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The England national team will embark on their Euro 2028 journey at the Manchester City’s stadium, on the condition that they secure the anticipated passage for a championship hosted across most of the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.

City’s stadium has not hosted an Three Lions match since eight years ago, when the Turkish team were defeated 2-1 in a exhibition match, but is expected to host the national team for their opening fixture on a Saturday in June 2028.

England are scheduled to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley, but, if they top Group B, their knockout stage opener would occur at Newcastle’s St James’ Park. Securing the runner-up spot would mean beginning the knockouts at Everton’s ground.

Competition Opening and Protest

The tournament was unveiled at an event in Piccadilly Circus on Wednesday night. Key representatives from Uefa and the host FAs were confronted as they approached the location by around fifty activists, who called for Israel’s national side to be removed from global football because of the situation in Gaza.

Placards were raised with slogans reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while demonstrators chanted: “Kick Israel out.”

Championship Timeline

The first match of the tournament will be held at the the national stadium of Wales in the Welsh capital, on Friday 9 June, a fixture that will feature the Welsh team if they secure a place.

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

It is expected that an earlier kick-off, which will also be adopted for Champions League finals from the following campaign, will appeal to family audiences and help connect with a wider spectrum of viewers.

Host Nations

The Ireland are set to play their initial fixture at the Aviva Stadium and the Tartan Army would do the same at the national stadium of Scotland.

Each host nation’s squad will enter the qualifying tournament; two guaranteed slots will be reserved for any that fail to qualify for the finals through that route.

Locations and Knockout Stage

Villa Park and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium finalize 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 conducted in the Northern Irish capital, which was removed as a venue city last year when it became clear the Belfast stadium could not be upgraded in time, on a date in late 2026.

Official Statement

“This will be a tournament for the followers and a celebration of everything we love about the football – its passion and capacity to foster unity.”

In excess of three million passes, a unprecedented number for a UEFA European Championship, are expected to be offered to attendees.