Women's football shouldn't be penalised by Uefa boycott - Nandy

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said that women's footballers should not be "penalised" by a potential boycott of next month's Under-20 Women's World Cup, as hosts Poland say they have received no notice of any withdrawals from European teams.

European governing body Uefa and its 55 member associations have threatened to boycott Fifa competitions over president Gianni Infantino's plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup. Poland is due to host the tournament from 5-27 September, but is not the only Uefa nation involved – with England, Italy, Spain, Portugal and France all set to take part.

Poland reports no withdrawals

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."

Mixed signals from European federations

Last week, the French Football Federation (FFF) said it intended to compete at the U20 World Cup, while the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) also 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 for the World Cup. However, as things stand, coach Lydia Bedford's Young Lionesses squad are continuing preparations for the tournament.

Nandy calls for Infantino's resignation

Nandy told the BBC that she wants to see Infantino resign over his Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, under which stakes in the World Cup and other competitions would be sold to private investors.

"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," Nandy said. "I think [Infantino] should go, the time is up."

But she added she would not support a boycott of the U20 World Cup. "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," she said.

"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."