England to host new annual women's international tournament; England Women will face three of the top sides in world football in round-robin format; Germany and Spain confirmed for first tournament in February 2022 with final nation yet to be announced
Thursday 16 September 2021 15:45, UK
England is set to host a new annual women's international tournament next year.
The FA released a statement on Thursday that outlined the details of the competition, which will begin in February 2022.
Germany and Spain have been confirmed as two teams for the inaugural edition of the event, while the fourth nation is yet to be announced.
The statement read: "England will welcome three of the world's top sides next February for the first staging of a new annual invitational women's tournament.
"The Lionesses will be joined by Germany and Spain, both also ranked in FIFA's top 10, in the 2022 edition - with the fourth competing nation to be announced soon.
"Fans will be treated to three double-header matches played across seven days in a round-robin format."
After the tournament in February, Sarina Wiegman's England will also host the Women's Euro 2022 tournament in July.
Their qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup begins on Friday, when they host North Macedonia at Southampton's St Mary's Stadium.
Steph Houghton will continue to captain England for the next two internationals after talks with Sarina Wiegman - but a permanent captain is still to be appointed.
Wiegman was appointed as Phil Neville's successor in August 2020, but only started the role at the beginning of this month, after leading the Netherlands through their Olympic campaign this summer.
Her first game in charge is the World Cup qualifier against North Macedonia on Friday, before the Lionesses travel away to face Luxembourg on Tuesday.
