Asia
Business

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.

Events

World soccer's governing body FIFA is open to the possibility of North Korea staging matches in the 2002 World Cup finals, which will be jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter reaffirmed on Sunday that soccer's governing body would not meet Asia's demands for an automatic fifth berth at the 2002 World Cup finals.
Business

Electronics giant Philips has become the fourteenth official partner of the 2002 World Cup soccer tournament in Korea and Japan.
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Business

The postponement of this year's FIFA World Club Championship in Spain could damage soccer?s credibility in Japan, according to the president of J. League club Jubilo Iwata.
Stadia

Japanese organisers of the 2002 World Cup have received 2.4m applications for tickets.
Business

Japan ended its dispute with South Korea on Thursday over which name should come first in official documents for the 2002 World Cup by deciding to leave out both of the host countries' names.
Events

Vandals have damaged equipment at a new indoor gymnastics stadium being built for September's Commonwealth Games, delaying the transfer of the complex to Malaysian authorities by at least a month.
Stadia

UEFA Cup and European Super Cup winners Galatasaray and European champions Real Madrid will represent Europe at the second World Club Championship from July 29 to August 12 in Spain, FIFA said on Thursday.
Events

Money spent on facilities for the 16th Commonwealth Games is not a waste especially when they will also be used for future events, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said.
Business

Star-studded European Champions Real Madrid will hope to add another piece of silverware to their trophy cabinets as they face Argentina's Boca Juniors in the World Club Cup final in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Business

Olympic boss Juan Antonio Samaranch has lavished praise on Thailand's much-maligned organisers of the 13th Asian Games, describing Sunday's opening ceremony as one of the best he had ever seen.
Events

The World Wrestling Federation Entertainment has signed a multi-million dollar television distribution agreement in Japan.
Media

News Corp's latest financial results for the second quarter 2001 have shown that Asian joint venture ESPN Star Sports (ESS) is still $21million (?23.4m) in debt.
Business

A new race in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as well as first-time events in England, Germany and Mexico highlight the record 22-race FedEx Championship Series schedule for the 2001 season.

Malaysian officials were happy with the turnout at last weekend?s Formula One Grand Prix despite a drop in the number of spectators compared to last year.
Events

Virtual imaging firm Orad Hi-Tec Systems has signed a deal for its CyberSport system to Japanese firm IMAGICA.
Events

Thailand has said it would pursue its dream of hosting the Olympics despite rejection of its bid for the 2008 Summer Games.