Why is Manchester United's Old Trafford not being used at UEFA EURO 2028?

Manchester United's Old Trafford is conspicuous by its absence among the 10 venues selected for Euro 2028 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as confirmed by the UEFA.

While crosstown rivals Manchester City's Etihad Stadium has made the cut, Liverpool's Anfield, Arsenal's Emirates and West Ham United's London Stadium didn't, along with Old Trafford.

Interestingly, United's home ground was there in the FA's preliminary shortlist but was later removed due to the uncertainty over its redevelopment plans, as per talkSPORT.

That's because United failed to provide certainties that the stadium will be ready before the mega event. A club statement in this regard 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."

The statement continued:

“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."

The nine shortlisted Euro 2028 venues - including five in England - along with their respective capacities are as follows:

• Wembley, London, England (capacity: 90,000)
• Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England (capacity: 62,850)
• The Etihad, Manchester, England (capacity: 53,400)
• Everton Stadium, Liverpool, England (capacity: 52,888)
• St James' Park, Newcastle, England (capacity: 52,305)
• The Principality Stadium, Cardiff - Wales (capacity: 74,500)
• Casement Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland (capacity: 34,500)
• The Aviva, Dublin - Republic of Ireland (capacity: 51,700)
• Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland (capacity: 51,866)

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What happened in the last international men's football game hosted at Manchester United's Old Trafford?

Old Trafford is the home ground of Manchester United

Old Trafford, the home ground of Premier League giants Manchester United, has hosted many high-profile international football games over the years. Most recently, it hosted England's UEFA Euro 2024 game against North Macedonia.

In the game on June 19, 2023, the Three Lions ran riot, scoring seven unanswered goals past the hapless visitors. Bukayo Saka starred with a hat-trick while Harry Kane scored a brace. Kalvin Phillips and United attacker Marcus Rashford were also among the scorers.

It was the first Euro qualifying game at Old Trafford since England drew goalless with Macedonia on October 7, 2007. The venue had previously hosted three group games of Euro' 96, one quarterfinal and one semifinal.