NISSAN, who burst on to the equestrian circuit in a blaze of glory last summer with a £2 million rescue package for Ireland's staging of the World Equestrian Games, have pulled out as title sponsor for next year's international fixture, The car company cited problems concerning international television coverage and related marketing activities as the root causes behind the decision.

In a terse statement issued last night, Nissan said that it was pulling out as title sponsor but would remain committed to the Games as a support sponsor and would continue to act as title sponsor of next month's international equestrian festival at Punchestown which is being billed as a dry run for the Games.

In spite of the latest crisis to hit the troubled games, the organising company, WEG Ireland, stressed last night that the Games will still go ahead in August of next year.

We have to be realistic. We can't pretend it isn't a major problem", WEG Ireland chief executive, John Donlon, said last night. "But everything is in place and ready to go and I think we can get over this if we are given the breathing space. We are not about to lie down and roll over at this stage."

Donlon's sentiments were echoed by director of disciplines Michael Stone. "We've come this far despite everything and we're not giving up at this late stage," he said. "We'll be carried out of here screaming."

But Nissan's withdrawal has to be viewed as a major setback to the £9 million project, which was temporarily terminated last April following the loss of Government support. The rescue package from Nissan brought the Government back on board, but only two weeks ago another hiatus saw the six-discipline Games withdrawn from the RDS, which was to co-host the fixture with Punchestown. The entire Games are now due to be staged at Punchestown, amidst the threat of the possibility of legal action from the RDS in a bid to recover losses following the cancellation of next year's Dublin Horse Show to accommodate the Games.

Nissan's decision is said to have been precipitated by a meeting last week between its executive chairman, Gerard O'Toole and Tim O'Connor, Head of Sport in RTE television. Although RTE has agreed in principle to act as host broadcaster for the Games, no contract has been signed and the lack of a binding agreement had set alarm bells ringing in the Nissan camp, just as it had in Government circles 12 months ago.

The promise of 76 hours' television coverage beamed to 25 countries, resulting in an estimated minimum of 450 hours worldwide coverage was not sufficient to convince Nissan that it should maintain its role as title sponsor and WEG Ireland is now left with a massive damage limitation exercise if potential sponsors are not to run for cover on the back of the Nissan withdrawal.

"The product still remains an attractive proposition to support sponsors," said Donlon. "There obviously will be an impact from this (the Nissan pull-out) but, given a fair wind, we'll be able to do the job we've been charged to do."

The WEG Ireland budgetary plan forecast a £1.5 million profit for the venture but that money automatically goes to the International Equestrian Federation, the sports governing body. The two previous World Eguestrian Games in Stockholm 1990 and three years ago in the Hague, were both financial disasters and only the guarantee of Government support clinched Ireland's bid to stage the 1998 fixture. The WIEG Ireland team is hoping to secure a minimum of £2 million in further sponsorship and is also seeking Government agreement to provide security on bank borrowing to tide the company over what it views as an interim period.

"Our problem will be short term funding to keep the show on the road," Stone said. The long term is not a worry, but the one thing that could stop the Games is if we can't put together the necessary funding between now and the end of May after the trial events of Punchestown."

However, the likelihood of further financial support from the Minister for Tourism and Trade, Enda Kenny, must have decreased with the Government's recent announcement of its £2 million backing for next year's Tour de France.