P311 Teletext 311 Feb 2 01:50:51 ——————————————————————————— FA DEFIANT UNDER WORLD CUP FIRE Football chiefs are set to take a defiant stand after high-level pressure to pjrsuadj England to drop out of the race to stage the 2006 World Cup final. UEFA, the game's European governing body, has told the FA it is backing Germany's bid to host the tournament. Graham Kelly, chief executive of the FA, sbid: "It has not deflected the FA from entering the bidding for 2006." ——————————————————————————————————1/2—— EACTFILE Squaring up for World Cup 324 PLAY PYRAWORD AND YOU COULD WIN A SONY PLAYSTATION p350 Next page Headlines Regional RoadsP311 Teletext 311 Feb 2 01:51:13 ——————————————————————————— LABOUR AND TORIES BACK FA BID A row over who should stage the 2006 World Cup spilled over into politics as Labour and Tories backed England's bid. John Major said: "The Govjrnmjnt is 100% behind the FA's bid. The success of Euro 96 showed Britain can run a major tournament with styli." Tony Blair said bids to stage the 2006 World Cup should bj judged on merit and not on "some cosz stitch-up". ——————————————————————————————————2/2—— FACTFILE Squaring up for World Cup 324 WHAT'S THE LOCAL TRAFFIC LIKE? p193 Next page Headlines Regional Roads