England to host new annual four-team women's international tournament featuring Germany and Spain

The north of England will host a new annual four-team women’s international tournament in February 2022 featuring Germany and Spain.

The invitational tournament will aid the Lionesses’ and the Football Association’s preparations for next summer’s rearranged European Championships, which are being hosted across England.

The FA had hoped to stage such an event in February 2021, but their plans were thwarted by the pandemic. Germany, Spain and one other as-yet-unnamed country will join England in the event, which is expected to use a round-robin format.

Telegraph Sport understands the matches will take place in the north of England. The fourth participating nation will be named soon and is likely to be from outside of Europe, with Australia among the most likely contenders because of the high numbers of players from their squad who are currently based in England.

Exact fixture dates are still to be revealed, however they are set to take place between February 14-23 in that month's women's international break, roughly five months before the Euros.

London-based sports marketing agency Pitch International, a partner of the FA, are organising the tournament and will do so every year until at least 2025.

England are running this new tournament instead of playing in the SheBelieves Cup in the United States, which is also a four-team invitational international tournament.

The Lionesses took part in the SheBelieves Cup five times between 2016 and 2020, winning that tournament once in 2019 under former head coach Phil Neville.

The traditional, long-standing Algarve Cup for women’s teams will also be rivalled by England’s newly-formed event. That event in Portugal was last held in 2020 and was won by Germany, who have won the Euros a record eight times.

“This exciting new addition to the international calendar promises to further accelerate the rapid growth we are already seeing in women’s football," said the FA's director of women's football, Baroness Sue Campbell.

“Giving England fans the opportunity to see their team take on some of the best opposition in the world on an annual basis will create substantial interest, leading to a broader fanbase and strengthening grassroots participation. It will also provide the England team with the best preparation heading into the major tournaments over the next four years.”

Cat Watson, director of women’s sport at Pitch International, said: “We have seen first-hand the increased appetite for top quality women’s football through our distribution of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League. We’re excited to be building on our commitment to women’s football, by investing in and delivering a new tournament featuring the best teams and players from around the world, that will be broadcast to a global audience.”

England’s new tournament will offer a first opportunity to win minor silverware for new England head coach Sarina Wiegman.

The Dutch coach takes charge of her first England game on Friday, as they host North Macedonia at Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium (7pm kick-off) in their first 2023 Women’s World Cup qualifier.

Wiegman led the Netherlands to Euro 2017 glory on home soil, before reaching the 2019 World Cup final.