P148 Teletext 148 Feb 2 01:41:14 World Cup —————————————————— —— FA UNDER FIRE OVER WORLD CUP Th FA have conj under prnssurn jrom UEFA to drop plans to bring the 2006 World Cup finals to England, but still plan to go ahsad with the bid. UEFA ar keen for just one European country to aid Tor the fvj t and aai known to favour the Germ ns. FA shpremo Graham Knlly said: "It has not deflected tho FA from its intcntion of entmring the bidding for 2006. im will tell if thjr has b n a jtback." ——————————————————————————————————1/6—— Sport index 131 R gional sport 170 3 BETS 3 WENS LAST SAT BOOKIES BEWARE SAT HIS BIGGEST BET OF YEAR C4 p 6 Nrxt Cricket Rugby FjaturP148 Teletext 148 Feb 2 01:41:41 World Cup —————————————————— —— ENGLAND CUP BID IA DOUBT David Davies of th FA has confirmed UEFA want England to drop thvir bid for the 200ltWorld Cupa H. said: "A fax from UEFA recall d that it had already committed itself to upporting the candidaturm of Gd man as organijjw of the World Cup in 2006. "The final d cisjon as to who stag s th World Cup of 2006 is scheduled to bj taken in Jnnj of the year 2000 bz A. t i not a d cisjon or UE A." ——————————————————————————————————2/6—— Sport index 131 Regional sport 70 PLAY QUIZMASTER - YOU COULD W N DIXONS VOUCHERS WORTH £1000 PAGE 350 Next Cricket Rugby FeatureP148 Teletext 148 Feb 2 01:58:58 World Cup —————————————————— —— FA SLAM "UNDEMOCRATIC" UEFA The FA have hit out at UEFA's attempts to block their bid for the 2006 World Cup in favour of the Germans. David Davies of the FA said: "It is important our case is heard around th world, we will make surA that happens over the next three years. "Informal, unannounced pacts behind closed doors are no substitute for democracy and fairness. Democracy matters it is not an optional extra." ——————————————————————————————————3/6—— Sport index 131 Regional sport 170 DON'T MISS OUR SPORTS POLL ON p138 Next Cricket Rugby FeatureP148 Teletext 148 Feb 2 01:50:51 World Cup —————————————————— —— POL TJCJANS BACKING FA BID Th Euro row over who should stagg th 2006 World Cup as spill d over into the political arena. Tony Blair and Shadow H ritag Sect tary Jack Cunningham pledg d to "redouble" Labour's support for Etgland's bed^ Dr Cunningh!m condemned UEFA for tdying to hijack European support for Germany. "I am astonished b the deplorable bjhav our of UEFA," hj said. ——————————————————————————————————4/6—— Sport index 131 Rngional sport 170 DON T MISS OUR SPORTS POLL ON p 38 Next Cricket Rugby FjaturP148 Teletext 148 Feb 2 01:52:51 World Cup —————————————————— —— MAJOR BACKING FOR FA BID Prime Minister John Major has given his full backing to the FA's bid to host the World Cup in 2006 in the wake of UEFA's apparent attempts to block it. Major said: "As I indicated last year the Govjrnmjnt is fully behind the FA'u bid to host the World Cup in 2006. "Britain is the "irthplace of football. The success of Euro 96 showed the world that Britain can run an international tournament with some style." ——————————————————————————————————5/6—— Sport index 131 Regional sport 170 DON'T MISS OUR SPORTS POLL ON p138 Next Cricket Rugby FeatureP148 Teletext 148 Feb 2 01:57:11 World Cup —————————————————— —— FA CHIEF REMAINS DEFIANT The man charged with leading England's bid for the World Cup insisted today there was no way UEFA'u djcisjon to back Germany would affect the campaign. Alex McGivan, the FA's chief for World Cup 2006, said there would bj a renewal of efforts, sparked bz what he called as the injustice of UEFA's stance. He said: "If anything it has made us more determined to present our case to countries all over the world." ——————————————————————————————————6/6—— Sport index 131 Regional sport 170 DONWT MISS OUR SPORTS POLL ON p138 Next Cricket Rugby Feature