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England’s men’s team will commence their Euro 2028 adventure at the the home of Manchester City, assuming they attain the relatively straightforward qualification for a tournament staged throughout the bulk of Britain and the Ireland.

The Etihad Stadium has not welcomed an England men’s match since May 2016, when the Turkish team were defeated 2-1 in a warm-up game, but is expected to stage the England side for their opening fixture on a Saturday in June 2028.

The team are planned to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley, but, should they win Group B, their knockout stage opener would occur at the Newcastle stadium. Placing second would mean commencing the knockouts at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Championship Opening and Protest

The championship was launched at an gathering in central London on Wednesday evening. High-ranking officials from Uefa and the host football associations were heckled as they entered the location by around fifty pro-Palestine demonstrators, who called for Israel to be expelled from global football because of the conflict in Gaza.

Banners were raised with slogans saying “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while activists shouted: “Kick Israel out.”

Event Schedule

The first match of the tournament will be staged at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital, on Friday 9 June, a match that will include Wales if they secure a place.

Wembley Stadium will host the two semi-final matches and the championship match, which will be played on July 9, 2028 with a commencement at 5:00 PM.

It is hoped that an afternoon start, which will also be adopted for Champions League finals from the following campaign, will appeal to families and help connect with a broader range of viewers.

Participating Countries

The Republic of Ireland are due to play their first game at the Aviva Stadium and Scotland would play similarly at the national stadium of Scotland.

Each host nation’s squad will take part in the qualifying tournament; two guaranteed slots will be set aside for any that fail to qualify for the finals through the qualification path.

Venues and Elimination Phase

Aston Villa’s stadium and The North London arena round out the nine host stadiums. Each one will hold at least one knockout match, with the last eight staged at the national stadium of each host.

The draw for the qualifiers will be conducted in the Northern Irish capital, which was dropped as a venue city last year when it became clear the proposed venue could not be redeveloped in time, on 6 December 2026.

Tournament Vision

“This will be a tournament for the followers and a festival of everything we love about the sport – its fervor and ability to unite individuals.”

More than three million passes, a unprecedented number for a men’s European Championship, are expected to be made available to supporters.