Men and women will compete alongside each other for equal prize money in the inaugural European Golf Team Championships.

Organisers made the announcement of a “50/50 gender split” in the field on International Women’s Day.

Sixteen pairs will compete in both the women’s and men’s team events at Gleneagles on August 8-12 before combining for an 18-hole foursomes stroke play mixed team championship.

The event is part of the Glasgow 2018 European Championships, which will see aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon events take place in Scotland at the same time as the athletics European Championships in Berlin.

Ladies European Tour chairman Mark Lichtenhein said: “This summer’s European Golf Team Championships will be a totally unique event and we are extremely pleased that the men and women will play competitively together for equal prize money.

“As we have seen through the Olympic Games in Rio, the recent Oates Vic Open in Australia and the announcement to have mixed teams in the GolfSixes in the UK, there is a tremendous public appetite to see men and women competing.”

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley added: “There is a need for golf to embrace new formats and engage a wider audience, and following our recent announcement about the inclusion of female players in the revolutionary GolfSixes tournament, the European Championships presents yet another innovative opportunity to break new ground on a number of fronts.”

Scottish sports minister Aileen Campbell said: “Scotland, the Home of Golf, is no stranger to innovation when it comes to golf, so it is fitting that history will once again be made with men and women competing side by side in the European Golf Team Championships.

“Scotland is a proud advocate of equality, not just in sport but in society, and I am delighted that the Glasgow 2018 European Championships is playing its part to effect positive change.”