All fixtures in England postponed to mourn Queen, says FA

(Reuters) - All soccer fixtures in England between Sept. 9-11 have been postponed as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth, the country's Football Association (FA) said on Friday.

The top flight Premier League and the English Football League (EFL) had already announced they were postponing their next round of fixtures.

The queen, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, died peacefully at her home in Scotland on Thursday aged 96.

"As a mark of respect, following the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, English football has united to postpone all football fixtures between 9-11 September," the FA said in a statement.

"The FA can confirm that all football fixtures across the Barclays Women's Super League, Barclays Women's Championship, the Vitality Women's FA Cup, and the Isuzu FA Trophy, will be postponed this weekend."

Matches across the lower tiers of the football pyramid and grassroots football were also postponed, the FA added.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) had earlier provided guidance saying there was "no obligation to cancel or postpone events and sporting fixtures, or close entertainment venues during the National Mourning period".

The Premier League said a decision on postponing the fixtures was made in a meeting on Friday.

"To honour her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation, and as a mark of respect, this weekend's Premier League match round will be postponed, including Monday evening's game," it said.

The EFL said all its fixtures from Sept. 9-10 will be postponed.

"This is aligned with the approach that the Premier League and the FA will take with their competitions this weekend," the EFL said.

Earlier on Friday, all soccer fixtures in Northern Ireland this weekend were postponed.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) suspended all events for two days and said they would resume on Sunday. "However, the fixture scheduled for Musselburgh racecourse on Sunday will be cancelled as a mark of respect for the fact that the Queen's body will be lying in rest in Edinburgh," it added.

Sunday's Great North Run half marathon will go ahead as planned, organisers said.

"The thousands of runners taking part are expected to raise an estimated 25 million pounds ($28.99 million) in much needed charitable donations, a fitting tribute to the Queen, who lived her life in the service of our country and its people," they said.