French soccer team Paris St. Germain has been cleared to compete in this season's UEFA Cup after media company Canal Plus reduced its ownership share in Swiss team Servette of Geneva. Canal Plus had majority stakes in both clubs, and European governing body UEFA's rules state that no two clubs controlled by the same company can play in the same cup competition. Canal Plus has now sold 30 percent of its 51 percent ownership in Servette to French businessman Michel Coencas.
AMSTEL WEB SPENDING: Champions League beer sponsor Amstel of Holland is spending $150,000 to sponsor coverage of the competition on a British Web site, sportinglife.com, which provides information and results, and on an Internet radio station. The Amstel brand will be prominent in all of sportinglife.com's coverage.
QUICK VIDEO: To cash in on England's stunning 5-1 soccer victory over Germany in Munich recently, Octagon CSI, the marketing firm's television arm, is releasing a video of the match to stores today. Suggested retail price is $22.
SWIMMING NET: During the month of July, which included the ninth FINA World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, the FINA Web site logged 7.5 million hits. One year ago, during the Olympic Games month of September 2000, the site had 1.4 million hits.
BRONCOS WOES: The future of rugby league (the 13-man version of the sport as opposed to 15-man rugby union) in London is looking gloomy. The Virgin Group, owner of the London Broncos of the Rugby Super League, has said it wants to sell the team, which has also been told that it must move out of its venue by next season. The Broncos play home games at the stadium of London soccer club Charlton Athletic. Last week, Charlton's board rejected an offer to buy the Broncos from Virgin. The Broncos are the only club in the Rugby Super League not based in northern England, where the 13-man version is popular.
— Jay Stuart