There were cheers in Abbotstown yesterday evening with FAI chief executive John Delaney describing events at Fifa headquarters in Zurich as a “good day for football”.

IOC President Thomas Bach expressed full confidence yesterday that Russian authorities will deliver a “safe and secure” Winter Olympics in Sochi despite the two deadly suicide bombings in southern Russia that heightened concerns about the terrorist threat to the Games.

THE qualification of Wicklow’s David Connolly in an Olympic qualifying event in Germany this week ensures four Irish athletes have achieved the qualification standards for next month’s Winter Games in Turin.

The International Olympic Committee has agreed to issue accreditation to web-based news media to cover the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.