Cardiff‘s Principality Stadium has been selected to officially open Euro 2028, while Wembley Stadium in London will play host to the semi-finals and a final which has been handed a new 5pm kick-off time by UEFA.
That tournament – hosted by England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and involving 24 teams competing in 51 games – will open on Friday June 9, 2028 and end exactly a month later on Sunday July 9.
UEFA have also announced that those host nations will play their group games in front of their own fans if they qualify directly.
England’s first group game would be played at Manchester City‘s Etihad Stadium and the next two at Wembley. Ireland, Scotland and Wales would play in Dublin, Glasgow and Cardiff respectively.
UEFA have already brought forward the kick-off time for the Champions League final to 5pm, and have now followed suit with Euro 2028.
The three kick-off times selected for the tournament will be: 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm. The full details for each match-day will be announced after the final tournament draw in 2027.
Wembley has been selected to host the Euro 2028 final – the tournament starting on Friday June 9, 2028
Host nations England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland will play their group games in front of their own fans if they qualify directly
It has been estimated that Euro 2028 will generate £3.6billion of socio-economic benefits for the UK and Ireland. The UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Government of Ireland are set to collectively invest up to £740million between them in the tournament.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: ‘Football is the universal language. It expresses passion, skill, courage, solidarity and respect better than any other, and it constantly reminds us that our differences are exactly what make our sport so beautiful. At Euro 2028, we will all speak football – loud, clear and united.
‘The host nations, where the game first took shape, are eager to welcome millions of fans into legendary stadiums, providing the right stage for a festival of emotions, vividly encapsulated in the design we presented today.
‘The fans will be the beating heart of this tournament. In the way matches are staged – including a new, more convenient kick-off time for the final – and in the services across host cities and stadiums, we want to maximise the fan experience, in the venues and around the world, so more people than ever can fully enjoy what promises to be one of the year’s greatest events.’
UEFA held a launch party at the Under The Lights venue in Piccadilly Circus on Wednesday night and the event was gatecrashed by protesters with ‘Free Palestine’ flags outside holding banners which also read ‘You are complicit’, ‘Show Israel the red card’ and ‘Offside for genocide’, among others. They shouted ‘blood on your hands’ and ‘shame on you’, and chanted ‘Kick Israel out’.
A footballer known as the ‘Palestinian Pele’, called Suleiman al-Obeid, was killed in August in an Israeli attack on southern Gaza, according to the Palestine Football Association.
