THE PRESIDENT of Nice has decided not to sell the French Second Division football club to the Italian side, Roma.

"The club is no longer for sale. We have already lost enough precious time to waste even more," Milan Mandaric said. After talks with Roma officials, Mandaric, an American businessman, decided that a sale to Roma would not be in the club's interest.

He said the club has attracted a new investor despite claims from Rome that a takeover was imminent. The move was intended to give second string Roma players experience in the French league.