Euro 2028: UK & Ireland to host European Championships as Turkey and Italy get 2032
The United Kingdom and Ireland will host Euro 2028 while Turkey and Italy will be awarded Euro 2032.
UEFA’s executive committee gave the green light to the five-nation bid, which went ahead unopposed after Turkey withdrew last week to focus on its joint Euro bid with Italy 2032.
Ten stadiums were included in the UK-Ireland bid submission in April. Six of the sites are in England, including one each in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
UEFA favors the five countries in the qualifying phase, with two automatic places reserved for those who do not qualify on the field.
The FA wants England to remain competitive by participating in qualifying, avoiding two years of friendlies.
Ten stadiums were included in the UK and Ireland bid
The tournament will take place in June and July 2028 – exactly seven years after England and Scotland both hosted matches in the revamped tournament, which was held across Europe.
Where will the matches take place?
The six venues in England are Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Etihad Stadium, St James’ Park, Villa Park and Everton’s new home at Bramley-Moore Dock, currently under construction.
A redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast, Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Hampden Park in Glasgow and the Principality Stadium in Cardiff were the other stadiums included in the bid.
There will be 24 teams involved with 51 matches played during the tournament.
Hampden Park is one of 10 venues planned to host Euro 2028 matches
Sky Sports News It appears 28 matches will be played in England, including six each in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, plus five in Northern Ireland.
The opening match is scheduled to be played in Cardiff with the semi-finals and final at Wembley.
The quarter-finals will take place at Wembley, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Would Wembley host the Euro 2028 final?
Police form a cordon around Wembley Stadium after it was breached by ticketless fans ahead of the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy in July 2021.
Kaveh Solhekol, Sky Sports News chief reporter:
“The UEFA executive committee has received assurances from the FA that there will be no repeat of the shameful scenes we saw at Wembley for the Euro 2020 final.
“Everyone who was there that day will remember what a shocking experience it was. There was very little security, so many people seemed to have access to the stadium without tickets. An official report revealed that it was basically a miracle that no one lost their lives..
“The FA says it has learned lessons and nothing like this will happen again. UEFA has confidence in the FA because it gave them the Champions League final at Wembley at the end of this season.
“It’s not just the FA that has questions to answer because everyone saw what happened in the last two Champions League finals in Paris and Istanbul.
“I was present at both and many fans, notably from Liverpool and Manchester City, said they had absolutely no more confidence in UEFA and would no longer want to attend major matches organized by them .
“There are not only questions that the FA must answer, but also serious questions that UEFA and its executive committee must answer as to whether they are fit to host major tournaments and finals.”