Uefa will press on with its attempt to remove Gianni Infantino as Fifa president, despite having dropped the threat to boycott competitions.
On Thursday, the 55 member associations and Europe's members on the Fifa Council will be given a letter guaranteeing that the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan will not be revived. The official removal of the boycott will be confirmed at Uefa's executive committee meeting in Monaco.
This will satisfy Uefa's demands and allow the Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup to go ahead next week in Poland with six European teams. However, BBC Sport understands that Uefa is confident a unity candidate can be found to stand against Infantino when he faces re-election in March. The vote is likely to be close, with a candidate needing the backing of 106 of the 211 member associations to be elected.
Uefa has abandoned the idea of forcing a vote of no confidence. Such a motion would require three quarters of the member associations, or 159 votes, to pass, which is considered unrealistic. No candidate has been identified yet, though Concacaf president Victor Montagliani is seen as a serious option. Nominations must be submitted by 18 November.
BBC Sport understands that any vote is expected to be close. Even if Infantino were to win, it could cause terminal damage to his presidency, with his legitimacy compromised.
Last month, European football's 55 member associations voted to boycott all Fifa competitions until the FFE proposal was dropped "in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that Fifa will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership".
After the boycott was dropped, Fifa welcomed the development, saying it is "pleased that all qualified teams will be participating in the upcoming Under-20 Women's World Cup". Six European teams, England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and hosts Poland, are scheduled to play in the tournament. A Fifa spokesperson said it "strongly believes that football has the power to unite, even in challenging circumstances" and Fifa "remains committed" to developing the game in "full dialogue with the confederations and stakeholders".
On Tuesday, a group of former players published a statement saying "change is necessary" at the head of Fifa. Former Manchester United and France defender Mikael Silvestre, who sits on Fifa's Players' Voice Panel, issued a statement on X on Monday in a post he titled "Enough is Enough!". The statement has been shared on social media by the likes of England defender Lucy Bronze, France's 1998 World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit and former England goalkeeper David James.
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