The UK and Ireland’s bid to host Euro 2028 has been formally approved, Uefa has announced.
Ten stadiums across the five nations will host the matches in five years’ time, with analysts projecting a £2.6 billion boost to the host nation economies on the back of the tournament.
The bid was unopposed after Turkey withdrew to focus on a joint bid for the 2032 finals alongside Italy, and it was given the official seal of approval by Uefa’s executive committee on October 10.
Wembley is set to host the final – and potentially both semi-finals – with the other English venues included in April’s final bid submission being the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Etihad Stadium, Villa Park, St James’ Park and Everton’s new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, Hampden Park in Glasgow, Dublin’s Aviva Stadium and a redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast will also host matches.
What will happen with tickets?
All five hosts were represented in Nyon when the bid was rubber-stamped and English FA chief executive Mark Bullingham vowed to make it an affordable tournament for supporters to attend, with a huge number of “Category 4” cheap tickets made available.
Balloting and sales are expected to start nine months before the tournament, in 2027, going by when the tickets for next year’s finals have started. Germany are hosting next year’s finals and tickets went on sale on October 3. More than 80% of 2.7 million tickets were available for the fans of the participating teams and the general public, with 1 million tickets available for less than €60 (£51.00).
Where will the games be?
There will be 10 hosts for the finals. Wembley will host the semis and final. Tottenham, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Newcastle and Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock are the other stadiums in England.
The Millennium Stadium in Wales is the proposed host for the opening match. Hampden Park in Glasgow and the Aviva Stadium in Dublin will also host matches. Casement Park in Belfast is being redeveloped and there is a contingency in case it does not get completed.
The split of the matches will see 28 games in England, six each in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, with the remaining five in Belfast.
How will teams qualify?
All five hosts will go through qualification. Should they not get through their group or play-offs, there are two “back-stop” places. It is still to be determined how that will be worked out if three or more teams fail to qualify. The options are records in qualifying, records in the previous two years or Fifa rankings.
For the tournament itself, hosts tend to be separated in the draw for the finals. The hosts who make it will be expected to be in Pot 1 which has the potential to make the seedings interesting. But it means there are unlikely to be “local” derbies in the group stages.
How will it look across the host nations?
The host cities will be catered for supporters but there will also be fan zones in non-host cities. This was not an absolute given heading into the bid but there is an expectation for Uefa to want the tournament to have the biggest reach.
