United Kingdom

The UK betting industry has been thrown into turmoil by Irish government plans to reduce betting duty from 10% to 5%.

Scotland's Hampden Park in Glasgow, once the world's largest stadium and backdrop to some of European soccer's greatest clashes, welcomes back the crowds this Saturday after three years of rebuilding.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said it will not make a choice this weekend between the two African countries bidding to host the 2006 World Cup.

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.

Insurance giants CGU has signed a major #10 million ($16 million) sponsorship deal with UK Athletics.

Manchester United will take another step towards global brand status by opening a chain of retail shops in the Middle East.

Further details of a potential bid to take Manchester United back into private hands have been reported in the UK press.

English Premier Leauge soccer club Manchester United is involved in talks with three potential Chinese partners with a view to setting up more club shops in the country.

The BBC has warmly welcomed a decision in London's Restrictive Practices Court which ruled in favour of the English Premier League selling broadcast rights en bloc for all its 20 clubs.

Gaylord Entertainment Company has acquired the naming rights to the Nashville Arena from the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators.

South African soccer officials, confident of the quality of their bid, have revealed why they think they should host the 2006 World Cup.

Plans by Old Firm rivals Celtic and Rangers to open a retail outlet at Glasgow Airport have been shelved due to high rents.

More than 300 people responsible for managing and developing sport and recreation opportunities across the UK are gathering in Sheffield, England tomorrow for the Institute of Sports and Recreation Management (ISRM) annual conference.

Unilever is extending its sports sponsorship involvement by signed a naming rights deal with the Sydney Marathon.
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English soccer club Chelsea is in talks with Italian club Lazio about setting up a rival to the G14 group of top European clubs.

Rage Software, the computer games company, said it hoped that a new David Beckham soccer game will boost sales this Christmas. The company said pre-tax losses for the year ending June 30 widened to #17million ($24.6m/?26.9m) from #6.7m ($9.7m/?10.6m) last year.

England?s Football Association is warning fans to avoid buying black market tickets for the World Cup qualifier against Germany next week.

London soccer club Arsenal has become the first club to charge visitors to its website to view highlights of its matches.