Executive leadership at UEFA confirmed a decisive appointment this week, with organizers in the United Kingdom and Ireland outlining plans for the EURO 2028 tournament. Simultaneously, Italy and Türkiye agreed to co-host the 2032 edition, marking a collaborative approach to the European showcase for the next decade. The shift to joint hosting for 2032 came after Türkiye initially submitted a solo bid for that year as well as for 2028; the reconsideration left the two nations as the sole candidates under UEFA administration’s review for the two-year window that follows. The validation from UEFA put a spotlight on the evolving landscape of hosting duties and the strategic alliances shaping the continental championship.
UEFA also reaffirmed the list of proposed venues for EURO 2028 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, highlighting a slate of stadiums across several major cities. The proposed venues include Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool, London (two venues), Manchester, and Newcastle. This spread across the region reflects UEFA’s aim to balance accessibility with capacity, ensuring fans from across the British Isles and Ireland can engage with the tournament in a variety of urban settings and historic football hubs.
Looking back at the process, the 2023 joint bid by Italy and Türkiye had originally presented twenty potential stadiums. From that pool, ten venues were earmarked for selection in October 2026, with five designated in each country. The selection process underscores UEFA’s emphasis on comprehensive planning, infrastructure readiness, and regional integration to deliver a tournament that resonates with local communities while meeting international standards for hosting a major sporting event.
Turning to the broader European football landscape, the next European Championship is scheduled to take place in Germany, spanning from 14 June to 14 July 2024. The tournament will unfold across a number of cities, including Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Essen, Cologne, Munich, and Stuttgart. These locations were chosen to showcase Germany’s diverse football heritage and to provide fans with a rich tapestry of venues that combine modern facilities with historical significance.
The European Championship holds a storied place in football history. The inaugural edition was staged in France in 1960, and since then the tournament has traveled across the continent: to Spain in 1964, Italy in 1968, Belgium in 1972, Yugoslavia in 1976, Italy again in 1980, France in 1984, Germany in 1988, Sweden in 1992, England in 1996, Belgium and the Netherlands in 2000, Portugal in 2004, Austria and Switzerland in 2008, Poland and Ukraine in 2012, France in 2016, and the pan-European edition held across multiple nations including Azerbaijan, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Scotland, and Spain. This lineage illustrates the Championship’s evolution from a single-country event into a broad, cross-border festival of football, reflecting shifting approaches to big-tournament hosting in the modern era.