Eastern Europe

The Belarus Soccer Federation has unanimously rejected the resignation of its president, Yevgeny Shuntov, and he said he had agreed to stay on.

Retired major-general Grigory Fyodorov has been elected president of the Belorussian Football Federation.

Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov has let slip one part of his long-awaited plan to tackle Russia's economic crisis, saying his government would help the national soccer team improve their image and performance.

KGB chief Vladimir Matskevich has been installed as head of the Belarus Biathlon Federation in an effort to improve the country's standing in the sport.

The Nationwide Building Society has added to its UK soccer sponsorship portfolio by signing a three-year #500,000 sponsorship deal with the FA of Wales (FAW).

England?s win over Germany on Saturday is a major boost for the World Cup?s multi-million pound licensing programme, according to Copyright Promotions Licensing Group (CPLG), the agency responsible for generating revenue from next year?s soccer tournament.

Russia's individual Olympic gold medal-winners at the Sydney Games in September can expect a $100,000 bonus, the country's leading sports official have said.

Sion officials have made the trip to Olympic headquarters, formally submitting their bid to host the 2006 Winter Games.

Switzerland's President Flavio Cotti has asked for the support of France and other French-speaking states for his country's bid to stage the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Italy's Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema met Fiat honorary chairman Giovanni Agnelli and other members of a Turin-based group on Monday to discuss the city's bid to host the 2006 winter Olympic Games.

With no end in sight to the NBA lockout, overall No. 1 draft pick Michael Olowokandi might go to Europe to play professionally.

The Austrian town of Klagenfurt kicked off the final day's campaigning for the right to host the 2006 Winter Games, wheeling out 1976 Olympic downhill champion Franz Klammer to try to win over the International Olympic Committee.

Only clubs which can prove they are financially stable and soundly managed will be allowed to compete in fixtures organised by UEFA from the 2003-04 season, European soccer's governing body has announced.

The Extreme Group has launched the Extreme Sports Channel on the Telekabel cable network in Llubljana, Slovenia.

A Belgian court will shortly issue its ruling on a request to ban Yugoslavia from the Euro 2000 soccer tournament, a court official told Reuters.

British fans are set to bet more than #100 million pounds ($149m) on Euro 2000, making it the world's biggest single sports betting event, bookmakers Ladbrokes said on Friday.