Ireland

Hungary will build a new stadium and renovate seven existing grounds if it is chosen to host the 2008 European championships.

The Irish Tourist Board has signed up as title sponsors of the IAAF/Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships, to be staged at the Leopardstown Racecourse later this month.

A total of seven candidates have confirmed their interest in hosting UEFA's soccer showpiece - Euro 2008.

Candidates to host soccer's Euro 2008 tournament have until the end of today to submit official bids to governing body UEFA.

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.

Fourteen candidates have been proposed for seven seats on UEFA's Executive Committee ahead of its elections on April 24.

Premiership rugby club London Irish is to raise about £2m ($2.9m/EUR3.3m) from private investors prior to its flotation on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) next year.

An official joint bid from Scotland and Ireland to host the Euro 2008 soccer tournament looks likely after officials said they had made "considerable progress" in their plans.

Effective from January 31, Eurosport will be replaced by business news channel CNBC which will inherit NTL Ireland's 500,000 digital and analogue subscribers.

The Press Association, the national news agency for the UK and Ireland, has announced a package of digital content services for this summer's World Cup, despite FIFA's recent decision not to broadcast the competition live on the internet.

Scotland and Ireland are working together to stage a joint bid for soccer's Euro 2008.

Six Nations chairman Allan Hosie has been forced to apologise to tournament sponsors Lloyds TSB after neither England or Wales sent their coach or captain to an official launch this week.

The Scottish Parliament is likely to approve funding for Scotland's solo bid to stage the 2008 European Championship within seven days.

US-based wireless communications company Cingular Wireless has raised USD11.5million (EUR12.89m) in 2001 for the Special Olympics.

The European Olympic Committee's (EOC) general assembly will elect a new president and general secretary when it meets tomorrow.

The Sports Network (TSN) has reached an agreement with Dublin-based Mobile Gaming Solutions to make TSN sports content available to users of wireless internet devices worldwide.

European sports website Sports.com has launched its own World Cup site to compete with the official site for the tournament being provided by internet portal Yahoo!

New England Sports Ventures, formerly Longball LLC, an investment group making a bid for the Boston Red Sox, has added former Senator George Mitchell to its team of investors.