Poland says Women’s World Cup plan on course despite UEFA boycott of FIFA

Hosts Poland have said that preparations for next month’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup remain on schedule, as the ⁠tournament prepares to become the first FIFA event staged amid the backlash against global football chief Gianni Infantino.

It will be the first FIFA competition since UEFA’s 55 member associations unanimously voted to support a boycott of FIFA events after Infantino proposed, ⁠and then abandoned, a plan to carve off the commercial rights to the World Cup and sell 20 percent of them to private investors to raise about $4.2bn.

“Preparations for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup are progressing according to the agreed schedule and have now entered their final stage,” the Polish federation said in a statement to the Reuters news agency on Tuesday.

“The Polish Football ‌Association (PZPN) has not received any information regarding the possible withdrawal of any participating team from the tournament. We believe that the current situation will be resolved swiftly.

“For many of these young players, this tournament represents an important milestone in their sporting careers, and we remain fully focused on delivering an event worthy of their talent and commitment.”

New Zealand have joined France in confirming they intend to compete at the tournament, which runs from September 5 to 27.

“New Zealand Football is sending a team to the U20 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Poland next month. The tournament is ⁠critical in the development for the women’s game,” a New Zealand Football spokesperson told Reuters ⁠on Tuesday.

France became the first nation to confirm participation in the 24-team tournament.