Giggs and Beckham keen on Olympics

David Beckham and Ryan Giggs are among 184 of 191 players contacted by the Football Association who have indicated they wish to be considered for the British men's team at the London 2012 Olympics.

Only seven of the 191 players written to by the FA last month have ruled themselves out. They are from across the home nations, including at least one Englishman, and from a spread of clubs.

It is understood Giggs and Beckham, who could both be included as over-age players, have signalled their intention to be considered.

British Olympic Association communications director Darryl Seibel said: "This is an outstanding response and it confirms what we have believed all along, which is there is widespread interest among players in competing for Team GB at the London 2012 Games.

"Clearly, the players recognise just how special this opportunity is."

Players who wanted to be in the Team GB Player Pool, from which coach Stuart Pearce will pick his squad for the Olympics, did not need to provide a written response to the FA. However, a large percentage of the 184 players did contact the FA to confirm they wanted to be considered.

Tevez future remains up in the air

The future of Carlos Tevez has been thrown into more confusion after talks between AC Milan and Manchester City officials broke up without reaching agreement just hours after Inter Milan withdrew from the race to sign the South American.

Tevez is still in Argentina, having effectively concluded he has no future at City since the furore over his non-appearance during that infamous Champions League game against Bayern Munich in September. Inter and Paris St Germain had both expressed an interest in signing Tevez but AC Milan have been front-runners for some considerable time.

It seemed a matter of when rather than if a deal would eventually be done, although hopes of a speedy resolution were dashed when City refused to yield from their present position of being unwilling to entertain any kind of loan for the 27-year-old.

However, with further negotiations planned for Thursday afternoon in London, when asked if Tevez will join AC Milan, Inter president Massimo Moratti said on the club's official website, www.inter.it: "I believe so. That's football."

But within hours, the London talks had ended amid reports that a deal between Milan and City was off.

As Blues officials have strongly countered, it was impossible for a deal to be off because there was never actually one in place to start with. Indeed, City have been left bewildered by the whole process which, as far as they can see, is fairly straightforward.

With no loan moves being entertained, a stance unlikely to change at present, the club will happily talk to any suitor willing to offer what they view as a fair market value for one of the world's best forwards.

Evidently, Tevez's present status has not done much for his valuation. However, as he is tied to a contract that does not expire until 2014, City believe they have plenty of power, even if efforts to get Tevez back to Manchester will not be increased until the transfer window has closed.

Despite Thursday's developments, it would be a major surprise if Tevez was still a City player at that point.

As City found out during their failed attempts to sign Brazilian superstar Kaka from the Serie A giants three years ago, Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani is an astute footballing politician. Having placed such store by trying to attract Tevez to the club, Galliani is unlikely to just give up when there is so much time left to do a deal.

Brazil won't be '100% ready' to host World Cup: Romario

Brazil won't be "100 percent ready" to host the 2014 World Cup, as work on two of the stadiums won't be completed in time, former World Cup winner Romario said in an interview published Wednesday.

"I think that (Brazil) won't be 100 percent ready. Of the 12 stadiums (that are to stage World Cup events) maybe 10 will be ready," the retired football star said in his interview with the magazine Istoe, which was carried on social networks.

"As to work on public transportation, none of the cities involved will be able to complete it fully," said Romario, who is now a lawmaker with Brazil's Socialist Party (PSB).

He also warned that the total cost for staging the World Cup could jump from an estimated $44 billion to $55.5 billion.

Brazil is racing to build or renovate 12 stadiums in time for the 2014 event, and Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo late last year pledged that work on the venues largely would be completed ahead of schedule.

A controversial figure on and off the park when he played as a striker for Brazil and a number of top clubs in Europe and South America, Romario has been critical of both the World Cup organizers and of FIFA, world football's governing body.