Japan
EXCLUSIVE: VIVENDI TO PAY ISMM STAFF WHILE IT SECURES TAKEOVER
French media giants Vivendi Universal will pay ISMM?s worldwide salaries while it works to take over the troubled Swiss marketing firm, a leaked ISMM memo obtained by sportbusiness.com reveals.
ARGENTINE PLAYERS STRIKE OVER UNPAID WAGES
Argentina's professional soccer players decided to start an indefinite strike on Monday because they claim the clubs owe them millions in unpaid wages and bonuses.
IEC ACQUIRES IAAF EVENTS IN JAPAN
Swedish international television agency IEC in Sports has acquired the worldwide TV rights for two IAAF Athletics meets in Japan ? the IAAF Grand Prix in Osaka on May 12 and the IAAF SuperMeet in Yokohama on September 15, 2001.
MASCOTS FOR WORLD CUP 2002 UNVEILED
The mascots for the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea will be called "Ato", "Nik" and "Kaz", Korean officials has revealed.
BLATTER OPENS DOOR TO NORTH KOREA AND CALMS NERVES OVER ISL CRISIS
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has left open the possibility of a World Cup match in North Korea when South Korea and Japan co-host soccer's biggest global event next year ? and moved to allay fears over the World Cup in the light of the crisis at ISL. For the full story see the FEATURES section of sportbusiness.com.
FIFA HOPES FOR BEER AT WORLD CUP
FIFA, soccer?s world governing body, hopes South Korean and Japanese organizers will allow beer to be served at the 2002 World Cup but will not interfere if they decide against it.
FIFA UNVEILS PLANS AFTER ISL CRISIS
FIFA has set up its own marketing company as fears grow for the future of the ISMM Group ? and said it will give the Kirch Group first refusal on TV rights for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups if ISL?s parent company fails to prevent bankruptcy.
SAMARANCH BLASTS UNYONG
Olympic boss Juan Antonio Samaranch said on Tuesday he did not support Kim Un-yong's plan to allow IOC members to visit cities bidding for the Games if the South Korean is elected IOC president in July.
ISL FACE BANKRUPTCY AFTER JUDGE REJECTS DELAY BID
The ISMM Group ? parent company of ISL ? has failed in its bid to postpone bankruptcy proceedings.
MASTERS.ORG ATTRACTS 50 MILLION PAGE VIEWS
The official web site of the 2001 Masters Tournament, created by Augusta National and IBM, registered 49.8 million page views by nearly 1.1 million unique users during the event period, April 2-8.
WORLD CUP TICKET APPLICATIONS EXCEED 2.4M
Japanese organisers of the 2002 World Cup have received 2.4m applications for tickets.
WORLD CUP TICKET APPLICATIONS HIT 2.4 MILLION
Japanese organisers of the 2002 World Cup have received 2.4 million applications for tickets.
Greece Calls For Joint Euro 2008 Bid
The Greek FA (EPO) has called on the Greek government to throw their backing behind a joint bid with Turkey to stage the European soccer championship in 2008.
LADBROKES SIGN DEAL WITH RECRUITMENT FIRM
Online betting and gaming company Ladbrokes eGaming Ltd has stepped up its Far East recruitment campaign by signing an exclusive representative deal with Asia's leading independent sports marketing agency, Total Sports Asia Ltd.
VTV SPEEDS TO MOTOGP CONTRACT
VTV has been awarded the contract to produce the UK?s Channel 5?s live coverage of the MotoGP World Motorcycle Racing Championships for 2001.
ISL EQUITY PARTNER IS FRENCH GIANT
French media giant Vivendi is the company locked in buy-up talks with troubled Swiss marketing firm ISL.
ISL POSTPONES BANKRUPTCY ? SET TO ALLY WITH EQUITY PARTNER
ISL?s parent company, the ISMM Group, has admitted for the first time it is in dire financial straits and is on the verge of bankruptcy ? with its future now in the hands of a Swiss court.
US FEARS GROW OVER CHINA OLYMPIC BID
A U.S. congressional committee has approved a resolution urging Olympics organisers to reject China's bid to host the Games in 2008, citing concerns about Beijing's human rights record.