United Kingdom

American private equity firms and trade buyers, such as the Sports Club Company, are set to make inroads into the booming UK health and fitness club market, according to a report in the Sunday Business newspaper.

Most players in this year's Euro 2000 tournament will have to pay 18 percent of their earnings in tax, tournament officials have announced.

Bookmaker Coral has announced the launch of its new UK-based online sports betting service ? and signed up an exclusive deal with soccer club Manchester United and the Formula 1 team Arrows.

Orange has announced further details of its `ground-breaking? #70m ($120m) sponsorship deal with Formula One team Arrows.

Mobile phone company Orange is to officially announce today that it is to sponsor the Arrows Formula One team in a deal worth #70m ($120m).

A British parliamentary watchdog has urged the UK government to reverse its decision to rebuild Wembley into a showpiece soccer stadium with no athletics track.

Mobile telecommunications giant Orange is set to unveil a massive #70m ($120m) sponsorship deal tomorrow ? although is keeping tight-lipped over which sport will benefit.

A senior spokesman of the Scottish Executive has revealed that the troubled Hampden Park stadium is running up debts of $250,000 a week.

English soccer fans are to lobby the British government at Westminster today after demanding more say in the running of the sport.

Telecommunications firm BT are threatening to withhold more then #1million in sponsorship cash from Hampden Park ? the Scottish stadium beset by financial problems.

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.

London Premier League soccer side Tottenham Hotspur look favourite to persuade former Wimbledon owner Sam Hammam to invest in them.

Sydney Olympic authorities plan to ban non-rights-holding international television broadcasters from the site of the 2000 Games, according to local newspaper reports.

The last two weeks have shown `significant? signs that England?s World Cup 2006 bid may be leading the field, according to Roger Kelly, England?s 2006 bid spokesman, speaking this afternoon at England?s 2006 presentation at Football Expo in Cannes.

Last gasp efforts to save Scotland?s financially troubled Hampden Stadium have been put into place after the Scottish Executive promised a further #600,000 ($1m) ? in additional to #2.15m already pledged - as part of a rescue package.

Members of the Manchester United soccer squad are just the latest to discover their names have already been registered as domain names by unofficial sources.