“Football might be coming home but we’re making sure fans don’t have to,” Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Thursday. His government had just let pubs in England and Wales stay open until 5am for England’s World Cup last-16 match against Mexico.
Kick-off is 1am BST on Monday. For a while it looked as though it might move. After reports that weather could force the game forward, FIFA reversed course and confirmed the original time.
Starmer said pubs staying open until the final whistle was “good news for supporters and good news for the pubs and venues that bring our communities together.” Some schools said pupils could start late on Monday so they could watch.
The big chains moved quickly. Greene King said more than 600 pubs in England would open late, and Marston’s said more than 400. Stonegate Group listed 610 Craft Union pubs and 182 managed sites, plus hundreds of leased and tenanted pubs. Fuller’s had 30 planning to stay open by Friday afternoon.
The audience is there. Official figures put 16.3 million viewers on England’s win over the Democratic Republic of Congo, and more than 3,000 England fans were in Mexico City for the game.
Police and ambulance services push back
The National Police Chiefs’ Council criticised the “late announcement,” even though the possible match dates were known well in advance. Its joint statement said the change meant “officers working extended shifts which in turn takes them away from communities.”
Ambulance services are bracing too. Anna Parry, managing director of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, said previous major sporting events show “increased demand when large numbers of people are socialising late into the evening and early into the morning, particularly where alcohol consumption is involved.” Extended drinking hours and very warm weather could add pressure on NHS emergency services through alcohol-related incidents, injuries and dehydration, she said. Crews will be watching demand closely. Her advice was to look after friends and family, stay hydrated, and call 999 only in a genuine emergency.
Policing is already stretched. A heavy police presence was arranged for London Pride 2026 on Saturday.
Pubs left scrambling
The U-turn on kick-off time left pub staff guessing. Martha Gallagher-Scoble, 20, bar manager at the Prince of Wales in London, told the BBC that “everything felt very up in the air.” Her team had just settled its staffing. “And then it was like ‘oh, you’re going to have to change everything you just spent the last 12 hours sorting out,’” she said.
