The Three Lions to Start UEFA Euro 2028 Quest at City’s Home Ground

England’s men’s team will commence their UEFA Euro 2028 campaign at the Etihad Stadium, on the condition that they attain the expected passage for a tournament hosted across the bulk of Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

City’s stadium has not staged an England men’s fixture since eight years ago, when the Turkish team were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is highly likely to host the Three Lions for their first match on June 10, 2028.

England are planned to play their final two group matches at Wembley, but, in the event of winning their group, their knockout stage opener would take place at St James’ Park. Securing the runner-up spot would mean starting the knockouts at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Launch and Rally

The championship was launched at an event in Piccadilly Circus on Wednesday night. High-ranking officials from Uefa and the host FAs were barracked as they arrived the site by around fifty pro-Palestine demonstrators, who urged Israel’s national side to be removed from global football because of the situation in Gaza.

Placards were displayed with messages reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while activists shouted: “Kick Israel out.”

Tournament Fixture List

The opening game of the tournament will be held at the Cardiff’s stadium in the Welsh capital, on a Friday in June 2028, a match that will feature Wales if they make it.

Wembley Stadium will host both semi-finals and the title decider, which will be played on a Sunday in July 2028 with a start time at 5pm.

It is expected that an earlier start, which will also be implemented for European club finals from the following campaign, will appeal to family audiences and help engage a broader range of audiences.

Host Nations

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

All four host countries’ teams will take part in the qualification process; two reserved places will be held in reserve for any that fail to qualify for the tournament through the qualification path.

Stadiums and Elimination Phase

Aston Villa’s stadium and Spurs’ ground round out the nine host stadiums. Each one will hold at least one elimination game, with the last eight staged at each country’s national stadium.

The qualifying draw will be held in Belfast, which was excluded as a host city last year when it was revealed the proposed venue could not be redeveloped in time, on a date in late 2026.

Leadership Comment

“This will be a tournament for the fans and a festival of everything we love about the sport – its emotion and power to foster unity.”

In excess of three million passes, a unprecedented number for a UEFA European Championship, are projected to be made available to supporters.