France say they are still planning to compete in the Under-20 Women’s World Cup next month despite a threat from Uefa to boycott Fifa competitions.
It is not known whether England will play or not, with the Football Association unable to provide a comment when asked by BBC Sport if the team will take part in the tournament in Poland, which is due to start in 29 days.
After Fifa president Gianni Infantino announced a plan to sell stakes in competitions to private investors, European football’s 55 member associations voted to boycott all Fifa competitions until the proposals were dropped.
The plans have since been aborted – with Infantino apologising for his “errors”.
In a statement on Thursday, Uefa said the boycott could still go ahead, but when contacted by BBC Sport the French Football Federation (FFF) said its plans for the tournament had not changed.
“For now, France will be participating to the Fifa U20 Women World Cup,” it said.
Six European teams – England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and hosts Poland – are scheduled to play in the tournament.
Women’s football would be the first to be significantly impacted if Uefa’s stance is upheld:
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5 September: Women’s Under-20 World Cup due to start
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October: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland all have qualifiers for next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil
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October: The Under-17 Women’s World Cup is scheduled to take place in Morocco
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June 2027: Should they not feature in the play-offs because of Uefa’s boycott, European teams – including defending champions Spain – would not be able to participate in the Women’s World Cup
