England Women head coach Mark Sampson will name his squad for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 finals next month.
The 23 players who will travel to Netherlands for the tournament this summer will be revealed at St. George’s Park on Monday 3 April.
The Lionesses will be at England’s training base ahead of their Euro send-off double-header against Italy, at Port Vale on Friday 7 April, and Austria, at MK Dons’ Stadium MK on Monday 10 April.
Sampson has chosen to select and name his squad three months ahead of England’s first game to focus preparations and build momentum before the tournament.
England will begin their Euros campaign against Scotland in Utrecht on 19 July before facing Spain in Breda on 23 July and Portugal in Tilburg on 27 July.
Sampson said: “Naming the squad early is something we’ve thought about for a while and it’s something that we think will bring huge benefits to our group as we go into such an important tournament.
“We’ve worked with our player pool for three years now and are clear on the right players we want on and off the pitch if we want to be successful this summer.
“This gives the squad and staff the chance to be focused solely on the Euros and takes away any of the uncertainty that players might have in the run-up.
“As a coaching staff it also allows us to focus on working with the 23 players as early as possible and develop our game plans.
“At the World Cup we prided ourselves on being one of the most united and together teams and we put a big part of our success down to that, so we’ll be able to build on this even further over the next three months.”
FA technical director Dan Ashworth said: “After finishing third at the World Cup in Canada two years ago, we are all looking forward to seeing how the England squad compete at the European Championship this summer.
“Mark’s decision to name the squad early will give us the chance to prepare properly and focus on doing as well as possible come July. I know the players and coaching staff will do everything they can over the coming months to make sure they do themselves justice in what will be a really competitive finals.
“Overall, this is a really exciting time for the women’s game in England as we seek to double participation and grow our fanbase. Having our senior squad play in a tournament like this against the best teams in Europe can only help to inspire the next generation of girls hoping to follow in their footsteps.”
Tickets for England’s April internationals are on sale now priced £7.50 for adults and £3.50 for children. A family ticket (two adults and two children) is available at £15 and group booking discounts apply.
Tickets can be bought via www.TheFA.com/Tickets. Tickets for England v Italy are also available via 01782 655821, for England v Austria by calling 0333 200 5343 and in person at each club’s box office.
For more information please visit www.TheFA.com/England.