Italy

France stayed ahead of Brazil atop of the FIFA world soccer rankings for a third straight month, while Germany climbed three places to fifth.

Ronaldo has denied suggestions that his sponsorship contract with sportswear giant Nike was behind an aborted decision to call him up for Brazil's World Cup qualifying game with Chile on Sunday.

The Giro d’Italia cycling tour was marred by a new doping scandal yesterday after two competitors were pulled from the race after failing drug tests.

Canada said it would bid to host the next soccer World Cup to be played in the northern American hemisphere.

The danger of overkill in the television coverage of European soccer has receded over the last year, according to a survey carried out by German-based research company SPORT + MARKT.

Beijing seems to be cruising towards victory in the race to stage the 2008 Olympic Games, despite human rights demonstrations on the IOC’s doorstep and Chinese stadiums that currently exist only as computer graphics.

Opel is the most successful sponsor of soccer shirts in Europe, according to a survey carried out by German-based research company Sport+ Markt. How to Develop Effective Sponsorship Programmes: A new report from SportBusiness Group

The breakaway European basketball league Euroliga will continue with or without the backing of the international federation (FIBA), a defiant executive director Jordi Bertomeu has said.

Boss of Italian soccer club Fiorentina, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, has temporarily stepped down while being investigated by police for money laundering and possession of drugs.

BRAND Dick Pound, the Canadian lawyer who has negotiated the marketing and television deals which have made billions for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in recent years, now wants the top job - the presidency.

Dick Pound, the Canadian lawyer who has negotiated the marketing and television deals which have made billions for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in recent years, now wants the top job - the presidency.

Italy's cycling federation will suspend all competitive cycling in the country as a result of the recent doping scandal.

An Italian court has suspended the planned sale of Rome's Foro Italico sports complex, which includes the Olympic Stadium.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has denied that it is on the verge of making a bid for London to host the Olympic Games in 2012, sportbusiness.com has learned.

Canal Plus, the pay-TV network owned by Vivendi Universal, has downsized its flagship French news and internet operations as it looks to stem the flow of financial losses.

Canal Plus, the pay-TV network owned by Vivendi Universal, has downsized its flagship French news and internet operations as it looks to stem the flow of financial losses.

Nobody can accuse Dick Pound, the 59-year-old Canadian lawyer and former Olympic swimmer, of not keeping up with the times as he campaigns for the most powerful job in world sport - the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency.

Shares in AS Roma fell 11 percent on Monday after the club won its first Italian league title for 18 years. Roma’s 3-1 victory over Parma at the Stadio Olympico on Sunday handed them the title by two points from Juventus.