Morocco

Soccer legend Pele has confirmed his support for South Africa's bid to stage the 2006 World Cup, saying he thought Brazil could be ready to stage the finals four years later.

Morocco's 2006 World Cup campaign boss said during a lobbying visit to Nigeria that Africa should make only a single bid to host the tournament.Morocco and South Africa are among five nations bidding to host the 2006 finals along with Brazil, England and Germany."FIFA may find it easier to reject Africa's bid if both Morocco and South Africa insist on presenting their bids, citing lack of unity," Driss Benhima, head of the Morocco 2006 bid committee, told reporters.Benhima said the Confederation of African Football had to evolve a fair method of choosing either Morocco or South Africa. CAF are due to discuss the issue at their next Congress in Accra, Ghana in February.

Libya is supporting Morocco in its efforts to stage the 2006 World Cup finals, according to reports from a local news agency.

Germany's campaign to host the 2006 Soccer World Cup moved to Central Africa this week when German soccer legend and bid leader Franz Beckenbauer arrived in Cameroon to drum up support.

Former World Cup hero, Sir Bobby Charlton, championing England's campaign to host the 2006 World Cup, has appealed to Africans to support England if two bids from their own continent are unsuccessful.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has repeated that he felt the the World Cup finals in 2006 should go to Africa.

Co-hosts Nigeria have doubled the prices of tickets for the remanining matches of their national team in the African Nations Cup.

Over 200,000 fake merchandising items were seized by French authorities before the World Cup and thousands were still on sale around the stadiums during Wednesday's first two matches, a government official said on Thursday.

Hundreds of youths went on the rampage at a detention centre in northeast Thailand in the early hours of Wednesday after officials prevented them from watching a World Cup soccer match on television, police said.

Canadian broadcaster TSN says first round World Cup matches have produced outstanding ratings.

Outbreaks of hooliganism by English and German fans in France should not affect those nations' bids to stage the 2006 World Cup finals, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said that he expected England to present a strong, professional bid to host the 2006 World Cup finals - although Africa was still the logical choice to stage the tournament.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has promised his government would do all it could to support Germany's bid for the 2006 World Cup.

Germany has entered the race to stage the 2006 World Cup finals after they officially handed in their initial bid document to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

The stadium where Sunday's African Champions' League will be decided could be banned from staging matches next year after crowd violence there in October, officials said.

Germany has added weight to its bid to stage the 2006 World Cup finals by naming Franz Beckenbauer as head of their application.