The UK and Ireland bid for Euro 2028 ran unopposed after Turkey withdrew to focus on its joint bid with Italy for Euro 2032; six venues are in England, with one each from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales; only two host nations will get automatic qualification
The UK and Ireland will host Euro 2028 while Turkey and Italy have been awarded 2032.
The UEFA executive committee gave the green light to the five-nation bid, which ran unopposed after Turkey withdrew last week to focus on its joint bid with Italy for Euro 2032.
Ten stadia were included in the UK-Ireland bid submission in April. Six of the venues are in England, with one each from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The tournament will be held in June and July of 2028 – exactly seven years since England and Scotland both hosted games during the re-arranged tournament, which was held across Europe.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham told Sky Sports: “We’re delighted. It’s been three years of hard work to get to this point. It’s fantastic for us and the country, the home nations and Ireland. We’re really looking forward to it.
“We worked really hard to put together a really strong bid and we think that’s probably the reason we were unopposed in the end.”
UEFA is projecting that it will make more money from Euro 2028 than any other major tournament, including Euro 2032.
How will host nations qualify?
UEFA favours all five countries going through qualification, with two automatic places set aside for those who don’t qualify on the pitch.
The FA wants England to stay competitive by playing in qualifiers, avoiding two years of friendlies instead.
“From our point of view, it’s great to be taking part in qualifying and we want to get everyone there,” Bullingham told Sky Sports.
“It is better to play in a tournament where it matters and we have competitive games. We’re looking forward to that.
“It’s always been part of our discussions with the other countries and UEFA that we would take part in qualifying. We think with the new format of European football that’s the right thing to do.”
If, for example, three of the five countries failed to qualify, it would be equally messy to decide which two of those three would progress to the tournament.
One possibility is that the best-performing two countries in qualifying would be granted a “wild card” for the finals.
Where will the games be played?
The six venues in England are Wembley, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Etihad Stadium, St James’ Park, Villa Park and Everton’s new home at Bramley-Moore Dock, which is currently under construction.
A redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast, the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Hampden Park in Glasgow and the Principality Stadium in Cardiff were the other stadia included in the submission.
There are going to be 24 teams involved with 51 games played during the tournament.
Sky Sports News understands 28 matches will be played in England with six each in Scotland, Wales and Ireland plus five in Northern Ireland.
The opening game is expected to be played in Cardiff with the semi-finals and final played at Wembley.
The quarter-finals will take place at Wembley, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Bullingham said: “It’s a really good partnership. We know we’re going to have five games in Northern Ireland, six in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
“It’s brilliant those countries are going to get a significant portion of games, particularly if they end up with some of their own home games – it will really excite the countries.”
Will Casement Park be ready?
One issue that needs to be addressed is the redevelopment of Casement Park. The site is derelict and plans by the Gaelic Athletic Association to redevelop it with a 34,000 capacity stadium have been mired in controversy and hit by delays.
The Casement project has been delayed by a series of legal challenges and is further complicated by the lack of a functioning executive at Stormont.
The redevelopment has also been hit by rising costs, with an original projected price tag from almost a decade ago of £77.5m now believed to have spiralled well above £100m.
The GAA is part-funding the project but has yet to reach an agreement with Stormont on how to cover a multi-million-pound shortfall.
Are there concerns over Wembley hosting the final?
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“The UEFA executive committee has had assurances from The FA that there won’t be a repeat of the disgraceful scenes that we saw at Wembley for the Euro 2020 final.
“Anyone who was there that day will remember what a shocking experience it was. There was very little security, so many people seemed to gain access to the stadium without tickets. An official report found that it was basically a miracle that nobody lost their lives.
“The FA say they have learned lessons and nothing like that is going to happen again. UEFA have confidence in The FA because they’ve given them the Champions League final at Wembley at the end of this season.
“It’s not just The FA who have questions to answer because everyone saw what happened at the last two Champions League finals in Paris and Istanbul.
“I was at both and a lot of the supporters, especially from Liverpool and Manchester City, said they have absolutely no faith in UEFA any longer and would not want to go to any major games organised by them.
“There are not just questions for the FA to answer but also serious questions for UEFA and their executive committee to answer about whether they are fit for purpose when it comes to hosting major tournaments and finals.”
‘UEFA confident we can deliver brilliant Euros’
Over concerns about Wembley hosting the Euro 2028 final after the issues at the previous tournament, Bullingham told Sky Sports: “That was obviously something we talked about when Baroness Casey did her review and we covered everything at that point.
“UEFA were very comfortable at that point and it hasn’t been a big issue with them since. They know we’ve spent a lot of money upgrading the stadium. They’re really confident we can deliver a brilliant Euros and that’s what we’ll do.
“We’re really proud of our stadium and it’s a brilliant place to hold major events and we’re delighted UEFA see it that way as well.”
