ATHLETICS:Martin Fagan, Ireland's best finisher at the European Cross Country Championships in Spain last Sunday, will discover this today if he can return to his base in Arizona after being refused entry to the US earlier this week, writes Gavin Cummiskey.

Fagan (25), who placed seventh in Spain, received a one-year visa on graduation from Providence College in Rhode Island. "It's called an OPT visa, which is a visa after you graduate that allows you get a full-time job. I only got a part-time job so it didn't fill the criteria," he said.

He attends a meeting at the US Embassy in Dublin today seeking a visa that would allow him compete in the Houston marathon on January 13th.

CRICKET:Ireland's growing stature as a venue for international cricket got further backing yesterday with the announcement that the country will host the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier next summer, writes Emmet Riordan.

The three-day event will take place at Stormont in Belfast from August 2nd-4th, with both finalists qualifying to join the 10 full member countries for the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup, to be hosted by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2009.

Ireland will take on their fellow associate members Scotland, the Netherlands, Kenya, Canada and Bermuda in the tournament, with supporters guaranteed three games a day at Stormont.

SWIMMING:Andrew Bree believes he is in shape for a shot at a medal in the 200 metres breaststroke following yesterday's 100m event at the European short course championships in Debrecen.

Bree was 14th fastest after the morning heats and in last night's semi-finals he held that position but was five hundredths of a second slower, clocking 1:00.10.

Bree said: "It sets me up very nicely for the 200m breaststroke on Sunday . . . I can make the final and then take it from there."

Aisling Cooney produced a personal best of 1:02.32 in the 100m backstroke to finish 22nd overall. Julie Douglas missed out on a place in the women's 100m freestyle semi-finals when she clocked 56.21, leaving her 35th.