Sporting briefs

Cygan: Villarreal's French defender Pascal Cygan has agreed to a one-year contract extension until 2009, the Primera Liga club said. Cygan, 34, joined from England's Arsenal in 2006 and helped the Spanish east-coast club finish second in the league last season to qualify for next season's Champions League.

New sponsors: The Primera Liga and the second division will be sponsored by Spanish financial services group BBVA for the next three years, the Spanish Football League (LFP) said. The top flight will be called Liga BBVA and the second division Liga Adelante in a deal local media said was worth around 60 million euros.

Finnan: Liverpool defender Steve Finnan said yesterday he might return to international football with Ireland. Finnan, 32, who had said he no longer wanted to play for his country after the failure to reach Euro 2008, said the appointment of Italian Giovanni Trapattoni as national coach could tempt him back. "The opportunity to work with someone of that experience is very tempting," Finnan said.

Manchester United: Champions League winners Manchester United will play in Nigeria for the first time when they face Premier League rivals Portsmouth in a friendly in late July. English champions United will face FA Cup winners Portsmouth as part of an International tournament.

Andy Cole: Former England striker Andy Cole has been released by Sunderland, the club said. Manager Roy Keane's clearout also includes Stanislav Varga, Ian Harte and Stephen Wright. Cole's former Man. United team-mate Dwight Yorke's contract is up at the end of the month.

Lualua: Olympiakos Piraeus striker Lomana LuaLua is recovering in hospital in Athens after having his appendix removed. A spokesperson for the club told Reuters that LuaLua had returned from international duty with the Congo team in Cairo on Monday when he felt severe pain in his stomach.

Friendly: (at Burghausen, Germany) Russia vs Lithuania 4-1.

Serie B: Promotion play-offs (first legs) Pisa vs Lecce 0-1; Brescia vs AlbinoLeffe 1-0.