England to Launch Euro 2028 Campaign at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium
The English squad will commence their 2028 European Championship journey at the the home of Manchester City, assuming they attain the expected passage for a competition staged throughout most of the United Kingdom and the Ireland.
City’s stadium has not welcomed an English men’s fixture since May 2016, when Turkey were beaten 2-1 in a exhibition match, but is expected to host the national team for their first match on June 10, 2028.
The English side are scheduled to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley, but, in the event of winning their group, their knockout stage opener would be held at the Newcastle stadium. Finishing second would mean starting the elimination stage at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Competition Opening and Demonstration
The championship was inaugurated at an ceremony in central London on Wednesday evening. Key representatives from Uefa and the organizing bodies were barracked as they approached the location by around fifty protesters, who called for Israel to be expelled from global football because of the Gaza crisis.
Signs were raised with phrases reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while protesters called out: “Kick Israel out.”
Event Schedule
The inaugural fixture of the tournament will be played at the the national stadium of Wales in Cardiff, on June 9, 2028, a match that will include Wales if they make it.
Wembley will host the two semi-final matches and the championship match, which will be played on July 9, 2028 with a kick-off time at 5:00 PM.
It is hoped that an earlier kick-off, which will also be used for Champions League finals from the following campaign, will cater to households and help engage a more diverse set of audiences.
Host Nations
The Republic of Ireland are due to play their first game at the Dublin stadium and the Scottish team would do the same at Hampden Park.
Each host nation’s squad will participate in the qualification process; two reserved places will be reserved for any that fail to qualify for Euro 2028 through the standard process.
Stadiums and Elimination Phase
The Birmingham venue and Spurs’ ground round out the event’s nine venues. All will hold at least one playoff fixture, with the last eight played at every host’s main arena.
The qualifying draw will be held in Belfast, which was excluded as a host city last year when it became clear the Belfast stadium could not be renovated in time, on 6 December 2026.
Leadership Comment
“The event will be a tournament for the followers and a festival of everything we value about the sport – its fervor and ability to unite individuals.”
More than three million tickets, a record for a Euro tournament, are expected to be offered to attendees.