The Belarus capital had been awarded the event, which features Europe’s eight leading athletics countries, in May.

Since then, the political situation has deteriorated dramatically following the controversial re-election in August of Alexander Lukashenko as Belarus President.

International observers have condemned the election as fraudulent and there have been weekly Sunday protests in Minsk.

European Athletics did not refer to the political situation in Minsk, instead claiming the city "withdrew for technical reasons".

Chorzów is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice.

The Śląski Stadium recently underwent a six-year refurbishment plan, with completion in October 2017 with a capacity of more than 55,000, making it Poland’s biggest athletics arena.

The Stadium hosts two of Poland’s leading athletics meetings, the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial and the Irena Szewinska Memorial.

It is also due to host next year’s World Athletics Relays on May 1 and 2.

European Athletics chief executive Christian Milz travelled to Chorzów this week to sign the deal for it to host the Super League and discuss the possibility of the venue staging more events in the future.

This included encouraging Silesia to bid again for the European Championships having lost out last week for the 2024 event, which was awarded to Rome.

The European Athletics Team Championships Super League, due to take place on June 19 and 20, will act as an important warm-up event for the re-arranged Olympic Games in Tokyo, which are scheduled to start the following month.

The biennial competition will assume a slightly different format in 2021 with the Super League cut down from 12 teams in 2019 to eight next year.

It gives Poland an unexpected opportunity of defending their title on home soil after triumphing for the first time in competition history in Bydgoszcz last year.

Poland will face opposition from France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Spain and Ukraine, as well as Portugal who secured promotion from the First League.

Marshal of the Silesian region Jakub Chełstowski was delighted with the decision to award Chorzów the Super League.

"This is more proof the potential of our stadium is appreciated by athletes and the people responsible for selecting the best venues for the competition," he said.

"The European Athletics Team Championships at the Śląski Stadium will be an opportunity for the Silesian region."

The European Athletics Team Championships First League is due to be held in Cluj-Napoca in Romania with the European Athletics Team Championships Second League now to be held in Stara Zagora in Bulgaria after Valmiera in Latvia pulled out.

The European Athletics Team Championships Third League is due to be held in Nicosia in Cyprus.