2002 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Labasa
The Ratepayers Alliance, dominated by the NFP, won 10 of the 12 seats. The remaining 2 were won by the FLP.


2002 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Savusavu
The election for control of the Savusavu Town Council was fought entirely between locally organized groups with no ties to national political parties. Of the 9 seats, the Lighthouse won 6 and Sunrise 2.


2002 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Nasinu
The SDL narrowly won control of the 21-member Nasinu Town Council, taking 11 seats, against 10 for the FLP.


2002 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Lami
The Ratepayers Association extended its 17-year hold on the Lami Town Council by winning another term.


2002 Fijian local elections, Controversies
The FLP made allegations of electoral fraud in the Towns of Ba and Labasa. People living outside the municipal boundaries were allegedly enrolled as voters. According to the FLP, electoral authorities ignored 300 such cases in Labasa. In all municipalities, there were reports of voters finding that their names had not been registered on the final roll, despite appearing on the provisional one; the FLP claimed that a number of these were known supporters of the party.


2002 Fine Gael leadership election
The 2002 Fine Gael leadership election began in May 2002, when Michael Noonan resigned as party leader due to the party's poor performance in the 2002 general election. Noonan had only been party leader for little over fifteen months. His successor was elected by the members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party on 5 June 2002. After one ballot the election was won by Enda Kenny. Kenny defeated Richard Bruton, Gay Mitchell and Phil Hogan.


2002 Fine Gael leadership election, Result
49 members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party voted: 31 TDs, 14 Senators and 4 MEPs. The exact results were kept secret. Young Fine Gael delegates Lucinda Creighton and Leo Varadkar, later to become important figures in the party, criticised the procedure, writing "candidates for the Leadership are already sowing the seeds of Fine Gael's next election defeat by trading votes for votes with senators determined to make it back to Leinster House at any cost. The decision of the parliamentary party to decide the future of Fine Gael alone and behind closed doors is a disgrace and demonstrates their contempt both for the loyal Fine Gael membership and the 400,000 or so electors who voted for them. Shame on you all."


2002 Finlandia Trophy
The 2002 Finlandia Trophy is an annual senior-level international figure skating competition held in Finland. It was held in Helsinki on October 5–6, 2002. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating.


2002 Finnish Cup
The 2002 Finnish Cup (Finnish: Suomen Cup) was the 48th season of the main annual association football cup competition in Finland. It was organised as a single-elimination knock–out tournament and participation in the competition was voluntary. A total of 294 teams registered for the competition. The final was held at the Finnair Stadium, Helsinki on 9 November 2002 with FC Haka defeating FC Lahti by 4-1 before an attendance of 2,984 spectators.


2002 Finnish Figure Skating Championships
The 2002 Finnish Figure Skating Championships took place between December 15 and 16, 2001 in Helsinki. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, and ice dancing on the senior and junior levels. The event was used to help determine the Finnish team to the 2002 European Championships.


2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball team
The 2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball team was the intercollegiate baseball team of Florida Atlantic University for the 2002 NCAA baseball season. It competed on the Division I level in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The 2002 team became the first in school history to clinch a Regional championship and earn an appearance in the NCAA Super Regionals, by defeating Alabama in the Regional Championship game, 6-5.


2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball team, Regionals
The 2002 season saw FAU receive its third bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship tournament; its first since 2000. As an at-large selection, FAU was placed in the Regional bracket with the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Auburn Tigers, and the Southeast Missouri State Indians. The top seed of the Regional was the national #3 seed, Alabama, who hosted in Tuscaloosa, AL. FAU pulled off an impressive win in the opening game against Auburn, as both underdogs in FAU and SE Missouri State, won their first games.


2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball team, Regionals
Beating the Indians of SE Missouri State in the second round allowed FAU to roll right into the Regional championship game free of losses and avoiding the "Loser's Bracket" of the Regional. Host Alabama played itself back into the Regional by defeating Auburn and SE Missouri State, eliminating both en route to the Regional championship game. The Regional Final was set as the FAU Blue Wave and the top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide. FAU, winning its first two games, dropped the first meeting to Alabama, 7-2, forcing a second game in the Regional Final for the championship. FAU pulled off the upset and clinched its first-ever Regional championship by defeating Alabama, 6-5. The win sent FAU to its first-ever Super Regional appearance, placing FAU in the final 16 teams.


2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball team, Super Regionals
After clinching their first-ever Regional championship, FAU moved on to the round of the final 16 - the Super Regionals. The Blue Wave faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the #1 seed in the Super Regional bracket. FAU and Georgia Tech met at Tech's historic Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta, GA in a best-of-3 series, with a birth to the 2002 College World Series on the line. Unfortunately for the Blue Wave, the heavily favored and top-ranked Yellow Jackets proved to be too much, pounding the Blue Wave in a two-game sweep.


2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball team, 2002 MLB First-Year Player Draft
FAU players selected in the 2002 MLB First-Year Player Draft:


2002 Florida Atlantic Owls football team
The 2002 Florida Atlantic University Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The team was coached by Howard Schnellenberger and played their home games at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Owls competed in the NCAA Division I-AA as an independent.


2002 Florida Attorney General election
The 2002 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 5, 2002, to elect the Attorney General of Florida. The election was won by Charlie Crist who took office in January 2003.


2002 Florida Citrus Bowl
The 2002 Florida Citrus Bowl was a college football bowl game held on January 1, 2002 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Tennessee Volunteers, champions of the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, second-place finishers in the Big Ten Conference, 45–17. Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen was named the game's MVP. This was the last Citrus Bowl before the game was renamed the Capital One Bowl.


2002 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election
The 2002 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election took place on November 5, 2002, to elect the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture. Charles H. Bronson won and would be in office from May 14, 2001 – January 4, 2011.


2002 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election
Charles H. Bronson would go on to serve under two Governors, Jeb Bush And Charlie Crist.


2002 Florida Gators baseball team
The 2002 Florida Gators baseball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of baseball during the 2002 college baseball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They played their home games at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium, on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The team was the first at Florida coached by Pat McMahon.


2002 Florida Gators football team
The 2002 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2002 college football season. The Gators competed in Division I-A of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They were led by first-year head coach Ron Zook, who coached them to a second-place finish in the SEC East, an Outback Bowl berth, and an overall record of 8–5 (.615).


2002 Florida Marlins season
The Florida Marlins' 2002 season was the tenth season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in the National League. It would begin with the team attempting to improve on their season from 2001. Their manager was Jeff Torborg. They played home games at Pro Player Stadium. They finished with a record of 79-83, 4th in the NL East.


2002 Florida Marlins season, Regular season, Citrus series
The annual interleague games between the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were played in June and July. They are known as the Citrus Series. The Devil Rays won the series 4-2.


2002 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2002 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2002 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


2002 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


2002 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


2002 Florida State Seminoles football team
The 2002 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. They were members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). They finished the season 9–5 (7–1 ACC) to finish in 1st place in the ACC. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost to Georgia 26–13.


2002 Florida State Seminoles football team
During the season, Bobby Bowden passed Bear Bryant on the all-time coaching wins list.


2002 Florida gubernatorial election
The 2002 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002 for the post of Governor of Florida. Incumbent Republican governor Jeb Bush defeated Democratic candidate Bill McBride. Bush became the first  Republican governor of Florida to win re-election to a second term. As of 2021, this is the last time a Florida gubernatorial candidate won the general election by double digits.


2002 Florida gubernatorial election, Republican nomination
Jeb Bush announced that he would run for re-election in June 2001 after first being elected in 1998. Bush was unopposed for the GOP nomination, and spent the summer amassing a war chest of over $5.6 million towards his re-election campaign.


2002 Florida gubernatorial election, Democratic primary
In the Democratic primary Bill McBride, a lawyer from Tampa won a narrow upset victory over former United States Attorney General Janet Reno. State Senator Daryl Jones came in third.


2002 Florida gubernatorial election, Democratic primary
Reno led throughout much of the campaign for the Democratic nomination, boasting name recognition and employing a grassroots strategy. In early June, she led McBride in the polls by a margin of 53%-25%, but trailed in a hypothetical head-to-head against Bush. Reno's primary campaign was dubbed the "Little red pickup truck tour", so-named because she toured the state in her 1999 Ford Ranger. Over the summer, her lead dwindled. McBride, backed by big money donors, was able to exploit Reno's paltry war chest, and sometime aloof campaign.


2002 Florida gubernatorial election, Democratic primary
Reno's connections to the Clinton Administration, and her handling of both the Waco siege and the Elián González affair were frequent topics in the primary. In the final few weeks, McBride narrowed the gap to a dead heat going into the September 10 primary. McBride won the nomination by less than 4,800 votes.


2002 Florida gubernatorial election, Democratic primary
Reno disputed the results after the primary was marred by problems. Several areas had technical glitches and delayed openings of the poll especially in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, both of which Reno performed strongly in. As a result of the problems, Governor Bush kept the polls open for two additional hours.


2002 Florida gubernatorial election, Campaign
McBride's campaign focused on the importance of public education, supporting policies such as  teacher pay rises and less emphasis on standardized tests. McBride was helped towards the end of the campaign by visits from national Democratic figures such as former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore and Jesse Jackson. Though McBride himself did not make the topic an issue of his campaign, nationwide Democrats saw the race as an opportunity to avenge Al Gore's controversial loss in Florida during the 2000 presidential election and the subsequent recount. Likewise Republicans saw this race a preview of 2004.


2002 Florida gubernatorial election, Campaign
President George W. Bush made numerous visits to Florida to support his brother for re-election. Bush had a strong fundraising advantage over McBride in what was seen as one of the pivotal races in the 2002 midterm elections. Republican adverts targeted McBride as a failed lawyer and as a tax and spender.


2002 Florida gubernatorial election, Campaign
The two main candidates faced each other in two debates on 27 September and 22 October in the most expensive Florida gubernatorial election yet. Polls towards the end of the campaign showed Bush with a lead over McBride. Department of Justice observers were stationed at some of the polls, but unlike the problems during the 2000 presidential election and the Democratic primary, voting went smoothly.


2002 Florida gubernatorial election, Campaign
At the same time as the election an initiative was passed to limit class sizes. This had been opposed by Bush due to the cost of implementing it, but had been supported by McBride.


2002 Food City 500
The 2002 Food City 500 was the sixth stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It was held on March 24, 2002 at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. The 500-lap race was won by Kurt Busch of the Roush Racing team; Jimmy Spencer finished second and Ricky Rudd came in third.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Background
Bristol Motor Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway. Its standard track at Bristol Motor Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.533 miles (0.858 km) long. The track's turns are banked from twenty-four to thirty degrees, while the front stretch (the location of the finish line) is banked from six to ten degrees. The back stretch also has banking from six to ten degrees.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Background
Before the race, Sterling Marlin led the Drivers' Championship with 825 points, with Ryan Newman in second place on 726 points. Matt Kenseth and Rusty Wallace were third and fourth with 682 and 677 points respectively, with Jimmie Johnson in fifth on 667 points. Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Ward Burton, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top ten. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Dodge was leading with 36 points, five ahead of their rivals Ford in second position. Pontiac, with 23 points, was three points in front of Chevrolet in the battle for third place. Elliott Sadler was the race's defending champion.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Background
In preparation for the race, NASCAR held several test sessions on March 12–13, 2002 at the track for teams to prepare for the event. The first day's testing session was due to begin at 9 a.m. EST, and conclude at 5:00 p.m. EST but rain forced the session to be postponed to March 13. Rain continued on the second day, which forced most teams to leave without completing any testing, but drivers such as Mike Skinner were able to get limited running in their cars.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Background
NASCAR implemented a new pit-road procedure for the race during caution periods where drivers where required to enter pit road in turn two and exit at turn one. Drivers who violated this rule could have potentially received a stop-and-go penalty or rejoin at the rear of the nearest longest line. Beginning at the race, teams applying for provisionals after qualifying would not be charged if the entry field for a NASCAR sanctioned event was less or equal than the number of starting entries provided by the official entry blank.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Practice and qualification
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 120 minutes, while the second and final sessions ran for 45 minutes. In the first practice session, Jeff Gordon was fastest, placing ahead of Jerry Nadeau in second and Skinner in third. Casey Atwood was fourth fastest, and Buckshot Jones placed fifth. Marlin, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Green, Bobby Hamilton, and Michael Waltrip rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session. During the session, Johnson crashed his car into the barriers, forcing him to use his back-up car for the remainder of the race weekend. Johnson was unhurt.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Practice and qualification
All forty-three drivers entered qualifying. Jeff Gordon clinched his first pole position of the season and his first at the track, with a time of 15.083 seconds. The time also made a new track record. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Robby Gordon, in his best qualifying performance of the season. Jeremy Mayfield qualified third, Jimmy Spencer took fourth, and Skinner started fifth. Kenseth, Nadeau, Newman, Waltrip, and Sadler completed the top ten starting positions.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Practice and qualification
During qualifying, Joe Nemechek spun during his attempt, though he managed to continue, and Jeff Burton's lap was delayed because of problems with his car's suspension. Once qualifying had concluded, J. Gordon said, "The first lap I was a little bit loose, and I said, ‘Boy, I better put it together on the second lap.' I made a really nice, smooth but pretty aggressive second lap. The momentum I carried got us a pole."


2002 Food City 500, Report, Practice and qualification
Green was fastest in the second practice session on Saturday, ahead of Nadeau in second and Atwood in third. J. Gordon was the fourth quickest, and Robby Gordon took fifth. Ricky Rudd managed sixth. Martin, Tony Stewart, Skinner, and Jeff Burton followed in the top ten. Later that day, Nadeau was fastest with a time of 15.661. Stewart and Skinner followed in second and third with times of 15.779 and 15.786. Atwood was fourth quickest, just ahead of Green and Wallace. J. Gordon was the seventh fastest, Kenseth eighth, Harvick ninth, and Steve Park tenth. After the session ended, Stewart went to the Motor Racing Outreach trailer to undergo physical therapy having still suffering the effects from his crash at the previous race held at Darlington Speedway. His team had Todd Bodine to fill in should Stewart had been not ready to race.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Race
The race began at 1:00 p.m. EST and was televised live in the United States on Fox. During the start of the race, weather conditions were sunny with the ambient temperature 57 °F (14 °C) and the track temperature 80 °F (27 °C). Reverend Mike Rife, of the Vansant Church of Christ in Vansant, Virginia, began pre-race ceremonies with the invocation. Country music singer and Epic Records artist Tammy Cochran performed the national anthem, and the President and Chief Executive Officer of Food City Steven C. Smith gave the command for drivers to start their engines.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Race
Robby Gordon got ahead of Jeff Gordon before the cars took the green flag to start the race and maintained the lead going into the first turn. Spencer immediately passed Mayfield to take third. At the start of the second lap, Robby Gordon was given the black flag for jumping the start and was required to drive through pit road, handing the lead back to Jeff Gordon. Park made contact with the rear of Jones on lap four, causing him to hit the wall at turn one and the first caution of the race was given.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Race
No driver made a pit stop during the caution period. Jeff Gordon maintained his lead at the lap nine restart, ahead of Spencer who began to challenge for Gordon for the  lead. Spencer got loose when lap ten started, allowing Jeff Gordon to draw clear. Stewart bumped Waltrip who went into the backstretch wall during lap eleven, causing the latter to drop to 30th position. Skinner managed to pass Mayfield for the third position on lap 22.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Race
By the 26th lap, Jeff Gordon had caught traffic which allowed Spencer to close the gap, and attempted to pass him at turn two but was unable to complete it due to the presence of Brett Bodine. Spencer managed to dive around the inside to pass Jeff Gordon for the lead on lap 31. After starting the race in 40th, Ward Burton had moved up to 29th place by lap 39.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Race
The second caution was given on lap 42 after Stacy Compton tagged the rear left of Newman who made slight contact with the inside wall and Compton spun sideways into the pit road barriers. The pace car pulled off into the pits and Spencer retained the lead at the restart on lap 47. John Andretti was spun off the track by Harvick on lap 52, prompting the third caution. Andretti subsequently made contact with the wall, and sustained damage to the front of his car but was able to continue.


2002 Food City 500, Report, Race
The race resumed on lap 57 with Spencer leading, ahead of Jeff Gordon.


2002 Football League Cup Final
The 2002 Football League Cup Final was played between Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on Sunday, 24 February 2002. Blackburn won the match 2–1 in what was the club's first appearance in the competition's final.


2002 Football League Cup Final
Tottenham were forced to produce a one-off yellow shirt for the final when The Football League decided both of their home and away strips, respectively white and light blue, clashed with Blackburn's blue-and-white home strip.


2002 Football League Cup Final
Blackburn were without defender Craig Short and midfielders Gary Flitcroft and Tugay Kerimoğlu due to suspension. This led to 38 year-old veteran striker Mark Hughes starting in central midfield. Blackburn were also without injured back-up goalkeeper Alan Kelly and cup-tied right-back Lucas Neill.


2002 Football League Cup Final
Blackburn opened the scoring with a goal from Matt Jansen, but Christian Ziege soon equalised for Spurs. Andy Cole scored the winner in the 68th minute with a typical instinctive strike after mistakes in the Spurs defence, mainly from Ledley King. Les Ferdinand could have made the match square after a close one-on-one chance with Friedel, but failed to make anything of it. In the final minute Teddy Sheringham had a claim for a penalty turned down by referee Graham Poll.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final
The 2002 Football League First Division play-off Final was an association football match between Birmingham City and Norwich City held on 12 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was held to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Football League First Division, the second tier of English football, to the Premiership. The top two teams of the 2001–02 Football League First Division season gained automatic promotion to the Premiership, while those ranked from third to sixth place in the table took part in play-off semi-finals. Birmingham ended in fifth position while Norwich finished sixth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2002–03 season in the Premiership, in a match that was estimated to be worth up to £30 million to the successful team.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final
The game ended goalless in regular time sending the match into extra time. Seconds into the first half, Iwan Roberts put Norwich ahead with a header from an Alex Notman cross. Eleven minutes later, Birmingham's Geoff Horsfield scored the equaliser. Stern John nodded the ball across the Norwich penalty area allowing Horsfield to head the ball in, making it 1–1. No further goals were scored, leading to a penalty shootout. Philip Mulryne's spot kick was saved by Birmingham City's goalkeeper Nico Vaesen, while Daryl Sutch's strike missed. Birmingham scored all their penalties and Darren Carter took the winning spot-kick, ending the game at 4–2.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final
Norwich City ended the following season in eighth place in the 2002–03 Football League First Division, five points below the play-offs. Birmingham City's next season saw them finish in thirteenth place in the 2002–03 Premiership, six points above the relegation zone.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Birmingham City finished the regular 2001–02 season in fifth place in the Football League First Division, the second tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Norwich City. Both teams therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premiership and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Birmingham City finished 13 points behind West Bromwich Albion (who were promoted in second place) and 23 behind league winners Manchester City. Norwich City ended the season one point behind Birmingham City, and level with Burnley but with superior goal difference. Birmingham secured their place in the semi-finals with a win on the final day of the regular season.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Norwich City's play-off opponents for the semi-final were Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had ended the regular season in third place. The first leg was played at Norwich's home stadium, Carrow Road, on 28 April 2002. Dean Sturridge scored the 21st goal of his season to put Wolves ahead midway through the first half, but Mark Rivers levelled the match 11 minutes after half time with a volley from 7 yards (6.4 m). Paul McVeigh then put Norwich into the lead with a 73rd minute header, before an injury-time goal from Malky Mackay secured a 3–1 win for the home team.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Route to the final
The return leg, played at Molineux, took place three days later. After a goalless first half, Kevin Cooper gave Wolves the lead with a strike from 35 yards (32 m) in the 76th minute. Late misses from Norwich's Iwan Roberts and Wolves' Paul Butler meant the game ended 1–0 to Wolves, but saw Norwich qualify for the final 3–2 on aggregate.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Birmingham City faced Millwall in their play-off semi-final, with the first leg held at St Andrew's in Birmingham on 28 April 2002. Following a goalless first half, Bryan Hughes scored early in the second half to put the home team ahead. With eleven minutes remaining, Dion Dublin, on loan from Birmingham's local rivals Aston Villa, headed in the equaliser from a Steven Reid cross, and the match ended 1–1. The second semi-final was held four days later at The Den. Ronnie Bull cleared a goal-bound header from Olivier Tébily to keep the score 0–0 at half time.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Dublin missed a chance early in the second half, shooting wide from 6 yards (5.5 m). In the last minute of regular time, a shot across the Millwall penalty area by Steve Vickers was struck into the net by Stern John, winning the game for Birmingham 1–0, and a 2–1 aggregate victory. After the match, Millwall fans rioted in what police described as "the worst incidents of football hooliganism for more than 20 years".


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Background
This was the first time either Norwich or Birmingham City had qualified for the second-tier play-off final. Birmingham had secured a berth in the play-offs for the previous three seasons, but in each case had lost in the semi-finals. In the 1999 Football League play-offs, Birmingham were knocked out 7–6 in a penalty shootout by Watford after the aggregate score finished 1–1. The following season's play-offs saw them defeated 5–2 across two legs against Barnsley, while in the 2001 Football League play-offs, they lost again on penalties, this time to Preston North End.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Birmingham had played in the second tier of English football since they were promoted in their 1994–95 season. Norwich had played in the Football League First Division since their 1995–96 season after being relegated from the 1994–95 Premiership. During the regular season, the highest scorers for Norwich were Roberts with thirteen goals, followed by McVeigh and David Nielsen, both of whom scored eight. Tommy Mooney was Birmingham's top marksman with fifteen, followed by Marcelo on twelve. Birmingham City had won both encounters between the clubs during the season, winning 4–0 at St Andrew's in December, and 1–0 at Carrow Road the following March.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Delia Smith, a director at Norwich City, said that the club was attempting to model itself on Charlton Athletic who had retained top-tier status following promotion. She noted: "We'd like to become a modern football club like Charlton. We've long had Charlton as our ideal." The Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce had been appointed five months earlier, replacing Mick Mills and Jim Barron. He captained Norwich City as a player in the 1980s, making 180 appearances and scoring 20 goals. Speaking of his former club, Bruce admitted that "Norwich put me on the map and I will always feel I owe them something".


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Background
According to bookmakers and the media, Birmingham had been favourites to win. The referee for the match was Graham Barber from Tring. It was reported that winning the match was worth £20–30 million. A significant police operation was mounted with concerns over potential clashes of Cardiff City fans with those of Brentford and Stoke City who had contested the Second Division play-off final the day before. Birmingham were aiming to overcome the "dressing room curse" which had seen none of the eleven clubs using the south changing room win since matches were moved from Wembley Stadium to the Millennium Stadium.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Birmingham were the first club to lose having used those facilities in the 2001 Football League Cup Final. In anticipation of sunny weather it was announced that the roof of the stadium would be closed "in the interests of play-off spectator comfort". It was the first time such a course of action had been taken other than for inclement weather. Prior to kick off, the girl group Atomic Kitten played a set.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, First half
The match kicked off at 3:30 p.m. in front of a Millennium Stadium crowd of 71,597. Birmingham dominated the opening exchanges, with a Martin Grainger free kick going over the Norwich crossbar from 20 yards (18 m) and Hughes' shot going wide. Norwich's first attack in the 13th minute saw Rivers' cross defended for a corner. A minute later, John's shot following his run went wide with only the Norwich goalkeeper Robert Green to beat. Nielsen then toe-poked his shot wide of Birmingham's goal before a volley from Norwich's Clint Easton passed outside the post. John's strike then cleared the Norwich bar. Just before the half-time whistle was blown, Green saved a close-range Geoff Horsfield half-volley from a Mooney header to ensure the first half ended 0–0.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Second half
Green made a save from Tebily early in the second half before Birmingham's goalkeeper Nico Vaesen tipped a shot from McVeigh over the bar. Nielsen then headed wide of the goal from 10 yards (9.1 m). John's shot was then blocked by Adam Drury before Paul Devlin's direct free kick was inches high. Birmingham ended the half the stronger team with Tebily striking over the bar, before Jeff Kenna intercepted to deny Roberts a shot. As regular time ended with a goalless match, extra time was played.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Extra time and penalties
Norwich scored within the first minute of extra time when Roberts headed in from an Alex Notman cross. The lead lasted eleven minutes before Birmingham equalised. Kenna crossed for John who headed the ball back across goal. Green was stranded allowing Horsfield to head the ball in at the far post. A free kick from Mulryne was tipped behind by Vaesen before Michael Johnson's header was cleared off Norwich's goalline by Drury. With two minutes of extra time remaining, Johnson then struck Grainger's pass from a free kick against the bottom of Norwich's goalpost. There were no more goals and the game finished at 1–1 requiring a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Extra time and penalties
Roberts took the first penalty for Norwich, and scored. John then levelled the score at 1–1 before Vaesen saved Mulryne's attempt. Devlin's penalty made it 2–1 to Birmingham. Daryl Sutch missed his shot, after which Stan Lazaridis scored. Easton converted his spot-kick but Darren Carter stepped up to curl a left-footed shot into the right-hand corner of the net to secure the victory for Birmingham City, 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in extra time.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
The Birmingham midfielder Devlin said of Carter, the winning penalty-taker, that it was "fitting that a Brummie lad scores the goal that gets us up. For someone of 18 to take the penalty as calmly as he did, in a game of this magnitude, is unbelievable". Carter himself admitted: "I won't sleep for days now.... It's unbelievable. Birmingham fans have been waiting for this for a very long time. I was a fan and I know how much it means to them. This season is my first and to be playing in the Premiership next year is absolutely unbelievable."


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
Describing the win, the Norwich City manager Nigel Worthington said: "It's been a wonderful ride and I am proud of every one of my players. Our performance showed that we are on the right track but it wasn't our day." He bemoaned the financial impact of the failure to be promoted: "If we had been promoted we would have had money to spend but now we might end up looking for Bosman signings". Bruce commiserated with his former club: "I have to say to Norwich that it is a very cruel way to lose a football match."


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
He made his aspirations for the following season clear: "Our first aim is to try and stay up – we will be doing our best to finish fourth bottom". Birmingham's managing director Karren Brady explained: "We have arranged a meeting this week at David Sullivan's house to discuss the players that we are going to sign." The club chairman, David Gold, was grateful for the monetary prize, but warned: "We are leaving behind some serious trouble in the lower divisions with the shortfall of the ITV Digital money".


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
Mackay said: "It took Birmingham four goes to get back where they are now and I don’t see why we can’t bounce back ... It is important that we get on with it, bounce back, start again and do it all again next year." Sutch spoke of his penalty miss: "I felt cool, I wanted to take it and I knew where I wanted to put it. Unfortunately it didn't go in. We’ve been practising penalties for two or three weeks now and I was confident." It was Norwich City's fifth penalty shootout and their second loss.


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
Roberts later said that he believed that he had scored "a golden goal. There had been a couple of competitions in the years leading up to it where the golden goal had come into play and for some reason I thought that was going to carry on into this Play-off final ... I straightened my shirt, put my collar down and looked around – and they are all ready to take kick-off. It just clicked there, ‘Jeez, it's not golden goal and there's plenty of time for them to get back into it."


2002 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
Norwich City ended the following season in eighth place in the 2002–03 Football League First Division, five points below the play-offs. Birmingham City finished thirteenth place in their next season, when they finished six points above the relegation zone in the premiership.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final
The 2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 11 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Brentford and Stoke City. It was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Second Division, the third tier of the English football league system, to the First Division.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final
The top two teams of the 2001–02 Football League Second Division league, Brighton & Hove Albion and Reading, gained automatic promotion to the First Division, while the teams placed from third to sixth place took part in play-offs semi-finals; the winners then competed for the final place for the 2002–03 season in the First Division. Brentford and Stoke City defeated Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City, respectively, in the semi-finals. It was the second season that the play-off finals were contested at the Millennium Stadium during the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final
The match was refereed by Graham Laws in front of a crowd of 42,523. In the 16th minute Stoke City took the lead from a corner from Arnar Gunnlaugsson, which was flicked on by Chris Iwelumo; Deon Burton struck the ball on the turn from close range, his shot taking a deflection and ending in the Brentford goal. Stoke doubled their lead a minute before half-time, when Gunnlaugsson was fouled just outside Brentford's penalty area and Bjarni Guðjónsson's free kick took a deflection off Ben Burgess and beat Paul Smith in the Brentford goal. In the second half, Stoke goalkeeper Neil Cutler make a number of saves and the match ended 2–0, with Stoke promoted to the First Division.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final
Brentford finished their following season in 16th place in Second Division, five positions and six points above the relegation zone. Despite gaining promotion, Stoke City sacked their manager Guðjón Þórðarson five days after the final and replaced him with Steve Cotterill, who himself resigned from his position 13 games into the following season. Stoke appointed Tony Pulis as manager and ended the season in 21st place in the First Division, four points above the relegation zone.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Brentford finished the regular 2001–02 season in third place in the Second Division, the third tier of the English football league system, two places and three points ahead of Stoke City. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the First Division and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Brentford finished one point behind Reading (who were promoted in second place) and seven behind league winners Brighton & Hove Albion.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Stoke City's opposition for their play-off semi-final were Cardiff City with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke on 28 April 2002. In the twelfth minute, Robert Earnshaw played a one-two with Peter Thorne before shooting from 12 yards (11 metres) to give the visitors the lead. Leo Fortune-West doubled the lead in the 59th minute, scoring with a close-range header after Spencer Prior's attempt rebounded off the Stoke goal-post.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
The game was then delayed for five minutes as police were needed to quell crowd trouble before Deon Burton scored a half-volley for Stoke with six minutes remaining to make the final score 2–1 to Cardiff. The second leg of the semi-final was held four days later at Ninian Park in Cardiff. In the last minute of regular time, Stoke's James O'Connor scored from a header by Bjarni Guðjónsson—the Stoke manager's son—to level the tie on aggregate and send the match into extra time. With five minutes remaining, O'Connor's free kick was deflected into the Cardiff goal by Souleymane Oularé to give Stoke a 3–2 aggregate victory and progression to the final.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
In the second semi-final Brentford faced Huddersfield Town; the first leg was held at the McAlpine Stadium in Huddersfield on 28 April 2002. The home side had two goals ruled out: Andy Booth's effort was disallowed because of a handball and in the second half he was given offside after putting the ball into the Brentford net. Both sides had further chances to score but the game ended goalless. The second leg of the semi-final took place four days later at Griffin Park in Brentford.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Two minutes into the match, Booth put Huddersfield ahead with a shot that beat Paul Smith in the Brentford goal. Darren Powell levelled the score in the 37th minute when he headed in a free kick. Just after half-time, Lloyd Owusu scored for Brentford to make it 2–1 and ensure their progression to the final.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Background
This was Brentford's second appearance in the third-tier play-off finals, having lost the 1997 Football League Second Division play-off Final 1–0 against Crewe Alexandra. They had also lost in the semi-finals of the 1991 and 1995 play-offs. Brentford had played in the Second Division since being promoted in the 1998–99 season and had last played in the second tier of English football in the 1992–93 season. Stoke City had participated in the play-offs on four previous occasions, in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2001 but had failed to progress beyond the semi-final stage.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Background
They had last played in the First Division in the 1997–98 season when they were relegated to the third tier. Brentford had won both matches between the sides during the regular season with a 3–2 win at the Britannia Stadium in November 2001 and a 1–0 victory at Griffin Park the following March. Owusu was Brentford's top scorer during the regular season with 21 goals (20 in the league and 1 in the League Cup) followed by Ben Burgess with 18 (17 in the league and 1 in the FA Cup) and Paul Evans with 14 (all in the league). Chris Iwelumo led the scoring for Stoke City with 11 goals (10 in the league and 1 in the FA Cup) followed by Andy Cooke with 10 (9 in the league and 1 in the FA Cup).


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Background
According to bookmakers, neither side were clear favourites to win the final. In an attempt to avoid a repetition of the crowd trouble in the play-offs, local police moved the kick-off time to 1:30 p.m. The match was shown live in the United Kingdom on ITV Sport Channel, and was one of the last games broadcast by the channel before it closed down. Stoke had been assigned the south changing room at the Millennium Stadium: the ten previous teams to have used those facilities had lost their match. Prior to this final, artist Andrew Vicari installed a mural painted with the guidance of a feng shui expert in the dressing room. The referee for the match was Graham Laws.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
The match kicked off around 1:30 p.m. on 11 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in front of 42,523 spectators. Within a minute, Burton had made an early run splitting the Brentford defence, but was tackled by Michael Dobson. Burgess had what was Brentford's only chance of the half in the third minute when he struck a shot high over the crossbar from close range. Stoke dominated the first half and took the lead in the 16th minute.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
A corner from Arnar Gunnlaugsson was flicked on by Iwelumo, Burton struck the ball on the turn from close range, and his shot took a deflection before ending in the Brentford goal. Steve Sidwell's volley from the edge of the Stoke penalty area went over the crossbar before Gunnlaugsson beat Evans and shot over the goal. A minute before half-time, Stoke doubled their lead when Gunnlaugsson was fouled just outside Brentford's penalty area, and Guðjónsson's subsequent free kick took a deflection off Burgess and beat Smith in the Brentford goal.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
The second half saw Brentford denied by Stoke goalkeeper Neil Cutler on numerous occasions, including weak shots from Lloyd Owusu and Evans. Cutler also made a save late in the second half against Mark McCammon, who had come on in the 70th minute to replace Burgess. The match ended 2–0 and Stoke were promoted to the First Division.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Post-match
Stoke's victorious manager Guðjón Þórðarson said that he felt sorry for Brentford: "I have sympathy for Steve [Coppell] and his team. We have twice gone close and know how much it hurts." He expressed uncertainty about his future with the club, suggesting that he had not "got a clue what is happening". He said that the consortium who had taken over the club in 1999 "asked for results and I have delivered – and now they have to deliver a proper contract".


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Post-match
His counterpart Steve Coppell expressed dismay over his team's defending of set pieces: "We gave away two terrible goals." He also reflected on his own position and that of Brentford: "It is the nature of a football clubs that there are many imponderables in the summer – but particularly at our football club". He left Brentford the following month, claiming the club lacked ambition: "... at Brentford the aim is to survive ... Noades (the Brentford chairman) told me before the end of last season that if I thought the last campaign was tight, the next one will be tighter", and was replaced by first-team coach Wally Downes.


2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Post-match
Brentford ended their following season in 16th place in the Second Division, five positions and six points above the relegation zone. Despite gaining promotion, Stoke City sacked Þórðarson five days after the final following a disagreement between him and Stoke's Icelandic ownership consortium, replacing him with Steve Cotterill. Thirteen matches into the following season, Cotterill resigned from his position with the club in 15th place to join Sunderland as assistant manager to Howard Wilkinson whereupon Stoke appointed Tony Pulis as manager. Stoke then went 13 league games without a win and eventually finished in 21st place in the First Division, one place and four points above the relegation zone.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final
The 2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final was an association football match played on 6 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Cheltenham Town and Rushden & Diamonds. The match determined the fourth and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Third Division, English football's fourth tier, to the Second Division. The top three teams of the 2001–02 Third Division season gained automatic promotion to the Second Division, while those placed from fourth to seventh in the table took part in play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2002–03 season in the Second Division. Cheltenham Town finished in fourth place while Rushden & Diamonds ended the season in sixth position. Hartlepool United and Rochdale were the losing semi-finalists, being defeated by Cheltenham and Rushden respectively.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final
The referee for the match, played in front of 24,368 spectators, was Anthony Leake. Neither side dominated the early stages of the match but in the 27th minute, Cheltenham took the lead. Martin Devaney struck the ball towards the Rushden goal where it was defended by Scott Partridge. His clearance went back to Devaney who struck the ball past Rushden's goalkeeper Billy Turley from a tight angle. Within 14 seconds, the score was level at 1–1 as Paul Hall beat three Cheltenham defenders before shooting past Steve Book.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final
Four minutes into the second half, Julian Alsop headed Anthony Griffin's cross goal-bound and despite the ball being blocked by Andy Tillson, Alsop tapped it into the net to put Cheltenham back into the lead. In the 80th minute, substitute Neil Grayson's curling shot struck the Rushden goalpost but John Finnigan scored from the rebound. The match ended 3–1 and Cheltenham were promoted to the Second Division.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final
Rushden & Diamonds ended their following season as champions of the Third Division and secured automatic promotion to the Second Division. Cheltenham Town's next season saw them finish in 21st position in the Second Division which meant they were relegated back to the Third Division for the 2003–04 season.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Cheltenham Town finished the regular 2001–02 season in fourth place in the Football League Third Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system, two positions ahead of Rushden & Diamonds. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for promotion to the Second Division and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. Cheltenham Town finished one point behind Mansfield Town (who were promoted in third place), nineteen behind Luton Town (who were promoted in second place), and twenty-four behind league winners Plymouth Argyle. Rushden & Diamonds ended the season five points behind Cheltenham Town.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Rushden & Diamonds faced Rochdale in their play-off semi-final with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place at Nene Park, Rushden's home ground, on 27 April 2002. Lee McEvilly put the visitors ahead on eight minutes before a header from Stuart Wardley levelled the match in the 34th minute. Eleven minutes after half-time, Paul Simpson scored from distance with a curling shot before Rushden saw a potential equalising goal from Onandi Lowe disallowed for a foul. Garry Butterworth then scored for Rochdale in the 72nd minute from the edge of the penalty area, and the match ended 2–2.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
The second leg of the semi-final took place three days later at Spotland in Rochdale. After a goalless first half, Mark Peters scored an own goal when his backpass rolled into the Rushden goal to give Rochdale the lead. Immediately from the restart, Butterworth's pass found Lowe who turned and scored to make it 1–1. In the 75th minute, Hall took advantage of a mistake by Griffiths to go round Billy Turley, the Rochdale goalkeeper, and score the deciding goal. Rushden won the match 2–1 and progressed to the play-off final with a 4–3 aggregate victory.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Cheltenham's opposition for their play-off semi-final were Hartlepool United; the first leg was held at Victoria Park in Hartlepool on 27 April 2002. The visiting side started strongly and eventually took the lead in injury time in the first half when Eifion Williams scored with a header from close range. With one minute remaining in the game, Martyn Lee won the ball from Chris Westwood and played it to Neil Grayson who levelled the score, ending the match 1–1. The second leg took place three days later at Whaddon Road in Cheltenham.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Paul Arnison put Hartlepool ahead on 17 minutes with a low strike but Williams equalised ten minutes later with a shot from 25 yards (23 metres). The second half was goalless which meant the game ended 1–1 and 2–2 on aggregate, resulting in extra time. Grayson came close to scoring with a header but no goals were scored in the additional period so a penalty shootout was required to decide the match. Both sides scored four of their first five spot kicks. Alsop then scored to put Cheltenham ahead in sudden death before Ritchie Humphreys' strike hit the crossbar; despite appearing to have crossed the goalline, the shot was adjudged to have missed. Cheltenham progressed to the play-off final with a 5–4 victory on penalties.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Neither side had appeared in the play-offs prior to this season. Rushden & Diamonds were playing in their maiden Football League season, having been promoted from the Conference as champions in the previous season. Cheltenham had also recently been promoted from non-League football, and had played in the Third Division since the 1999–2000 season. In the matches between the clubs during the regular season, Rushden had won the game at Nene Park 1–0 in September 2001 (the first competitive League meeting ever between the sides), while the return match at Whaddon Road the following March ended in a 1–1 draw. Julian Alsop was Cheltenham's top scorer during the regular season with 24 goals (20 in the league, 4 in the FA Cup), while Tony Naylor had 17 (12 in the league, 5 in the FA Cup). Lowe was Rushden's leading marksman with 19 (all in the league).


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Neither side were clear favourites to win the match, according to bookmakers. The match was shown live in the UK on ITV Sport Channel, one of the last games broadcast by the channel before it closed on 11 May 2002. The referee for the match was Anthony Leake. Both sides adopted a 4–4–2 formation and Cheltenham opted to wear their third-choice kit which was yellow in preference to their "unlucky" orange strip.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
The match kicked off around 3 p.m. on 6 May 2002 in front of 24,368 spectators at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Neither side dominated the early stages of the match but in the 27th minute, Cheltenham took the lead. Martin Devaney struck the ball towards the Rushden goal where it was cleared by Scott Partridge. The ball went back to Devaney who struck it past Rushden's goalkeeper Turley from a tight angle. Within 14 seconds, the score was level as Paul Hall beat three Cheltenham defenders before shooting past Steve Book to make it 1–1.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
Neither side made any personnel changes during the half-time interval and the second half commenced with Cheltenham dominating. Four minutes in, Julian Alsop headed Anthony Griffin's cross goal-bound and despite the ball being blocked by Andy Tillson, Alsop tapped it into the net to put Cheltenham back into the lead. Alsop then missed a chance when he headed wide, before Cheltenham saw claims for a penalty denied after it appeared that Stuart Gray had handled the ball in the Rushden penalty area.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
In the 69th minute, Rushden made two substitutions, with Jon Brady and Brett Angell coming on to replace Gray and Partridge. Devaney was then substituted with an injury in the 75th minute and replaced by Neil Grayson. Five minutes later, his curling shot struck the Rushden goalpost but John Finnigan scored from the rebound. The match ended 3–1 and Cheltenham were promoted to the Second Division.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Post-match
Steve Cotterill, the Cheltenham manager, suggested the play-off route to promotion was his preference: "I always said this is the way to go up ... Cheltenham will never have another season like this". His counterpart Brian Talbot admitted his side was second-best and that Cheltenham "edged it and deserved to win ... On the day the best team has won and we have got to reproduce it next season." Cheltenham became the eleventh consecutive team to win a final at the Millennium Stadium after being allocated the North End dressing room. Devaney was named as man of the match.


2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Post-match
Rushden & Diamonds ended their following season as champions of the Third Division and secured automatic promotion to the Second Division. Cotterill moved to Stoke City by the end of May 2002, replacing Guðjón Þórðarson who was sacked four days after leading Stoke to promotion in the 2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final. Cheltenham Town's next season saw them finish in 21st position in the Second Division which meant they were relegated back to the Third Division for the 2003–04 season.


2002 Football League Trophy Final
The 2002 Football League Trophy Final (known as the LDV Vans Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was the 19th final of the Football League Trophy – a domestic football cup competition for teams from the Football League Second and Third Division. The match was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and was contested by Blackpool and Cambridge United on 24 March 2002. Blackpool won the match 4–1.


2002 Football League play-offs
The Football League play-offs for the 2001–02 season were held in May 2002, with the finals taking place at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The play-off semi-finals will be played over two legs and will be contested by the teams who finish in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League First Division and Football League Second Division and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the Football League Third Division table. The winners of the semi-finals will go through to the finals, with the winner of the matches gaining promotion for the following season.


2002 Football League play-offs, Background
The Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places.


2002 Football League play-offs, Background
In the First Division, Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are aiming to return to the top flight after nearly 20 years outside the top flight, finished 3 points behind second placed West Bromwich Albion, who in turn finished 10 points behind champions Manchester City, who returned to the Premier League after relegation last season. Millwall who are aiming for a place in the top flight for the first time since 1990, finished in fourth place in the table. Birmingham City, who are aiming to return to the top flight for the first time since 1986, finished in fifth place. Norwich City finished 1 point behind Birmingham City and were looking for a place back in the Premiership for the first time since 1995.


2002 Football League play-offs, Third Division, Semi-finals
Cheltenham Town 2–2 Hartlepool United on aggregate. Cheltenham Town won 5–4 on penalties.


2002 Ford 400
The 2002 Ford 400 was an NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on November 17, 2002 at Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 36th and final race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Kurt Busch of Roush Racing won the race and Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing won the championship.


2002 Ford 400, Summary
Starting in 2002 season, the final race was held at Homestead Miami Speedway. In the final race on the old configuration, Kurt Busch drove to his 4th win in a rain-delayed event, and Tony Stewart would win his 1st career championship.


2002 Fordham Rams football team
The 2002 Fordham Rams football team was an American football team that represented Fordham University during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Fordham tied for first in the Patriot League before losing in the second round of the national playoffs.


2002 Fordham Rams football team
In their fourth year under head coach Dave Clawson, the Rams compiled a 10–3 record. Rhamel Brown, Chris Rhodes and John San Marco were the team captains.


2002 Fordham Rams football team
The Rams outscored opponents 407 to 201. Their 6–1 conference record earned the co-championship of the eight-team Patriot League. Fordham was selected, rather than co-champion Colgate, to receive the Patriot League's automatic berth in the national Division I-AA playoffs.


2002 Fordham Rams football team
Unranked at the start of the year, Fordham entered the national Division I-AA top 25 in mid-November, initially at No. 25 and rising to No. 12 by season's end. As a playoff team, the Rams played away games against higher-ranked teams in the first and second rounds.


2002 Fordham Rams football team
Fordham played its home games at Jack Coffey Field on the university's Rose Hill campus in The Bronx, in New York City.


2002 Formula BMW ADAC season
The 2002 Formula BMW ADAC season was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship featured drivers competing in 1.2 litre Formula BMW single seat race cars. The 2002 season was the fifth Formula BMW ADAC season organized by BMW Motorsport and ADAC. The season began at Hockenheimring on 20 April and finished at the same place on 6 October, after twenty races. Nico Rosberg was crowned series champion.


2002 Formula BMW ADAC season, 2002 Schedule
The series supported the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters at nine rounds, with additional round at the European Grand Prix on 22–23 June.


2002 Formula Nippon Championship
The 2002 Formula Nippon Championship was  contested over 10 rounds. 11 different teams, 22 different drivers. All teams had to use Reynard chassis and Mugen Honda (Mugen MF308) engines.


2002 Formula Nissan 2000 Series
The 2002 Formula Nissan 2000 season was contested over seven race weekends with 14 races. In this one-make formula all drivers had to use Dallara chassis (Dallara WSL3) and Nissan engines (Nissan AER). Twelve different teams and 25 drivers competed with the titles going to Spanish driver Santiago Porteiro and Spanish team Meycom.


2002 Formula Nissan 2000 Series, Teams and drivers
All teams used the Dallara WSL3 chassis and Nissan AER engines.


2002 Formula Nissan 2000 Series, Race calendar and results, Final points standings
For every race the points were awarded: 15 points to the winner, 12 for runner-up, 10 for third place, 8 for fourth place, 6 for fifth place, winding down to 1 point for 10th place. Lower placed drivers did not award points. Additional points were awarded to the driver setting the fastest race lap (2 points).


2002 Formula One World Championship
The 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 56th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It began on 3 March and ended on 13 October after seventeen races.


2002 Formula One World Championship
In the Drivers' Championship, Michael Schumacher finished first or second in every race except for the Malaysian Grand Prix, where he finished third, thus achieving a podium position in every race. He won a then-record 11 Grands Prix, surpassing the previous record of 9 wins, jointly held by himself (1995, 2000 and 2001) and Nigel Mansell (1992). He would also set the record for shortest time in which the World Drivers' Championship had been clinched, securing the title with a win at the French Grand Prix, with 6 races to go in the season.


2002 Formula One World Championship
Schumacher took the Drivers' Championship by a then-record 67-point margin over teammate Rubens Barrichello, beating his own previous record for the 2001 season (58 points over David Coulthard) and also gained a new point total record with 144 points, again beating his own previous record of 123 points from the 2001 season. Schumacher and Barrichello helped Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro secure the Constructors' Championship with a points total that equalled the combined sum of points attained by all other constructors collectively. For the 2003 championship, the FIA would change the points system.


2002 Formula One World Championship, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers competed in the 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship.


2002 Formula One World Championship, Results and standings, World Drivers' Championship standings
† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.


2002 Formula One World Championship, Results and standings, World Constructors' Championship standings
Note: Official FIA Championship classifications listed the Constructors' Championship results as Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, BMW WilliamsF1 Team, West McLaren Mercedes, etc.


2002 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship
The 2002 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship was the 14th British Formula Renault Championship. The season began at Brands Hatch on 1 April and ended on 22 September at Donington Park, after seventeen rounds held in England, with most events only staging one race and the 2 events staging two.


2002 Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup
The 2002 Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup season was the twelfth Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season. The season began at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours on 20 April and finished at the Autódromo do Estoril on 19 October, after nine races.


2002 Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup
Series veteran Eric Salignon scored four victories at Magny-Cours, Silverstone, Oschersleben and Imola during the season, he took the championship at the wheel of his Graff Racing-run car, giving team their first Eurocup championship. Swiss driver Neel Jani who competed with Jenzer Motorsport was the only Salignon's rival championship title was not resolved until the final round, and Jani finished in series' standings just four points behind French driver, winning races at Anderstorp, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Autódromo do Estoril. Salignon's teammate Nicolas Lapierre improved to third place. Cram Competition's José María López won at Jarama on way to his fourth place. Lewis Hamilton completed the top five, competing just four of the nine races, taking his first Eurocup win in the home Donington Park race.


2002 Formula Renault seasons
Following are the results of the 2002 Formula Renault season. Formula Renault is a class of formula racing founded in 1971. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it is a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to Formula Three, World Series by Renault, GP2 or Formula One.


2002 Formula Volkswagen Germany season
The 2001 Formula Volkswagen Germany supported by ZF Sachs was the second season of the Formula Volkswagen Germany. All drivers competed in Volkswagen powered, Dunlop shod Reynard chassis. For 2002 the cars got an aerodynamic upgrade. Also the race format was changed from one race per weekend to two races per weekend.


2002 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
The 2002 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition in the 2001–02 season. It was held at the Hwasan Indoor Ice Rink in Jeonju, South Korea on January 21–27. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The first compulsory dance was the Ravensburger Waltz and the second was the Blues.


2002 Four Nations Tournament (women's football)
The 2002 Four Nations Tournament was an invitational women's football tournament held in China with four national teams participating in a round robin format. It was held in Guangzhou from January 23 to 25, 2002. Olympic champion Norway won the tournament with two wins and one loss, followed by Germany and world champion United States, while the hosts were last despite winning their first game.


2002 France rugby union tour of Argentina and Australia, Matches
Argentina: 15.Ignacio Corleto, 14.Gonzalo Camardon, 13.Jose Orengo, 12.Lisandro Arbizu (capt. ), 11.Diego Albanese, 10.Felipe Contepomi, 9.Agustin Pichot, 8.Gonzalo Longo, 7.Rolando Martin, 6.Santiago Phelan, 5.Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 4.Ignacio Fernadez Lobbe, 3.Omar Hasan Jalil, 2.Federico Méndez, 1.Mauricio Reggiardo,  – replacements: Gonzalo Quesada, Roberto Grau, Mario Ledesma, Martin Durand      –  No entry : 20.Lucas Ostiglia, 21.Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, 22.Jose Nunez PiossekFrance: 15.Nicolas Brusque, 14.Aurelien Rougerie, 13.Tony Marsh, 12.Damien Traille, 11.Nicolas Jeanjean, 10.Gerald Merceron, 9.Pierre Mignoni, 8.Christian Labit, 7.Olivier Magne, 6.Serge Betsen, 5.Olivier Brouzet, 4.Fabien Pelous, 3.Jean-Baptiste Poux, 2.Raphael Ibanez (capt. ), 1.Jean-Jacques Crenca,  – replacements: Christophe Porcu, Sebastien Chabal, Sylvain Marconnet, Olivier Azam, Frederic Michalak, Francois Gelez, Yannick Jauzion   –  No entry: Frederic Michalak, Francois Gelez, Yannick Jauzion


2002 France rugby union tour of Argentina and Australia, Matches
Australia: 15.Chris Latham, 14.Wendell Sailor, 13.Matt Burke, 12.Dan Herbert, 11.Stirling Mortlock, 10.Stephen Larkham, 9.George Gregan (capt. ), 8.Toutai Kefu, 7.George Smith, 6.Owen Finegan, 5.Justin Harrison, 4.Nathan Sharpe, 3.Patricio Noriega, 2.Jeremy Paul, 1.Bill Young,  – replacements: 16.Brendan Cannon, 17.Rod Moore, 18.Matt Cockbain, 19.David Lyons, 21.Elton Flatley, 22.Mat Rogers    –  No entry : 20.Chris WhitakerFrance: 15.Pepito Elhorga, 14.Aurelien Rougerie, 13.Tony Marsh, 12.Damien Traille, 11.Nicolas Jeanjean, 10.Francois Gelez, 9.Frederic Michalak, 8.Imanol Harinordoquy, 7.Olivier Magne, 6.Serge Betsen, 5.Christophe Porcu, 4.Fabien Pelous (capt. ), 3.Sylvain Marconnet, 2.Olivier Azam, 1.Arnaud Martinez,  – replacements: 16.Raphael Ibanez, 17.Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18.Olivier Brouzet, 19.Christian Labit, 22.Yannick Jauzion     –  No entry: 20.Pierre Mignoni, 21.Gerald Merceron


2002 France rugby union tour of Argentina and Australia, Matches
Australia: 15.Chris Latham, 14.Wendell Sailor, 13.Matt Burke, 12.Dan Herbert, 11.Stirling Mortlock, 10.Stephen Larkham, 9.George Gregan (capt. ), 8.David Lyons, 7.George Smith, 6.Owen Finegan , 5.Justin Harrison, 4.Nathan Sharpe, 3.Patricio Noriega, 2.Brendan Cannon, 1.Bill Young,  – replacements: 16.Sean Hardman, 17.Rod Moore, 18.Dan Vickerman, 19.Matt Cockbain, 21.Elton Flatley, 22.Mat Rogers    –  No entry : 20.Chris WhitakerFrance: 15.Nicolas Brusque, 14.Aurelien Rougerie, 13.Tony Marsh, 12.Damien Traille, 11.Pepito Elhorga, 10.Gerald Merceron, 9.Frederic Michalak, 8.Imanol Harinordoquy, 7.Sebastien Chabal, 6.Serge Betsen, 5.Olivier Brouzet, 4.Fabien Pelous, 3.Sylvain Marconnet, 2.Raphael Ibanez (capt. ), 1.Jean-Jacques Crenca,  – replacements: 17.Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18.Christophe Porcu, 19.Olivier Magne, 20.Pierre Mignoni, 21.Yannick Jauzion, 22.Cedric Heymans    –  No entry: 16.Olivier Azam


2002 Frankfurt Galaxy season
The 2002 Frankfurt Galaxy season was the tenth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Doug Graber in his second year, and played its home games at Waldstadion in Frankfurt, Germany. They finished the regular season in third place with a record of six wins and four losses.


2002 Franklin Templeton Classic
The 2002 Franklin Templeton Classic was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Scottsdale, Arizona in the United States which was part of the International Series of the 2002 ATP Tour. It was the 15th edition of the tournament and was held from March 4 through March 10, 2002. First-seeded Andre Agassi won the singles title, his fourth at the event after 1993, 1994 and 1998.


2002 Franklin Templeton Classic, Finals, Doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan defeated  Mark Knowles /  Daniel Nestor 7–5, 7–6(8–6)


2002 Franklin Templeton Classic – Doubles
Donald Johnson and Jared Palmer were the defending champions but lost in the semifinals to Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.


2002 Franklin Templeton Classic – Doubles
The Bryans won in the final 7–5, 7–6(8–6) against Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor.


2002 Franklin Templeton Classic – Singles
Francisco Clavet was the defending champion but lost in the first round to Andre Agassi.


2002 Franklin Templeton Classic – Singles
Agassi won in the final 6–2, 7–6(7–2) against Juan Balcells.


2002 French Community Championships
The 2002 French Community Championships was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Brussels, Belgium that was part of the Tier IV category of the 2002 WTA Tour. It was the ninth and last edition of the tournament and was held from 8 July until 14 July 2002. Unseeded Myriam Casanova won the singles title and the accompanying $22,000 first-prize money.


2002 French Community Championships, Finals, Doubles
Barbara Schwartz /  Jasmin Wöhr defeated  Tathiana Garbin /  Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, 6–2, 0–6, 6–4


2002 French Figure Skating Championships
The 2002 French Figure Skating Championships (French: Championnat de France Elite) took place between December 7th and 9th, 2001 in Grenoble. Skaters competed at the senior level in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event was used to help determine the French team to the 2002 Winter Olympics, the 2002 World Championships, and the 2002 European Championships.


2002 French Formula Three Championship
The 2002 French Formula Three season was the 35th and the final French Formula Three Championship season. It began on 31 March at Nogaro and ended on 20 October at Magny-Cours after fourteen races.


2002 French Formula Three Championship
Tristan Gommendy of ASM won races at Lédenon, Albi, Le Mans, Magny-Cours and had another five podiums and ultimately clinched the title. He finished 17 points clear of ARTA/Signature driver Renaud Derlot, who won Nogaro, Lédenon and Magny-Cours races. Third place went to Gommendy's teammate Olivier Pla, who finished on the first position at Croix-en-Ternois and Le Mans. Bruno Besson, Derek Hayes and Yuji Ide were another race winners.


2002 French Grand Prix
The 2002 French Grand Prix (formally the LXXXVIII Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France) was a Formula One motor race held at Magny-Cours on 21 July 2002. It was the eleventh race of the 2002 Formula One World Championship, last race on the original layout and the race in which Michael Schumacher secured his fifth World Drivers' Championship title, equalling Juan Manuel Fangio's record set over 40 years before. McLaren-Mercedes drivers Kimi Räikkönen and David Coulthard finished second and third respectively.


2002 French Hill suicide bombing
The 2002 French hill suicide bombing was a suicide bombing which occurred on 19 June 2002, in a crowded bus stop and hitchhiking post at the French Hill neighborhood in northern East Jerusalem. The site of the attack was chosen in order to cause a maximum number of casualties. Seven people were killed in the attack, and 35 were injured.


2002 French Hill suicide bombing
The Palestinian militant group Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.


2002 French Hill suicide bombing
The attack took place only a day after the deadliest bombing attack in Jerusalem in six years occurred, in which a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 19 people on a crowded bus in southern Jerusalem. According to  The Daily Telegraph, both of the attacks were timed to disrupt an expected announcement by U.S. President George W. Bush regarding a future Palestinian state, and Bush did in fact delay his speech.


2002 French Hill suicide bombing, The attack
On Wednesday, shortly after 7:05 pm, a Palestinian suicide bomber got out of a red Audi vehicle next to a bus station in Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood.


2002 French Hill suicide bombing, The attack
Because the bus stop had been targeted by assailants in the past, the bus stop was heavily guarded. Two Border Police patrolmen, who were securing the site, chased the suspect to try to stop him, but the suicide bomber managed to run past them straight into the middle of a crowd of people waiting for the bus in one of the busiest bus stops in Israel. The suicide bomber detonated the explosive device that he was holding in a bag, killing seven people. About 50 additional people were injured from the force of the blast and by shrapnel that was packed around the explosive device. Eight of the wounded sustained severe injuries.


2002 French Hill suicide bombing, The attack
The force of the blast completely destroyed the bus station, which was made of concrete, and many body parts were scattered over a large area throughout the street near the bus station. Later, a bulldozer dismantled what was left of the concrete bus station.


2002 French Hill suicide bombing, The attack
The two Border Police patrolmen at the scene were wounded in the attack, one of them seriously.


2002 French Hill suicide bombing, The perpetrators
Shortly after the attack, the Palestinian militant group Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which publicly identifies itself as the military wing of Fatah (led at the time by Yasser Arafat), claimed responsibility for the attack during a broadcast on Lebanese television.


2002 French Hill suicide bombing, Aftermath
According to the Daily Telegraph, both attacks carried out in Jerusalem on the 18 and 19 June 2002 were timed to disrupt an expected announcement by U.S. President George W. Bush regarding a future Palestinian state, provided that the Palestinian Authority first met a series of strict conditions. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer stated that Bush would delay the plan as such, because "It's obvious that the immediate aftermath is not the right time."


2002 French Hill suicide bombing, Aftermath, Israeli response
In response to the attack, three hours after the attack took place, Israeli Air Force helicopters fired rockets at metal workshops in the Gaza Strip which were used to manufacture weapons. According to Reuters, at least five rockets were shot in Gaza City and Khan Yunis.


2002 French Open
The 2002 French Open was the second Grand Slam event of 2002 and the 106th edition of the French Open. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from late May through early June, 2002.


2002 French Open
Both Gustavo Kuerten and Jennifer Capriati were unsuccessful in defending their 2001 titles; Kuerten was defeated in the fourth round by eventual champion Albert Costa, and Capriati was defeated by eventual champion Serena Williams in the semi-finals. Costa won his only Grand Slam title, defeating compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. Serena Williams defeated her sister Venus to win her second Grand Slam title, her first French Open title, and the first of four consecutive Grand Slams in what was to be called the "Serena Slam".


2002 French Open, Seniors, Men's singles
Albert Costa defeated  Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6–1, 6–0, 4–6, 6–3


2002 French Open, Seniors, Men's doubles
Paul Haarhuis /  Yevgeny Kafelnikov defeated  Mark Knowles /  Daniel Nestor, 7–5, 6–4


2002 French Open, Seniors, Women's doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual /  Paola Suárez defeated  Lisa Raymond /  Rennae Stubbs, 6–4, 6–2


2002 French Open, Seniors, Mixed doubles
Cara Black /  Wayne Black defeated  Elena Bovina /  Mark Knowles, 6–3, 6–3


2002 French Open, Juniors, Boys' doubles
Markus Bayer /  Philipp Petzschner defeated  Ryan Henry /  Todd Reid, 7–5, 6–4


2002 French Open, Juniors, Girls' doubles
Anna-Lena Grönefeld /  Barbora Strýcová defeated  Su-Wei Hsieh /  Svetlana Kuznetsova 7–5, 7–5


2002 French Open – Men's Doubles
Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes were the defending champions, but did not participate together. Paes played with Tomáš Cibulec but they lost in the semifinals to Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor. Bhupathi partnered with Max Mirnyi but they lost in semifinals to Paul Haarhuis and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.


2002 French Open – Men's Doubles
Haarhuis and Kafelnikov went on to win the title, defeating Knowles and Nestor 7–5, 6–4 in the final.


2002 French Open – Men's Singles
Albert Costa won in his maiden Grand Slam final 6–1, 6–0, 4–6, 6–3, against compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 2002 French Open. Gustavo Kuerten was the two-time defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to Costa.


2002 French Open – Men's Singles
Feliciano López began his record run of 75 consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearances at this tournament. The run has been ongoing through to the 2021 Australian Open.


2002 French Open – Men's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for the Men's Singles at the 2002 French Open.


2002 French Open – Mixed Doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual and Tomás Carbonell were the defending champions, but had different outcomes. Ruano Pascual teamed up with Gastón Etlis and lost in second round to Cara and Wayne Black, while Carbonell did not compete this year due to retiring from professional tennis in 2001.


2002 French Open – Mixed Doubles
Cara Black and Wayne Black won the title by defeating Elena Bovina and Mark Knowles 6–3, 6–3 in the final. It was the 1st Grand Slam mixed doubles title for both Cara and Wayne in their respective careers.


2002 French Open – Women's Doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez were the defending champions and successfully defended their title, defeating Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 6–4, 6–2 in the final.


2002 French Open – Women's Singles
Serena Williams defeated her sister Venus Williams in the final, 7–5, 6–3 to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 2002 French Open. It was her first French Open title, and her first step towards completing her first "Serena Slam", a non-calendar year Grand Slam.


2002 French Open – Women's Singles
Jennifer Capriati was the defending champion, but lost to Serena Williams in the semifinals.


2002 French Open – Women's Singles
This tournament was notable for being the first major in which future world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva competed in the main draw. She lost to Serena Williams in the fourth round.


2002 French Open – Women's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for the Women's Singles at the 2002 French Open.


2002 French gene therapy trials
The 2002 French gene therapy trials were experimental gene therapy trials performed on children suffering from Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID). The trials were based in Paris and lead by researchers Alain Fischer and Marina Cavazzana-Calvo. Whilst the experiment initially seemed successful, many of the children began showing symptoms of various cancer-like diseases as a result of the gene manipulation. The experiment, and others like it, were subsequently shut down.


2002 French gene therapy trials, Trials
The trials took place at the Necker Hospital in Paris, France in 2002. The lead researchers were Dr. Alain Fischer and Dr. Marina Cavazzana-Calvo, who were both employed by the hospital. The researchers were investigating treatments for severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), a disease that had been linked to the X-chromosome. SCID has the effect of preventing the formation of several key immune system factors that aid in the body's ability to fight of infectious diseases.


2002 French gene therapy trials, Trials
The goal of the gene therapy was to utilize and activate hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the hopes of combating the progression of the immune deficiency. The methodology of the experiment involved using retroviral vectors to stimulate the HSCs, which had been implicated in potential treatment for several communicable and non-communicable diseases. SCID was rare in its prevalence and involved a complex mechanism that involved harmful lymphocytic differentiation. The test subjects for this experiment were 11 children of various ages who presented with SCID and were admitted into Necker Hospital.


2002 French gene therapy trials, Trials
Initially, after the therapy was administered to the children, some showed signs of improved conditions. One child, a three-year-old, became the face of the experiment's success, as the symptoms of his once life-threatening disease began to diminish. This was a breakthrough in the application capabilities of gene therapy in treating various morbidities.


2002 French gene therapy trials, Trials
In the months following the application of the gene therapy, several of the 11 children began to show signs of new disease symptoms that were seemingly a direct result of their participation in the experimental trial. Two of the children, including the three-year-old boy, began showing signs of various cancer-like diseases. The most prevalent of these "vector-triggered" cancers seemed to present with the same symptoms of leukemia, the abnormal proliferation of leukocytes in the bone marrow and other organs. These symptoms were characterized as "leukemia-like lymphocyte proliferation" seemingly activated by the retroviral vectors used during the duration of the experiment. While the majority of the children involved in the trial did not show these symptoms, the presentation of this leukemia-like cancer in the 2 subjects was a cause for concern and reported by Dr. Fischer and Dr. Cavazzana-Calvo.


2002 French gene therapy trials, Post-trial and legacy
Following the reporting of the 2 subjects with leukemia-like cancer, several steps were taken to reduce the likelihood of further unintended consequences. The experimental trial itself was immediately suspended and inquiries were made into how the cancer was activated and where responsibility for the trials would fall. Experimental trials with similar designs in neighboring European countries were allowed to continue, though they were cognizant of the negative results seen in France. In the United States, all experimental procedures that mimicked the methodology utilized in the French Trials were indefinitely suspended by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).


2002 French gene therapy trials, Post-trial and legacy
Although the presentation of the disease was only seen in the French trials, the FDA stated that suspending the US trials was a "precautionary measure" to ensure that the results seen in France would not be replicated in the US. Beyond the US, the United Kingdom also  voiced its concern for the French results and stated that similar trials in the UK would ensure safeguards against those harmful side-effects.


2002 French gene therapy trials, Post-trial and legacy
Although the trial caused very harmful side-effects  in some of its subjects and was shut down as a result, for the most part it was successful in helping to suppress the symptoms of the immune deficiency in a majority of the children involved. The relative success of this trial lead to subsequent retroviral vector retrials, experimenting with different dose levels and precautions against the development of the cancer, within France itself. Though some more subjects showed signs of the cancer, the majority of the subjects showed improvement in their conditions stemming from the experiment.


2002 French gene therapy trials, Post-trial and legacy
The mixed results of the French trial helped spark a worldwide debate about the efficacy of retroviral vector gene therapy, and gene therapy as a whole. More specifically, the trial led to the discussion as to whether or not the known risks of gene therapy, such as the possibility of subsequent cancer development, and the potential benefits of gene manipulation exist in a way that would justify the continued use of these trials to correct life-threatening illnesses.


2002 French legislative election
The French legislative elections took place on 9 June and 16 June 2002 to elect the 12th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, in a context of political crisis.


2002 French legislative election
The Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announced his political retirement after his elimination at the first round of the 2002 French presidential election. President Jacques Chirac was easily reelected, all the Republican parties having called to block far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. Chirac's conservative supporters created the Union for the Presidential Majority (Union pour la majorité présidentielle or UMP) to prepare for the legislative elections.


2002 French legislative election
The first round of the presidential election was a shock for the two main coalitions. The candidates of the parliamentary right obtained 32% of votes, and the candidates of the "Plural Left" only 27%. In the first polls, for the legislative elections, they were equal.


2002 French legislative election
The UMP campaigned against "cohabitation", which is blamed for causing confusion profitable to the far-right and far-left. Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a relatively low-profile politician who said he would listen to "France at the bottom", was chosen as the party's candidate for Prime Minister.


2002 French legislative election
Without a real leader, and staggered by the results of 21 April, the left was in difficulty. The Socialist chairman François Hollande tried to revive the "Plural Left" under the name of "United Left"; but the effort was undermined by the fact that it did not have a sufficiently concrete programme. Furthermore, the left-wing parties could not motivate their voters against an unrecognized and apparently uncontroversial politician like Raffarin. In addition part of the left-wing electorate did not want a new "cohabitation". Finally, the polls indicated a growing advantage for the Presidential Majority.


2002 French legislative election
The right won the elections and the UMP obtained a large parliamentary majority of 394 seats. For the third time under the Fifth Republic, a party acquired an absolute majority (the "blue surge"). Five months later, it became the Union for a Popular Movement.


2002 French legislative election
On the left, the Socialist Party achieved a better result than at the winning 1997 elections, but its allies were crushed. The far-left returned towards its usual level. In far-right, the National Front lost the half of its 5 May voters.


2002 French motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2002 French motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourth round of the 2002 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of 17–19 May 2002 at the Bugatti Circuit located in Le Mans, France.


2002 French motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP classification
Jean-Michel Bayle replaced Garry McCoy from the second practice session.


2002 French motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP classification
The race was stopped for rain after 21 of the 28 scheduled laps; however sufficient distance was covered in order for full points to be awarded.


2002 French motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round four has concluded.


2002 French presidential election
The 2002 French presidential election consisted of a first round election on 21 April 2002, and a runoff election between the top two candidates (Jacques Chirac and Jean-Marie Le Pen) on 5 May 2002. This presidential contest attracted a greater than usual amount of international attention because of far-right candidate Le Pen's unexpected appearance in the runoff election.


2002 French presidential election
Chirac ran for a second term, reduced to five years instead of seven, emphasising a strong economy (mostly unaffected by downturns in Germany and the United States). It was widely expected that Chirac and Lionel Jospin, the prime minister and candidate for the Socialist Party, would be the most popular candidates in the first round, and would thus go on to face each other in the runoff. However, Jospin unexpectedly finished in third place behind Le Pen. Journalists and politicians then claimed that polls had failed to predict Le Pen's second-place finish in the general election, though his strong stance could be seen in the week prior to the election. This led to serious discussions about polling techniques and the climate of French politics.


2002 French presidential election
Although Le Pen's political party National Front described itself as mainstream conservative, non-partisan observers largely agreed in defining it as a far right or ultra-nationalist party. As a protest, almost all French political parties called for their supporters to vote against Le Pen, most notably the Socialists who were traditionally billed as the archrivals to Chirac's party. Chirac thus went on to win the biggest landslide in a French presidential election (greater even than that of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte in 1848, the first by direct ballot), winning over 82% of the vote.


2002 French presidential election
The National Front would not appear again in the second round of the French presidential election until 2017.


2002 French presidential election, Summary
The 2002 election was the first for which the President would be elected to a five-year, instead of a seven-year, term.


2002 French presidential election, Summary
In the months before the election, the campaign had increasingly focused on questions of law and order, with a particular focus on crimes committed by young people, especially those of foreign origin. Lionel Jospin was, at the time, Prime Minister of France; the Jospin government was criticised for its "softness" on crime by its political opponents. Reporting on the TF1 and France2 television channel and other media also emphasized the alleged crime wave.


2002 French presidential election, Summary
The first round of the election (on 21 April), which saw an exceptional number of 16 candidates, came as a shock to many commentators, almost all of whom had expected the second ballot to be between Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin. Indeed, it was this very expectation that led to Jospin's downfall, with a plethora of "small party" left candidates (independent socialists and republicans, Green, Communist, Trotskyist, radical etc.) all intending to support him in the second round, but to raise their profile in the first, like Jean-Pierre Chevènement and Christiane Taubira.


2002 French presidential election, Summary
They cumulatively took enough votes away from Jospin to (unintentionally) prevent him from reaching the second round, which he could have won. Instead Jean-Marie Le Pen faced Chirac in the second ballot. The election brought the opinion polls and two-round voting system into question as well as raising many concerns about apathy and the way in which the left had become so divided as a result of the over democratical refusal of Jospin to strategically ask the nearest small parties of his own government coalition to withdraw, like the preceding leaders of the left had done for such an election.


2002 French presidential election, Summary
There was a widespread stirring of national public opinion, and more than one million people in France took part in street rallies, in an expression of fierce opposition to Le Pen's ideas. Some held up protest signs stating "I'm ashamed to be French," which parodied Le Pen's party slogan, "Proud to be French." Spontaneous street protests began in the night from 21 to 22 April, then on 22 April and 23, then as follows:


2002 French presidential election, Summary
The choice between Chirac, who was under suspicion for actions carried out whilst he was mayor of Paris (see corruption scandals in the Paris region) but benefited from Presidential immunity as long as he stayed president, and Le Pen, a nationalist often accused of racism and antisemitism, was one that many found tough. Some people suggested going to vote with a clothes peg on their noses to express disgust when voting for Chirac, but this may have been illegal, because it is prohibited to advertise one's vote inside the voting precinct. In the days before the second ballot, a memorable poster was put up of Chirac with the slogan "Vote for the Crook, not the Fascist". Chirac defeated Le Pen by a landslide.


2002 French presidential election, Summary
A response to the first round of elections, this spray-painted sign was seen on the streets of Paris. Translation: "April 21: I feel sick".


2002 French presidential election, Summary
The 1 May 2002 Labour Day demonstrations for workers' rights included protests against Jean-Marie Le Pen.


2002 Fresno State Bulldogs football team
The 2002 Fresno State football team represented California State University, Fresno in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, and competed as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. They played their home games at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California and were coached by Pat Hill.


2002 G.I. Joe's 200
The 2002 G.I. Joe's 200 was the sixth round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on June 16, 2002 at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon.


2002 GB32
2002 GB32, is a trans-Neptunian object from the scattered disc in the outermost region of the Solar System, approximately 122 kilometers in diameter. It was first observed on 7 April 2002, by American astronomer Marc Buie at Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile.


2002 GB32, Description
2002 GB32 belongs to a small number of detached objects with perihelion distances of 30 AU or more, and semi-major axis of 200 AU or more. Such objects can not reach such orbits without some perturbing object, which lead to the speculation of Planet Nine.