UEFA has confirmed the Women’s Euro 2021 in England will be postponed until July 2022

The 16-team tournament, originally scheduled for next summer, will now take place between July 6 and July 31, 2022, with the same venues – including Old Trafford and Wembley – planned to host matches.

The postponement was widely expected following the decision to move the Tokyo Olympics to July 2021, with organisers keen to avoid two women’s tournaments taking place in the same summer.

UEFA has already postponed Euro 2020 until the summer of 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic, and president Aleksander Ceferin says moving the women’s tournament gives it “the spotlight it deserves”.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says the tournament is deserving of a platform of its own

In a statement, Ceferin added: “When we had to take an urgent decision on the postponement of UEFA EURO 2020, we always had the impact on UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 in mind.

“We have carefully considered all options, with our commitment to the growth of women’s football at the forefront of our thinking. By moving UEFA Women’s EURO to the following year, we are ensuring that our flagship women’s competition will be the only major football tournament of the summer, providing it with the spotlight it deserves.”

Netherlands are the reigning champions after winning as hosts in 2017

UEFA’s chief of women’s football, Nadine Kessler, said: “The core question guiding us together with the English FA was: What is best for women’s football?

“With the Olympics now being confirmed for summer 2021, we firmly believe that moving to 2022 is in the best interests of the tournament, the players, the fans, women’s football partners and everybody involved in all areas and at all levels of the game.

“UEFA Women’s EURO is Europe’s biggest women’s sport event. It is also among the biggest sports events in the world, and therefore needs and deserves a platform of its own.

Scotland have won both of their qualifying matches so far, beating Cyprus and Albania

“This decision puts us in a position to deliver a tournament that attracts global attention, maximises media coverage and increases stadium attendances, and is therefore helping us to meet our core objective of inspiring the next generation of footballers.

“2022 also allows for further promotion and partner activation, which would have been much more difficult in what is now a crowded summer in 2021. It is a clear sign of commitment to our dedicated partners who have joined us since we decided to separate the sponsorship for women’s football from men’s football.”

UEFA says rearranging the competition for the summer of 2022 allows European leagues to be completed before the tournament.

Organisers of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games – due to be staged between July 27 and August 7 – were involved in the discussions with UEFA and the Football Association (FA).

England are automatically qualified for the finals as hosts

The FA’s director of women’s football, Baroness Sue Campbell said: “The sporting calendar must adapt whilst the world tackles something much bigger than sport. In these unprecedented times, it should be reiterated that the health of our communities remains the absolute priority for us all.

“As a result, following discussions with UEFA, we fully support their decision to postpone UEFA Women’s EURO 2021. We agree that this decision will ultimately benefit the tournament, creating its own window in the football calendar. It will also allow us all more time following this challenging period to deliver an unforgettable event befitting of a home EURO.

“We have made excellent progress in the planning of the tournament to date, and particularly want to thank our host cities and venues for their ongoing commitment and support.”

Qualification for the championships is still ongoing, with England having already qualified for the finals as hosts.

Scotland are second in Group E, Wales are second in Group C, which also contains Northern Ireland in fourth place, and the Republic of Ireland are top of Group I.