UEFA Euro 2028 will be held by England while Italy and Turkey will host the the 2032 Edition
After Turkey dropped out of the 2028 race, England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales were the only joint bidders.
UEFA announced on Tuesday that the United Kingdom and Ireland will host the 2028 European Championship, while Italy and Turkey will host the 2032 event.
With the acceptance of a joint Italy-Turkey candidacy for Euro 2032 last week, and Turkey withdrawing from the competition for Euro 2028, the hosts of both tournaments were already all but assured.
Following Turkey’s withdrawal from the 2028 competition, England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales were the only joint applicants.
Both bids, however, need final clearance from UEFA’s executive committee, which met on Tuesday. Hewitt stated that attempts to organize the tournament had brought the five soccer associations together.
“Nothing is ever a formality even right until the last minute,” said Debbie Hewitt, chair of the English Football Association (FA). “We took nothing for granted.”
Euro 2028 will be the most important sporting event ever organized jointly by the United Kingdom and Ireland. It will take place at ten stadiums, including Wembley Stadium in London, the National Stadium of Wales in Cardiff, Hampden Park in Glasgow, and the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
“There’s so many things that you might think might divide, but actually it has really unified,” she said. “I think that will be something that we all feel very proud of.”
Hewitt stated that the distribution of the matches among the five hosts was still unknown. The final and potentially the semi-finals could be held at Wembley Stadium, which has a capacity of 90,000 people. The venue hosted the Euro 2020 final and semi-finals.
UEFA will reserve two “safety net” berths for host teams who do not qualify on merit due to the five different hosts.
If more than two host countries fail to qualify, only the two with the best record will be allowed to compete. This means that some of the host countries will not compete in the tournament.
Gareth Bale, a former Welsh international who retired in January, believes the event would enhance soccer in Wales.
“I think it’s important especially for Wales to keep on the map, to keep pushing forward, to keep trying and better ourselves,” he said.
According to the English Football Association, three million tickets will be available for the tournament, which is more than any previous European Championship. It was also said that matches would be conducted at stadiums with an average capacity of 58,000 people.
