France

France, Italy and Turkey will hear this Friday if they have won the right to host the Euro football championships in 2016. Reuters has described the different tactics each country has endorsed in their pitch to Uefa.

The French Tennis Federation will not rule out moving to Marne-le-Vallée, the site of Disneyland Paris, or one of another two options for a relocation, as it pushes to improve its facilities.

France's Ligue de football professionnel (LFP) has announced plans to launch its own pay-television channel showing live matches.

Gerard Houllier, technical director at the French Football Federation, and Albert Capellas, senior youth coordinator at FC Barcelona have joined the line-up of speakers at this year's Soccerex Asian Forum.

Shares in publicly-listed French football club Olympique Lyon fell 15 per cent yesterday after the team crashed out of the Uefa Champions League to Bayern Munich the night before.

Writer: Bernardo Domingues, Soccerex Business Daily Nike has said it will continue to support Franck Ribery, one of its endorsers, after the French international was accused of having sex with an under-age prostitute, but it is following the case closely.

[Update: The conference has been postponed until May 18 and 19 due to the current flight ban in place over much of Europe] Five weeks before the announcement of the host nation for Euro 2016, the French football community is hosting a conference to discuss the 12 stadia involved in the country’s bid.

French Professional League president Frederic Thiriez has pledged to double Euro 2008 revenues if France is awarded the 2016 edition of the event.

This year's French Open will be broadcast live in 3D to retail venues and to French viewers under a deal announced yesterday between consumer electronics giant Panasonic, pay-television operator Orange and Eurosport.

Tennis’s ATP World Tour has extended until the end of 2012 its sponsorship deal with Japanese office equipment maker Ricoh.

The Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves are coming to Europe as part of this year’s NBA Europe Live Tour.

Annecy has launched ‘Club 2018’, a programme to mobilise support from small and mid-size businesses in their support of the French city’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Sweden has pulled out of the running to host the 2018 Ryder Cup, leaving five countries in the race.

The positive economic impact of the 2010 rugby union Six Nations tournament is $632.81 million, according to a report commissioned by Mastercard.

The French Open could be forced into a "heartbreaking" move away from Paris in the next few years due to opposition against extending Roland Garros, according to tournament director Gilbert Ysern.

Française des Jeux, the French state lottery and gaming company, has agreed a two-year partnership deal with the Ligue de Football Professionele, covering the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.