England Women U20s squad named amid boycott threat

Manager Lydia Bedford has named her England squad for the upcoming Fifa U20s Women's World Cup amid ongoing threat of a boycott from European nations.

There have been calls for Fifa president Gianni Infantino to resign following the controversy over the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.

It was aborted after widespread criticism from several confederations, led by Uefa, which has threatened a boycott of all Fifa competitions.

FFE would have meant a new company being created to manage commercial and ticketing rights of all Fifa competitions, including the World Cups, with 21% sold off to a private investment company.

The next upcoming Fifa tournament - therefore the first under threat of a boycott - is the U20s Women's World Cup, taking place in Poland from 5 to 27 September.

Speaking to BBC Sport after England had won a warm-up game in Portugal, Bedford spoke for the first time about the potential boycott.

"I was actually at the theatre in London when my dad rang me out of the blue and I was like 'what's happening?' From my perspective the message from leadership all along has been 'just continue as usual' so we have," she said.

"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. So all focus has been on that."

England are one of six nations from Europe taking part in the 24-team tournament alongside France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and hosts Poland.

The young Lionesses have been drawn in Group B with Brazil, Tanzania and Canada, who they face in their opening match on Saturday, 5 September (17:00 BST).

Italy, Portugal and Poland are expected to name their squads next week, while Spain announced theirs on Thursday. France have not confirmed a date.

Bedford has named a 21-player squad to represent England, which includes North Carolina Courage midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson, who received a surprise call-up to the senior squad in March.

"It's an incredibly exciting moment to name the squad and a huge achievement for every player selected," said Bedford.

"We know the level of competition in Poland will be extremely high but we're excited by the prospect of the challenge.

"For the 21 players selected, the focus now is on making the most of this opportunity, representing England with pride, and seeing how far we can go."

The top two sides from each group will automatically progress to the last 16, while the best four third-placed sides will also make it through.

The final will be hosted in Lodz on Sunday, 27 September.