North Africa

South Africa's Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour will meet Moroccan World Cup bid officials in Rabat to discuss the possibility of Morocco withdrawing from the 2006 race.

South Africa's World Cup bid chief said he was prepared to do a deal with rivals Brazil in order to secure South American backing in the vote to decide who hosts the 2006 tournament.

Organisers of England's bid to host the 2006 World Cup have shrugged off a report claiming South America had offered its backing to rival bidders South Africa.

The reconstruction of Wembley Stadium, the centrepiece of England's 2006 World Cup bid, has been given the green light, according to UK media reports.

The English Football Association has apologised to Denmark for violence involving Arsenal fans at the UEFA Cup final but said it would not affect England's bid to stage the 2006 World Cup.

Africa should host a soccer World Cup but not the 2006 tournament, said Franz Beckenbauer, who is leading Germany's bid to stage the event.

Brazil has told Asian nations that its bid for the 2006 World Cup combined passion and organisation and it deserved to host the tournament.

Brazil has told Asian nations that its bid for the 2006 World Cup combined passion and organisation and it deserved to host the tournament.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said the 2006 Word Cup finals should go to Africa if one of the continent's two bidding countries can meet all the conditions required to stage the event.

The campaign team behind South Africa's bid to host the 2006 World Cup will end its global charm offensive in the coming week with visits to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

South Africa's quest to host the World Cup 2006 has been endorsed by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) Executive, adding an important component to the South Africa 2006 bid.

The head of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) has appealed to world football's governing body to let Africa host the 2006 World Cup.

The British government has dismissed a report that England might team up with Germany in a bid to host soccer's 2006 World Cup rather than press its own case.

Countries bidding for the 2006 soccer World Cup are beginning the countdown to decision day ? exactly 100 days away.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter spent the weekend in Morocco for a visit to discuss the country's bid to host the 2006 World Cup.

Germany need to give their all in the closing stages of the race to hold the 2006 soccer World Cup finals, German bid chief Franz Beckenbauer said.

South Africa has invited African soccer greats Abedi Pele of Ghana and Cameroon's Roger Milla to be ambassadors for their 2006 World Cup bid.

FIFA's technical inspection team has given South Africa's bid to host the 2006 World Cup finals an unequivocal thumbs-up on Tuesday after a five-day tour to check the country's readiness.