South-East Asia

Thailand and Indonesia were banned from international soccer by Asia's governing body on Friday following their farcical match in last month's Tiger Cup.

Former Thai soccer coach Withaya Laohakul said he hoped a decision by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to ban the country from international competition would only be a temporary punishment.

Southeast Asian countries are debating whether it is wise to hold the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games next year.

At least 11 foreign teams will take part in a soccer tournament beginning in Dhaka on August 27, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has announced.

The ASEAN Football Federation has announced that Singapore and Indonesia will share the hosting rights for next year's Tiger Cup.

The World Wrestling Federation has secured new television agreements in Europe, Asia and Australia, increasing the number of countries broadcasting WWF programming to 150.

The World Boxing Council (WBC) has confirmed that Jakarta will host the 39th Annual World Convention in November.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) has decided to move the $170,000 Sanyo Indonesia Open from Surabaya to Jakarta for security and sponsorship reasons.

The World Wrestling Federation has signed three new distribution agreements in Asia as part of its strategy to expand programming within the region.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia has denied that it is bidding to host the 2002 Thomas and Uber Cups, pointing to its own financial straits and the current uncertainty in Indonesia.

Asian sports broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has acquired the exclusive terrestrial, cable and satellite television broadcast rights of the English Premier League for the next three seasons beginning August 2001.

The troubled Millennium Cup soccer tournament has suffered a fresh setback with officials canceling a third-place playoff to cut losses.

An international tournament in India which promised to boast major players has been branded "a farce" after two teams withdrew, one was ruled ineligible and another failed to play because the team's baggage was delayed.

BMCMedia has been appointed by the Walt Disney Internet Group to represent football web site Soccernet, in all major markets in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Peoples Republic of China, India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and New Zealand.

VTV, recently-acquired by UK-based The Television Corporation and now part of Sunset+Vine, has won a new four year contract to produce and distribute coverage of English badminton until 2005.

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.