Britain and Ireland to host EURO 2028

UEFA finally confirmed the hosts and venues for this prestigious tournament on Tuesday.

The European Championships is a prestigious and hotly anticipated tournament that takes place once every four years, with the next one set to take place in Germany in 2024. But like the World Cup, hosts for future tournaments are determined well in advance and as such, UEFA officially confirmed that Great Britain and Ireland would be hosting the Euros in 2028. Italy and Turkey were also confirmed as hosts for 2032.

This comes as a massive moment for the nation, and it will be the first international football tournament to be hosted on this side of the Channel since 1996, when England hosted that year’s European Championships. For many reasons, EURO 96 was an iconic tournament, but the lasting memory for England fans was that heart-breaking penalty shoot-out loss against Germany in the semi-final.

England hopes to go one step further and win the tournament, this time on home soil. The Three Lions did, of course, come even closer to winning the European Championships for the very first time in 2021, where they lost to Italy on penalties in the Final at Wembley. Should England not win the Euros in 2024, Gareth Southgate’s side will have the chance to do so as hosts.

After the joint bid from England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales was deemed successful, all 10 venues were finally confirmed. They are: Wembley Stadium (London), Principality Stadium (Cardiff), Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (London), Etihad Stadium (Manchester), Everton Stadium (Liverpool), St. James’ Park (Newcastle), Villa Park (Birmingham), Hampden Park (Glasgow), Aviva Stadium (Dublin) and Casement Park (Belfast).

The likes of Wembley, the Principality, Hampden and the Aviva Stadium have hosted a number of international matches from a variety of sports over the years. This tournament will see Everton’s new stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium host international football matches for the first time. However, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has played host to a number of NFL matches.

As for Villa Park, England has not played in the Second City since 2005, when the Three Lions played out a 0 – 0 friendly draw against the Netherlands.

Mark Bullingham, the Chief Executive Officer at the Football Association, had this to say following the announcement of the UK and Ireland’s successful joint bid (via The Guardian): “It’s something we’ve been working really hard on during the last few years. We’re looking forward to putting on a fantastic tournament. It’s a brilliant day for the country.

“The stadia are spread throughout the whole of the country, so everyone has an event within touching distance. It is critical that the whole country feels they are involved, and we have that excitement throughout every part of the country.”

The eyes of the football world will be on the United Kingdom and Ireland when the 2028 European Championships finally get underway.

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