UEFA boycott faces first test at FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup

UEFA’s boycott of FIFA tournaments is facing its first serious test, but so far it has not stopped European participation in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which will be held in Poland from September 5 to 27.

England, France, Portugal, Spain and host nation Poland have published their squads for the tournament, despite UEFA declaring a boycott of FIFA competitions, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

The national federations have not mentioned UEFA’s boycott in their official announcements. For now, Italy is the only European federation that has not published its squad.

The background to the dispute is the ongoing clash between UEFA and FIFA. UEFA opposed Gianni Infantino’s plan to create FIFA Forward Enterprise, a company reportedly valued at around $20 billion, in which FIFA intended to sell a stake to private investors.

All 55 UEFA member associations unanimously voted to boycott FIFA tournaments if the plan went ahead.

FIFA subsequently withdrew the proposal, but UEFA said the withdrawal was not enough and demanded guarantees that such an initiative would not be repeated.

However, while European football officials continue their confrontation with FIFA, Europe’s young female footballers are preparing to take the field at a FIFA tournament.

England, for example, has confirmed a 21-player squad and will begin its campaign against Canada on September 5.

This creates an interesting situation: UEFA is boycotting FIFA, while its member associations are sending teams to one of FIFA’s tournaments.

It remains to be seen whether this is simply an exception for youth tournaments or the first sign that the boycott may be more complicated to enforce in practice.

Photo: Chat GPT