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The England national team will commence their 2028 European Championship journey at the Manchester City’s stadium, provided that they achieve the relatively straightforward passage for a championship taking place in most of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Manchester City’s home ground has not hosted an England men’s fixture since the spring of 2016, when Turkey were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is expected to host the Three Lions for their opening fixture on June 10, 2028.

The English side are planned to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley, but, should they win the preliminary round, their knockout stage opener would take place at St James’ Park. Finishing second would mean beginning the elimination stage at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Tournament Opening and Protest

The event was launched at an gathering in central London on Wednesday evening. Senior figures from Uefa and the host football associations were barracked as they approached the site by about 50 protesters, who called for Israel to be removed from international football because of the situation in Gaza.

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

Event Fixture List

The opening game of the European Championship will be played at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital, on Friday 9 June, a game that will feature Wales if they secure a place.

Wembley will host both semi-finals and the final, which will be played on Sunday 9 July with a start time at 5:00 PM.

It is expected that an earlier kick-off, which will also be used for UEFA Champions League finals from the following campaign, will attract family audiences and help connect with a wider spectrum of fans.

Participating Countries

The Ireland are due to play their initial fixture at the Dublin Arena and the Scottish team would play similarly at the national stadium of Scotland.

The national sides of all four hosts will enter the qualifying tournament; two reserved places will be reserved for any that do not reach the finals through the standard process.

Stadiums and Knockout Stage

The Birmingham venue and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium complete the nine host stadiums. Each one will hold at least one elimination game, with the quarter-finals staged at the national stadium of each host.

The draw for the qualifiers will be conducted in the Northern Irish capital, which was removed as a tournament location last year when it emerged the proposed venue could not be redeveloped in time, on 6 December 2026.

Official Statement

“This will be a championship for the supporters and a showcase of everything we value about the sport – its emotion and capacity to bring people together.”

More than three million admissions, a unprecedented number for a Euro tournament, are expected to be released to attendees.