France

Eleven doping control laboratories were shown the "yellow card" by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for failing to comply with guidelines.

Fox Kids Europe, the pan-European children?s entertainment company, and interactive sports content provider Sportal have signed a long-term agreement to launch dedicated children?s sports sites.

National football association official?s from the countries at the heart of the proposed ?Atlantic League? have met today for further discussions with club representatives.

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has entered into a one-year agreement with the Paris-based photo department of Agence France Presse (AFP).

Global sports goods maker adidas has renewed its sponsorship of soccer's World Cup as part of a marketing drive to stay the world's number one soccer brand.

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRFU) has announced that the All Blacks will play a Pacific rim Barbarians side in Tokyo in November.

Eurosport, the European sports channel, is setting up a separate sales team to handle advertising and sponsorship sales of events and youth programming, under the YOZ (Youth Only Zone) banner.

The British government will publish draft legislation today curbing the ease with which soccer hooligans travel abroad and cause the kind of mayhem witnessed at the Euro 2000 tournament.

Germany's top television channel, RTL has bought the coveted free-to-air rights to Champions League soccer from September for the next three seasons.

UEFA inspectors have found the Stade de France in perfect condition to stage the European Cup final, a spokesman for the stadium's administrators said.

The Lee Valley Stadium in North London has been chosen as the venue if Britain is awarded the 2005 world athletics championships.

France Television and the French Tennis Federation have renewed their deal over coverage of the French Open at Roland Garros from 2001-2004.

Sports.com Limited, a majority-owned subsidiary of SportsLine USA, Inc, has formed a strategic alliance with France Telecom Multimedia, a subsidiary of France Telecom, to produce and host co-branded sports channels for France Telecom's Internet portal, Voila, and its Internet service provider, Wanadoo, in France.

Japan has thrown its hat into the ring to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, officially entering Osaka as its candidate and vowing a "clean" campaign to win the right to hold the games.

Thirty members of the European Parliament have taken the French organisers of the soccer World Cup to court to force them to redistribute hundreds of thousands of tickets abroad.

A crippling pilots strike kept most Air France flights grounded for a second day on Tuesday but negotiations were set to resume in the afternoon, raising hopes the dispute could be settled before the start of the World Cup.