Euro 2020 Postponed TilI 2021

Euro 2020 has been postponed by one year until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, says the Norwegian FA.

Uefa, European football's governing body, has been holding an emergency video conference involving major stakeholders on Tuesday.

The Norwegian FA says it was decided that the tournament will now take place from 11 June to 11 July next year.

BBC Sport understands the decision will be signed off by Uefa later on Tuesday.

The tournament was due to take place from 12 June-12 July this year at 12 venues across Europe.

The postponement provides a chance for European leagues that have been suspended to now be completed.

Uefa's Nations League and the European Under-21 Championships are also scheduled to take place next summer.

The 2021 Uefa Women's European Championship is set to take place in England and begins on 7 July, four days before the proposed men's final.

The Norwegian FA, whose side are yet to qualify for the tournament, posted the announcement on Twitter, with Uefa yet to confirm the delay.

Many of Europe's domestic leagues - as well as the Champions League and Europa League - have been suspended following an increasing number of coronavirus cases around the continent.

Players and coaches have also been affected by virus or been told to go into self-isolation, meaning leagues have had to shut down.

A mini-tournament to decide the Champions League and Europa League is expected to be one option put forward at Tuesday's meeting to ease fixture congestion caused by the coronavirus crisis.

How Europe's top leagues have reacted:

Premier League: All elite football in Britain cancelled until 4 April at the earliest subject to "conditions at the time".

La Liga: Spain's top flight suspended until 4 April at the earliest when it will "revaluate" the situation.

Serie A: Italy has the highest number of cases in Europe and the country is in lockdown.

Bundesliga: Suspended until at least 2 April in Germany.

Ligue 1: Games initially played behind closed doors in France but now suspended "until further notice".

While the big domestic leagues have problems over television contracts to solve if games do not take place, most countries rely on the payments from Uefa that come out of major international tournaments to allow their own leagues to function properly.

These would be at risk from any movement of the European Championship and are likely to form part of any agreement.

An estimated 400 staff are working for Uefa on the Euros. It is unknown what will happen to them if the tournament does not take place for another 12 months.

FROM  .bbc.com/sport/football.,,K

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