Nandy: Women's Football Shouldn't Pay for FIFA Boycott
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- UEFA and its 55 member associations have threatened to boycott FIFA competitions over president Gianni Infantino's "Fifa Forward Enterprise" (FFE) proposal, which would sell stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors.
- The Polish Football Association (PZPN) said it had "not received any information regarding the possible withdrawal of any participating team" from the U20 Women's World Cup scheduled for 5-27 September, with England, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France all due to take part.
- Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC she wants Infantino to resign — "I think [Infantino] should go, the time is up" — but said she opposes a boycott of the U20 Women's World Cup because sporting boycotts "unfairly penalise athletes and competitors who are not responsible."
- The French Football Federation (FFF) said it intends to compete at the U20 World Cup, while Portugal's FPF confirmed its U20 team is "complying with the planned programme," including a friendly against England later this week.
- England's FA has not confirmed whether it will field a team; coach Lydia Bedford's Young Lionesses squad are continuing preparations as things stand.
- President Trump said it would be a "terrible mistake" to remove Infantino, in a separate BBC interview linked alongside this article.
Why it matters: The UEFA boycott loses its sharpest leverage point before it starts: France and Portugal have already signaled they will compete in Poland, and Nandy's opposition to punishing women's players puts pressure on England's FA to follow. The substantive fight remains over Infantino's FFE privatisation proposal — and Nandy now aligns England with the rebel bloc on substance while splitting from it on tactics.
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