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England’s men’s team will embark on their 2028 European Championship adventure at the Manchester City’s stadium, assuming they secure the expected qualification for a championship taking place in the majority of the UK and the Irish Republic.

City’s stadium has not hosted an Three Lions match since the spring of 2016, when the visitors were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is expected to welcome the England side for their inaugural game on a Saturday in June 2028.

The team are scheduled to play their last two group stage games at Wembley Stadium, but, in the event of winning Group B, their round of 16 match would occur at St James’ Park. Placing second would mean starting the elimination stage at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Launch and Rally

The tournament was launched at an event in central London on Wednesday night. High-ranking officials from the tournament organizers and the host football associations were heckled as they arrived the location by around fifty pro-Palestine demonstrators, who demanded Israel’s national side to be removed from global football because of the situation in Gaza.

Signs were raised with slogans stating “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while activists called out: “Kick Israel out.”

Event Timeline

The opening game of the European Championship will be held at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital, on Friday 9 June, a game that will include the Dragons if they make it.

Wembley Stadium will host the penultimate rounds and the final, which will be staged on July 9, 2028 with a start time at 5pm.

It is expected that an afternoon start, which will also be used for UEFA Champions League finals from the following campaign, will attract households and help reach a more diverse set of fans.

Host Nations

The Republic of Ireland are scheduled to play their initial fixture at the Dublin Arena and Scotland would do the same at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will enter the preliminary stage; two automatic spots will be set aside for any that miss out on the finals through that route.

Locations and Knockout Stage

Villa Park and The North London arena complete the nine host stadiums. All will hold at least one knockout match, with the last eight played at each country’s national stadium.

The qualifying draw will be staged in Belfast, which was dropped as a tournament location last year when it was revealed the proposed venue could not be redeveloped in time, on 6 December 2026.

Official Statement

“It will be a championship for the followers and a showcase of everything we value about the football – its emotion and power to foster unity.”

In excess of three million passes, a unprecedented number for a men’s European Championship, are projected to be offered to fans.