UEFA has cancelled the planned finals of its Under-19 European Championships for both men and women due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The men’s soccer tournament was due to be held in Romania from June 30 with the women’s event schedule for Belarus from July 21.
In a statement on Tuesday, the governing body for European football said government travel restrictions currently in place would make staging the events very difficult.
“Although it is unfortunate that no youth competitions can take place in the current season, the health and safety of young athletes must be prioritised in the current circumstances,” UEFA said.
The Romanian capital Bucharest is one of the 12 host cities for the postponed men’s Euro 2020 tournament with UEFA expected to make a decision on the plans for that event on March 5.
UEFA hopes that vaccination efforts will allow them to stick to their original plan for June’s main pan-European tournament.
The 24-nation, month-long showpiece is a major revenue generator for UEFA and national federations across Europe, and was postponed by 12 months after last year’s COVID-19 outbreak.
The host cities are Glasgow, Dublin, Bilbao, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Munich, Rome, St Petersburg, Bucharest, Budapest and Baku, with the semis and final set for London’s Wembley Stadium.