LAUSANNE: UEFA has doubled prize money for the 2022 Women’s European Championship in England, the continent’s governing body for football announced on Thursday. The 16 qualified teams will share a total of 16 million euros ($18.7m), up from just eight million euros at the last Euro in the Netherlands in 2017. “The financial distribution will include increased guaranteed amounts and performance-based bonuses for the group stage,” UEFA said following a meeting of its executive committee in the Moldovan capital Chisinau. The development of women’s football is in the spotlight amid pushes by FIFA to radically reshape the men’s international calendar by staging the World Cup every two years, alternating with continental championships like the Euro. That threatens to have a negative impact on women’s international tournaments. The Euro in England was due to be staged this year but was put back by 12 months to avoid clashing with the men’s Euro 2020, after the pandemic forced it to be postponed by 12 months. The Netherlands won the 2017 European Championship on home soil. Euro 2022 will be played from July 6 to 31 at 10 venues across England, with the final at Wembley. The draw will take place in Manchester on October 28.