Azerbaijan

UEFA have received five bids to host the European soccer championship in 2012. They comprise joint bids from Croatia-Hungary and Poland-Ukraine and single bids from Greece, Italy and Turkey.

Media Holding MMC of Azerbaijan has won the broadcast rights to a series of FIFA events, including next year’s World Cup.

The football associations of Brunei Darussalam, Denmark and New Zealand are set to receive their first Goal projects under a programme drawn up by FIFA.

The 2005 NBA All-Star events will be televised in 214 countries in 45 languages via 97 international telecasters.

Ten national soccer associations, making up eight bids, are bidding to host the European Championship finals in 2012.

AMI has secured English Premier League rights to a further seven markets.

UEFA and its partnering agency TEAM Marketing have concluded a number of TV rights negotiations for the next Champions League contract after announcing a raft of new deals.

The NBA has confirmed it has renewed a string of international television agreements with a number of long-time partners.

Platini, who had a glittering playing career leading France to victory in the 1984 European Championships and also later managed the side, is hoping to gain a seat on both bodies during elections at the UEFA Congress in Stockholm on April 25.

FIFA has given Azerbaijan a deadline of next Monday to settle its internal disputes or be banned from all international competition, a spokesman for the Azeri Soccer Federation (ASF) has said.

A last-minute appeal to FIFA by Azerbaijan's sports chief has prevented the Caucasus country from being banned by world soccer's governing body over a split in the national federation.

The Azerbaijan soccer league has been suspended indefinitely after 11 of the 12 top flight clubs refused to play at the weekend when the season was set to resume after the winter break.

UEFA has ordered the Moldova soccer federation (MSF) to close down the main stadium in the capital of the tiny, impoverished ex-Soviet republic for safety reasons.

Moldova has been given permission by UEFA to use their main stadium for international matches this season, the country's soccer chief said.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has thretened to suspend Azerbaijan's soccer federation (ASF) over its protracted internal squabbles.

The Azerbaijan Soccer Federation (ASF) has received its latest warning from world governing body FIFA to end its internal squabbles or face severe consequences, an ASF official said this week.