Anthony Martial of Manchester United during the UEFA Europa League round of 32 first leg match between Club Brugge KV and Manchester United FC at Jan Breydel stadium on February 20, 2020 in Bruges, Belgium
On Tuesday, it was announced that the Union of European Football Association European Championship, initially scheduled for the summer of 2020, has been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Euro competition was supposed to take place across numerous European nations between June 11 and July 12, but the 24-team European Championship, which was being held across Europe to mark UEFA’s 60th anniversary, will now take place from June 11 to July 11 in 2021.
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“We are at the helm of a sport that vast numbers of people live and breathe that has been laid low by this invisible and fast-moving opponent,” UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement. “It is at times like these, that the football community needs to show responsibility, unity, solidarity and altruism.”
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The 16 playoff matches that were due to be played on March 26 and 31 to decide the full line-up of nations for the tournament. They will now be played in the international window at the start of June, subject to a review of the situation.
The decision to postpone the event will provide European leagues such as Spain, England, France, Germany and Italy with an opportunity to finish their seasons and championship competitions. The vast majority of league seasons across the continent have been put on hold due to the spread of COVID-19. UEFA said in a statement later on Tuesday that they intend to complete all domestic and European club competitions by June 30, 2020, at the latest. The women’s European Championship is due to be held in England in the summer, and FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup in China, featuring eight European club sides, is penciled in from June 17-July 4.
Soccer, basketball, hockey and many more sports have been put to a halt due to COVID-19. The sporting calendar has been torn into pieces, with the cancellations and suspensions of seasons and events. With all of this going on, the fate of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this year now hangs in the balance.
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