WOMEN'S WORLD CUP BUYS SOME INSURANCE AS ALLSTATE SIGNS ON

          AllState Insurance is close to signing on as the latest
     sponsor of the '99 FIFA Women's World Cup, according to both
     Langdon Brockinton of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL and Terry
     Lefton of BRANDWEEK.  Brockinton reports that Allstate has
     "acquired category exclusivity" for the TV coverage, and
     will air three 30-second spots on each ABC, ESPN and ESPN2
     telecast.  AllState joins such companies as A-B, adidas,
     Coca-Cola and MasterCard as sponsors for the event, and
     Brockinton says to look for AllState to "utilize members of
     the U.S team" in some commercials (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL,
     7/20).  BRANDWEEK's Lefton reports that, in addition to the
     media buy on ABC and ESPN, the "all-cash deal" includes a
     "commitment to do WWC themed ads" (BRANDWEEK, 7/20 issue).