Euro 2020 and Copa América, the two biggest continental championships in football, will be postponed until the summer of 2021 amid COVID-19 concerns.
The Euro 2020 that was set to run for one month, kicking-off on June 12, has been postponed for June 11 2021, according to an announcement made by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin on Tuesday, March 18. UEFA also reiterated its commitment to finishing national leagues, which are all currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, across the European continent by the June 30 deadline of the 2019-20 football calendar year. Postponing the European Championship will allow extra time for domestic leagues to finish their remaining fixtures.
“The health of fans, staff and players has to be our number one priority and in that spirit, Uefa tabled a range of options so that competitions can finish this season safely and I am proud of the response of my colleagues across European football,” Ceferin said.
In delaying the men’s tournament, UEFA is also looking into rescheduling the Women’s Euro 2021, with its current kick-off planned for July 7, 2021, due to a four-day overlap with the later stages of the men’s competition. Ceferin hinted that the most likely outcome would be to have both tournaments happening back-to-back in 2021, instead of moving the women’s tournament to the summer of 2022, the Men’s 2022 World Cup is set to take place during winter.
ICYMI: UEFA announced on Tuesday that #EURO2020 would be postponed by one year. It is proposed the tournament will now run from 11 June – 11 July 2021.
The 2021 UEFA #NationsLeague finals, the @UEFAUnder21 EURO and the @UEFAWomensEURO will be re-scheduled accordingly. pic.twitter.com/eFnO7zMoFA
— UEFA (@UEFA) March 18, 2020
Hours after the UEFA announcement, Conmebol, organizer of Copa América, also issued a statement postponing the South American Championship until 2021. Conmebol will maintain the Copa América concurrently with the men’s Euro in 2021, as the competition was set to take place at the same time with the Euro in 2020.
“We thank UEFA and its President, Aleksander Ceferin, for working together and for the coordinated decision to postpone Euro 2020 to the benefit of the entire football family,” Conmebol’s official statement read.