England U20s coach Lydia Bedford told to 'just continue as usual' despite Uefa boycott threat

England Under-20s head coach Lydia Bedford said the Football Association has instructed her to "just continue as usual" ahead of next month's Under-20 Women's World Cup, despite a threat from Uefa to boycott Fifa competitions, after speaking to BBC Sport in Portugal following England's warm-up win over Portugal.

Bedford took up her England role in March and, as part of that position, is leading the Young Lionesses for the tournament in Poland; she is preparing to name her squad next week. The wider football world has been in dispute since reports that Fifa president Gianni Infantino planned to sell stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors. Uefa and its 55 members threatened to boycott Fifa competitions and that threat remained even after the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal was abandoned earlier this month, with the Under-20 Women's World Cup identified as the first tournament that could be affected.

Discussing the situation, Bedford recounted an unexpected call from her father and described the FA's message. "I was actually at the theatre in London when my dad rang me out of the blue and I was like 'what's happening?' From my perspective the message from leadership all along has been 'just continue as usual' so we have," she said. She added the matter had not been a focus in player discussions: "It's not something we've really even spoken to the players about because ultimately every opportunity we have to get on the grass and prepare this team we want to be in the best position possible. "So all focus has been on that."

Poland's attacking midfielder Weronika Arasniewicz told BBC Sport she opposed a boycott, saying: "Don't do it. Let the football be there. Let's enjoy football." She added: "I would be disappointed for sure [if the tournament was cancelled] because events like this, it's always special and you don't know how many World Cups you have ahead of you." BBC Sport reported that six European teams are set to take part in the tournament, which runs from 5-27 September, and that none of them had informed hosts Poland they would be withdrawing.

England senior international Lucy Bronze recently said boycotting Fifa competitions would be the right thing "for the good of the game", and Bedford addressed that viewpoint while outlining her priorities. "From my perspective my only focus is preparing this team to be ready and if we have the opportunity to go to Poland we will be there and punching when we arrive," she said. "So I haven't thought too much about the bigger picture but my message has been continue as usual and that is what we are going to continue to do."

On Thursday Bedford's side beat Portugal U20s 2-0 in a friendly in Lisbon, with Layla Drury scoring England's second goal. After the match she said: "I'm really proud of the players. From start to finish today we showed our quality and our depth in this squad. "I have an incredibly difficult decision to make next week to pick the team that finally goes."

Bedford will name her Young Lionesses squad next week ahead of the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland, which is scheduled to run from 5-27 September.