The Latest: Royals to fill seats with plastic fan cutouts

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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The Kansas City Royals have launched what they are calling a “Fanbassador” program in which up to 500 fans may purchase a plastic cutout of their likeness for $40 apiece that will be displayed in a seat at Kauffman Stadium during the abbreviated 2020 season.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Royals Respond Fund, an effort to support Kansas City-area nonprofits that are focused on food insecurity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The idea of putting fan likenesses inside stadiums began in Germany when soccer resumed, and other baseball franchises like the Oakland A’s have proposed the same idea. Season ticket holders will have the first opportunity to purchase their likenesses.

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UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma is asking for help from Congress to get foreign students, including athletes, back to campus.

The Huskies have three foreign players on their roster this year: Anna Makurat, a sophomore from Poland; Nika Muhl, a freshman from Croatia, and Aaliyah Edwards, a freshman from Ontario, Canada.

The Hall of Fame coach says all three are experiencing issues getting into the United States because of the coronavirus pandemic and he doesn’t know if any of them will be back with the rest of the team on July 26. Auriemma questions why professional athletes have been allowed back from overseas, but not college athletes.

“We started asking questions like, ‘Why is that?’” Auriemma said. “We’ve got some really good people in Washington, D.C., looking into how to do that for international students, not just athletes but kids that have enrolled here, gone to school. What is the issue here? Why can’t we get that resolved?”

Auriemma said he’s...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/The-Latest-Russian-soccer-league-calls-of-15378741.php