UEFA doubles prize fund for Women's European Championship

UEFA said on Thursday it has doubled its prize fund for the 2022 Women's European Championship to 16 million euros ($18.75 million) with increased guaranteed payments for the 16 qualified teams.

European soccer's governing body said in a statement it had also approved the introduction of a programme which will see teams that release players for the Euros rewarded with payouts from a 4.5 million euros fund.

The decisions come following a UEFA executive committee meeting in Chisinau, Moldova on Wednesday and the governing body added that details of its financial distribution scheme would be made available soon.

The tournament, originally scheduled for this year but postponed by 12 months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to take place in England from July 6-31 2022.