Sub-Saharan Africa

South Korean soccer fans have applied for more than one million tickets for the 2002 World Cup finals, four times the number of seats offered in the first round of sales, organisers said on Thursday.

Four people were shot dead by soldiers at a soccer game in the southern Nigerian town of Warri after ethnic rioting erupted over a disputed refereeing decision, witnesses said.

About 100 Olympic family members who overstayed their visas and remained illegally in Australia following the Sydney Games have ignored Immigration Department warnings to get out, a spokesman has said.

Some of cricket's leading figures were anxiously awaiting news of their fate after the International Cricket Council (ICC) began its executive board meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will sign a $50 million marketing and television rights agreement with French company Groupe Jean-Claude Darmon in February, say CAF officials.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been vindicated by the country's top court when it reversed an earlier defeat for the government in a controversial case over rugby.

The Rugby World Cup third-place playoff between South Africa and New Zealand will be shown live on terrestial television in Wales, but nowhere else in Britain.

Formula One needs an African Grand Prix but the calendar must not be enlarged beyond 17 races, team owner Eddie Jordan said.

An IOC report says preliminary results indicate that the XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, were broadcast in more countries than ever before and that the global cumulative audience is likely to equal Lillehammer's record??.

South Africa is convinced it will host a Formula One Grand Prix race next season after a six year gap despite the introduction of a bill banning tobacco advertising, Sports Minister Steve Tshwete has said.

Plan to restrict England tours to the three main southern hemisphere rugby nations are unlikely to be accepted by the sport's governing body, Australia Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill said on Wednesday.

Ex-South African wicketkeeper Dave Richardson has suggested the row which had threatend the West Indies tour could prompt the formation of an international body aimed at looking after players' interests.

The African Football Confederation (CAF) acknowledged for the first time that South Africa's 2006 World Cup bid could be damaged without the support of the entire continent.

Egypt has confirmed it is out of the race to host soccer's World Cup in 2006, leaving six nations competing to stage the finals.

Soccer legend Pele has confirmed his support for South Africa's bid to stage the 2006 World Cup, saying he thought Brazil could be ready to stage the finals four years later.

Guinness announced a 15 per cent sales increase in the UK for the September/October period during which they sponsored the Rugby World Cup.