Brazil

Soccer's world governing body FIFA said "no sanctions were foreseen" against Brazil for pulling out of the race to host the 2006 World Cup at the 11th hour.

Organisers of England's bid to host the 2006 World Cup have shrugged off a report claiming South America had offered its backing to rival bidders South Africa.

Manchester United could be about to hit the big screen after it was revealed movie star Mel Gibson?s film company Icon Productions is to make a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the club.

A FIFA inspection team has arrived in Morocco for a five-day visit, saying the country's bid file to host the 2006 World Cup was outstanding.

Former Germany striker Rudi Voeller has been appointed ambassador of the German bid to host soccer's 2006 World Cup.

Brazil's soccer tour of Australia has became a financial disaster as superstar Ronaldo withdrew and the promoter took the extraordinary step of declaring free admission.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has repeated that he felt the the World Cup finals in 2006 should go to Africa.

Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot is seeing a passenger boom on flights from Rio de Janeiro to Moscow as Brazilian soccer fans seek a cheap way of travelling to Europe for the World Cup soccer finals.

In a rare show of European unity, French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn joked that France and the Netherlands should share the World Cup, predicting their soccer teams would meet in the July 12 final.

Brazilian striker Ronaldo has launched a Swiss-made chronograph watch and promised part of the revenue would go to keep poor children off Rio's streets.

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.

Pele has renewed his attack on Brazil's 2006 World Cup bid as he claimed the president of the country's football federation was talking nonsense.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has commented on the government's role in United's withdrawal from next season's FA Cup.

ISL Television is to exclusively represent the international broadcast rights to the five key domestic Brazilian football competitions under an agreement with the domestic rights-holders for Brazilian football: Clube dos Treze and Rede Globo.

The Brazilian championship, which has been in doubt due to a judicial battle, has been given the green light, just a week before its scheduled start.

Brazil?s Botafogo soccer club has sold its website to Globo.com in order to pay players and staff 70 per cent of $788,000 dollars in back pay.