Wales hosting Euro 2028 - all you need to know

The prospect of Wales kicking-off Euro 2028 on home soil will be "spectacular for the nation" says Football Association of Wales (FAW) chief executive Noel Mooney.

Cardiff's Principality Stadium was confirmed as the venue for the opening fixture of the tournament that will be co-hosted by England, Scotland, Republic of Ireland and Wales.

It's been described as the biggest sporting event jointly held in the UK and Ireland – and the first time Wales has played a part in staging a major football tournament.

In all, six games will be played at the 74,000-capacity Cardiff ground – four group stage games, a last-16 tie and a quarter-final fixture.

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin visited the stadium on Tuesday prior to Wednesday night's official launch of the tournament, with Mooney claiming he described it as "a cathedral".

"To have 74,000 people there on the 9th of June to watch Cymru kicking off the tournament is going to be spectacular for the nation," Mooney told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"We're trying to build a brilliant footballing nation, there are a lot of bricks you have to put in the wall to make that happen – and this is one of them."

A global audience in the hundreds of millions is expected to watch the opening game – with eyes now turning to see whether Wales will be the side that kick-off the tournament.

Yes, as do the other co-hosts.

Or at least go into the qualifying process.

Traditionally, host nations have been given automatic qualification for the finals.

That has even been the case when it has been jointly hosted by two countries – but was ditched for Euro 2020 which saw games played in 11 different nations.

And Uefa, European football's governing body, made it clear even before bidding to stage 2028 took place that they would only allow a maximum of two automatic spots for hosts.

An agreement was struck that all four of England, Scotland, Republic of Ireland and Wales would take part in the qualifying process – with two back-up spots for those who don't make it.

Like in 2024, there are 24 places up for grabs.

Teams will be placed into 12 qualifying groups with the 12 group winners and eight best runners up all heading straight to the finals.

Qualifying will start in March 2027 with the draw taking place on 6 December 2026 in Belfast.

England, Scotland, Republic of Ireland and Wales will all be guaranteed to be in different groups.

Simply, if two of England, Scotland, Republic of Ireland and Wales don't qualify via the usual routes, they will be given an automatic place in the finals.

So if, for example, England and Scotland made it by finishing top, or as one of the best runners up, Wales and Northern Ireland would also qualify even if they finished third in their group.

If more than two sides didn't make it, the automatic spots go to the two highest ranked sides – and the lowest relying on the play-offs, or missing out altogether.

Not according to Mooney.

"We've run the algorithms and it's extremely likely we'll get there," he said. "Craig Bellamy has come in and has been a breath of fresh air, playing good football with a lot of good players.

"We fancy our chances to get there directly anyway and we should get there but the back-up places mean we are highly likely to kick-off on Friday 9 June in Cardiff."

The current world rankings back up Mooney's claims. At the very least, the back-up spots give Wales a big safety net and a boost over others trying to reach the tournament.

Yes, if they qualify.

Uefa have confirmed Wales would play all three group games – including the opening fixture – at the Principality Stadium should they reach the finals.

Wales would be in Group A and face fixtures on 9 June, 14 June and 18 June.

They would also play in Cardiff in the last 16 on 24 June if they topped their group to reach the knock-out stages.

If they finished runners up they would play at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium.

There are places in the knock-out stages for the four best ranked third placed sides from the six groups.

Wembley is the only host stadium that will not stage a last-16 game.

Cardiff will definitely host a quarter-final on 1 July - but it depends on Wales' path whether they play there.

If they topped their group and progressed to the last eight, it could even mean a clash with England at Wembley.

Dublin and Glasgow are the other quarter-final venues, while Wembley will stage both semi-finals and the 9 July final.

Uefa say fans and general public will have access to around 3 million tickets for the 51 games across the nine venues.

There are no details yet of when they will go on sale, but previous tournaments saw them made available in the year before the tournament kicks off.

As well as the historic chance of playing major tournament football on home soil for the first time, officials say there will be an economic boost to go with the sporting prestige.

Up to £740m has been collectively committed by governments through the UK and Ireland to support the delivery of the tournament, with the Welsh Government investing up to £30m.

It's been claimed the tournament is expected to generate £3.6 billion in socio-economic benefits across the host nations, with as much as £250m the estimate for Wales' share.

"We had the Champions League final here in 2017 – but this is six mega events coming to Wales, which is good for the economy," added Mooney.

"It's good for the hotels, restaurants and so on, but for us as a football nation, it really has all the eyes of the world on Cymru and that's what it's about for us."

The Principality Stadium won't be called the Principality Stadium for the finals.

Instead, because of Uefa's sponsorship rules, it will be known as the National Stadium of Wales.

The same will apply to Ireland's Aviva Stadium (Dublin Arena), the Etihad Stadium (Manchester City Stadium) and Hill Dickinson Stadium (Everton Stadium).