UEFA has withdrawn its threat to boycott FIFA competitions but remains determined to challenge Gianni Infantino’s leadership ahead of the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March.

The decision follows assurances that the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal will not be revived.

UEFA’s 55 member associations and European representatives on the FIFA Council are expected to formally confirm the end of the boycott threat at an executive committee meeting in Monaco.

The move clears the way for six European teams England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and hosts Poland to participate in the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup scheduled to begin next week in Poland.

However, the decision to abandon the boycott does not mean UEFA has dropped its opposition to Infantino’s continued leadership of world football.

UEFA is reportedly working to find a unity candidate capable of challenging Infantino when he seeks re-election in March.

The FIFA president will need the support of at least 106 of the organisation’s 211 member associations to secure another term, and UEFA reportedly believes the contest could be closely fought.

The European football body has, however, abandoned plans to pursue a vote of no confidence against Infantino because such a move would require the backing of three-quarters of FIFA’s membership — 159 votes.

No candidate has officially emerged to challenge Infantino, although CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani has been mentioned as a possible contender. Nominations are expected to close on November 18.

Infantino has served as FIFA president since February 2016.

UEFA’s earlier boycott threat followed opposition to the proposed FFE plan, with European football associations demanding assurances that FIFA would not open its governance or competitions to private ownership.

FIFA welcomed UEFA’s decision to drop the boycott threat, saying it was pleased that all qualified teams would participate in the upcoming Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

The battle over FIFA’s leadership has also divided former footballers.

A group of former players, including Mikael Silvestre, Lucy Bronze, Emmanuel Petit and David James, recently backed calls for change at the top of FIFA.

Meanwhile, another group of football figures, including Brazil legend Cafu, former Italy striker Christian Vieri, Pepe and Esteban Cambiasso, publicly expressed support for Infantino and defended his record during his decade in charge of world football.