Euro 2028: Cardiff could host tournament's opening game

Cristiano Ronaldo starred as Cardiff hosted its last major football final, the 2017 Champions League final

Wales is in line to stage the opening match of football's 2028 European Championships after the UK and Ireland were confirmed as tournament hosts.

The five-nation proposal was the only bid to host Euro 2028 and was officially confirmed at a Uefa meeting in Nyon in Switzerland on Tuesday.

It is understood that the bid proposes that Cardiff's Principality Stadium hosts the opening match of Euro 2028.

Wales hopes to host a total of six games, including a quarter-final.

After the Champions League final and golf's Ryder Cup, the Euros will be the latest big sporting event in Wales.

But how will it affect football supporters?

Will host nations qualify automatically for Euro 2028?

Welsh football fans hoping that UK and Ireland hosting Euro 2028 will mean automatic qualification for host nations are in for a bit of a shock.

Usually, the host nation of a major tournament like the Euros automatically qualifies.

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But with five countries bidding to host Euro 2028, there are just too many countries for Uefa to give up automatic spots.

Wales and England clashed in Euro 2016 and will be hoping to qualify for another Euros in 2028

In its bid guidelines, Uefa says: "In case of more than two joint-host associations, the automatic qualification of all the host teams cannot be guaranteed and shall be subject to a decision to be made in conjunction with decisions concerning the qualifying competition."

It is unlikely Uefa will offer more than two places, so three could miss out.

There has been some talk of all five nations trying to qualify with two 'backstop' qualification spots available for those who miss out, with either the highest-ranking nations who failed to qualify going through, or the two sides that come closest to qualifying.

However, it has been said that there are some reservations within Uefa about offering a "backdoor" entry to nations who have failed to qualify, as well as its potential impact on the normal qualifying process.

BBC Sport understands the Football Association wants England to reach Euro 2028 via the formal qualifying process, rather than be handed an automatic slot by Uefa.

This is because it believes it would provide the team with better preparation for the tournament than a series of friendlies.

So the only absolute guarantee of seeing Wales play at a major tournament in their own country will be doing the business and qualifying for what supporters hope will be their fourth successive Euros.

How many Euro 2028 games will Wales host?

Cardiff's Principality Stadium is in line to host the opening game of Euro 2028 - something needs to be ratified by Uefa - with Wembley in London to host the final.

Wales has hosted major sporting events like golf's 2010 Ryder Cup, cricket's Ashes series between England and Australia and the FA Cup final

The exact number of games to be played in Wales is still to be decided but it is hoped that Cardiff will host a total of six games - including a knockout game and a quarter-final showdown.

The 74,000-capacity ground staged the opening event of the 2012 London Olympics and now the Welsh FA want Cardiff to also host the opening game of Euro 2028, as well as games in the knock-out stages.

Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney said he would "like the national stadium of Wales to host the opening match" but that it is "up to Uefa" to decide.

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Although Cardiff is the second smallest city in the five-nation bid, the Principality Stadium is the second largest stadium and has hosted FA Cup and Rugby World Cup finals, as well as the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus in 2017.

"With Cardiff having a stadium in the centre of the city and Wembley most likely to host the final, that would be a really good destination for the opening game," added Mr Mooney.

Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 at the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff

Former Wales captain Gareth Bale was in Switzerland as part of the UK and Ireland delegation on Tuesday.

The Principality Stadium - home of Wales' national rugby union team - has been chosen to host Euro 2028 games but Wales' national football team have not played there since losing to Spain in 2018.

Their "home" since 2011 has been the 33,000-capacity Cardiff City Stadium.

Which UK stadiums will stage Euro 2028 games?

Matches are set to be held at 10 different grounds, 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 unbuilt while the latter is still under construction.

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The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the other ground in London to be in the bid alongside Manchester's Etihad Stadium, St James' Park in Newcastle and a redeveloped Villa Park in Birmingham.

The Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales have never hosted a major football tournament.

Everton's Bramley-Moore Dock stadium, currently under construction, is one of 10 stadiums forming part of the UK and Ireland's bid

The UK and Ireland Euro 2028 bid ran unopposed after Turkey withdrew from the running last week - they will now jointly host the 2032 tournament with Italy.

How do Uefa rules affect Euro stadium names?

Although Wales' only Euro 2028 ground is the Principality Stadium, for Uefa tournaments like this the sponsors have to be dropped.

This is because Uefa insist that only "clean", unbranded stadiums can host European Championship matches - so the Principality Stadium will be called the National Stadium of Wales.

The name change will only be in place for Euro 2028 the rules were why the Allianz Arena in Germany was called Football Arena Munich for the last Euros in 2021.

The Principality Stadium's title sponsors were removed when it hosted the 2017 Champions League final

The sponsorship rule will also affect other stadiums - the Etihad Stadium will be called the City of Manchester Stadium and the Aviva Stadium in Ireland will be known as the Dublin Arena.

When can fans get Euro 2028 tickets?

OK, you may be getting a little bit excited and ahead of yourself. Do not expect tickets to be on sale for a few years.

Using Euro 2024 as a barometer, applications for the 2.7 million tickets to next year's event only started last week.

Organisers have said there will be more tickets available for a Euro 2028 in UK and Ireland than there would have been for any other previous championship, almost three million, as stadium capacity will average 58,000.

Will Euro 2028 boost Wales' economy?

Experts claim events at the Principality Stadium can generate between £20m and £42.5m for the Welsh economy with hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and transport providers catering for the influx of fans.

The 2017 Champions League final between Spanish superstars Real Madrid and Italian giants Juventus had an economic impact of £42.5m to the south Wales area, with fans coming to Cardiff from all over the world.

More recently, the Clash at the Castle WWE showpiece at the Principality Stadium generated £21.8m after 60,000 wrestling fans descended on Cardiff in September 2022.

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