England Women's U20s World Cup squad named amid boycott threat
England's U20s women's football squad has been named for the upcoming World Cup despite threats of a European boycott against FIFA. The boycott stems from opposition to a proposed commercial restructuring of FIFA's tournament management.
Why it matters
The potential boycott represents a significant power struggle between European football confederations and FIFA leadership over commercial rights and governance.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, England U20s beat Portugal 2-0 in a friendly earlier this month
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter Published 21 August 2026 Manager Lydia Bedford has named her England squad for the upcoming Fifa U20s Women's World Cup amid ongoing threat of a boycott from European nations.
There have been calls for Fifa president Gianni Infantino to resign following the controversy over the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
It was aborted after widespread criticism from several confederations, led by Uefa, which has threatened a boycott of all Fifa competitions.
FFE would have meant a new company being created to manage commercial and ticketing rights of all Fifa competitions, including the World Cups, with 21% sold off to a private investment company.
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