Europe

Directors of Alternative Investment Market (AIM)-listed sports marketing and management company Proactive Sports Group have purchased 320,000 shares in the company today, spending a total of nearly #75,000 ($108,000/?118,000) as the company?s share price hit rock bottom.

Premier League soccer club Ipswich Town has placed a #25million ($36.1m/?39.5m) bond secured against future gate receipts to finance the redevelopment of the club's Portman Road ground.

Ladbrokes, the UK?s largest bookmaker, has objected to moves from Football Data Company, the commercial and licensing division of England?s Premier League and Football Leagues, to introduce a fee of 2.5-4.75 percent of annual soccer-related turnover to all bookmakers.
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Broadcaster British Eurosport has secured live and exclusive rights to Scottish snooker event the Regal Masters in Glasgow next month.

Manchester United has signed an agreement with Irish department chain Roche Stores to open a flagship retail outlet in Dublin next year - as well as three shop-in-shop outlets according to the UK?s Sunday Business newspaper.

Prize money is to be awarded for the first time in the English soccer's FA Cup tournament in a total package worth around #30m ($42.9m/?48.5m).

Scottish soccer clubs Dundee and Dundee United have jointly submitted a multi-million pound bid to become a Euro 2008 venue should the tournament be awarded to Scotland.

South Africa's rugby boss Silas Nkanunu has said the Springboks' World Cup squad should be more racially representative and team selection needed to take into account the injustices of apartheid.

English soccer club Manchester United is on the brink of taking legal action against a Hong Kong restaurant that is using the club?s name without a licence.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has signed an IR#18 million ($24.3 million) sponsorship deal with the country's Telecom provider.

England?s Wembley Stadium project is facing new uncertainty after it emerged that chief executive Bob Stubbs is facing the sack.

The Gaelic Athletic Association has voted not to allow soccer matches to be played at Dublin?s Croke Park venue.

Susan Eid, an adviser to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has urged industry leaders in the cable market to end their quest for regulation of sports programming in the US.

The Australian Football League has confirmed that Carlton & United Breweries would replace Coca-Cola as the AFL's naming rights sponsor from this year in a four-year deal, as reported by sportbusiness.com last week.

Telecommunications giant Vodafone has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the Ferrari Formula One team for an undisclosed sum.

Worldsport.com, the sports internet company, which operates the web sites of over 50 international sports federations, has been shut down by the company?s receivers