Uefa poised to drop threat of Fifa tournament boycott

Uefa is expected to drop its threat of boycotting Fifa competitions after receiving assurances that there will be no repeat of Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, sources close to the discussions say. The issue will be addressed at a meeting of Uefa's executive committee in Monaco on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Uefa said that although Infantino's plan had been abandoned following widespread criticism, the conditions needed to avert a boycott had not yet been met. The governing body insisted on guarantees that similar attempts would never be repeated. Infantino has since told national associations the proposal is off the table and apologised for errors made.

Should the boycott threat be lifted, the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland next month will proceed as scheduled, featuring six European teams — England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and hosts Poland.

Pressure on Fifa leadership

Uefa has led criticism of Infantino and is expected to keep pushing for change at the top of Fifa. Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has said he expects Infantino either to resign or face a challenge from another candidate at elections in March. Sources close to the talks stressed the move should not be seen as a Uefa climbdown, but rather a wish to avoid harming young players' opportunities.

Last month, Uefa's 55 member associations voted to boycott all Fifa competitions until the private-investment proposal was fully withdrawn and binding assurances given that Fifa would never again open its governance to private ownership.

UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy said she did not support boycotting the Under-20 tournament, arguing it would unfairly penalise athletes. Several former players, including Mikael Silvestre, have publicly called for change at Fifa, while others, including Cafu and Christian Vieri, have voiced support for Infantino.