KATOWICE, Poland : About 15,000 people are expected at Saturday’s opening matches of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, but FIFA has yet to confirm whether President Gianni Infantino will attend.
The tournament, which runs until Sept. 27, is the first major FIFA competition that could have been affected by the governance standoff that followed Infantino’s proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors.
Infantino abandoned the plan on July 31 after strong opposition from UEFA and other stakeholders.
The FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal envisaged transferring commercial rights linked to FIFA competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup, to a new subsidiary. Outside investors would have paid about $4.2 billion for a stake valuing the business at around $20 billion.
The 56-year-old Swiss has since faced calls to resign from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, but has said he will seek a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in March 2027.
No challenger has formally declared a candidacy, although UEFA has said it will work with other confederations to ensure member associations are offered a credible alternative. The deadline for nominations is Nov. 18.
DEVELOPMENT TOURNAMENT
The Under-20 Women’s World Cup is an important development tournament, with many of its players hoping to progress to the senior women’s game and potentially feature at next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Hosts Poland face Argentina in Saturday’s opening match in Katowice, followed by Mexico against Benin.
FIFA could not confirm on Friday whether Infantino would attend either match.
Infantino has not always attended the opening games of FIFA age-group tournaments, but he has remained highly visible since the collapse of the FFE proposal.
He attended the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup in Paris last month and three days later watched Vietnam beat Thailand in the ASEAN Championship final in Hanoi.
He also visited the Dominican Republic while a Caribbean Football Union Under-14 tournament was taking place, despite CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani asking him to stay away, saying the controversy surrounding the FIFA president risked overshadowing the youth event.
Montagliani has been mentioned as a possible challenger to Infantino but has not declared his candidacy.
All six regional confederations are represented among the 24 teams in Poland.
Under regulations introduced by FIFA this year, each team competing in FIFA women’s competitions must have a woman as head coach or among its assistant coaches.
North Korea are the defending champions after winning the 2024 tournament. They were seeded in the top pot alongside hosts Poland, Japan, Spain, Brazil and France.
