Latin America

Switzerland's President Flavio Cotti has asked for the support of France and other French-speaking states for his country's bid to stage the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Plans to cut the number of African countries bidding for the 2006 World Cup from five to just one strong candidate have been delayed, officials said on Tuesday.

South Africa will present its bid to stage the 2006 World Cup to the African Soccer Confederation (CAF) executive in Cairo on Sunday, a South African diplomat said.

FIFA general secretary Michel zen Ruffinen has refuted criticism of the controversial new world club championship and said it was almost certainly here to stay.

Brazil's national soccer team, who have won the World Cup four times, appear set for an unprecedented win over one of their most difficult opponents: the eight o'clock soap opera. For the full story see the FEATURES section of sportbusiness.com.

Chairman of bankrupt International Sports Media and Marketing (ISMM) Christoph Malms denied in a Swiss Sunday newspaper article any suggestions by FIFA president Sepp Blatter that ISMM may have improperly diverted funds paid to it by Brazil's TV Globo.

Brazilian lawmakers investigating corruption in soccer are to provide FIFA with information on the illegal transfer of players to European clubs, they said on Wednesday.

Brazilian soccer directors have postponed a decision on the outcome of the Joao Havelange Cup final which was abandoned on Saturday when a stadium fence collapsed under a crush of fans.

ESPN Inc., Globosat Programmadora Ltda., and Fox Sports International have reached an agreement to create a new 24-hour total sports network serving Brazil.

The World Cup short-course swimming series has been cut from 12 meetings to 10 and will offer more prize money.

Alec McGivan, the director of England's campaign to stage the 2006 World Cup, has questioned the motives behind UEFA's threat to expel England from Euro 2000 following incidents of hooliganism.

Brazil has told Asian nations that its bid for the 2006 World Cup combined passion and organisation and it deserved to host the tournament.

FIFA's technical inspection team has given South Africa's bid to host the 2006 World Cup finals an unequivocal thumbs-up on Tuesday after a five-day tour to check the country's readiness.

Juan Margets has been re-elected as ITF executive vice-president during its annual general meeting in Mexico.

In Argentina the privatisation of Racing soccer club was confirmed yesterday by the Camera de Apelaciones, the court of appeal in La Plata.

Tennis tournaments in the US and Brazil will continue this week despite Tuesday's terror attacks in New York and Washington.

Mexican footballers want to create a players' union to defend their rights.