Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium set to hand United’s Old Trafford major EURO 2028 defeat

The Etihad Stadium is set to be selected ahead of Old Trafford as part of the British and Irish’s bid to host Euro 2028, a report has revealed.

The latest development continues an exciting phase in the future of Manchester City’s home arena, following reports in recent weeks concerning substantial redevelopment and improvement work on the stadium across the next few years.

While City are planning to expand the stadium to in excess of 60,000, the club have also allocated approximately £300 million to go towards a brand new covered fan park, an on-site hotel, new food and drink offerings, and a club museum.

It is understood that Manchester City have identified the start of the 2025/26 season as being the year when supporters can expect the new capacity to be available to match-going fans, with building works not set to disturb the football calendar in east Manchester.

When work is fully complete on other aspects of planned redevelopment, Manchester City and their fans can now also expect their arena to be part of a European Championships campaign – should a bid be accepted by Uefa.

That is according to the information of The Times’ Martyn Ziegler, who reports this week that Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium is set to be named as a host venue, ahead of Manchester United’s Old Trafford, for the British and Irish bid for Euro 2028.

It is explained that the initial list of 14 stadiums earmarked for the tournament is being cut down to 10 for the official submission to Uefa next week. Six English venues are set to be submitted, with Wembley Stadium identified as the location for a potential final.

But why has the Etihad Stadium been selected ahead of Old Trafford?

Ziegler reports that Manchester City’s 53,400-seater arena is seen as being ‘more modern’, while it’s capacity is also set to be increased to 60,000 in the coming years. While Old Trafford has a greater capacity, it is explained that it does not comply with all of Uefa’s requirements, and is seen as being ‘in need of an upgrade’.

A statement from Manchester United, as relayed by the Times read, “Manchester United was pleased to put Old Trafford forward as a potential host of Uefa Euro 2028 matches and proud of the strong case we made.

“However, during follow-up discussions with the FA, it became clear that we were unable to provide the necessary certainty around availability of Old Trafford due to potential redevelopment of the stadium. As a result, we have mutually agreed to withdraw from the shortlist of potential hosts.

“We are committed to maintaining Old Trafford’s status as the largest and most iconic club football ground in England and look forward to future opportunities to host international matches and major events at the Theatre of Dreams.

“Everyone at Manchester United wishes The FA the best of luck with the bid to host the tournament in 2028.”

10 stadiums expected to be named in final submission:

• Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
• Everton’s new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock
• St James’ Park
• Villa Park
• Casement Park
• Principality Stadium
• Hampden Park
• Aviva Stadium
• Wembley Stadium
• Etihad Stadium

The Etihad Stadium – formerly known as the City of Manchester Stadium – was originally built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, initially providing a seating capacity for 38,000, and extended to 41,000 through the installation of additional temporary trackside seating.

As part of the conversion to a football stadium following the conclusion of the games, sections of the track were removed and relaid at other athletics venues, while the internal ground level was lowered to make way for an additional tier of seating.

The three temporary stands with a total capacity of 16,000 were dismantled, and replaced with a permanent structure, with work taking nearly a year to complete and adding 23,000 permanent seats and Manchester City moving to the arena for the start of the 2003/04 season.