UEFA Euro 2028 facts for kids

The UEFA Euro 2028 is a big football tournament. It's officially called the UEFA European Football Championship. This event happens every four years. In 2028, it will be the 18th time this championship takes place.

The tournament will be held in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is planned for June and July 2028. This will be the third time England hosts the tournament. They hosted it in 1996 and had games in London for Euro 2020. Scotland also hosted games in Glasgow during Euro 2020. This will be the first time for Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Wales to host Euro matches.

How the Hosts Were Chosen

Countries that want to host the Euro tournament must follow certain rules. They need to suggest 10 stadiums. One stadium must hold 60,000 people. One or two stadiums need to hold 50,000 people. Four stadiums must hold 40,000 people. Finally, three stadiums must hold 30,000 people.

Who Wanted to Host?

Several countries showed interest in hosting Euro 2028. The UEFA committee, which runs European football, announced the bidding process. Countries could bid for either Euro 2028 or Euro 2032.

• United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland: On February 7, 2022, the football groups from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland announced they would bid together. This joint bid was successful. England had hosted the tournament before in 1996. Both England and Scotland hosted games during the multi-country Euro 2020. Ireland was supposed to host games in 2020. However, due to health rules at the time, those games were moved.

Other Countries That Showed Interest

Some other countries thought about bidding but did not submit a final proposal.

• Nordic Countries: Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden considered a joint bid.
• Portugal and Spain: These two countries thought about bidding for Euro 2028 or the 2030 World Cup.
• Balkan Countries: Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia also discussed a joint bid for Euro 2028 and the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

Bids That Were Withdrawn

Some countries started the bidding process but later decided not to continue for Euro 2028.

• Italy: Italy first thought about bidding for Euro 2028. However, they later decided to bid for Euro 2032 instead. This gives them more time to get their stadiums ready.
• Turkey: Turkey also submitted a bid to host Euro 2028. But then, Turkey and Italy decided to try for a joint bid for Euro 2032. Because of this, Turkey withdrew its bid for Euro 2028.

Bids That Were Not Allowed

• Russia: Russia announced a bid to host Euro 2028. However, UEFA had banned Russian clubs and the national team from international games. Because of this, UEFA said Russia's bid was not allowed.

How Teams Will Qualify

The UEFA rules say that only up to two host countries can automatically qualify for the tournament. Since there are five host countries for Euro 2028, it's not yet clear which teams will get automatic spots.

One idea is that all five host teams will play in the qualification rounds. Then, two automatic spots would be saved for any host teams that don't qualify through those games. If three or more host teams don't qualify, the spots would go to the best-performing host teams.

Most teams will earn their spot through a special qualifying tournament. This tournament will have twelve groups of four or five teams. The team that wins each group will go straight to the European Championship. Teams that finish second might qualify directly or play in extra play-off matches. All five host countries will take part in these qualification games.

Stadiums for the Games

On April 12, 2023, the ten stadiums chosen to host the games were announced. UEFA confirmed this list on October 10, 2023. Some famous stadiums like Anfield and Old Trafford were not chosen. Anfield's field was too small for UEFA's rules. Old Trafford could not promise it would be ready in time.

London		Cardiff	Manchester
Wembley Stadium	Tottenham Hotspur Stadium	National Stadium of Wales	City of Manchester Stadium
Capacity: 90,652	Capacity: 62,322	Capacity: 73,952	Capacity: 61,000
Liverpool			Newcastle
Everton Stadium			St James' Park
Capacity: 52,679			Capacity: 52,305
Birmingham	Glasgow	Dublin	Belfast
Villa Park	Hampden Park	Dublin Arena	Casement Park
Capacity: 52,190	Capacity: 52,032	Capacity: 51,711	Capacity: 34,500

Images for kids

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  Wembley Stadium in London

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  Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London

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  National Stadium of Wales in Cardiff

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  City of Manchester Stadium

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  Everton Stadium in Liverpool

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  St James' Park in Newcastle

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  Villa Park in Birmingham

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  Hampden Park in Glasgow

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  Dublin Arena in Dublin

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  Casement Park in Belfast