allowing IPL matches there this season. The governing body, BCCI, says they weren’t able to comply with certain requirements and was forced to move the final.

# And soccer: Co-hosts Mexico’s governing body has threatened players they will be dropped from the World Cup squad if they don’t report for a training camp and choose to stay with their clubs instead. The camp, which started yesterday, falls outside the designated international window and clashes with Liga MX play-offs. Players were given a deadline of eight o’clock tonight to arrive at the camp in Mexico City. Mexico will announce it’s World Cup squad on 1 June, with their first match against Bafana Bafana on the 11th.

And Fed Square in Melbourne, Australia, won’t be converted in a spectator hub for this year’s World Cup after some poor spectator behaviour in the past. This will be the first time in over 20 years no matches will be shown on the big screen. Fans celebrated wildly when Australia qualified for the round of 16 in Qatar in 2022, leading to injuries. The authorities say the decision was due to the conduct of a small minority, while the local governing body asked them to reconsider.

Stay tuned for more news………….