Sporting Digest: Football

TRANMERE ROVERS' chief executive, Frank Corfe, has taken control of the First Division club. He announced yesterday that he has acquired an 83 per cent holding and that arrangements had been made to repay pounds 2.5m in loans to the out-going chairman, Peter Johnson, who is taking over at Everton. Mr Corfe revealed that John King was being offered a new four- year contract as manager.

THE transfer of the Bristol Rovers striker, John Taylor, to Bradford City fell through yesterday as he has yet to recover fully from a groin operation.

ENDSLEIGH INSURANCE LEAGUE First-day fixtures (Saturday 13 August): First Division: Barnsley v Derby; Bristol City v Sunderland; Grimsby v Bolton; Luton v West Bromwich Albion; Middlesbrough v Burnley; Millwall v Southend; Oldham v Charlton; Portsmouth v Notts County; Sheff Utd v Watford; Stoke v Tranmere; Swindon v Port Vale; Wolves v Reading. Second Division: Blackpool v Huddersfield; Chester v Bradford City; Leyton Orient v Birmingham; Oxford v Hull; Peterborough v Bristol Rovers; Plymouth v Brentford; Rotherham v Shrewsbury; Stockport v Cardiff; Swansea v Brighton; Wrexham v Bournemouth; Wycombe v Cambridge; York v Crewe. Third Division: Barnet v Scunthorpe; Bury v Rochdale; Carlisle v Wigan; Chesterfield v Scarborough; Colchester v Torquay; Darlington v Preston; Fulham v Walsall; Gillingham v Hartlepool; Hereford v Doncaster; Lincoln v Exeter; Northampton v Mansfield.

COCA-COLA CUP First-round draw: Burnley v York; Hull v Scarborough; Blackpool v Chesterfield; Rotherham v Carlisle; Doncaster v Wrexham; Bury v Hartlepool; Scunthorpe v Huddersfield; Crewe v Wigan; Darlington v Barnsley; Rochdale v Mansfield; Bradford City v Grimsby; Lincoln v Chester; Preston v Stockport; Shrewsbury v Birmingham; Bristol Rovers v Port Vale; Hereford v West Bromwich Albion; Exeter v Swansea; Walsall v Plymouth; Cardiff v Torquay; Oxford v Peterborough; Bournemouth v Northampton; Brighton v Wycombe; Southend v Watford; Luton v Fulham; Colchester v Brentford; Portsmouth v Cambridge; Barnet v Leyton Orient; Gillingham v Reading. (Ties to be played on a two-leg basis during weeks commencing 15 and 22 August).

SCOTTISH LEAGUE First-day fixtures (13 August): Premier Division: Aberdeen v Hearts; Falkirk v Celtic; Hibernian v Dundee Utd; Partick v Kilmarnock; Rangers v Motherwell. First Division: Airdrie v Dumfermline; Ayr v Hamilton; Clydebank v Stranraer; Dundee v St Mirren; Raith v St Johnstone. Second Division: Brechin v Meadowbank, Morton v Berwick, Queen of the South v Dumbarton, Stenhousemuir v Clyde, Stirling v East Fife. Third Division: Albion Rovers v Alloa, Caledonian Thistle v Arbroath, Cowdenbeath v Ross County, Montrose v East Stirling, Queen's Park v Forfar.