Birmingham has been confirmed as a host city for the men’s European Championship in 2028.
UEFA EURO 2028 will be played in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland between 9th June and 9th June 2028. A total of nine venues in eight host cities have been announced.
Birmingham will be joined by London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, Cardiff and Dublin on the EURO 2028 schedule. Each city will provide one stadium for the 18th European Championship with the exception of London, where both Wembley Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be used.
Five current Premier League clubs will welcome supporters from across the continent through their turnstiles in two and a half years’ time.
Everton, Manchester City, Spurs and Newcastle United will host matches along with Birmingham’s host stadium, Villa Park.
The home of Aston Villa will host matches in a major men’s international tournament for the first time since EURO 96, when the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Portugal played in B6.
Villa Park was also used for three group stage matches at the 1966 World Cup. In 2028, there will be four matches played there.
Villa Park will host four EURO 2028 matches in total, three in the group stage and one in the round of 16.
| Date | Round | Group | Fixture |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11th June 2028 | Group Stage | C | C3 v C4 |
| 15th June 2028 | Group Stage | B | B2 v B4 |
| 20th June 2028 | Group Stage | D | D4 v D1 |
| 27th June 2028 | Round of 16 | - | Winner D v Runner-Up F |
The final match in Group D is of particular interest. Should they qualify for EURO 2028, ‘D1’ will be Northern Ireland and they will therefore be guaranteed to play their third Group D match at Villa Park.
If they won the group, Northern Ireland would return to Villa Park a week later for their first knock-out fixture against the team finishing second in Group F.
If Scotland qualify for the competition, Group F is the group where they will be placed. If they finish second in their group, their Round of 16 fixture will be played at Villa Park on 27th June 2028.
Villa’s EURO 2028 journey has already been a meandering one. Plans to redevelop the ground were withdrawn two years ago, potentially opening the door for Birmingham City’s super-duper-megastadium to step in, should it exist in time to do so.
But Villa’s proposals were revived in April, locking in Villa Park as a EURO 2028 venue.
“As the latest instalment of the North Ground regeneration plans, the North Stand expansion emphasises Villa’s commitment to levelling up the fan experience whilst becoming a world-class sports and entertainment venue,” read the club’s official statement.
“The redevelopment will increase the number of seats available in the North Stand to over 12,000. Combined with ongoing upgrades to Villa Park’s other three stands, total capacity at Villa Park will increase to over 50,000.
“The stadium renovation will be completed in H2 2027, ahead of the UEFA EURO 2028 Tournament that Villa Park will be a host venue for.”
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