England Women's U20 World Cup squad named amid boycott threat
Manager Lydia Bedford has named her 21-player squad for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in Poland, despite ongoing threats of a boycott from European nations.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0 / Author: kandschwar
England Women's U20 manager Lydia Bedford has named a 21-player squad for the upcoming FIFA U20 Women's World Cup. The tournament is scheduled to take place in Poland from 5 to 27 September, proceeding despite an ongoing threat of a boycott from various European nations.
The boycott threat stems from the controversy surrounding the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which aimed to centralize commercial and ticketing rights for all FIFA competitions. While the proposal was aborted following widespread criticism led by UEFA, the tension between European confederations and FIFA's leadership persists.
From my perspective the message from leadership all along has been 'just continue as usual' so we have. It's not something we've really even spoken to the players about because ultimately every opportunity we have to get on the grass and prepare this team we want to be in the best position possible. Lydia Bedford
England, who are one of six European teams participating in the 24-team tournament, have been drawn into Group B alongside Brazil, Tanzania, and Canada. The young Lionesses will face Canada in their opening match on 5 September. The squad includes midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson, who recently earned a call-up to the senior side.
Other European nations, including Italy, Portugal, and hosts Poland, are expected to finalize their squads in the coming week. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stages, with the final set for 27 September in Lodz.