UEFA cancel 2021 Under-17 European Championships due to take place in Cyprus and Faroes due to Covid-19
The Netherlands won the last Under-17 Euros to take place, in the Republic of Ireland in 2019. Credit: Al Robinson (ETPhotos)
UEFA have confirmed that the 2021 Under-17 European Championships, which were due to take place in Cyprus and the Faroe Islands next summer, have been cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The association agreed in consultation with the 55 member associations that the difficulties of minors travelling on commercial flights for a tournament and qualifiers was unworkable at this time.
The Republic of Ireland men, as top seeds, had been due to host a qualifying group containing Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Estonia in March but this will not now go ahead.
The women’s side had been due to travel to Portugal for a group containing the hosts as top seeds, Wales and North Macedonia in February.
The 2020 iteration of the competitions, which had been due to take place in Northern Ireland and Sweden, was also cancelled last year.
A year earlier, when the men’s tournament was hosted in the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands lifted the trophy after defeating Italy 4-2 in the final in Tallaght.
The Under-19 championships is still cheduled to take place Romania in July 2921, but that is subject to revision in the coming months. A UEFA statement read: “In line with previous decisions and based on a constant monitoring of the development of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on UEFA competitions, the UEFA Executive Committee decided, after consultation with all 55 member associations, to cancel and/or postpone some of the 2020/21 youth national team competitions, taking into account the timing and specific situation of each competition and age category.
“With the current epidemiological situation in many parts of Europe making it unrealistic to hold youth competitions in the first months of 2021, in particular with minors having to travel internationally by means of commercial flights, and with the youth activities further remaining on hold in several countries across the continent, all national associations agreed it is difficult to have players fit and trained, if international competitions are resumed too early.
“In accordance with this reasoning, the UEFA Executive Committee has taken the decision to cancel the 2020/21 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.”
