No venue switch for N. Korea tie

Tokyo: North Korea?s home World Cup qualifier against Japan in June will not be switched to a neutral venue despite crowd trouble midweek, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Friday.

An outbreak of crowd violence during Wednesday?s match between North Korea and Iran in Pyongyang has heightened security fears ahead of Japan?s politically-charged visit on June 8.

But AFC general secretary Peter Velappan said the match would take place in the North Korean capital as scheduled.

Donovan comeback

Toronto: Landon Donovan?s rumoured return to the Major League Soccer (MLS) was completed on Thursday when Bayer Leverkusen granted the disgruntled American striker a transfer to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

A three-time US Player of the Year and a fixture on the national team, Donovan had grown frustrated over his lack of playing time at Bayer Leverkusen since joining the Bundesliga club three months ago.

Good luck ?charms?

Bucharest: Fans of Romania?s Arges Pitesti have staged a cat?s funeral and burned a rooster on the pitch in a bid for good luck before Friday?s match against Farul Constanta. ?Seven Arges Pitesti fans buried a dead cat behind a stadium stand and burned a rooster just in the middle of the field after they were sure that the arena was cursed,? a newspaper reported.

The newspaper also said fans had tied red string to the goalposts but that their efforts had to be followed by players? gestures in order to attract good luck.

World Cup tickets

Berlin: Over a million fans from around the world have applied for more than 10 million tickets for the 2006 World Cup, 12 times the number available, after a last-minute rush concluded the first round of sales.

World Cup organisers made 812,000 tickets available in a two-month sales period that ended on Thursday. A

Another go for Amir Khan

London: Amir Khan has been granted a dream rematch with the man who denied him gold at the Athens Olympics, Cuban great Mario Kindelan.

The long awaited showdown between Britain?s teenage boxing sensation and the wily Cuban veteran will take at Bolton?s Reebok Stadium on April 30.

Neither Khan nor promoter Frank Warren would confirm if the bout would be the 18-year-old?s last as an amateur.

ITF meet from today

Mumbai: Barring Sania Mirza, all other top Indian players led by former national champion Rushmi Chakravarti would be seen in action in the $10,000 ITF women?s tennis tournament here from April 2 to 9.

The tournament has also attracted a spate of foreign entries led by Chinese Taipei?s Chan Chin-Wei, with world ranking of 283, it was announced on Thursday.

Thailand?s Tangphong Montinee, ranked 359 in the world, is seeded second. Rushmi, ranked 371, is seeded third. She is followed by Japan?s Natsumi (382) and Russian Julia Vorobieva (390).

Brisbane may bid

Brisbane: Brisbane is considering bidding for the 2020 or 2024 Olympics, Queensland state premier Peter Beattie announced on Friday.

?We wouldn?t realistically be in the bidding until 2024 but we need to start thinking about it,? Beattie said.

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