France

Charmaine Crooks, a former Olympic middle-distance runner, resigned abruptly from the IOC's ethics commission on Friday in a dispute over her role in Toronto's bid for the 2008 Games.

International sports leaders like to pretend to others, if not themselves, that sport is blissfully removed from politics.

sportbusiness.com will be reporting from Moscow tomorrow, giving you up-to-the-minute news on the chosen city to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

Debt-ridden Olympique Marseille and Toulouse could be relegated next season on financial grounds, the head of the French National Soccer League (LNF) said on Friday. If the club fails to win its appeal, it will also be suspended from the influential G14 group of top European soccer clubs.

London stock exchange-listed 365 Corp has reported a loss of £16.9 million ($23.9m) for the year ended 31 March 2001, under-performing by nearly £5m ($7.1m) on consensus forecasts.

Turkey's Olympic chief looks disdainfully upon the report that may crush Istanbul's bid to host the 2008 Olympics.

Institutional investors gave the thumbs up to Leeds United’s plans to raise £50million ($70.4m) by securitising the income from its ticket sales to finance the construction of a new stadium.

Beijing officials defended China's human rights record on Wednesday but conceded it faced a challenge persuading world opinion that the Chinese capital should stage the 2008 Olympic Games.

Eurosport.com, the European sports portal, has reported record figures for it's online coverage of the Tour de France - registering over two million page impressions daily for the three-week event (July 7-29).

Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid has hit back at claims it has defaulted on a transfer payment – saying it has all been a ‘misunderstanding’.

A Chinese-led consortium has won the contract to build a new stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam, as the venue for the 2003 Southeast Asia Games.

Organisers of the Indianapolis Championships want to bump the men's tournament up to Masters Series level - just one below Grand Slam status.

South African terrestrial channel e.tv has secured the exclusive TV rights to the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

The World Anti-Doping Agency will locate its permanent headquarters in Montreal, with the aim of improving the credibility and effectiveness of its war on the use of drugs in sports.

Australia's top soccer players are threatening to boycott a World Cup warm-up match against France because of unpaid bonuses.

European internet sports network Sportal has finalised a new round of funding for its operations, which the company envisages will see it through to profitability in early 2002.