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The England national team will embark on their Euro 2028 campaign at the Manchester City’s stadium, on the condition that they achieve the anticipated passage for a competition taking place in the bulk of Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Manchester City’s home ground has not hosted an English men’s fixture since eight years ago, when the Turkish team were defeated 2-1 in a warm-up game, but is expected to stage the national team for their opening fixture on Saturday 10 June 2028.

The English side are scheduled to play their last two group stage games at Wembley Stadium, but, in the event of winning the preliminary round, their knockout stage opener would be held at Newcastle’s St James’ Park. Securing the runner-up spot would mean starting the knockouts at Everton’s ground.

Tournament Opening and Protest

The tournament was inaugurated at an ceremony in a London landmark on Wednesday evening. Senior figures from Uefa and the host FAs were heckled as they arrived the location by about 50 pro-Palestine demonstrators, who called for the Israeli team to be expelled from the sport because of the Gaza crisis.

Signs were displayed with messages stating “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while protesters shouted: “Kick Israel out.”

Event Timeline

The first match of the European Championship will be played at the Cardiff’s stadium in Cardiff, on June 9, 2028, a game that will feature Wales if they make it.

The national stadium will host the penultimate rounds and the championship match, which will be held on Sunday 9 July with a kick-off time at 5pm.

It is anticipated that an earlier kick-off, which will also be implemented for UEFA Champions League finals from next season, will attract families and help engage a more diverse set of fans.

Host Nations

The Irish team are scheduled to play their initial fixture at the Dublin stadium and Scotland would play similarly at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

The national sides of all four hosts will take part in the qualification process; two guaranteed slots will be held in reserve for any that fail to qualify for the finals through that route.

Venues and Knockout Stage

Aston Villa’s stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium complete the event’s nine venues. Each one will hold at least one elimination game, with the last eight staged at the national stadium of each host.

The draw for the qualifiers will be staged in Belfast, which was dropped as a venue city last year when it emerged the proposed venue could not be renovated in time, on 6 December 2026.

Leadership Comment

“It will be a competition for the supporters and a festival of everything we love about the football – its passion and power to foster unity.”

More than three million tickets, a all-time high for a UEFA European Championship, are anticipated to be made available to attendees.