Officials from the Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI), who continue to monitor the situation daily, are still hopeful of staging the World Cross Country Championships in Leopardstown on the weekend March 24th-25th.

In the meantime, the IAAF have admitted that a number of countries are now on stand-by to stage the event should the situation worsen, with Portugal the most likely to step in as hosts. Italy and Sweden have also been named as alternative venues.

The AAI officials on the organising committee met in Dublin last night where the foot-and-mouth crisis was again on the agenda. According to international secretary and event director Chris Wall, the next 48 hours is the crucial period, but at this stage they are pressing ahead with their preparations.

"Of course we will be disappointed if it doesn't go ahead in Dublin, and our primary concern remains unequivocally with the national interest," he said. "But we still have a window of opportunity. And the IAAF know precisely what the situation is and they have their fall-back arrangements in place."

Some 1,000 athletes and 200 media personnel are due to arrive in Dublin for the event, but it is still unclear whether all the countries will travel even if the situation remains as it is.

Portugal staged the event in Vilamoura last year, but it is reported that a site just outside Lisbon is now preparing for the event - the same venue that staged the race in 1985 - should it be forced to move out of Dublin.

The Department of Sport stated yesterday that the issue of compensation for sporting bodies who have been forced to cancel events due to the crisis has been considered at this stage. According to a spokesperson for the Minister, Dr McDaid, the primary concern remains prevention, and in that regard they would continue to take the lead from the Department of Agriculture.