South Africa

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.

Last year?s rugby union World Cup made a #47m surplus ? an increases of nearly #30million on the tournament in South Africa in 1995, The Observer newspaper reported ahead of this week?s publication of the tournament accounts.

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.

Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour has predicted victory for South Africa in the fight to stage the 2006 World Cup finals, claiming: "We have 98 percent of the bid approval in the bag."

FIFA has praised South Africa's pitch for the 2006 World Cup as a technical team began a six-day tour find out how enthusiastic the country was about hosting the competition.

South Africa wants the 2006 soccer World Cup, deserves it and is more than ready to make it work, the country's newspapers declared on Thursday as a crucial FIFA inspection got underway in Johannesburg.

South Africa?s bid for the FIFA World Cup 2006 reaches a critical stage this week when soccer?s world governing body sends a delegation for a six-day technical inspection.

Danny Jordaan made a powerful appeal to FIFA's executive committee to end the cycle of European domination of world soccer by handing South Africa the 2006 World Cup finals.

A FIFA inspection team has arrived in Morocco for a five-day visit, saying the country's bid file to host the 2006 World Cup was outstanding.

The editor of cricket bible Wisden, Matthew Engel, has announced he is quitting the job at the cricket almanack for at least a year because he was tired of having to write about England's "relentless failures".

A Moroccan official said he was surprised by the results of a poll of sports editors showing the country was bottom of the list of the five bidding to host the 2006 World Cup finals.

The results of a poll of leading sports editors making England favourites to host the 2006 World Cup finals confirmed support had turned their way, Alec McGivan, director of England's bid, has said.

T&T Sports Marketing has sold the exclusive global rights outside of South America for the South American qualifying matches for the World Cup 2002 to Dream Sports International.