Eastern Europe

Soccer fans in the former communist East Germany still love to remind their western neighbours of the only time that East and West Germany played each other, in the 1974 World Cup.

UEFA has formed a special security taskforce with the power to postpone matches at a moment's notice in the face of possible military strikes.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has promised Albania financial aid to improve the country's impoverished football stadia.

The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has had its licence revoked and been ordered to replace several leading

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.

Spanish soccer club ? and Champions League finalist ? Real Madrid has signed an exclusive marketing contract with Global Sportnet.

Vasile Ianul, who is standing trial on charges of fraud during his tenure at Dinamo Bucharest, has been appointed president of Romanian second division club Politehnica Iasi.

The president of Rapid Bucharest has been banned from any involvement with the Romanian first division club for six months for forging the contract of a player's transfer, the country's soccer federation (FRF) said in a statement.

European television channel British Eurosport has secured the live rights to the European Figure Skating Championships to be held in Bratislava, starting on 22 January.

The U.S. women's World Cup winning soccer team will boycott the Australia Cup next month because of unresolved contract negotiations. Instead, The U.S. Soccer Federation will send young players to the four-nation tournament.

Sparta Prague, the Czech Republic's top soccer club, is up for sale, say owners VSZ Holding.

ENIC Plc, the new owners of Tottenham Hotspur, have the qualities to restore the premier league soccer club to former glories but will not break the bank in the search of a quick fix, financial analysts say.

Organisers of the Summer Olympics have played down concerns the playing surfaces for the soccer tournament would not be ready in time for the Games next month.

Till Lufft, general secretary of the European Athletic Association has declared the organisation `very pleased? with the level of sponsor support for the European Championships which start tomorrow.

Hungarian soccer has been plunged into disarray after its football association (HFA) dismissed its president and presidium after a report into apparent financial irregularities.

England?s win over Germany on Saturday is a major boost for the World Cup?s multi-million pound licensing programme, according to Copyright Promotions Licensing Group (CPLG), the agency responsible for generating revenue from next year?s soccer tournament.