Sporting briefs...

Charity League: Every time a Tottenham Hotspur player is fined for an infringement by the club, children in South Africa will benefit. The Premier League club have announced an international charity commitment to SOS Children's Villages, supporting a children's home in Rustenburg, South Africa. Funds will be boosted by club fines for players which will go into the SOS fund. A survey carried out by www.intelligentgiving.com showed that Tottenham donated £4.5 million to charity in 2005-06, by far the highest amount of any Premier League club. Middlesbrough were second, donating £105,645 and Everton third with £82,984.

Baric: Albania coach Otto Baric will be in charge of the team for their Euro 2008 Group G qualifier in Bulgaria tomorrow after doctors told him he was well enough to travel. Baric, 74, missed Albania's 0-0 draw at home to Slovenia on Saturday because he had heart and breathing problems and doctors advised him to stay in bed for more than 10 days.

Coppell: Reading manager Steve Coppell signed a new two-year contract yesterday that will keep him at the Premier League club until 2009. Coppell has won much admiration for building a team who are challenging for a UEFA Cup spot in their first season in the top-flight, and has been tipped by the media as a possible successor to out-of-favour England manager Steve McClaren. His previous contract had been due to expire at the end of this season and Coppell has usually been unwilling to sign anything more than a one-year contract.

De Sanctis: Udinese goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis was added to Italy's squad for their Euro 2008 qualifier against Scotland as their first-choice keeper Gianluigi Buffon struggled to recover from a stomach upset yesterday. Italy coach Roberto Donadoni took the decision after Buffon missed training for the second day in a row. De Sanctis will be Italy's third-choice keeper behind Buffon and Torino's Christian Abbiati. Buffon's absence would be a big blow to the world champions ahead of tomorrow's game.

Stevens: Hamburg SV have given coach Huub Stevens leave to stay on in the Netherlands and care for his sick wife. Dutchman Stevens was hired by Hamburg at the start of February in a bid to stave off relegation and early results have been good. The club have climbed from bottom of the table to 14th, two points clear of the relegation zone. Their next league game is at home to VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday and Stevens may not be involved after his wife underwent surgery last week.

Ismael: Bayern Munich defender Valerien Ismael hopes to make his comeback from a long injury absence in Saturday's Bundesliga game at home to leaders Schalke 04. Ismael suffered a broken leg during a training session back in August and has not played for the Bayern first team since the final game of last season.

In Italy: Serie B - Piacenza vs Modena 5-1.

MFA Division Three: Xghajra vs Sirens 1-1; Kirkop vs Zurrieq 0-2. Playing today - Fgura vs Ghaxaq.