Pacific Islands

International rugby union officials have decided to expand the Pacific Rim championship from four to seven teams.

The tiny South Pacific island republic of Nauru has been awarded the 2001 world weightlifting championships, beating some of the sport's giants, Nauru's Director of Sport has said.

Dick Pound has been persuaded to stay on as chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) despite earlier claims he would resign from the post following his defeat in the race to be president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

International Rugby Board chairman Vernon Pugh says the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup is on course to be the best Cup ever.

The International Rugby Board will meet the Australian Government this week to discuss concerns over Fiji?s involvement in the 2003 World Cup in Australia.

The International Cricket Council has approved South Africa?s proposals for the format of the 2003 World Cup.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) representatives completed a seven-day visit to East Timor on Wednesday aimed at helping the tiny country establish its own National Olympic Committee.

World rugby union chiefs have said they had no contingency plans to stage the 2003 World Cup outside Australia and New Zealand, the two countries due to co-host the event.

The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has said it might lose the right to host the Brisbane Sevens, part of an 11-tournament world series, because of Canberra's ban on Fiji's participation.

New Zealand said it will continue a ban on sporting contacts with Fiji until the troubled island makes enough progress towards restoring a constitutional and democratic government to warrant a change.

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRFU) has announced that the All Blacks will play a Pacific rim Barbarians side in Tokyo in November.

Fiji?s Sahu Khan has taken the place of Charles Dempsey on the FIFA executive committee.

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions called on the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) on Friday to boycott the final round of the World Sevens Series in Paris because of concerns over the political crisis in Fiji.

Safety chiefs are checking the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff before this weekend?s World Cup game between Wales and Japan to ensure there is no repeat of last week's incident when a woman was injured by debris falling from the roof.

The three southern hemisphere rugby superpowers have announced they would not in future accept tours from understrength United Kingdom teams.

Soccer Australia (SA) chairman Basil Scarsella has won a vote 12-11 to succeed controversial New Zealander Charlie Dempsey as president of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).