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The English squad will embark on their Euro 2028 campaign at the the home of Manchester City, assuming they attain the anticipated qualification for a tournament taking place in the bulk of Britain and the Irish Republic.

City’s stadium has not hosted an Three Lions game since May 2016, when Turkey were beaten 2-1 in a warm-up game, but is highly likely to host the England side for their inaugural game on a Saturday in June 2028.

The English side are planned to play their last two group stage games at the national stadium, but, should they win the preliminary round, their round of 16 match would be held at the Newcastle stadium. Finishing second would mean starting the knockouts at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Opening and Protest

The tournament was unveiled at an event in Piccadilly Circus on Wednesday evening. Key representatives from the tournament organizers and the organizing bodies were heckled as they approached the venue by approximately 50 pro-Palestine demonstrators, who demanded Israel to be expelled from the sport because of the conflict in Gaza.

Signs were held up with messages reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while activists called out: “Kick Israel out.”

Championship Fixture List

The opening game of the tournament will be played at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital, on Friday 9 June, a fixture that will feature Wales if they qualify.

The national stadium will host both semi-finals and the title decider, which will be played on July 9, 2028 with a start time at 5:00 PM.

It is expected that an afternoon start, which will also be used for European club finals from the following campaign, will cater to households and help reach a broader range of audiences.

Host Nations

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

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

Venues and Elimination Phase

Villa Park and The North London arena finalize the nine tournament locations. Every stadium will hold at least one playoff fixture, with the last eight staged at each country’s national stadium.

The qualifying draw will be staged in Belfast, which was removed as a tournament location last year when it was revealed the Belfast stadium could not be renovated in time, on a date in late 2026.

Leadership Comment

“This will be a tournament for the supporters and a festival of everything we value about the football – its passion and capacity to unite individuals.”

Over 3 million passes, a all-time high for a UEFA European Championship, are projected to be made available to fans.