United Kingdom

UK high street retailer Marks & Spencer has announced it is targetting the mainstream sports fan after signing deals to sell branded leisure gear for a number of English Premier League soccer clubs.

President of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, will arrive in Sydney on Friday for a series of meetings - and will immediately be greeted by protesters, unhappy at the direction the event is taking.

SportsYa!, the Spanish and Portugese-language sports web site, has said it has raised $15m in a financing led by IMG/Chase Sports Capital.

Sports Internet, the web site operator and online sports betting company, has entered the e-commerce business with its #20m purchase of a 49 per cent stake in Sports e-tail.

The on-going legal wrangle between the English Premier League and two former executives of BSkyB looks set to kick off in the High Court this month ? unless last gasp talks can avert proceedings.

Morocco, which reaffirmed its bid to stage the 2006 World Cup finals this week by dismissing South African calls to quit the race, has despatched a delegation to Paraguay to lobby for South America's support.

Belgium's interior minister has said he was satisfied with security measures at the Charleroi stadium, to be used during the Euro 2000 soccer finals, despite police fears that it was unsafe.

Mellon Financial Corporation has named Michael J. Carbone, formerly target marketing coordinator and manager of Reebok's consumer relations department, as Mellon Private Asset Management?s representative responsible for selling asset management services to sports and entertainment professionals.

German athletics officials have launched a bid to host the 2005 world athletics championships in Berlin even though the deadline for entries was January 31.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder thinks money has become too big in modern soccer.

Morocco, in a move to reaffirm its bid to stage the 2006 World Cup, says it has no plans to withdraw from the competition to host the finals, an official statement said.

British satellite broadcaster BSkyB and cable company NTL are competing with each other to forge an alliance with sports web site operator Sport Internet, according to a report in London?s Financial Times.

Demands by leading European soccer clubs that their games should take priority over international friendlies are completely unacceptable, UEFA General Secretary Gerhard Aigner has said.

The UK government will help fund the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, following concerns that a shortfall in sponsorship revenues would leave the City of Manchester to pick up the bill.

Prima Television International has been appointed exclusive international media rights representative for the Lincoln Financial Group Rugby League World Cup 2000.

A consortium of the BBC, Channel 4 and NTL-subsidiary Premium TV have confirmed they have struck a provisional agreement on a $320m rights deal with Britain?s 12 leading racecourses to take televised horse racing in the UK into the digital age.