Due to the current COVID-19 health crisis, many major sporting events have been postponed until 2021 at the earliest. One such event is Euro 2020, which has been pushed back to the summer of 2021. Because of this development, it is likely that the 2021 Women’s Euros will need to be postponed until 2022.
- A Q&A Session About Football’s Global Postponement
- Recent UEFA Announcements Regarding Postponements to Euro 2020 and Other Tournaments
Casey Stoney, who leads the Manchester United Women’s Team, has weighed in on the matter. Stoney said that she would prefer to see the women’s championship run at the same time as the men’s event. However, this could potentially disrupt the Tokyo Olympics, which have also been pushed back to 2021. Stoney stressed the burden that simultaneously playing in two tournaments would have on her players. She said that the physical and mental toll would be incredible, and it may not even be physically possible. Because of this, Stoney reluctantly acknowledged that UEFA’s only choice might be to delay the Women’s Euros by a full year. The women’s tournament remains in limbo as other major events are being rescheduled.
England’s Nikita Parris has publicly voiced her approval of the Women’s Euros postponement. She thinks that pushing it back a year would give UEFA the chance to make improvements. Parris is hopeful that the 2022 Women’s Euros would be the “best women’s tournament yet.” In an interview with Sky Sports News, Parris said that this delay would give players more time to prepare and make sure that they are playing in peak condition. She continued on to say that players should not be disheartened by the recent turn of events.
Unfortunately, there is no clear answer as to when the Women’s Euro will happen. All we know is that UEFA will, indeed, postpone it. UEFA signed an agreement with its member associations during their series of teleconferences in March. One of the stipulations of the agreement was that the women’s championship would be “rescheduled accordingly.” The Danish Football Association has reported that the Women’s Euros has been postponed until 2022, which implies that the Association has insider information as to the new schedule of events. A representative of the Danish FA gave a media statement that UEFA had agreed on the 12-month postponement during a video conference call on Wednesday, April 1st. However, neither UEFA nor England’s Football Association have confirmed this.
If the Danish Football Association is correct about its claims that the UEFA is looking at a summer 2022 restart for the Women’s Euros, it would be in direct competition for views with the World Athletics’ World Championship. The World Championship matches would likely garner most sporting fans’ attention. This could potentially have a negative financial impact on broadcasters that choose to televise the women’s events.
