Cardiff kicks off the European football festival
It seems like it was yesterday when we were crying (or celebrating, depending on which side of the pond you were on) the final of Euro 2024, and already the money and meme making machine that is UEFA is announcing the details of the next edition. The opening match of Euro 2028 will not be in a mega-pharaonic stadium, but in the picturesque Wales National Stadium in Cardiff. Yes, Wales. The land of the dragons, Gareth Bale retired and now, the epicenter of continental football to start the show. The organizers confirmed it with all the pomp of an ordinary Wednesday, because what better day to drop a bomb like that?
This edition will be co-organized by Great Britain and Ireland, a dream team of football nations that promises an expanded tournament in eight cities. But don’t get your hopes up, the main course, as always, goes to the always modest London. Both semi-finals and the final, the crowning event, will take place at Wembley Stadium. Because, clearly, spreading love is too mainstream. England, which was already co-host of the 2020 tournament (held in 2021, because the pandemic played that trick on us) and hosted it alone in 1996, steals the camera again.
The map of madness: stadiums and the eternal favoritism of Wembley
The list of venues for the continental competition is a true tour of British and Irish geography. Get ready for a marathon of train rides, pints of beer and hymns sung at the top of your lungs. Here is the definitive guide to the football temples that will host chaos:
Birmingham: Villa Park
Cardiff: National Stadium of Wales
Dublin: Dublin Arena
Glasgow: Hampden Park
Liverpool: Everton’s new stadium (for a little change)
London: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
London (again): The modern coliseum, Wembley Stadium
Manchester: Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium
Newcastle: St James’ Park
As expected, Wembley monopolizes the key matches: semi-finals and the grand final. The quarter-finals will be split between the Dublin Arena, Hampden Park, the National Stadium of Wales and, guess what, Wembley again! For the round of 16, there will be action in each of the host stadiums… except Wembley, which needs a break, poor thing.
Format, home field advantages and the hunt for tickets
The competition format maintains the essence: 24 national teams, 51 matches in 31 days of pure adrenaline. Basically, an entire month in which your work productivity will go to hell. The best two from each of the six groups advance to the round of 16, along with the four best third parties. From there, direct elimination until the final: one mistake and home, without shelter.
Home field advantage is a juicy topic. The co-hosts will have to play in the qualifying phase, but with two places reserved in case those who do not make it through directly. If England qualify, their first group match will be in Manchester and the next two at Wembley (surprise). If Scotland, Wales or Ireland go through directly, they will also play their group matches at home, in front of their fans. A local party with European guests.
And now, what we are all waiting for: the tickets for the matches. There will be more than three million tickets available, but UEFA, with its usual mystery, has not revealed how, when or at what price you can try to buy yours. Get ready for pitched battles on the internet, because getting a ticket will be more difficult than deciphering offside with the VAR.
To finish, the defending champion is Spain, which in Euro 2024 ruined the party for England in the final. The million dollar question is: can someone take the throne from them in 2028?
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