Five cities have bid for either or both the 2011 and 2013 world athletics championships, the IAAF said yesterday. In a statement the IAAF said Barcelona, Brisbane, Taegu, Gothenburg and Moscow had confirmed they were candidates.

Brisbane, Gothenburg and Moscow are candidates for both championships. Barcelona has applied for the 2013 edition while the South Korean city of Taegu is a candidate for the 2011 championships only.

The hosts for both championships will be announced at a council meeting on March 27 next year after the world cross country championships in Mombasa, Kenya.

This year's world championships will be staged in Osaka, Japan, with the 2009 edition scheduled for Berlin.

Cycling - Giro to open on island of Caprera

Next year's 90th Giro d'Italia will open with a 24-kms team time trial on the tiny island of Caprera off the north coast of Sardinia on May 12 and finish in Milan on June 3.

The field will travel up the west coast of Italy through the central regions of Lazio, Umbria, and Emilia Romagna then cross the mountains on the country's northern border with brief forays into France and Austria.

Boxing

Former champion Audley Harrison faces a surprise re-match with Danny Williams in a heavyweight bout at the Excel Centre in London on December 9.

Williams, whose only claim to fame is his fourth-round knockout of a fading Mike Tyson in 2004, replaces Matt Skelton who was forced to withdraw after fracturing his hand in training.

Harrison won the 2000 Sydney Olympics super-heavyweight gold medal but has failed to make his mark as a professional.

Golf

Tiger Woods, who launched his own design company last month, is to create his first course in Dubai.

"Why Dubai? Because I am excited about the challenge of transforming a desert terrain into a world-class golf course," Woods said.

The new development will include a 7,700-yard, par-72 championship course, golf academy, clubhouse, 80-suite hotel for VIP guests, 300 luxury villas, 20 mansions and a community retail area.

Woods, 30, won this year's Dubai Desert Classic, beating Ernie Els in a play-off, and is due to return to defend his title in February.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.