UEFA Set to Withdraw Boycott Threat After FIFA Assurances

Uefa appears ready to withdraw its threatened boycott of international competitions after securing firm assurances that the world governing body will not revive Gianni Infantino’s proposal to sell interests in the World Cup.

European teams are now expected to receive permission to take part in the forthcoming Women’s Under-20 World Cup and later tournaments. This follows binding commitments that no similar version of the president’s abandoned plan will be considered.

Uefa raised the possibility of a boycott when Infantino’s Forward Enterprise proposal came to light. It maintained that position even after the project was withdrawn, arguing that it had not received a guarantee that comparable efforts to reshape the sport would never happen again.

Although the two organisations have traded criticism publicly, they have reportedly spent several weeks holding private negotiations over the conditions required to remove the boycott threat. The European governing body has now obtained the assurances it sought.

When the Forward Enterprise project was abandoned four days after becoming public, no promise was initially made that a similar privatisation proposal would not return. Such a commitment has since been provided through private correspondence.

Ending the boycott threat would enable England, who announced their Under-20 squad last week, to travel to Poland ahead of their opening match against Canada on 5 September.

France and Spain had also selected their squads in expectation that the boycott would be called off. Portugal, Italy and tournament hosts Poland are the other European nations scheduled to participate.

While the boycott has not yet been formally withdrawn in public, the issue could be discussed when Uefa’s executive committee and national federation leaders meet in Monte Carlo on Thursday.

Representatives from Uefa’s 55 member associations will gather before the Champions League draw, during a traditionally important period in the European football calendar.

Uefa continues to believe that Infantino should leave his position. Additional measures concerning its approach to the current international football leadership are also expected to be considered at Thursday’s meeting.

Some will welcome the prospect of young players avoiding involvement in the increasingly bitter dispute over football’s direction. However, the need for the organisation to contain the consequences of its president’s conduct represents another setback for a body repeatedly affected by controversy.