IN BRIEF (Page 20)

Soccer

Bolivia thanks Blatter

LA PAZ: FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been thanked by Bolivia president Evo Morales for the decision by soccer's governing body to lift a ban on playing international matches at high altitude.

Morales had led a high-profile campaign against the ban, which he called "soccer apartheid" and would have prevented Bolivia from hosting matches in La Paz. At one point he took part in a game on a volcano at more than 5,000 m above sea level.

FIFA agreed earlier this week to lift the ban on international matches at over 2,750 m above sea level at their Congress in Australia.

NHL

Daley extends Dallas deal

DALLAS: The Dallas Stars signed defenseman Trevor Daley to a three-year contract extension worth $6.9 million on Wednesday.

Daley, 24, appeared in all 82 games for the Stars last season, registering career-high tallies of five goals, 19 assists and 24 points.

He scored one goal in 18 playoff games as the Stars reached the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2000.

"At just 24 years of age, Trevor continues to grow as a hockey player and we are looking for his game to improve over the next three years," Dallas co-general manager Les Jackson said in a statement.

A second-round pick by Dallas in the 2002 NHL draft, Daley has recorded 13 goals and 43 assists in 264 games for the club.

Miscellaneous

Jinjiang: Top sports city

This on-going's China International Sporting Goods Show will, for the first time, see an exhibition room named after a municipality, China's emerging sports city Jinjiang.

As China's third national sports industry base, Jinjiang, Fujian province, is building itself into one of China's top sports cities and aims to be more than just a base for shoe producers. Companies such as Anta, X-step, 361, XDlong, Athletic, Hosa, Jinlaike, Qiaodan, Luyou and Deerway currently call Jinjiang home.

The sports industry is a pillar of Jinjiang's economy - its sports product revenue makes up 18 percent of Jinjiang's total GDP.

The city has 3,000 enterprises connected with sports and its companies sponsor Chinese badminton, gymnastics and weightlifting teams, the Lithuanian Olympic team, the CBA and the WCBA as well as national volleyball and table tennis leagues.

The city's next ambition is to develop an offshore sports and leisure industry.

(China Daily 05/30/2008 page20)