The article argues that a boycott of forthcoming women’s youth football tournaments could damage players in the short term but might be necessary to force meaningful reform at Fifa. It says the threat of teams withdrawing from the Women’s Under-20 World Cup, Under-17 World Cup and senior World Cup play-offs gives women’s football unusual leverage at a moment when Gianni Infantino’s leadership is under pressure.

The writer disagrees with culture secretary Lisa Nandy’s opposition to sporting boycotts, while acknowledging that withdrawing would unfairly affect young players who are not responsible for Fifa’s decisions. The argument is that women’s teams have most at stake in resisting Fifa’s now-abandoned proposal to sell a stake in tournament revenues through its Fifa Forward Enterprise subsidiary, because it could affect the future funding and organisation of women’s competitions.