The 2028 European Championship will be jointly hosted by the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, as confirmed by Uefa.
This joint bid was uncontested after Turkey withdrew its candidacy to focus on a bid with Italy for Euro 2032, which was also approved during the meeting in Switzerland.
The UK and Ireland shifted their focus to Euro 2028 with Uefa's endorsement after abandoning their plans to become Europe's preferred candidate for the 2030 World Cup.
London's Wembley Stadium and Glasgow's Hampden Park were venues for Euro 2020.
Noel Mooney, the Chief Executive of the Football Association of Wales, expressed a desire for the national stadium of Wales to host the opening match but noted that the final decision rests with Uefa.
He said, "To bring the tournament to Wales is a special day for us. We're excited. We've put forward a schedule of matches, we think Cardiff is perfect for the opener and we look forward to it. We hope by hosting, and having these big matches in Cardiff, we can bring Wales to the world in a way it hasn't been before."
Former Wales captain Gareth Bale, present at the announcement in Nyon, added, "For me as a Welshman, I would love for Cardiff to host the opening match. We have the stadium and infrastructure for it."
This will be the first time that the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Wales host a major football tournament.
Matches during Euro 2028 will be held at ten different stadiums, including Wembley, Hampden Park, Cardiff's Principality Stadium, and Dublin's Aviva Stadium. The bid also included Belfast's Casement Park and Everton's Bramley-Moore Dock stadium, with the latter still under construction.
England previously hosted Euro 2020 and has experience hosting various international tournaments, including the 1966 World Cup and Euro '96. They also hosted the record-breaking Women's European Championship in 2022.
Turkey initially bid to host both Euro 2028 and 2032 but withdrew from the Euro 2028 competition last week after their joint bid with Italy for Euro 2032 was accepted by Uefa.
It is worth noting that in cases of co-hosting, automatic qualification for all five host nations is not guaranteed, and qualification will be subject to Uefa's decision in conjunction with decisions concerning the qualifying competition. The Football Association aims for England to qualify through the formal process rather than being granted an automatic slot.
Gareth Bale emphasized the importance of teams attempting to qualify on merit, stating, "Coming through in a campaign, going into the tournament you've got confidence behind you. Those two back-up spots are there just in case. It's important all teams try and qualify and do the best they can and hopefully they all do it automatically anyway." Photo by Ian Wilson from London, England, Wikimedia commons.