Sporting briefs...

Benefit match: Soccer's world and European governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA, are to organise a "solidarity match" in February to help victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. "FIFA and UEFA, which has also pledged aid to the FIFA/AFC Tsunami Solidarity Fund, have decided to organise a solidarity match on a grand scale in a major European stadium in February," FIFA said. FIFA said the joint solidarity fund it had set up with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has already received several donations, adding that what it called the "football family's solidarity endeavours" are multiplying fast.

RAU: Bixente Lizarazu's surprise return to Bayern Munich is likely to mean a swift departure for German international defender Tobias Rau. The 23-year-old Rau has struggled to establish himself on the left side of defence for Bayern over the last season and a half and after snapping up Lizarazu the Bundesliga giants are ready to let him go. "Obviously, his prospects are hardly rosy but he already knew that," Bayern commercial manager Uli Hoeness said. "We told him (before the start of the winter break) that we had to assume he didn't have a chance here. We opened the door for him to move but he wanted to stay and give it another go."

BORUSSIA DORTMUND: Borussia Dortmund, Germany's only listed soccer club, have eased their debts in the last six months. "The fact is we had smaller debts as at Dec. 31, 2004 than we had as at June 30, 2004," managing director Gerd Niebaum said yesterday in a newspaper interview. "We have reduced our bank loans alone by 40 per cent this half." Dortmund, European champions in 1997, is struggling with record debt but Niebaum said figures were not as bad as some reports suggested.

NASSAR: The Palestinian Football Association signed Israeli Arab Azmi Nassar as their new national team coach yesterday on a two-year contract. Nassar had been in line for the position for several weeks but he was able to secure a deal with his new employers only after the Israeli authorities last week allowed him to travel to occupied Gaza.