England Names U20 World Cup Squad as European Boycott Threat Continues

England manager Lydia Bedford has named a 21-player squad for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in Poland despite continuing uncertainty over a possible European boycott. BBC Sport reported that the tournament, scheduled for September 5-27, would be the first FIFA competition affected if UEFA follows through on its warning to withdraw European nations.

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The dispute concerns the now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal. The plan would have created a company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for FIFA competitions, including the World Cups, with a 21% stake sold to a private investment company. According to the BBC, the proposal drew widespread criticism from several confederations led by UEFA, which has threatened a boycott of all FIFA competitions. Calls have also been made for FIFA president Gianni Infantino to resign.

Bedford said England's leadership had instructed the team to continue as usual. She told BBC Sport after a warm-up victory in Portugal that the potential boycott had not become a subject of discussion with the players, whose work has remained focused on preparing on the field. No withdrawal by England or the other European qualifiers was confirmed in the report.

The squad includes North Carolina Courage midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson, who received a call-up to England's senior team in March. England selected three goalkeepers, seven defenders, five midfielders and six forwards. The group draws players from clubs in England, Scotland, Sweden and the United States, as well as Stanford University. Bedford described selection as a major achievement for the players and said the level of competition in Poland would be high.

England is one of six European teams in the 24-nation tournament, joining France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and host Poland. The Young Lionesses were drawn in Group B with Canada, Tanzania and Brazil. Their campaign begins against Canada in Bielsko-Biala on September 5, followed by Tanzania on September 8 and Brazil on September 11 at the same venue.

The top two teams in each group will advance automatically to the round of 16, along with the four best third-place finishers. The final is scheduled for September 27 in Lodz. For now, England's squad announcement allows preparations to continue, but participation remains subject to the unresolved position of UEFA and its member nations over the wider FIFA governance dispute.