Sub-Saharan Africa

South Africa's rugby boss Silas Nkanunu has said the Springboks' World Cup squad should be more racially representative and team selection needed to take into account the injustices of apartheid.

The African Football Confederation (CAF) acknowledged for the first time that South Africa's 2006 World Cup bid could be damaged without the support of the entire continent.

Franz Beckenbauer has hinted South Africa was still leading the race to stage the 2006 World Cup finals despite mounting opposition from England and Germany.

FIFA will lay down strict rules to countries bidding to host the 2006 World Cup finals to avoid the sort of scandal over bribery that has rocked the Olympic movement, FIFA President Sepp Blatter has announced.

Plans to cut the number of African countries bidding for the 2006 World Cup from five to just one strong candidate have been delayed, officials said on Tuesday.

UEFA has fired another broadside in the direction of FIFA president Sepp Blatter, denouncing his plans to hold the World Cup every two years.

The bidding process by cities hoping to host the Olympic games has been open to abuse for years and needs a radical revamp, the mayor of Cape Town, which failed to win the 2004 Games, has said.

The head of the Brazilian football federation has insisted that his country's economic crisis would not affect its bid for the 2006 World Cup.

The southern hemisphere's Super 12 competition will not be expanded for at least two years, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has announced.

South Africa is confident it will emerge as the sole African bidder to host the 2006 soccer World Cup, a move that would greatly boost its hopes of staging soccer's showcase, says bid chief Danny Jordaan.

South Africa?s path to staging soccer?s 2006 World Cup finals has got a little clearer after the country?s rugby bosses pledged their support to the bid by making its stadiums available.

Germany's bid to host the soccer World Cup in 2006 has received a boost after the Finance Ministry declared it would not tax the huge revenue the tournament would generate.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has made a formal appeal to FIFA, and to the presidents of the five other soccer confederations, for the 2006 World Cup finals to be awarded to Africa.

British broadcaster Talk Radio has stolen a march on the BBC's renowned Test Match Special by buying the rights to England's cricket test series against South Africa.

South Africa`s 2006 World Cup bid committee said it was vital for the future of soccer as a sport and the World Cup as a multi-billion dollar business that the African continent stage the finals in seven years' time.

"Morocco is officially a candidate for the World Cup finals in 2006," Youth and Sports Minister Ahmed Moussaoui stated yesterday.