France Confirms U20 World Cup Entry Despite UEFA Boycott
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- France's Football Federation (FFF) confirmed its U20 women's team will participate in next month's tournament in Poland, breaking with UEFA's ongoing boycott threat
- UEFA's 55 member associations voted to boycott all FIFA competitions after Infantino announced plans to sell stakes in competitions to private investors; the plans were later aborted and Infantino apologized for "errors"
- UEFA stated on Thursday the boycott could still proceed despite the plans being dropped, putting six European teams — England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and hosts Poland — in jeopardy
- England's Football Association declined to comment when asked by BBC Sport whether England's team will compete in the tournament, which starts in 29 days
- Lucy Bronze (England defender) backed the boycott as "the right thing" for the future of the game, even though women's tournaments would be the first affected
- Women's football faces the earliest casualties on a clear timeline: U20 World Cup (September 5), Women's World Cup qualifiers (October), U17 Women's World Cup (October), and the 2027 Women's World Cup where defending champions Spain could be excluded
- England, Wales, Albania, and Croatia have individually withdrawn support for Infantino following the controversy
- Former England defender Anita Asante warned women's football would be the "first casualties," while Baroness Campbell called the potential impact "tragic"
Why it matters: France's defection suggests the 55-nation UEFA coalition may be fracturing before any tournament is actually lost — if the boycott holds instead, six European teams including England and France skip the September 5 U20 World Cup, and defending champions Spain could be shut out of the 2027 Women's World Cup entirely.
