European football’s governing body UEFA has postponed Euro 2020 until the summer of 2021 in order to allow European leagues more time to complete their seasons amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision comes after UEFA held conference calls with its 55 member associations, the board of the European Club Association and the board of the European Leagues.

The news was first confirmed by the Norwegian FA on social media, with UEFA later proposing the competition will be played between June 11 and July 11, 2021.

The playoffs for Euro 2020, which will include the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, have also been postponed.

The semi-finals were originally set to take place on March 26 with the finals on March 31. Those fixtures have instead now been postponed until June.

Domestic competitions across Europe were due to be finished before Euro 2020, which was to be held in 12 different cities, began on June 12.

However, leagues across the continent have been halted in response to the coronavirus outbreak, which has seen more than 169,000 people become infected worldwide.