France

Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, has called a crisis meeting of the IOC Executive Board to discuss the use of drugs in sport.

Olympic leaders may discuss the possibility of throwing sports out of the Olympic Games if they fail to get tough on doping at a key meeting on Thursday.

Europe's leading professional soccer leagues have said they would boycott January's conference after a meeting of European leagues in Brussels.

Japanese coach Philippe Troussier said that soccer's world governing body FIFA should introduce weight categories to cut out cheating in age-group football.

British athletics chief David Hemery has formally presented London's bid for the world 2003 championships to International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) president Primo Nebiolo.

French digital satellite TV service Television par Satellite (TPS) said on Wednesday that it will launch an interactive soccer news channel from December 19.

The 2000 Tour de France will start from the Futuroscope theme park near Poitiers, organisers have announced.

South Africa`s 2006 World Cup bid committee said it was vital for the future of soccer as a sport and the World Cup as a multi-billion dollar business that the African continent stage the finals in seven years' time.

Tour de France organisers will make a first step towards restoring the tarnished image of their race on Wednesday when they announce the entry list for this year's event, which starts on July 3.

The British economy has reported a rise in inflation - and named last summer's soccer World Cup as the reason.

Rival French satellite platforms Canal Satellite and TPS have begun informal talks regarding a merger of their operations as the consolidation of the global satellite sector continues.

A new crowd-pleasing motor-racing Grand Prix series featuring cars racing in the livery of Europe?s top soccer clubs is aiming to reach one billion viewers in its first season, sportbusiness.com can reveal.

Osaka is not ready to throw in the towel in the race to stage the 2008 summer Olympic Games, bid officials have said.

The International Olympic Committee said today that Beijing has assembled a high quality bid for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Last week?s visit by IOC delegates to Paris to assess the city's plans for hosting the 2008 Olympic Games brought nothing to light which would endanger the bid, its organiser has said. For the full story see the FEATURES section of sportbusiness.com.

UEFA said on Wednesday it was likely its disciplinary committee would look into the violence at the Champions League match between Paris St Germain and Galatasaray at a meeting on March 21.