The Polish Football Association (PZPN) said it is planning to have the 2026 Under-20 Women’s World Cup go ahead as scheduled, despite European nations agreeing to boycott FIFA tournaments over the governing body’s plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

Poland is scheduled to host the 12th edition of the competition from September 5-27. It is the first of three upcoming FIFA tournaments in 2026, with the Under-17 Women’s World Cup set to be hosted by Morocco from October 17 to November 7 and Qatar slated to host the Under-17 Men’s World Cup from November 19 to December 17.

On Tuesday, FIFA announced that it planned to sell a large minority stake in a new company that will run its main competitions, including the World Cup and Club World Cup.

In a press release, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “Our next stage of growth needs a structure built for it, one where the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world.

“Every FIFA member association should have an opportunity to seek a fair share of the available funding to shape its own future, deciding for itself rather than relying on others. This is about the democratisation of football worldwide.”

UEFA, which governs European football, said that it “unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA’s proposal” and that its nations planned to boycott FIFA competitions, following a virtual meeting of the 55 national associations.

In a statement to The Athletic, the PZPN said that it believes that the standoff will be resolved soon and that the tournament can go ahead as planned.

“As the host association, we are fully prepared to deliver the tournament and continue to implement all necessary preparations in line with the agreed schedule,” the PZPN said. “We remain in close contact with our partners at UEFA and are working in accordance with our joint arrangements.

“We believe that the current situation will be resolved swiftly, allowing young players from across the world to compete in Poland in a tournament that, for many of them, will represent the fulfilment of a dream and an important milestone in their sporting careers.”

FIFA informed its 211 member associations that the plan needed to be approved by September 19. The scheme needs to approved by a majority of the member associations and receive approval from the 37 members of the FIFA Council to go ahead.

On Thursday, Concacaf, the governing body of football in North, Central America and the Caribbean, said that it rejected FIFA’s plans, adding that a meeting between its 41 member countries “reinforced the need for greater transparency and proper governance.”

The Asian Football Confederation stated on Friday that it “stands in solidarity” with UEFA and Concacaf, saying that it has “serious concerns” over the proposal.

In a statement on Friday morning, FIFA reiterated its commitment to the plan and said: “Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain.”

When CBS Sports signed Tony Romo to a 10-year, $180 million contract in 2020, a top sports media executive called me immediately after and said, “This is the worst contract in media history.”

It may end up being just that.

CBS has called a timeout on the deal following Romo’s arrest for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Following the arrest has been a steady drip of new information, including 45 minutes’ worth of multi-angle video of the traffic stop, including a citation for an open container of alcohol that contradicted Romo saying he had no drinks.

The network decided to press pause on Romo, announcing he “is on leave from his role at CBS until further notice.” They elevated J.J. Watt to team with Jim Nantz in the network’s No. 1 NFL booth. CBS offered no further comment.

Romo’s contract calls for him to receive a nearly implausible $72 million over the next four years, but he is going to have to make quite a case to get his top job back.

It’s not impossible, but it is going to take some work.

CBS clearly does not want the cloud of his recent arrest to shade its most important property, the NFL. In less than two weeks, it has its NFL seminar for on-air talent and production staff, which includes a session in front of the media. Romo was supposed to be there.

On Sept. 13th, CBS’s first Sunday of the regular season, its premier matchup is between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. Romo was supposed to be there.

On Sept. 21th, Romo’s court case in Wisconsin is scheduled.

On Sept. 27, CBS’ late-afternoon, marquee game is from Brazil between the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens. Romo was supposed to be there.

Right now, CBS doesn’t want Romo any of these places.

Romo could still make a comeback, but he is going to have to put in a lot of work, both off- and on-air. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

If he misses the first month of the season, when does he return? How does he return? With CBS slated to air a Super Bowl in February 2028, would he have any chance then? His poor performance in recent seasons is a factor here.

Romo comes across as a very affable guy and a number of people have described him to me over the years as a “big kid.” But he is not known as a hard worker, and it has shown on the air.

Prior to his massive new deal, Nantz and Romo were welcoming comparisons to Pat Summerall and John Madden. Since then, the duo has regressed and Romo often sounded unprepared, saying odd things.

Last January, the higher-seeded Jacksonville Jaguars were at home to face the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round, and Romo appeared on the pregame show. During his TV hit, he said of the Jaguars, “I’m telling you, they can win this game today.” It made social media waves as a vacuous thing to say because, of course, the higher-seeded, home-field-advantaged NFL playoff team could win.

The Bills needed a late touchdown from Josh Allen to be victorious, but that’s not the point.

Like all on-air TV contracts, Romo’s deal includes a morals clause, and networks can challenge if a star can still represent their brand in a positive fashion after a public embarrassment.

If Romo were still working at a Madden-like level, his case to keep his job would be stronger. Since he was already trending the wrong way, he has some work to do.

Networks build their marketing campaigns around their top crews. If every time Romo says something off, there is a GIF referring to a portion of his arrest video, is that a problem for CBS?

Could he return on the No. 2 crew with Ian Eagle or could CBS tell him he has to go even further down the lineup, perhaps to convince him to walk away? Appearing in the studio could become an option, but that might be too out front for CBS.

Six years ago, one of the reasons that then CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus and president David Berson signed Romo to the crazy contract right before the pandemic was because ESPN was in hot pursuit. Before ESPN eventually landed Joe Buck and Troy Aikman from Fox, its “Monday Night Football” booths were consistently a hot mess.

In 2020, CBS outbid ESPN in part because the overall negotiation for rights to the game packages was about to begin. At that time, prior to COVID, there was some thought inside Disney to potentially not only keep “Monday Night Football” on ESPN, but go after CBS’ Sunday afternoon package for ABC. Going into the negotiation with Romo on CBS’ side instead of on Disney’s roster was considered a boon to the Tiffany Network.

Now? Not so much.

That is why we are here, staring at what might be the worst contract in sports media TV history. Romo could still make a comeback, but he is going to have to put in a lot of work, both off- and on-air.

But if he is not welcomed back, there is no way he is going to just give up the $72 million he is owed. Romo’s deal may indeed end up the worst in sports media history.

At this point, he and CBS are both going to need quite a comeback to avoid that fate.

Vondrousova, who also reached the French Open final in 2019 and won the Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medal, claimed she feared for her safety when the doping officer arrived at her flat at 8pm on 3 December.

She was alone in her apartment and told the officer via the intercom that she would not open the door.

The tribunal’s report said Vondrousova called her agent to ask about doping protocol, and sent a text message to her boyfriend which said someone from doping control had arrived – using an expletive to describe them.

There is some dispute about what happened next, with the doping officer saying the pair had two exchanges over the intercom, but Vondrousova saying there was only one.

Both sides agree they met face-to-face about 10 minutes later when Vondrousova went outside to walk her Italian Greyhound dog.

That is when Vondrousova reiterated she would not take the test and signed a form which acknowledged her stance.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) – the body tasked with overseeing a clean and fair sport – said it had little option other than to seek a four-year suspension.

The tribunal agreed with the ITIA. It ruled she had provided “no compelling justification” for refusing a test.

On Friday, the tribunal said: “This is a very unfortunate manner in which the player made a decision in the heat of the moment to refuse doping control, in a state of stress and anxiety, with significant consequences.”