Uefa to delay Euro 2020 until 2021

Latest: Euro 2020 has been postponed until the summer of 2021, UEFA has announced.

A statement confirmed the postponement, with the dates of June 11 to July 11, 2021 proposed.

The official announcement from European football’s governing body also confirmed that the Euro 2020 play-offs, due to be played later this month, will now be played in the June 2020 international break.

It also confirmed that the 2020 Copa America would also move to 2021 to enable South American players based in Europe the opportunity to finish their league campaigns.

The president of the French football federation, Noel Le Graet, welcomed the news that Euro 2020 had been postponed.

“The French Football Federation fully supports UEFA’s decision to postpone Euro 2020 from June 11 to July 11 2021 and to adapt the formats for European competitions accordingly,” he said in a statement.

“The international matches planned for March, including the two matches of the French team on March 27 and 31 at the Stade de France, would therefore logically be postponed to June.

“This wise and pragmatic decision by UEFA makes it possible to fully register in the urgency and the priority of collective action to fight against the coronavirus while allowing to consider ending the national professional and amateur championships which could be prolonged until June.

“All options will be studied in order to be reactive when resumption of activities is possible. The only concern of the FFF is to make the best decisions, by bringing together all the players in football, to best respect sports equity and limit the impact of this crisis. The world of football must be united, responsible and exemplary. “

Earlier (12.41pm): Uefa has decided to postpone Euro 2020 until the summer of 2021, according to the Norwegian Football Federation.

European football stakeholders convened on Tuesday to discuss the impact and fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Euro 2020 has been chief among the topics and the widely-expected delay to the tournament was announced by Norway’s governing body.

In a post on Twitter, the NFF said: “UEFA has decided that the European Championship is postponed to 2021. It will be played from 11 June to 11 July next year. More information coming.”

The tournament had been due to be played between June 12 and July 12 this summer, in 12 cities across Europe with Wembley hosting the semi-finals and final.

The postponement became the most viable option given the huge disruption caused to the 2019-20 domestic competitions across Europe, and to this season’s Champions League and Europa League.

It is now likely that the play-offs to decide the final four places at the tournament – which were due to be played later this month – can be postponed until later this year.

More to follow...