Belgium

Belgian clubs face an increasing struggle to compete at the highest level unless they can find innovative ways to increase income, according to a study.

One of Belgium's police unions has said it was considering strike action during next month's Euro 2000 soccer tournament.

French commercial TV station TF1 and pay-TV channel Canal Plus have acquired stakes in sports channels Eurosport International and Eurosport France from Disney Corp cable TV sports network ESPN.

Breaking even is the target of Euro 2000 organisers, according to tournament director Alain Courtois.

The European Parliament has voted down a resolution from British opposition Conservatives calling for the England-Germany Euro 2000 match to be moved from Charleroi's controversial stadium.

One month before soccer?s Euro 2000 tournament kicks-off, supporters have the opportunity to snap up merchandise from the official online store.

Dutch police have unveiled a range of tough measures as a warning to potential hooligans during next month's Euro 2000 soccer championship finals.

Ajax Amsterdam has taken a majority stake in Belgian first division side Germinal Beerschot of Antwerp.

Alberto S. Bichi, secretary general of the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI), believes that a better use of European lobbying channels could profit the European sporting industry in their day to day work.

Euro 2000 co-hosts Belgium will spend close to $25million on security arrangements for the tournament, which begins June 10th. The Belgian Minister of the Interior, Antoine Duquesne, revealed that Belgian government spending to guarantee safety during the tournament is estimated at a total of 25 million Euros (approximately US$23 million).

A huge image of Dutch soccer midfielder Edgar Davids will be plastered on the Netherlands' tallest office building as the Dutch begin to hype Euro 2000.

A joint FIFA/UEFA delegation will visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday 12 April for discussions related to the role, status and structure of sport within the legal framework of the European Union.

On the day that News Corps and Vivendi have proposed a joint shareholding of their digital businesses, European media big-hitters Bertelsmann, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert and Pearson (PTV) have agreed to merge CLT-UFA, Europe's leading commercial television and radio broadcaster, with Pearson Television, the independent television production company.

The European Union and its member states could be treated as a single country and only host two grands prix a year in the future, according to International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley.

Colin Hutchinson, managing director of cosmopolitan English Premier League club Chelsea, has said that UEFA and FIFA could face a breakaway of leading clubs if they persuaded the European Union to change its stance on the Bosman Ruling.

Euro 2000 organisers have freed up well over 50,000 tickets for this summer's championships and plan to sell them from Thursday.