In Italy: A tribunal trying four leading soccer clubs and 26 officials on match-fixing charges expects to deliver its verdicts on July 10, after the World Cup ends. The FIGC previously said the tribunal would finish its work between July 7 and 9, the latter being the date of the World Cup final in Berlin. If the tribunal continued beyond July 10, it could clash with other events at the Olympic Stadium. Four days later the ground is due to host the Golden Gala athletics meeting.
Arsenal: Arsenal plan to raise £260 million from the bond market to help fund the construction of their new stadium via a securitisation. The bond will be backed by revenues from match ticket sales at the 60,000-seater stadium in the first public deal of its kind in the UK. The deal will put a new complexion on Arsenal's performance, with gate receipts watched as avidly as fans watch the team on the pitch.
Campo: Former Real Madrid defender Ivan Campo signed a new two-year contract with Premier League Bolton Wanderers yesterday. Campo put pen to paper on the deal the same day his previous contract expired. The 31-year-old Spaniard has made more than 100 appearances for the club since joining in August 2002, initially on a season-long loan. Campo arrived as a central defender but has spent much of his time in midfield for Bolton.
Lambert: Former Scotland midfielder Paul Lambert took over as manager of Wycombe Wanderers yesterday. Lambert, who quit Scottish side Livingston in February, succeeds John Gorman. Former England assistant manager Gorman was appointed manager of third division Northampton Town last month.
Hearts: Caretaker manager Valdas Ivanauskas was put in permanent charge of Scottish Premier League club Hearts yesterday. Eduard Malofeev, 64, former coach of the Soviet Union, Belarus and Dinamo Minsk, was appointed as sporting director.
FIFA Aid: FIFA will help to construct grounds and coaching centres in parts of northern Pakistan devastated by an earthquake last year. Last October's earthquake killed more than 70,000 people and made millions homeless. Sports stadiums were turned into field hospitals and pitches became landing sites for helicopters. FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation had pledged $700,000 for projects in the quake areas, where soccer has always been popular although Pakistan's national sport is cricket.