London  - Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe insisted on Wednesday that Great Britain will field a football team at the 2012 Olympics despite opposition.

The Scottish, Welsh and Irish Football Associations are opposed to a joint British team in case it threatens their independent status within Fifa.

Speaking in a debate at Westminster Hall, Sutcliffe said that although he wanted the side to have the "widest representation" from the United Kingdom, it could be that only English players were allowed to compete by the national associations.

London - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed on Tuesday that defender Rio Ferdinand will play against Inter Milan on Wednesday.

Ferdinand had been a doubt for the Champions League last-16 tie after turning his ankle in the 4-0 FA Cup victory over Fulham on Saturday.

But he returned to training on Tuesday morning, as did defender John O'Shea, who has overcome a heel problem.

"They are both fit and they will both play," Ferguson told reporters.

"They both trained for the first time on Tuesday morning and that was important for us."

Nyon, Switzerland - France and Italy will be battling to stage football's European Championships in 2016, UEFA confirmed on Tuesday.

Europe's governing body has also received proposals from Turkey and a joint bid from Sweden and Norway.

UEFA said the candidates will have to submit bid dossiers by February 2010. UEFA officials will then visit the bidding countries to evaluate their plans.

Its executive committee will make a final decision on May 27, 2010.

Bremen, Germany - Werder Bremen will make no decision on retaining striker Claudio Pizarro until it knows the outcome of an investigation into alleged tax evasion and money laundering involving the player's adviser.

Klaus Allofs, the club's sports director, was quoted by Tuesday's local Kreiszeitung Syke newspaper as saying it would await the results of the investigation being conducted by authorities in Peru.