Farewell to players

KATHMANDU: A 13-member taekwondo team is scheduled to leave for Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday to take part in the 17th Asian Taekwondo Championship to be held on April 21-23. Among the male participant are Amar Raj Lama (fly weight), Ram Saran Chaudhary (bantam), Kumar Thapa (feather), Yadav Bahadur Poudel (light), Dipak Bista (walter), Ghanashyam Khadka (middle weight) while Ayasha Shakya (bantam), Manita Shahi (feather) and Radhika Shrestha (light) are the female participants. Min Bahadur Thapa (manager) and Bijay Neupane and Norbu Lama (coaches) are the other members of the team. —HNS

FIFA sponsorship deal

ZURICH: Emirates Airline has agreed to pay $195 million to become FIFA’s sixth and final major sponsor. The agreement, which runs for eight years from 2007, covers all FIFA competitions. The deal places Emirates alongside Visa, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Sony and Hyundai among FIFA’s top backers for the period. Emirates Airline will be the official carrier for tournaments including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and the 2014 edition. —AP

Upson sidelined

BIRMINGHAM: Birmingham defender Matthew Upson will miss six months after rupturing his Achilles tendon. The defender was warming up for the Blues’ match against Aston Villa on Sunday when the injury happened. The game was to be Upson’s return to the Birmingham side after two months out with groin and pelvic injuries. The injury makes it less likely Birmingham will sell the player during the offseason, should the Blues be relegated. —AP

Nice to sign Bellion

NICE: Nice said it had agreed to sign French striker David Bellion from Manchester United. The 23-year-old agreed to a four-year contract with Nice, where he had been on loan since January. Bellion started his career with Cannes before a spell at England’s Sunderland, from where Manchester United signed him in 2003. He scored eight goals in 40 appearances for United, but was loaned to West Ham. — AP

Dorey, Cosgrove called

SYDNEY: Uncapped batsman Mark Cosgrove and fast bowler Brett Dorey were added to the Australia team for the limited overs series against Bangladesh starting on Sunday, replacing Damien Martyn and Stuart Clark. Martyn is returning to Australia with an elbow injury and Clark has already returned to attend the birth of his first child. —AP

WC ball presented

BERLIN: Franz Beckenbauer, chief of the World Cup organising committee, on Tuesday presented a special edition of the tournament ball that will be used for the July 9 final in Berlin. The ball has golden colouring rather than the black-and-white edition that will be used in the other 63 games. Beckenbauer presented the ball at a ceremony in front of Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate. Balls used for group matches will have the names of teams involved each in each game. —AP