Nordics
Business

Chelsea's outspoken chairman Ken Bates called on UEFA and FIFA to end "meaningless matches" at both national and club level by segregating teams from smaller countries into pre-qualifying competitions.

Business

Austrian and Swiss soccer officials will meet in Bern on March 9 to discuss a possible joint bid to host the 2008 European Championships, officials said on Tuesday.
Media

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.

Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland have agreed to submit a joint application to host the European soccer championship finals in 2008.
Business

From next season, the top-skiers of Sweden will be forced to pay 10% of their prize-money to the Swedish Skiing Association.
Business

Pangolin, the independent sports media company,has bought the the popular Scandinavian multi-sport siteSportNow (www.SportNow.se).

The European Commission has offered to meet the presidents of UEFA and FIFA for talks to break the deadlock over a new soccer transfer system.
Events

Moldova has been given permission by UEFA to use their main stadium for international matches this season, the country's soccer chief said.
Stadia

Belgian authorities acted out their Euro 2000 "disaster plan" earlier this week at Brussels' King Baudouin Stadium, the ground rebuilt and renamed after the 1985 Heysel tragedy.
Business

A Norwegian firm that controls English premier league soccer club Wimbledon denied a report that it also wanted to buy second division Manchester City.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials have accused the United States of covering up doping cases among U.S. athletes for more than a decade.
Business

The 11th European Sponsorship Consultants Association (ESCA) Congress will be held this year in Stockholm on November 15-16.
Business

US sports marketing firm, Envision Sports and Entertainment, is expanding into Europe, appointing former ISL chiefs Chris Renner and Mark Devenport in the process.

FIFA, the soccer world’s governing body, has confirmed an afternoon kick-off time for England and Germany's final World Cup qualifying games on October 6.
Business

Denis O’Brien, the millionaire Irish businessman, has raised his offer to buy PGA European Tour Courses PLC, a golf course operator, by three million pounds to £35m ($51m/B
Business

Following the recent opening of their German office in Munich, SportBusiness Group has appointed Sponsorworld to be their official sales agent for Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.
Sponsorship & Marketing

Sportsetail, the merchandising business owned as a joint venture by the UK’s Hay & Robertson and BSkyB, has reached a European product and distribution agreement with FIFA for the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.
Business

Amer Sports - the B