England to Launch Euro 2028 Campaign at City’s Home Ground
The English squad will commence their UEFA Euro 2028 campaign at the Manchester City’s stadium, on the condition that they achieve the expected passage for a championship hosted across most of the United Kingdom and the Ireland.
Manchester City’s home ground has not hosted an Three Lions game since May 2016, when Turkey were beaten 2-1 in a friendly, but is expected to stage the national team for their inaugural game on June 10, 2028.
England are planned to play their concluding group fixtures at the national stadium, but, in the event of winning their group, their knockout stage opener would take place at Newcastle’s St James’ Park. Securing the runner-up spot would mean commencing the knockouts at Everton’s ground.
Competition Opening and Demonstration
The championship was launched at an ceremony in a London landmark on Wednesday evening. Key representatives from European football’s governing body and the host football associations were heckled as they arrived the venue by around fifty activists, who called for Israel’s national side to be expelled from global football because of the conflict in Gaza.
Placards were displayed with slogans stating “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while activists shouted: “Kick Israel out.”
Tournament Fixture List
The first match of the European Championship will be staged at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital, on a Friday in June 2028, a game that will feature the Dragons if they qualify.
The national stadium will host both semi-finals and the final, which will be staged on Sunday 9 July with a commencement at late afternoon.
It is hoped that an earlier start, which will also be implemented for European club finals from the following campaign, will cater to family audiences and help connect with a more diverse set of fans.
Host Nations
The Republic of Ireland are scheduled to play their first game at the Dublin Arena and the Scottish team would play similarly at Hampden Park.
The national sides of all four hosts will enter the qualifying tournament; two guaranteed slots will be reserved for any that fail to qualify for the tournament through the standard process.
Venues and Knockout Stage
The Birmingham venue and Spurs’ ground round out the nine tournament locations. All will hold at least one elimination game, with the last eight played at each country’s national stadium.
The qualification draw will be conducted in the Northern Irish capital, which was excluded as a venue city last year when it was revealed Casement Park could not be upgraded in time, on December 6, 2026.
Leadership Comment
“The event will be a championship for the fans and a festival of everything we value about the sport – its passion and capacity to bring people together.”
More than three million admissions, a record for a UEFA European Championship, are expected to be offered to supporters.
