Wales manager Craig Bellamy has described the prospect of leading his country at Euro 2028 on home soil as a “massive motivation,” calling the opportunity to manage at a major tournament in Cardiff a once-in-a-generation privilege.
Wales will co-host Euro 2028 alongside England, Scotland, and the Republic of Ireland, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium expected to stage the opening match. The 74,000-capacity venue is also set to host additional group-stage fixtures and could be used for a knockout-round tie, pending confirmation from UEFA, which will release the full schedule at Wednesday’s official tournament launch.
For Bellamy, who was appointed last summer, the chance to manage Wales at a home European Championship has been an ongoing source of inspiration since taking the job.
“It’s massive, and it was when I signed here — it’s always been in the back of my mind,” said Bellamy. “I want World Cup qualification, that’s my full focus right now, but Euro 2028 is a huge motivation as well.”
The 45-year-old former Wales striker, who never featured in a major finals during his playing career, is now aiming to take the national team to the 2026 World Cup. Wales are currently on course for a play-off spot, facing Liechtenstein on 15 November and North Macedonia on 18 November in their final qualifying fixtures before the March play-offs.
Unlike previous tournaments, Euro 2028 will not grant automatic qualification to host nations, though UEFA has reserved two places for any co-hosts who fail to qualify through the standard route — providing Wales with a potential safety net.
Bellamy, who recently ruled himself out of contention for the vacant Celtic managerial role to focus on his national team duties, believes the wider Welsh public may not yet grasp the scale of what Euro 2028 represents.
“I don’t know if the public have quite switched on to it yet — it’s still a long way ahead — but it’s massive,” he said.
The Principality Stadium will be one of nine venues across the four nations to host matches. The stadium, last used for a Wales competitive fixture in 2011, has since hosted just one international — a 2018 friendly against Spain.
FAW chief executive Noel Mooney confirmed earlier this year that Wales will return to the Principality for select matches in the build-up to Euro 2028, a plan Bellamy supports for both logistical and psychological reasons.
“I only look at what gives us the best chance of winning, no matter where it is,” he explained. “If that’s Wrexham, then we go there. But wherever we play, it has to be full — a full stadium gives us that extra edge.”
Bellamy’s connection to the stadium is deeply personal. He scored one of his most memorable goals there — a decisive strike in Wales’ 2-1 win over Italy in 2002, when the venue was still known as the Millennium Stadium. However, he also recalls the challenges of later years, when poor attendances diminished the home advantage.
“I remember those later stages when there were only 15,000 or 20,000 people — it wasn’t comfortable and actually helped the opposition,” he said. “We need every small margin we can get. If we’re playing in the Euros there, it makes complete sense to use the stadium beforehand so players are familiar with it.”
For Bellamy, the path to Euro 2028 represents both a professional mission and a personal milestone — a chance to lead Wales into a home tournament at a stadium where he once inspired his nation as a player.
