Japan

Major League Baseball's TV ratings in Japan were up 300 percent in 2001 driven by the huge public interest in the Seattle Mariners' pitcher Ichiro Suzuki.

The official World Cup web site for Japan/Korea 2002 has taken on board the Korean National Tourism Organisation (KNTO) as a marketing partner.

Sat.1 Schweiz has bought the exclusive live rights to show in Switzerland all 64 games from the 2002 World Cup Japan/Korea.

This summer's FIFA World Cup will have greater economic benefits for South Korea than for Japan, according to a report.

Bayern Munich vice-president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says the European socer champions plan to develop their marketing strategy in Asia.

Senegal's national soccer squad have threatened to boycott next month's African Nations Cup in a row over bonuses for their unprecedented World Cup qualification.

New CART CEO Chris Pook has praised NASCAR’s approach and promised a management reshuffle will mark the beginning of a CART revival.

Russian players can make up to $4.5m (EUR5.1m) in bonuses with a successful showing at next year's World Cup, the country's soccer chief said.

Betfair and Flutter.com have merged to create the UK’s largest internet betting exchange, which eliminates the bookmaker middleman and allows punters to bet directly with each other, to create £500million ($726.25m/EUR810.37m) of trading volume business.

World Wrestling Federation Entertainment (WWFE) will be staging a series of international live event tours in Asia, Europe and Australia in 2002, starting with a three-city tour through Asia in March.

Dutch soccer team Feyenoord is following in the footsteps of both Manchester United and Bayern Munich by signing a new licensing and manufacturing contract with Japanese retailer Japan Sports Vision (JSV).

English Premier League club Leeds United has signed a five-year partnership deal with sports management firm World Sports Solutions (WSS) for an undisclosed sum.

Italy's state-owned broadcaster RAI has finally bought the television rights to next year's World Cup from German media giant Kirch.

Italian soccer club Juventus began offering its shares to the public yesterday, but analysts were mixed on whether the stock would be a good buy.

FIFA has signed a deal with Japanese advertising giant Dentsu to sell corporate sponsorship for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The Walt Disney Corporation is reportedly close to signing a deal for the US television rights to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.