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The England national team will embark on their Euro 2028 adventure at the Manchester City’s stadium, provided that they attain the relatively straightforward qualification for a tournament hosted across most of the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.

City’s stadium has not welcomed an English men’s match since May 2016, when Turkey were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is almost certain to stage the national team for their opening fixture on Saturday 10 June 2028.

The team are set to play their last two group stage games at the national stadium, but, in the event of winning the preliminary round, their round of 16 match would occur at St James’ Park. Finishing second would mean commencing the elimination stage at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Opening and Protest

The event was inaugurated at an ceremony in central London on Wednesday night. Key representatives from Uefa and the host FAs were confronted as they arrived the venue by about 50 pro-Palestine demonstrators, who demanded Israel to be removed from the sport because of the conflict in Gaza.

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

Championship Schedule

The first match of the European Championship will be held at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital, on Friday 9 June, a game that will involve the Welsh team if they make it.

The national stadium will host the two semi-final matches and the final, which will be played on July 9, 2028 with a start time 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 attract family audiences and help connect with a broader range of viewers.

Qualifying Teams

The Irish team are scheduled to play their first game at the Dublin Arena and the Tartan Army would play similarly at the national stadium of Scotland.

The national sides of all four hosts will take part in the preliminary stage; two reserved places will be reserved for any that fail to qualify for Euro 2028 through the standard process.

Venues and Playoffs

The Birmingham venue and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium round out the nine host stadiums. Every stadium will hold at least one knockout match, with the quarter-finals held at each country’s national stadium.

The draw for the qualifiers will be held in Belfast, which was dropped as a tournament location last year when it was revealed Casement Park could not be redeveloped in time, on 6 December 2026.

Official Statement

“The event will be a championship for the supporters and a celebration of everything we cherish about the sport – its emotion and power to unite individuals.”

More than three million admissions, a all-time high for a men’s European Championship, are expected to be released to supporters.