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England’s men’s team will commence their Euro 2028 campaign at the Manchester City’s stadium, on the condition that they achieve the anticipated passage for a competition staged throughout the majority of the UK and the Ireland.

The Etihad Stadium has not hosted an Three Lions game since May 2016, when Turkey were defeated 2-1 in a friendly, but is highly likely to host the Three Lions for their first match on Saturday 10 June 2028.

England are planned to play their last two group stage games at Wembley, but, should they win their group, their knockout stage opener would take place at St James’ Park. Finishing second would mean commencing the playoffs at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Championship Opening and Demonstration

The championship was launched at an event in central London on Wednesday evening. High-ranking officials from the tournament organizers and the host football associations were confronted as they arrived the site by around fifty pro-Palestine demonstrators, who urged Israel to be kicked out from the sport because of the conflict in Gaza.

Placards were displayed with phrases reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while protesters called out: “Kick Israel out.”

Championship Timeline

The first match of Euro 2028 will be held at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, on a Friday in June 2028, a fixture that will feature Wales if they qualify.

The national stadium will host the penultimate rounds and the championship match, which will be held on Sunday 9 July with a commencement at 5:00 PM.

It is expected that an afternoon start, which will also be adopted for UEFA Champions League finals from the upcoming season, will attract families and help reach a more diverse set of fans.

Qualifying Teams

The Ireland are set to play their opening match at the Aviva Stadium and Scotland would play similarly at Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will participate in the qualifying tournament; two automatic spots will be set aside for any that miss out on the tournament through the qualification path.

Stadiums and Elimination Phase

The Birmingham venue and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium round out the event’s nine venues. Every stadium will hold at least one elimination game, with the last eight held at the national stadium of each host.

The qualification draw will be conducted in Belfast, which was dropped as a host city last year when it became clear the proposed venue could not be upgraded in time, on 6 December 2026.

Leadership Comment

“This will be a competition for the followers and a celebration of everything we value about the game – its emotion and ability to unite individuals.”

In excess of three million tickets, a unprecedented number for a UEFA European Championship, are expected to be made available to supporters.