England’s men’s team will commence their 2028 European Championship journey at the Manchester City’s stadium, assuming they attain the anticipated passage for a competition staged throughout most of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
The Etihad Stadium has not hosted an Three Lions match since eight years ago, when the Turkish team were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is expected to welcome the England side for their inaugural game on a Saturday in June 2028.
The English side are set to play their last two group stage games at Wembley Stadium, but, in the event of winning Group B, their last-16 tie would be held at St James’ Park. Securing the runner-up spot would mean starting the knockouts at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The championship was launched at an event in a London landmark on Wednesday night. High-ranking officials from European football’s governing body and the organizing bodies were barracked as they arrived the site by around fifty pro-Palestine demonstrators, who urged Israel’s national side to be expelled from the sport because of the Gaza crisis.
Signs were raised with slogans saying “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while demonstrators chanted: “Kick Israel out.”
The opening game of Euro 2028 will be held at the Cardiff’s stadium in Cardiff, on Friday 9 June, a fixture that will involve the Welsh team if they secure a place.
Wembley Stadium will host the two semi-final matches and the final, which will be staged on Sunday 9 July with a kick-off time at 5pm.
It is anticipated that an earlier kick-off, which will also be adopted for Champions League finals from next season, will appeal to family audiences and help engage a more diverse set of fans.
The Republic of Ireland are scheduled to play their first game at the Dublin Arena and the Tartan Army would follow suit at the national stadium of Scotland.
The national sides of all four hosts will take part in the qualifying tournament; two automatic spots will be held in reserve for any that miss out on the finals through the qualification path.
Villa Park and The North London arena complete the event’s nine venues. All will hold at least one playoff fixture, with the quarterfinal matches staged at each country’s national stadium.
The qualification draw will be staged in Belfast, which was dropped as a tournament location last year when it emerged the Belfast stadium could not be redeveloped in time, on December 6, 2026.
“This will be a championship for the fans and a festival of everything we love about the sport – its passion and ability to unite individuals.”
Over 3 million passes, a record for a UEFA European Championship, are expected to be released to supporters.
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