Yahoo! makes it to the World Cup

NEWS Yahoo! will help run the official websites for the 2002 and 2006 football World Cups after signing a joint deal with the sport's governing body Fifa. Yahoo has won exclusive rights to produce, market and host the World Cup online and sell sponsorship of the official co-branded website at http://www.fifaworldcup.com . upon signing the deal Fifa president Sepp Blatter said that the internet and football are two of the most significant terms in the world. Financial details were not disclosed but Fifa's contract with other main sponsors is thought to be worth over £13m. The site will be available in six languages including English, Korean, Japanese, French, Spanish and German. It will contain news and statistics and have an e-shop allowing users to buy official World Cup products. The internet is expected to play a large part in the coverage for the 2002 finals because of the time differences between where it is being co- hosted, in South Korea and Japan, and Europe and the Americas. During the 1998 World Cup finals in France, the official website http://www.France98.com registered 1.1 billion hits throughout the 33 day event.