MENA

Security around the remaining fixtures of the Cricket World Cup has been stepped up as the political crisis in the Middle East deepens.

European soccer's governing body is set to approve its budget for the 2003/4 financial year when the XXVII Ordinary UEFA Congress takes place in Rome at the end of this month.

The president of the Somali Football Federation, Farah Addo, has been ordered to pay FIFA president Sepp Blatter CHF10,000 ($7,428/EUR6,807) for defamatory statements made against him.

The crisis in the Middle East is continuing to impact on sport after the second leg of the FINA Marathon Swimming World Cup 2003 was cancelled.

Horse racing's Dubai World Cup has reiterated the race is still set to run despite concerns of war in the Middle East.

Major League Baseball chiefs are keeping in close contact with Washington amid fears its opening games of the season in March could be hit by war in the Middle East.

This week's European golf tour event in Qatar is defying a number of big name stay-aways and going ahead as planned.

Soccerex, the industry event due to take place in Dubai next month has been postponed due to the political crisis in the Middle East.

The FIFA World Cup 2014 will be staged in South America, soccer's world governing body has confirmed.

FIFA's World Youth Championship has become the first major sporting event to fall victim to the heightening political tension in the Middle East

A number of major sport events face an uncertain future as the crisis in the Middle East continues its relentless march towards warfare.

Headed up by the soccer governing body's president Sepp Blatter, a series of FIFA committee meetings kicks off next week with a status report on preparations for the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the potential for a FIFA Club World Championship in 2005 among the issues on the agenda.

ESPN Classic Sport has reached a new multi-year agreement with NBA that will allow the archive sports channel to televise a select package of vintage basketball games.

CBS Sports president Sean McManus has indicated that coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament could be switched to other channels in the advent of war breaking out in Iraq.

Sport could be set to see the first major impact of heightened political tension in the Middle East, after golf sensation Tiger Woods admitted he may pull out of next week's European Tour event in Dubai.

UEFA and its agency partner TEAM Marketing have signed a TV rights deal in France for the next Champions League contract.