UK, Ireland to host Euro 2028; Turkey-Italy get 2032 edition - ESPN

The U.K. and Ireland will host the 2028 European Championship, while Italy and Turkey will stage the 2032 edition of the tournament, UEFA announced on Tuesday.

By accepting a joint Italy-Turkey bid for Euro 2032 last week, and with Turkey withdrawing from the race for Euro 2028, the hosts for both tournaments had all but already been determined by European football's governing body.

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Turkey's withdrawal from the 2028 race left England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales as the sole joint bidders for that tournament.

Both sets of bids, however, still needed final approval from UEFA's executive committee that convened on Tuesday.

«Nothing is ever a formality, even right until the last minute,» said Debbie Hewitt, chair of the English Football Association (FA). «We took nothing for granted.»

Hewitt said efforts to organise the tournament had united the five soccer associations.

«There's so many things that you might think might divide, but actually it has really unified,» she said. «I think that will be something that we all feel very proud of.»

Euro 2028 will be the largest major sporting event the U.K. and Ireland have ever jointly staged.

Former Welsh international Gareth Bale, who retired in January, said the tournament would boost soccer in Wales.

«I think it's important especially for Wales to keep on the map, to keep pushing forward, to keep trying and better ourselves,» he said.

The FA said some 3 million tickets would be available for the tournament, more than at any previous European Championship. Matches will be held in stadiums with an average capacity of 58,000, it added.