SEPP BLATTER (pictured), the President of FIFA, tonight handed England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup a massive boost when he appeared to rule out five of their biggest rivals.

"For instance, we are now in the Americas for 2014 and we know that the USA, Mexico - they will be candidates

 AUGUST 22 - THE basketball tournament at London 2012 could be the biggest in Olympic history after officials revealed plans today to expand it to 16 countries.

"If the rest of the world wants to compete with the USA, they must adapt to their rules."

  JUNE 5 - LONDON'S reputation for staging the world's best athletics meeting will be enhanced further this year when Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele (pictured) runs at the annual Grand Prix meeting next month.

will take aim at his own 10,000 metres world record in this Sunday’s Prefontaine Classic in Oregon, USA

    AUSTRALIA'S Beijing Olympics gold medalist Libby Trickett has visited the the country's rugby squad at their Sydney training base in the countdown to the team's historic tour to Hong Kong and Europe, which will include a match at Wembley.  

was one of four occasions when Rugby was played at the Olympics, with France winning gold in 1900 and USA

  JULY 13 - BRITAIN'S Stephanie Twell (pictured) and Emma Pallant claimed the gold and bronze medals in the 1500 metres at the World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz today.

Bronze    Total    1 UNITED STATES (USA

 JULY 20 - THE United States Olympic team is preparing to move into its pre-Games training base ahead of next month's event in Beijing.

USA Track & Field have already signed an agreement with Birmingham City Council for their athletes to

 JULY 15 - BRITISH SWIMMING has today become the first national governing body to sign a sports science Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UK Sport and the three Home Country sport institutes to try to ensure that it is successful at the 2012 Olympics.

he pulled off a coup when he was able to announce that Dennis Pursley, the former team director of USA

 JULY 22 - GEORGE BUSH has been urged not to commute the prison sentence of self-confessed drugs cheat Marion Jones (pictured).

Doug Logan, the newly appointed chief executive of USA Track & Field, has now written to Bush urging

As the new CEO of USA Track & Field, I have a moral and practical duty to make the case against her request

In my new job as CEO of USA Track & Field, I must right the ship that Ms.

Logan  CEO, USA Track & Field  The Justice Department typically reviews petitions for commutations

 JULY 16 - BRITISH SWIMMING'S determination to be ready for London 2012 received another boost today when it issued a statement of intent to work with Blue Water Elite Swimming Training (BEST) at a new, purpose built centre in Mallorca, Spain.

sport institutes, the appointment earlier this month of Dennis Pursley, the former team director of USA

 JULY 23 - WORLD 100 metres champion Tyson Gay has pulled out of his eagerly-anticipated head-to-head with Asafa Powell at the Aviva London Grand Prix on Friday night.

After winning the 100m at the USA Olympic trials, Gay then fell to the track in his 200m quarter-final

  A DECISION on the future of the high-tech NASA-designed suits, worn by the likes of eight-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps (pictured) that have revolutionised swimming will be made by FINA in March, they announced today.

USA Swimming has also petitioned the governing body, requesting that suits "shall not cover the neck,

  AUGUST 9 - UNITED STATES President George W Bush today visited a number of the American team competing in the Beijing Games while his father met a delegation from Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid.

heads of National Olympic Committees and International Sports Federations, and welcomed them to the USA

 AUGUST 12 - AUSTRALIA, China, Russia and the United States are the sailing teams that have been targeted by officials from Weymouth and Portland to train in the area during the build-up to the 2012 Olympics.

"USA, China, Australia, Russia and some of the big European countries are the big medal winners who demand

 JUNE 29 - A NEW sailing World Cup has been launched as part of the build-up towards the 2012 Olympics, it was announced today.

series will kick off with Sail Melbourne, Australia in December 2008, followed by the Rolex Miami OCR, USA

 JUNE 29 - A NEW sailing World Cup has been launched as part of the build-up towards the 2012 Olympics, it was announced today.

series will kick off with Sail Melbourne, Australia in December 2008, followed by the Rolex Miami OCR, USA