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England’s men’s team will initiate their Euro 2028 campaign at the the home of Manchester City, provided that they achieve the expected passage for a championship taking place in most of the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.

City’s stadium has not staged an English men’s fixture since eight years ago, when the visitors were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is highly likely to stage the national team for their inaugural game on Saturday 10 June 2028.

The team are planned to play their concluding group fixtures at the national stadium, but, in the event of winning the preliminary round, their round of 16 match would be held at the Newcastle stadium. Securing the runner-up spot would mean starting the knockouts at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Launch and Rally

The tournament was launched at an ceremony in a London landmark on the previous evening. Senior figures from Uefa and the host football associations were heckled as they entered the venue by around fifty activists, who urged Israel’s national side to be removed from global football because of the situation in Gaza.

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

Event Timeline

The opening game of the European Championship will be played at the the national stadium of Wales in Cardiff, on June 9, 2028, a fixture that will involve Wales if they make it.

Wembley will host both semi-finals and the championship match, which will be held on July 9, 2028 with a commencement at 5:00 PM.

It is hoped that an afternoon start, which will also be implemented for European club finals from the following campaign, will appeal to family audiences and help engage a more diverse set of viewers.

Participating Countries

The Irish team are due to play their opening match at the Dublin stadium and Scotland would do the same at the national stadium of Scotland.

Each host nation’s squad will enter the preliminary stage; two automatic spots will be set aside for any that do not reach the finals through the qualification path.

Locations and Elimination Phase

Aston Villa’s stadium and The North London arena round out the event’s nine venues. All will hold at least one elimination game, with the quarterfinal matches played at each country’s national stadium.

The qualifying draw will be held in the Northern Irish capital, which was removed as a venue city last year when it emerged the proposed venue could not be upgraded in time, on December 6, 2026.

Official Statement

“The event will be a competition for the supporters and a celebration of everything we value about the game – its passion and capacity to bring people together.”

Over 3 million passes, a record for a UEFA European Championship, are anticipated to be offered to fans.