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The English squad will embark on their UEFA Euro 2028 campaign at the Etihad Stadium, on the condition that they attain the anticipated entry for a competition taking place in the majority of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

City’s stadium has not staged an England men’s match since eight years ago, when the visitors were beaten 2-1 in a warm-up game, but is expected to stage the national team for their opening fixture on Saturday 10 June 2028.

England are planned to play their last two group stage games at the national stadium, but, in the event of winning Group B, their round of 16 match would take place at the Newcastle stadium. Securing the runner-up spot would mean commencing the elimination stage at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Launch and Protest

The tournament was launched at an event in a London landmark on Wednesday evening. Senior figures from European football’s governing body and the host football associations were confronted as they approached the location by approximately 50 pro-Palestine demonstrators, who called for Israel’s national side to be kicked out from the sport because of the situation in Gaza.

Banners were held up with slogans stating “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while protesters chanted: “Kick Israel out.”

Event Schedule

The opening game of the tournament will be staged at the Cardiff’s stadium in Cardiff, on June 9, 2028, a match that will feature Wales if they qualify.

Wembley Stadium will host the two semi-final matches and the championship match, which will be played on Sunday 9 July with a start time at 5:00 PM.

It is expected that an earlier kick-off, which will also be adopted for Champions League finals from next season, will attract family audiences and help reach a more diverse set of viewers.

Host Nations

The Irish team are scheduled to play their initial fixture at the Dublin Arena and the Scottish team would follow suit at the national stadium of Scotland.

The national sides of all four hosts will participate in the preliminary stage; two automatic spots will be reserved for any that miss out on the finals through that route.

Locations and Elimination Phase

Aston Villa’s stadium and The North London arena finalize the event’s nine venues. All will hold at least one playoff fixture, with the quarter-finals held at the national stadium of each host.

The draw for the qualifiers will be held in Belfast, which was removed as a venue city last year when it was revealed the Belfast stadium could not be redeveloped in time, on 6 December 2026.

Tournament Vision

“This will be a championship for the followers and a celebration of everything we value about the football – its passion and capacity to bring people together.”

Over 3 million admissions, a all-time high for a UEFA European Championship, are projected to be offered to attendees.