In the bid for Euro 2028, the UK and Ireland were the only contenders after Turkey withdrew. The tournament will be hosted in various venues across England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Only two host nations will receive automatic qualification.
The UK and Ireland will host Euro 2028, and Turkey and Italy will host Euro 2032.
The UEFA committee approved the bid by five countries after Turkey withdrew and decided to focus on its joint bid with Italy for Euro 2032.
The UK-Ireland bid submission in April included ten stadia. Six of them are in England, while the remaining ones are located in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
In 2028, the tournament will take place in June and July. This will be exactly seven years after England and Scotland hosted games during the rescheduled tournament, which was held across Europe.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham told Sky Sports: “We’re delighted. It’s been three years of hard work to get to this point. It’s fantastic for us and the country, the home nations and Ireland. We’re really looking forward to it.
“We worked really hard to put together a really strong bid and we think that’s probably the reason we were unopposed in the end.”
According to UEFA, the Euro 2028 is expected to generate higher revenue than any other tournament, including Euro 2032.
UEFA supports all five countries in the qualification process, providing two automatic places for those who do not qualify on the field.
The Football Association (FA) wants England to focus on playing qualifier matches instead of having two years of friendly matches to maintain their competitiveness.
“From our point of view, it’s great to be taking part in qualifying and we want to get everyone there,” Bullingham told Sky Sports.
“It is better to play in a tournament where it matters and we have competitive games. We’re looking forward to that.
“It’s always been part of our discussions with the other countries and UEFA that we would take part in qualifying. We think with the new format of European football that’s the right thing to do.”
If three out of the five countries didn’t qualify, it would be hard to decide which two of those three would move forward to the tournament.
In qualifying, the top two countries can get a special invitation to participate in the finals.
Here are the six venues in England for the event:
- Wembley
- Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- Etihad Stadium
- St James’ Park
- Villa Park
- Everton’s new home at Bramley-Moore Dock (currently under construction)
Four other stadiums included in the submission are the redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast, the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Hampden Park in Glasgow, and the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
The tournament will have 24 teams playing a total of 51 games.
There will be a total of 28 matches in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. Specifically, 6 matches will be played in each of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, while 5 matches are scheduled for Northern Ireland.
The first match will take place in Cardiff, while the semi-finals and final will be held at Wembley.
The quarter-finals will happen at Wembley, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
Bullingham said: “It’s a really good partnership. We know we’re going to have five games in Northern Ireland, six in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
“It’s brilliant those countries are going to get a significant portion of games, particularly if they end up with some of their own home games – it will really excite the countries.”
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