Indonesia

The World Wrestling Federation has signed three new distribution agreements in Asia as part of its strategy to expand programming within the region.

The Malaysian Open badminton championships starting on Wednesday have fallen victim to the Asian economic crisis which has cut prize money by $60,000 and deprived the event of some big names.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia has denied that it is bidding to host the 2002 Thomas and Uber Cups, pointing to its own financial straits and the current uncertainty in Indonesia.

The National Sports Council has invited the country's business elite to discuss a program to raise funds for the team competing in the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok in December.

Asian sports broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has acquired the exclusive terrestrial, cable and satellite television broadcast rights of the English Premier League for the next three seasons beginning August 2001.

Asia's economic crisis has begun to bite into Singapore's professional soccer league, with players being forced to take a pay cut, a source close to the island state's national team has said.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) representatives completed a seven-day visit to East Timor on Wednesday aimed at helping the tiny country establish its own National Olympic Committee.

Indonesia and Thailand could be disciplined by the Asian Football Federation following the bizarre behaviour of their teams in a Tiger Cup group match.

The troubled Millennium Cup soccer tournament has suffered a fresh setback with officials canceling a third-place playoff to cut losses.

Bribery and match-fixing hamper the development of soccer in Southeast Asia, and a farcical game in the recent Tiger Cup championship has further tarnished the sport's image, coaches and officials said.

An international tournament in India which promised to boast major players has been branded "a farce" after two teams withdrew, one was ruled ineligible and another failed to play because the team's baggage was delayed.

Thailand and Indonesia were banned from international soccer by Asia's governing body on Friday following their farcical match in last month's Tiger Cup.

BMCMedia has been appointed by the Walt Disney Internet Group to represent football web site Soccernet, in all major markets in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Peoples Republic of China, India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and New Zealand.

Former Thai soccer coach Withaya Laohakul said he hoped a decision by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to ban the country from international competition would only be a temporary punishment.

VTV, recently-acquired by UK-based The Television Corporation and now part of Sunset+Vine, has won a new four year contract to produce and distribute coverage of English badminton until 2005.

Southeast Asian countries are debating whether it is wise to hold the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games next year.