Germany

South African World Cup 2006 bid officials have said it would be a pity if the chances of rivals England were scuttled by UEFA'S threat to expel the English team from the European championship finals.

England's bid to stage the 2006 World Cup finals appears to have been dealt a fatal blow by the violent behaviour of the hooligans who caused mayhem over the weekend in Belgium, according to senior FIFA figures.

The British media has backed European football's governing body which has threatened to expel England from the Euro 2000 championship if English fans become involved in any more hooliganism.

English soccer chiefs were planning to hold an urgent meeting with European governing body UEFA today in a bid to stop a new generation of hooligans from destroying their Euro 2000 campaign and seriously undermining their 2006 World Cup bid.

Two major European broadcasters are using virtual graphics provided by Symah Vision to enhance their coverage of Euro 2000.

BBC Sport has struck back following the morale-sapping loss of Premier League broadcast highlights to terrestrial rivals ITV.

South Africa's 2006 World Cup bid committee officials will meet their Brazil counterparts next week to discuss a possible deal over Brazilian backing for South Africa's bid.

Bavarian tycoon Leo Kirch's media group has confirmed it plans to unite its three sports rights management agencies in a new holding company and integrate the Internet more strongly into its sports activities.

Germany's top television channel, RTL has bought the coveted free-to-air rights to Champions League soccer from September for the next three seasons.

German border police have stopped 36 known troublemakers from travelling to Euro2000 since last week and had detained 116 others wanted for different crimes.

South Africa's Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour will meet Moroccan World Cup bid officials in Rabat to discuss the possibility of Morocco withdrawing from the 2006 race.

South Africa's World Cup bid chief said he was prepared to do a deal with rivals Brazil in order to secure South American backing in the vote to decide who hosts the 2006 tournament.

NBA fans in more than 750 million households around the world will be able to tune into the NBA Finals 2000 featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and the Indiana Pacers.

If their faces don't fit, fans will be arrested on the spot at Euro 2000 but organisers believe a zero tolerance policy will ensure a trouble-free tournament.

Organisers of England's bid to host the 2006 World Cup have shrugged off a report claiming South America had offered its backing to rival bidders South Africa.

Euro 2000 organisers say they are concerned at the scale of demand for tickets on the black market but insist it will not undermine their strict security plans.