The UK and Ireland have been announced as hosts of Euro 2028, while Turkey and Italy will share the subsequent tournament four years later.
The unopposed UK and Ireland bid was ratified at a meeting of UEFA’s executive committee in Switzerland, with economists Deloitte predicting a £2.6billion boost to the economy as a result.
The five-nation joint bid is set to see Wembley Stadium stage both semi-finals and the final, among 28 matches in England, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium proposed as the venue for the opening game. Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland would host six games each, with five in Northern Ireland.
The bid involves 10 grounds: Wembley, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, Newcastle’s St James’ Park and Villa Park in Birmingham, along with Casement Park in Belfast, the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Hampden Park in Glasgow and the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
All five home nations are set to go through qualifying, although UEFA will reserve two automatic spots for nations which fail to reach the finals.
If more than two nations fail to qualify, the best will take the qualification spots — raising the possibility that one or more of the hosts could miss out.
The FA believe that going through qualifying would be better preparation for the team than playing a series of friendlies, as well as more lucrative from a commercial viewpoint, while the other home nations are said to back the plan.
Playing competitive matches would also ensure the nations’ FIFA world rankings are less likely to be negatively impacted in the run up to the finals.
With Wembley set to host the final three matches, there will inevitably be scrutiny on security after the chaos that marred the Euro 2020 Final at the national stadium in July 2021 between England and Italy.
The FA chair, Debbie Hewitt, said in June: “One of the things I am absolutely convinced Uefa’s Exco will ask us is: ‘How can you assure us nobody will storm the turnstiles?’
