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England’s men’s team will commence their UEFA Euro 2028 campaign at the Etihad Stadium, provided that they attain the anticipated entry for a championship hosted across the majority of the UK and the Irish Republic.

The Etihad Stadium has not welcomed an England men’s fixture since eight years ago, when the Turkish team were beaten 2-1 in a friendly, but is expected to stage the Three Lions for their opening fixture on June 10, 2028.

The English side are planned to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley Stadium, but, should they win their group, their knockout stage opener would take place at the Newcastle stadium. Finishing second would mean starting the knockouts at Everton’s ground.

Competition Opening and Protest

The championship was unveiled at an gathering in a London landmark on Wednesday night. High-ranking officials from European football’s governing body and the organizing bodies were barracked as they entered the location by approximately 50 protesters, who urged Israel’s national side to be kicked out from international football because of the conflict in Gaza.

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

Tournament Timeline

The inaugural fixture of Euro 2028 will be staged at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital, on Friday 9 June, a fixture that will involve Wales if they make it.

The national stadium will host the penultimate rounds and the final, which will be staged on July 9, 2028 with a kick-off time at 5pm.

It is hoped that an earlier start, which will also be used for Champions League finals from the following campaign, will attract family audiences and help reach a more diverse set of viewers.

Participating Countries

The Ireland are scheduled to play their initial fixture at the Dublin Arena and Scotland would play similarly at the national stadium of Scotland.

The national sides of all four hosts will participate in the qualifying tournament; two automatic spots will be held in reserve for any that miss out on the tournament through the qualification path.

Locations and Elimination Phase

Villa Park and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium round out the nine tournament locations. Every stadium will hold at least one elimination game, with the quarter-finals staged at each country’s national stadium.

The qualification draw will be staged in the Northern Irish capital, which was excluded as a host city last year when it emerged the proposed venue could not be redeveloped in time, on 6 December 2026.

Tournament Vision

“The event will be a tournament for the supporters and a celebration of everything we value about the game – its passion and power to foster unity.”

Over 3 million admissions, a record for a UEFA European Championship, are anticipated to be released to attendees.