No decision has yet been made concerning the venue of the 2014 World Cup final despite comments attributed to FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke that it would be staged in Rio de Janeiro, world football's governing body insisted on Thursday night.

"Jerome Valcke merely evoked the possibility of a final in Rio. The official decision has still not been taken," FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot told Agence France Presse.

Armenia's top chess players, lauded as heroes after winning the 2011 World Team Chess Championship this week, vowed on Friday to boost the small chess-mad country's status in the game even further.

The team's head coach said that future successes will be secured through official support and an unusual new scheme to promote the game among schoolchildren initiated by Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian, a keen player who also heads the country's Chess Federation.

Hit hard by the global economic crisis, the Gulf city of Dubai decided Friday not to bid for the 2020 Olympics and will focus instead on a possible candidacy for the 2024 Games.

A feasibility study found 70 percent of the infrastructure demands were already in place but that a "a bid would be better timed for 2024," the National Olympic Committee of the United Arab Emirates said.

Lebanon advanced to the third round of World Cup qualifying with a 4-2 aggregate win over Bangladesh, despite losing the second leg 2-0 on Thursday.

Mithun Chowdhury raised the hopes of the Bangladesh fans at the Bangabandhu National Stadium when he scored in the 52nd minute.

Manchester United striker Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez missed Wednesday night's match against the MLS All-Stars after being hospitalized overnight for a concussion sustained during a training session a day earlier.

The dynamic Mexican goal scorer wasn't missed as Man United beat the MLS All-Star team 4-0.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said goal-line technology could be in use for the 2014 World Cup finals if a system is proved to be reliable and affordable.

There has been a huge push for football to follow sports such as cricket and tennis in embracing technological help for officials with the argument brought into sharp focus by England having a 'goal' ruled out against Germany at the last World Cup despite replays having shown that the ball had crossed the line.

Chelsea have lodged an official protest with the Malaysian Football Association over what they claim was racist abuse suffered by their Israeli player Yossi Benayoun in Kuala Lumpur last week.

The midfielder was booed and jeered whenever he touched the ball in the 1-0 win against Malaysia in the capital of the Muslim-majority country last Friday.

America's Ryan Lochte shattered Michael Phelps and his own world record Thursday as he won a thrilling 200m individual medley at the world championships in Shanghai.

And Australian hotshot James Magnussen lived up to his growing reputation by winning the 100m freestyle sprint courtesy of a lightning close.

With only one year to go until the greatest show on earth – the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics– the British embassy in collaboration with the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped and the Lebanese Paralympics committee organized a farewell mini football match between the British embassy team and the land mine survivors at Jamhour School in Loueize.

More than 200 people attended alongside the British ambassador Frances Guy, the head of the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped and the Paralympic Committee Randa Berri, Lebanese political and social figures, fans and friends of teams, members of the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped and various media.

Former German international Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has launched a scathing attack on football's rulers and wants clubs to be given a bigger say in running the sport, it was reported Wednesday.

Rummenigge, the chairman of the European Club Association and chief executive of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, told The Guardian he had lost confidence in FIFA following a string of recent corruption scandals.