While the European Championship in Germany has yet to take place, UEFA is already making plans for the 2028 edition, including a new qualification system. On October 10, UEFA is set to officially confirm that five countries will jointly organize the European Championship in 2028. Traditionally, host nations do not participate in qualifiers, as seen with Germany preparing for the upcoming European Championship through friendly matches. However, the European Championship in 2028 will be organized by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Northern Ireland—five UEFA member nations. In a surprising decision, UEFA has ruled that all host countries must play in the qualifiers. Nevertheless, UEFA has also reserved two additional spots for the two best-performing host teams that fail to qualify.
This decision is likely to impact Serbia and Croatia, as the path to the Euros becomes automatically more challenging for both teams. The two teams that earn their Euro qualification through the qualifiers will have to relinquish their spots to the host nations who did not go through the qualification process. It’s worth noting that a total of 24 national teams will compete in the European Championship. A more detailed explanation from UEFA regarding the qualification process for Euro 2028 is awaited.
Turkey had initially been a candidate for the next Euro, but they withdrew and announced their candidacy for 2032, alongside Italy. As a result, countries from Great Britain are currently the sole candidates to host the continental tournament in less than five years.
