Nandy: Women’s players should not be penalised by Uefa boycott of U20 World Cup
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC on Tuesday she would not support a boycott of next month’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland and warned that women’s footballers should not be "penalised" by such action. She also said she wants Fifa president Gianni Infantino to resign over his proposals to sell stakes in the World Cup.
Uefa and its 55 members have threatened to boycott Fifa competitions in response to Infantino’s Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, under which stakes in the World Cup and other competitions would be sold to private investors. Nandy said: "We support the [English] FA in saying that football belongs to its fans, enough is enough, and it is time for a change at Fifa," and added: "I think [Infantino] should go, the time is up."
The Polish Football Association (PZPN) told BBC Sport on Tuesday that it had so far "not received any information regarding the possible withdrawal of any participating team from the tournament". It added: "We believe that the current situation will be resolved swiftly, allowing young players from across the world to compete in Poland. Our priority remains to ensure the best possible conditions for the competition and for all participating teams. 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."
The French Football Federation (FFF) said last week it intended to compete at the U20 World Cup, while the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) told BBC Sport that "so far, the Under-20 team is complying with the planned programme", including a friendly fixture against England later this week. England's Football Association has not confirmed whether it will field a team, though coach Lydia Bedford's Young Lionesses squad are continuing preparations for the tournament.
On the question of sporting boycotts, Nandy said: "I am not generally in favour of sporting boycotts full stop, because I think they divide people from one another, I think they unfairly penalise athletes and competitors who are not responsible for the reason that these boycotts take place. What I would like to see actually is football coming together, resolving this, a change of leadership, a change of direction and a very clear message that football belongs to its fans and it will not have women and girls penalised when the women's game is going from strength to strength. And our Lionesses are leading the world in that."
Poland are due to host the Under-20 Women’s World Cup from 5-27 September, with several Uefa nations scheduled to take part, including England, Italy, Spain, Portugal and France.
