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The England national team will initiate their 2028 European Championship campaign at the Etihad Stadium, assuming they achieve the expected passage for a competition staged throughout the bulk of Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

The Etihad Stadium has not welcomed an Three Lions match since May 2016, when the visitors were overcome 2-1 in a exhibition match, but is almost certain to stage the national team for their opening fixture on Saturday 10 June 2028.

The team are planned to play their last two group stage games at Wembley Stadium, but, if they top Group B, their knockout stage opener would be held at St James’ Park. Placing second would mean starting the knockouts at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Kickoff and Demonstration

The tournament was unveiled at an gathering in a London landmark on Wednesday evening. Key representatives from Uefa and the organizing bodies were confronted as they entered the location by about 50 activists, who urged Israel to be expelled from international football because of the conflict in Gaza.

Signs were raised with slogans reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while protesters chanted: “Kick Israel out.”

Championship Schedule

The inaugural fixture of the tournament will be played at the the national stadium of Wales in the Welsh capital, on a Friday in June 2028, a fixture that will involve the Welsh team if they qualify.

The national stadium will host the two semi-final matches and the title decider, which will be staged on July 9, 2028 with a start time at 5pm.

It is anticipated that an earlier start, which will also be adopted for European club finals from the upcoming season, will appeal to households and help engage a more diverse set of audiences.

Participating Countries

The Ireland are scheduled to play their opening match at the Aviva Stadium and Scotland would follow suit at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will participate in the preliminary stage; two automatic spots will be reserved for any that fail to qualify for the finals through the standard process.

Stadiums and Playoffs

Villa Park and Spurs’ ground round out the event’s nine venues. Every stadium will hold at least one playoff fixture, with the quarterfinal matches held at every host’s main arena.

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

Tournament Vision

“The event will be a championship for the fans and a showcase of everything we value about the sport – its passion and ability to unite individuals.”

Over 3 million tickets, a all-time high for a Euro tournament, are projected to be released to attendees.