UK telecoms giant BT has secured a contract to become the official telecoms partner for UEFA Euro 2028.

The tournament, which will be held in England, Scotland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland, will see BT provide telecoms connectivity plus widespread network slicing services.

Fittingly, BT made the announcement during a press event at Wembley Stadium today (May 7) as the company pledged to boost its mobile network ahead of the flagship international European football tournament.

By the time the event starts, Greg McCall, chief security and network officer, BT, said that the telco will have boosted its mobile connectivity performance by 20 percent in host cities.

During the tournament, games will be played across nine venues in eight different host cities, including London, Cardiff, Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle.

BT will provide its network infrastructure across these venues, plus the 24 team base camps, while also providing its mobile network and fiber infrastructure to support broadcast operations.

A key focus for BT in the coming years will be around network slicing, noted McCall, with the telco identifying opportunities to provide network slices at Euro 2028 host cities.

"This is part of our ongoing network investment strengthened to meet the increase in demand and match days and leave a lasting improvement for fans well into the tournament ends," said McCall.

"Each of the 24 Euro training grounds will have a dedicated 5G slice, a prioritized part of our brilliant network reserved for players and coaches, helping them to train, to prepare and make decisions with the confidence and clarity that top-flight football demands every day."

McCall added that the company will launch a national network slice across the country this summer.

During the event, BT also announced the return of BT Mobile services as part of a re-focus of its core BT brand.

The telco will launch the services later this month as SIM-only mobile plans exclusive to BT broadband customers.