SOCCER: The Football Association in England will ask for government advice ahead of England's forthcoming Euro 2004 qualifiers as war in Iraq appears closer.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's men are due to travel to Liechtenstein a week on Saturday before a clash with Turkey, which borders Iraq, at Sunderland's Stadium of Light on Wednesday, April 2nd.

With imminent military action in Iraq seemingly inevitable, the FA will consult with government officials to determine what - if any - action they should take.

FA spokesman Adrian Bevington said: "We will be guided by our security advice but, for the moment, we will continue as we are. We work closely with government bodies and have regular dialogue with the relevant parties. We will continue to have that.

"Security is always of paramount importance to everybody connected with the England team. The welfare of our players and our staff is something we take very seriously."

UEFA, meanwhile, have no plans to postpone any of this month's Euro 2004 qualifiers in response to the escalating situation in Iraq. However, they will react on a game-by-game basis if security worries increase.

"We always keep a very close eye on the international security situation and, obviously, we hope all the games will go ahead as scheduled," said UEFA spokesman Mike Lee.

"We're evaluating the situation but at this stage the games are to go ahead as planned. However, UEFA does consult with the relevant police and security forces and also we discuss matters with representatives of the diplomatic community.

"Of course, safety and security is, as always, paramount and if we feel there is any threat around a game we would intervene, but at this stage we cannot start cancelling or changing games."

Manchester City's under-17 squad have postponed indefinitely a proposed visit to Qatar. City had been due to travel on March 30th for a week-long series of engagements, including a match against Qatar's national youth side.

Cricket World Cup organisers are confident they have taken all necessary security measures. Extra security has been drafted in for the remaining matches and more South African police will be on duty at today's semi-final between holders Australia and Sri Lanka than originally planned.

ICC World Cup communications director Jos Charle said: "We have continuing security assessments, both with our own security team and with the various government agencies involved. We have briefings from them from time to time but we hope and trust the semi-finals and final will go ahead as planned and we feel no threat of war should affect the tournament."

Formula One bosses also insisted it was "business as usual" despite the fears of war. The sport has no plans to cancel Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix in Kuala Lumpur, the second round of the 16-race season.

"It is business as usual as far as we are concerned," said a spokesman for the FIA, the sport's world governing body. "There are no special plans."

The cars have already started arriving at the Sepang track from the season-opening race in Australia nine days ago.

Similarly, the International Association of Athletics Federations have no plans to cancel their next big event, the World Cross Country Championships, which start in Switzerland on March 29.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said: "We are looking at the situation in a practical manner but there is no strategy about cancelling events. It might mean more of a tactical job to re-route flights for people going to the event but, in terms of Africans travelling to Switzerland, we cannot foresee a problem.

"At the moment we are taking it day by day because it is the only way we can do things. But there is no contingency plan to cancel the event."

Golf's European Tour also plans to carry on its normal schedule, beginning with this week's Madeira Island Open which starts on Thursday. Mitchell Platts, director of corporate affairs and public relations for the tour, said: "We have a full field of 144 players for the Madeira Island Open and tournament competition will continue with the US Masters, followed by the Algarve Open de Portugal on April 17th-20th."

With the Tour now reaching mainland Europe, it appears unlikely there will be any disruption to the tournament schedule.