Japan

Brand licensing agency Copyright Promotions Licensing Group (CPLG) has appointed Alex Romer as managing director of Copyright Promotions Partners (CPP), CPLG?s joint venture company in Korea.

Manchester United wants to increase sales from its merchandising operation abroad by transferring responsibility for its overseas stores to regional partners with local expertise.

The president of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has been awarded the Olympic Order by IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch.

The fizz wars in China are set to bubble into life again with reports suggesting ISL is trying to secure Coca-Cola as a major sponsor of the China national soccer team.

Some 28 Chinese democracy activists have urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to press Beijing, which is bidding to host the 2008 Olympic Games, to free jailed dissidents.

Beijing plans to spend 100 billion yuan ($12.08 billion) cleaning up its heavily polluted air to improve its bid to host the 2008 Olympics, a government minister said on Friday.

International sports agency Prisma will meet with UK free-to-air broadcasters ITV and the BBC next month in an effort to break the deadlock over negotiations for the UK rights to the 2002 World Cup.

Digital satellite television service provider DirecTV Inc. said on Tuesday it bought the Latin American broadcast rights to the World Cup soccer competition in 2002 and 2006 in a deal valued at $400 million.

Japan has no plans to launch a new investigation into allegations the central Japanese city of Nagano bribed International Olympic Committee (IOC) executives to host the 1998 Winter Games.

Soccer's world governing body FIFA said on Sunday it was open to the idea of sponsors names on national team shirts but insisted they would not be allowed at the 2002 World Cup. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the association's executive had discussed the idea at an end-of-year meeting in Rome but wanted to examine it further before making a decision.

The Netherlands were named the team of the year by FIFA, soccer's ruling body, on Thursday.

Paris will stage the best Olympics ever if it wins the right to hold them in 2008, the bid organisers said in an official statement.

Paris officials have abandoned plans to hold the gymnastics in the historic Grand Palais if they win their bid to host the 2008 Olympics.

China's capital Beijing has spent billions of dollars this year widening and extending roads to pave the way for its bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, the Xinhua news agency has reported.

China will be too busy pursuing its bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games over the next few months and will likely leave Taiwan alone, Taiwan's Vice President Annette Lu said on Tuesday.

Beijing has started radio English lessons to get its citizens up to speed in the race for the 2008 Olympic Games, according to local reports.