The Euro 2020 soccer Championship, trumpeted as a continent-wide feast of football to mark the 60th anniversary of Uefa’s flagship tournament, was postponed for a year on Tuesday as the coronavirus pandemic claimed its biggest sporting casualty yet.

The fate of the 24-nation, month-long showpiece due to start in June, had hung in the balance ever since Europe’s domestic leagues shut down in the wake of the sweeping health crisis, which has killed around 7 500 people worldwide.