France

Soccer player loyalty could be enhanced by offering them share options in their clubs ? recommends Gerard Houllier - manager of English Premier League club Liverpool.

The head of the sports group of the European Broadcasting Union, Stefan Kuerten, has warned that football risked "overkill" on television and was in danger of propelling itself towards self-destruction.

Football Expo 2000, the worldwide football trade show, is about to get under way in Cannes, France. The event will take palace in the Palais de Festivals, 28 February -March 1.

The 10 cities hoping to host the 2008 Summer Games left International Olympic Committee headquarters this week confident they would all clear the first hurdle in the bidding process.

Paris-based Havas Advertising Sports has bought marketing and licensing agency ISL France which had been 49 per cent owned by ISL Worldwide.

Teamtalk.com, the soccer Internet company, is planning to raise #60m ($97m) through a placing of new ordinary shares.

The International Football Channel (TIFC), the world's first 24 hour soccer network, due to launch its Spanish-language, Latin American signal March 1, has revealed its programming schedule.

Representatives from large clubs in the Netherlands, Scotland, Belgium and Portugal met in Amsterdam this week to discuss the problems of being big fish in small soccer ponds.

Barcelona has made a bid to host the next bout of former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, according to local press reports.

Prima Television International has been appointed exclusive international media rights representative for the Lincoln Financial Group Rugby League World Cup 2000.

The 2000 NBA All-Star Game, taking place in the San Francisco Bay Area, February 11- 13, will be shown in 205 countries, with a potential audience of 750million households.

Australia has put forward Perth as its choice to host the IAAF?s 2005 World Championship. Perth, like bidding rivals London, does not yet have a suitable venue. But, while London has the promise of government backing, the Perth challenge has no such guarantees.

The IOC has confirmed that ten cities have submitted preliminary bids for the 2008 Summer Games.

Australian soccer star Harry Kewell has received a carefully worded apology from a promotor which has cleared the way for him to play for his country against France at the MCG on November 11.

This season's secondary European club rugby competition has been launched with a new name, the European Shield rebranded as the Parker Pen Shield.

The International Association of Athletics Federations has appointed Japanese advertising giant Dentsu to handle worldwide television and sponsorship sales for its World Athletics Series.