22nd to 28th June
We are back with more news and reviews and so is Premier League Football. The season resumed on Wednesday giving English and international fans a great lift. Matches are played behind closed doors and will be mostly likely for the remainder of this year. The current leaders, Liverpool FC, are 22 points ahead of their nearest rivals, and it all remains to be seen how soon they will be crowned EPL champions for this season. In Germany, leaders FC Bayern München have been crowned champions of the Bundesliga with only a few more matches remaining. The season concludes on the 27th June. Moving over to the States and in particular the Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, where the home of the Utah Utes has made way for the FIM Supercross World Championship. The venue has hosted five races so far and will be ready tomorrow for the finals. The overall standings have Eli Tomac leading the 450SX class by 22 points. The 250SX class is divided between East and West. Chase Sexton leads East by only six points, while Dylan Ferrandis leads West by seven points. Staying in the United States where the United States Tennis Association has confirmed the US Open will go ahead behind closed doors at Flushing Meadows from the 31st August to 13th September, which is great news for tennis fans. It has taken tennis authorities too long to accept that tournaments will have to feature without spectators. If the acknowledgement was reached sooner, then perhaps fewer tournaments would have been cancelled by now. Once again, logistics will also have played a part and airlines are only now starting to increase their flights internationally.
Two announcements were made in motor racing this week. Jean Todt, the president of FIA (motor sport's world governing body), confirmed the Rally World Championship is aiming for a return in September. Formula E has also released the calendar for 2021. Santiago will open the season in January, while London concludes the World Championship with a double-header in July. Of course, Formula One fans can hardly wait for the season to start and the Red Bull Ring in Austria is almost ready for the first race from the 3rd-5th July. Rugby Union bosses from all around the world met last Monday to discuss further the topic of a uniform international season. As we have mentioned on a few occasions before, a global sport like rugby union will not function effectively while the northern and southern hemisphere seasons start at different months of the year. Comments made by club bosses in France and England before the meeting, already indicated a lot of opposition to the idea. For this to agree, all unions will have to make a compromise. We have not heard the final outcome of the meeting and it appears there may be more planned to finalise the season for 2021. At the very least, news appears optimistic in terms of establishing new dates for international tournaments and tours. We trust World Rugby will take a strong leadership role in this matter, as now is our best chance to create it.
Until next time, have a great sporting week.
Cycling
Saturday - UCI Artistic Cycling World Cup - Komárno, Slovakia
Equestrian
Thursday to Sunday - FEI Dressage World Cup - Máriakálnok, Hungary
Golf
Thursday to Sunday - Travelers Championship - Cromwell, CT, USA
Mixed Martial Arts
Tuesday to Saturday - IMMAF 2020 Asian Open Championships - Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Rafting
Tuesday to Sunday - 2020 WRF Grand Prix - Rize, Turkey
Shooting
Thursday to 2nd July - ISSF European Junior Championship - Osijek, Croatia
Surfing
18th to Saturday - Red Bull Airborne Brazil - Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil