England U20s Boss Says FA Told Her to 'Continue as Usual' Amid Uefa

England's Under-20 Women's World Cup head coach, Lydia Bedford, has revealed that the Football Association has instructed her to "just continue as usual" ahead of next month's tournament, despite Uefa's threat to boycott the competition. Bedford, speaking to BBC Sport after England's 2-0 friendly win over Portugal in Lisbon, said she has not "thought too much about the bigger picture" as she prepares to name her Young Lionesses squad next week.

Background: The Dispute and the FFE Proposal

The threat stems from a major dispute in world football after it emerged that Fifa president Gianni Infantino was planning to sell stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors. Uefa and its 55 member associations threatened to boycott Fifa competitions in response. Although the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal was abandoned earlier this month, the boycott threat remains, and the Under-20 Women's World Cup, scheduled to run from 5-27 September in Poland, is the first tournament that could be impacted.

Bedford's Reaction: Focus on Preparation

Bedford, who was appointed as England women's Under-23s coach in March and is leading the Young Lionesses for the tournament, spoke for the first time about the potential boycott. She recounted the moment she learned of the threat: "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 added that the issue has not been discussed with the players, as the focus remains on preparation. "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."

Players' Perspectives: Opposition and Support for Boycott

Six European teams are set to take part in the tournament, and BBC Sport understands that none have told hosts Poland they are withdrawing. Poland's attacking midfielder Weronika Arasniewicz voiced her opposition to a boycott, saying, "Don't do it. Let the football be there. Let's enjoy football. 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."

In contrast, England international Lucy Bronze recently stated that boycotting Fifa competitions would be the right thing "for the good of the game," despite the potential impact on women's football. Asked about Bronze's comments, Bedford said, "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. 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."

England's Preparation and Squad Selection

On Thursday, England's U20s beat Portugal U20s 2-0 in a friendly in Lisbon. Bedford praised her team's performance: "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."

The tournament in Poland is set to begin on 5 September, with England's participation still uncertain pending the resolution of the broader dispute.