The 2020 Men\u2019s European Championships have been postponed. The 2020 Olympic Games (including the women\u2019s senior football tournament) have been postponed. Summer 2021 is getting busy and as such the 2021 Women\u2019s European Championships have been postponed kind of, maybe\u2026 they\u2019re not going ahead when they were scheduled for that\u2019s for sure. But when they\u2019ll actually happen? Over to you, UEFA\u2026<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s an acceptance that we\u2019re living in uncertain if not, utterly terrifying times and whilst definitive answers are certainly a pacifier, they\u2019re hard to come by. Given the very nature of the pandemic we\u2019re in, there are no clear answers, no clear timelines just mentions of, \u201cthe soonest\u201d time things might return – which will, let’s be honest, be invariably pushed back. With the psychopathic suggestions of a quarantined tournament to finish off the Premier League season, it\u2019s clear we\u2019re all just stumbling around in the dark, trying not to trip over a chair as we hunt for the light switch. And some of us can’t see the wood for the stacks of readies.<\/p>\n

The Olympic problem<\/h3>\n

Before the IOC came to its senses and accepted that the Olympics couldn\u2019t go ahead this summer, there was a push and pull in European women\u2019s football over whether or not you could have two Euros in one summer. There would be an overlap, but that itself could be easily fixed by moving the women\u2019s tournament back a week or two to give breathing space for all involved. It would put extra strain on the venues \u2013 well, only Wembley which is only<\/strong> hosting the final of the women\u2019s tournament so maybe not.<\/em> It would however put extra strain on some at UEFA and the mainstream media outlets who are hell bent on sending men\u2019s reporters to women\u2019s games for whom the back-to-back tournaments would be a new and exhausting gauntlet.<\/p>\n

With one tournament flowing into the other, there was the hope that all of Europe could dig into the spirit and devote all their attention on the women\u2019s tournament after the conclusion of the men\u2019s. A supreme summer of sport and celebration.<\/p>\n

But now with the Olympics moved back, either the UEFA teams pull out of the quadrennial Games or the Euros go ahead without Sweden, the Netherlands and a handful of British players.\u00a0 With the Olympic football tournaments technically FIFA tournaments, there is a fear that we could be in for a global game of chicken between the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de Football Association and UEFA. With any hope, these are baseless fears and UEFA are not<\/strong> about to do something very silly indeed.<\/p>\n

However, the silence from UEFA, whilst understandable, only gives rise to confusion and anger, women\u2019s football seen as the lesser sport, again left to pick over the scraps left behind by the men. As it is, the only statement from UEFA about the Women’s Euros is their catch all from 17 March about the men’s tournament: “The UEFA Nations League Finals, the final tournament of the UEFA U21 EURO and the UEFA Women\u2019s EURO all scheduled between June and July 2021 will be re-scheduled accordingly.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Going to have a moan and say I am slightly losing the plot at every other event being announced officially but not the women\u2019s Euro\u2019s which is the one that keeps being clashed with. Could at least *try* and make it look like it isn\u2019t an afterthought<\/p>\n

\u2014 Molly Hudson (@M0lly_Writes) March 30, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yet it would send a far worse message if new dates were released only to be changed after another tournament gets rescheduled and causes a clash. Whereas, if UEFA take their time to find unobjectionable dates in 2022, the tournament can be inked in with no need for further adjustments. The bonus for 2022 that the Men\u2019s World Cup has been moved to the winter to deal with the searing heat in Qatar, leaving the summer open and free for a celebration of women\u2019s football in Europe [she said hopefully].<\/p>\n

As for this summer? Err, anyone up for a game of indoor short tennis..?<\/p>\n

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\n[column size=”1\/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”34″ heading=”Women’s Football” heading_type=”timeline” \/][\/column]
\n[column size=”1\/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” \/][\/column]
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