FIFA says every qualified team will take part in next week’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup, suggesting the stand-off between football’s world governing body and UEFA is beginning to ease.
The announcement follows reports that UEFA is preparing to withdraw its threat to boycott FIFA competitions after receiving assurances over the future commercial management of FIFA events.
UEFA had demanded guarantees that FIFA would not revive a controversial proposal to bring private investors into the running of its competitions. That assurance was the second condition set by European football associations before they would call off their planned boycott.
The first condition the abandonment of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) was met on 1 August, when FIFA dropped the proposal.
The dispute began after European football associations agreed to a boycott at an emergency meeting on 30 July. Their action was directed at a plan proposed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino to seek private investment in a company that would manage the commercial and ticketing rights for the World Cup.
UEFA said at the time that it would withdraw the threat only if the proposal was scrapped and FIFA gave binding guarantees that similar plans would not be pursued in the future.
Infantino abandoned the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal two days after the emergency meeting. However, the boycott threat remained in place because UEFA’s second demand a firm commitment against comparable plans in the future had not yet been fully addressed.
FIFA’s confirmation that all qualified teams will participate in next week’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup indicates that the latest assurances may have satisfied UEFA’s concerns, or at least reduced the immediate tension between the two organisations.
The tournament is therefore expected to go ahead with its European teams involved, despite the threat that had placed the competition and the wider relationship between FIFA and UEFA under pressure.
The latest development does not provide further detail on the guarantees reportedly received by UEFA. It does, however, point to progress in discussions over FIFA’s commercial strategy and the conditions set by Europe’s football associations.
UEFA’s boycott threat had been linked specifically to Infantino’s proposal for private investment and the creation of a company responsible for World Cup commercial and ticketing rights. FIFA’s decision to abandon FIFA Forward Enterprise removed the initial source of disagreement, while the reported guarantees address the remaining condition identified by UEFA.
With FIFA now saying that every qualified side will compete in the Under-20 Women’s World Cup, European participation is expected to continue and the crisis appears to be moving towards a resolution.
