SOCCER

Footballers are teaming up with governments, companies and international health campaigners to push for action against malaria ahead of next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.

Carbon emissions from next year's soccer FIFA World Cup are expected to soar from the 2006 benchmark set by Germany, host nation South Africa said on Monday.

Melanie Hain, the soccer mom who gained national attention after openly carrying a loaded handgun to her daughter's soccer game, was shot dead along with her husband Scott Hain, the Pennlive reported Thursday.

Soccer's global governing body FIFA, gaming software-maker Electronic Arts and Sony Corp's PlayStation announced the start of the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2010 (FIWC10) season on Tuesday.

Rio de Janeiro won a resounding vote on Friday to stage the first Olympics in South America in 2016, rebuffing U.S. President Barack Obama, who had personally lobbied for his adopted hometown Chicago.

Electronic Arts on Friday released its soccer flagship FIFA 10, its latest game for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch, which costs $10 at the App store.

The International Olympic Committee announced Rio de Janeiro will be the first South American city to host the Olympic Games in 2016.

The United States national team will play against Mexico on Wednesday in Mexico City's 100,000-seat Azteca Stadium.

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Italian fashion house Gianfranco Ferre's young label will dress the Rome-based S.S. Lazio soccer team for official off-field events during the 2009/2010 season, the designer said in a statement.

Tottenham Hotspur are investigating whether criticism of the Premier League club's chairman on Darren Bent's Twitter page were posted by the England forward, a spokesman for the club said Friday.

More than a million French users of Microsoft's Xbox 360 will be able to watch films on demand, premium drama and soccer from Canal Plus on their games console thanks to a deal between Microsoft and the pay-TV group.

Manchester United has moved up the league table of the world's richest football clubs, putting it just behind Real Madrid, who have held their top position for the third consecutive year.

Umbro, the company which makes the sports kit for the England soccer team as well as for six of the UK Premier League clubs, has today agreed to a takeover by Nike in a £285 million deal.

David Beckham doesn't have anything to fear from robot players -- for now. At an indoor field in Tokyo, dozens of robots played soccer while others danced to samba music to cheer them on.

Like most Italian boys, Luciano Pavarotti used to dream of being a soccer star. Instead, he rose to opera stardom and entranced stadium audiences with his singing voice rather than his soccer skills.

It's business as usual in New York's banks and brokerages where a muted response to the World Cup has allowed companies to turn a blind eye to staff watching soccer matches at their desks or on trading floors.

Latin America's fixation with the football World Cup in the next month is likely to slow trade in the region but some wonder if it will be enough to dampen instability global markets.