Brazil named as 2014 Cup host

ZURICH: Brazil, the only runner in the race, was officially unveiled as the 2014 World Cup host by FIFA president Sepp Blatter yesterday.

Official: Match-fixing a serious problem

PARIS: The possibility of match-fixing in tennis is a "serious problem", although major efforts are being made to make sure it does not happen at the Paris Masters, French Tennis Federation (FFT) president Christian Bimes said on Monday.

FIFA delays experiment with extra linesmen until 2008

ZURICH: FIFA has postponed an experiment to have additional linesmen patrolling the penalty areas at the world club championship in December and will instead trial the idea next year.

Benelux confirm bid, England set to follow

LONDON: Belgium and the Netherlands confirmed they would formally bid to host the 2018 World Cup following FIFA's decision to drop its rotation policy on Monday, while English officials are likely to follow suit.

IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Sports

Boston sweeps Colorado

DENVER: The Boston Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Sunday to win the World Series and record their second four-game sweep of the Fall Classic in four years.

Perfect Pats and Colts heading for showdown

BOSTON: The New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts maintained their perfect records with convincing victories on Sunday, setting up a colossal showdown next week.

Sports

Boston routs Colorado in World Series opener

BOSTON: The Boston Red Sox battered the Colorado Rockies 13-1 in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday, snapping the National League champions' 10-game winning streak with a record-setting scoring spree.

Tale of woe for former British European champs

PARIS: Two former British European Cup winners, Liverpool and Celtic, suffered another blow to staying in the competition after both lost in the latest round of Champions League matches on Wednesday.

Wenger puzzled by Lehmann's remarks

LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he had no intention of humiliating Jens Lehmann and has enormous respect for the goalkeeper who is upset he has lost his place in the Arsenal starting lineup.