According to BBC sports editor Dan Roan, Wales is set to host the opening match of Euro 2028. The UK and Ireland bid is the sole proposal for the event and is expected to be officially confirmed at a meeting in Switzerland on Tuesday. Wales is hoping to host five more games at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, including a quarter-final. The tournament is set to be the latest in a series of sporting events held in Wales, following the Champions League final and the Ryder Cup golf tournament.
Host nations typically qualify automatically for major tournaments such as the Euros, but with five countries bidding to host Euro 2028, UEFA cannot offer an automatic spot to each host nation. The five host nations must compete for a qualification spot, with at least two guaranteed to participate. Therefore, Welsh fans hoping to see their country play at the tournament in their own country must qualify through the usual process. Wales has played at the tournament in each of the past three editions and will hope to continue that trend.
The exact number of games to be played in Wales has not been decided, but it is anticipated that Cardiff will host a total of six games. The Principality Stadium has a capacity of 74,000 and has hosted FA Cup, Rugby World Cup, Champions League, and Ryder Cup finals. Although Cardiff is the second-smallest city in the five-nation bid, it has excellent stadium infrastructure and offers a central location for matches. Football Association of Wales CEO Noel Mooney has expressed his desire for Wales to host the opening match of the tournament, as well as matches in the knockout stages.
Matches will be held at ten different grounds in the UK and Ireland, including Glasgow’s Hampden Park, Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, and Wembley in London. Belfast’s Casement Park and Everton’s Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool are also included in the bid – the former is yet to be built, while the latter is still under construction. The Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Wales have never hosted a major football tournament. The UK and Ireland Euro 2028 bid is now running unopposed after Turkey withdrew from the process last week
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