With his native Poland out of the competition, Pope John Paul II will have his heart with the two goalkeepers in the World Cup final between Brazil and France, the Papal spokesman said. ``He will be rooting for the sport, but with special sympathy for the goalkeepers, because he played in that position as a youth,'' spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters outside the Pope's Vacation Villa in the Italian Alps. The spokesman said he expected John Paul to watch the game on television at the villa in this town north of Venice, where he is spending a 13-day vacation. Poland did not qualify for the final round.

Missing kiss!

So, who kisses the head of Fabien Barthez before the World Cup final? Defender Laurent Blanc has carried out the lucky charm ritual before each game, but he's suspended for the final after his semifinal expulsion. So the French goalkeeper may go into Sunday's final against Brazil without a team-mate taking hold of his head and planting akiss on his shiny dome. Perhaps Blanc's replacement, Frank Lebeouf, might take over the kissing duty too. If he does, Barthez may return the compliment. Lebeouf has no hair either.

Ajax, the spoilsport

Keen to move to English champions Arsenal, Dutch midfielder Ronald de Boer reportedly is frustrated that Ajax won't honour an agreement and let him leave. According to the London-based Sunday People, De Boer has a clause in his contract that, if big clubs make an offer, then Ajax will allow him to talk to them. ``I respect the fact Ajax do not want to let me go. It means they think a lot of me as a player,'' said De Boer, whose penalty miss in the World Cup semi-final against Brazil meant the Dutch were eliminated. ``But it's disappointing Ajax are not even prepared to discuss business with the people of Arsenal, who have been very genuine and very clear about their ambitions. I've discussed the whole thing with my lawyer and with my agent.''

Insurance cover

Insuring the World Cup is bigbusiness, and getting bigger: This year's soccer tournament was insured for up to $ 355 million in damages and the 2002 Games are to be protected against a possible $1.4 billion in damages. The international soccer organisation FIFA paid the Hamburg-based Albingia agency a $ 8.3 million premium to insure against everything from parking lot accidents to satellite crashes, the Hamburg-based Welt Am Sonntag newspaper reported on Saturday. Much of the premium is due to skyrocketing prices for television rights: If a broadcast satellite fails, organisers must repay millions of dollars to media outlets that purchased broadcast rights. The 2002 tournament to be hosted jointly by Japan and South Korea is to be insured by Albingia against a potential $ 1.4 billion in damages, Welt Am Sonntag said.