UK and Ireland confirmed as joint Euro 2028 hosts

Euro 2028 is heading to the UK and Ireland after UEFA confirmed the joint bid had been successful.

The rival Turkish bid was withdrawn last week in order to focus on hosting the 2032 edition alongside Italy.

And that paved the way for the five-country proposal to get the green light.

A statement from the five football associations read: "UEFA Euro 2028 UK and Ireland will be the largest major sporting event the nations have ever jointly staged.

"The bid was successful thanks to its clear and compelling vision to help domestic and European football grow a more diverse and inclusive game.

"The UK and Ireland was also awarded the tournament based on the nations' collective wealth of operational experience and world-class technical facilities."

Ex-Wales star Gareth Bale was a member of the presentation team, which promised to make a record-breaking three million tickets available for the event.

It will be the first major tournament to be exclusively hosted by England since Euro 1996 and the first ever by the four other countries. 

The Euro 2020 final was also held at Wembley, when Gareth Southgate's Three Lions lost to Italy on penalties.

Will all five host nations qualify automatically for Euro 2028?

Customarily qualifying places are reserved for host nations, with Poland and Ukraine guaranteed spots before they hosted the Euros in 2012.

But UEFA expect England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales to go through qualifying.

The governing body are understood to be unwilling to allow five automatic qualification places, which means some of the host nations could miss out.

However, UEFA could look for a way to reduce this risk ahead of the start of qualifying in 2026.

Which stadiums will host Euro 2028 matches?

Wembley Stadium, London: 90,652 capacity

Principality Stadium, Cardiff: 73,952 

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London: 62,322 

Etihad Stadium, Manchester: 61,000 

Everton Stadium, Liverpool: 52,679 

St James' Park, Newcastle: 52,305

Villa Park, Birmingham: 52,190 

Hampden Park, Glasgow: 52,032 

Aviva Stadium, Dublin: 51,711

Casement Park, Belfast: 34,500