MENA

English football club Chelsea is on the verge securing an #18million ($26m), three-year deal with leading airline Emirates, which would be the second-biggest shirt sponsorship in football.

Many of snooker?s top stars look set to join a breakaway tour which threatens to split the sport and end the domination of the game by its governing body, the WSA, following plans announced by The Sportsmasters Network (TSN).

English rugby?s ongoing internal dispute threatens to diminish the England side?s chances of success at the World Sevens Series to be held in Dubai and Durban later this month.

Dubai World Cup racing organisers have raised the prize money for the 2001 event to $15.25 million from $12 million offered in 2000.

The season-ending championships of the WTA Tour, a fixture in New York for 29 years, will be moved to Munich, Germany, beginning next year.

World number one golfer Tiger Woods has agreed to play in the Dubai Desert Classic next March.

Sportal has signed a live webcast deal with the Emirates World Series Racing Championship and Ascot Racecourse to show one of the most prestigious events in the English racing calendar

A Dubai-based company has said it would sponsor the first women's WTA tennis event to be held in the Middle East next February.

Godolphin, the Dubai-based horse racing training operation, has chosen the Santa Anita racecourse in California as base for its North American training operation.

The NBA should not use Michael Jordan's comeback as a major bargaining chip for a lucrative new television deal, American Broadcaster Turner Sports has warned.

The man who transformed the NBA and athlete endorsements – Michael Jordan – has confirmed he will return to the sport as a player.

The man who transformed the NBA and athlete endorsements – Michael Jordan – has confirmed he will return to the sport as a player.

Soccerex 2001 has been postponed until next April following the terrorist attacks in the US.

Kuwait has postponed next month's second West Asian Games because of tensions in the area following the attacks on the United States.

Basketball legend Michael Jordan will come out of retirement to play for the NBA's Washington Wizards, according to media reports – and could announce his comeback later today.

Michael Jordan – the man who revolutionised athlete endorsements - has decided not to hold a news conference this week to announce whether he is coming out of retirement because of last week's terror attacks in New York and Washington.