UEFA is set to drop its boycott of FIFA competitions but will maintain its efforts to remove Gianni Infantino from the presidency of world football’s governing body.
The 55 UEFA member associations, along with Europe’s representatives on the FIFA Council, will receive a letter on Thursday assuring them that plans to establish the FIFA Forward Enterprise have been definitively shelved.
UEFA’s Executive Committee is expected to formally confirm the end of the boycott at its meeting in Monaco.
That would mean the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which begins in Poland next week, will feature six European teams: hosts Poland, England, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
However, the dispute is far from over. According to BBC Sport, UEFA believes it will find a candidate to challenge Infantino in the FIFA presidential election in March.
If that happens, a closely fought vote is expected, with the winner needing 106 of the 211 votes from FIFA’s member associations.
CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani could enter the race against the Swiss-Italian incumbent. Candidates must submit their nominations by November 18.
Even if Infantino is re-elected, his authority at the helm of FIFA is likely to remain weakened by the deep mistrust among a number of national associations following the attempt to sell the World Cup to private investment funds.