SportBusiness Staff

The disappointing ratings for Olympic coverage on NBC in the US have been offset by more encouraging figures around the world.

Former FIFA president Joao Havelange has urged Brazil to pull out of the race to host the 2006 event.

THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL SOCCER

U.S. athletics authorities, under fire at the Sydney Olympics for their drug-testing procedures, appear set to hand over control of all their anti-doping efforts to WADA, the new world anti-doping agency.

CSI has extended its television rights contract with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union.

Freeserve has agreed a two-year worldwide deal for Greg Rusedski to endorse its free Internet services. The deal comes just as Rusedski, who is currently ranked number nine in the world (ATP Tour), prepares for the start of the US Open tennis tournament.

NBC/Quokka Ventures (NQV), a joint venture of NBC and Quokka Sports have unveiled Action Tracker on NBCOlympics.com. Action Tracker delivers up-to-the-minute results, pictures and streaming commentary on some of the biggest events of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Ticketing firm Synchro Systems have signed new deals with six British soccer clubs and two foreign teams.

Argentinian soccer club Racing is close to signing a privatisation deal.

Experts from NASCAR, Le Mans and Formula One will be in attendance for the first in a series of seminars on motorsports technology to be held in the US.