Update on the World Cup 2026 and the Licensing Act 2003

Claire Morris, Associate

With Canada, Mexico and the USA being the planned hosts for the World Cup, kick off times back here in the United Kingdom will be the first thing to think about due to the time difference and what this means for your operation.

On 20^th March 2026, we published an article advising businesses to think ahead to the timings of the Men’s World Cup fixtures and to consider those games which will fall outside the licensing relaxations permitted by the Home Office.

Since then, the Home Secretary has announced a further change to the relaxations, which is great news for many licensed premises, especially bars and pubs, as they are most likely to benefit from the provisions. And more recently, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has issued their new national guidance to help pubs and bars prepare for the World Cup[1].

[1] Any further clarifications required will be provided upon publication of the s172 Order.

General limits and permissions of the World Cup relaxation

First – here is a reminder of the general limits of the relaxations that will apply in England and Wales only:

• The relaxations will apply only when a home nation is playing. That means when England and Scotland are playing because, unfortunately, Wales and Northern Ireland failed to qualify.
• The relaxations apply only to premises already licensed to sell alcohol until 23:00 on the day the match takes place. Any venue that isn’t licensed until 23:00 that day will not benefit from the extension.
• Premises already licensed for on-sales of alcohol can benefit from the relaxations. If the premises is authorised for late night refreshment as well, that can also continue under the relaxations.
• The extensions will apply only to the on-sales element of alcohol trading. Off-sales are excluded (so, for example, supermarkets and off licences will not benefit from the relaxations).
• Regulated entertainment is not covered by the relaxation.
• If you also wish to extend any of the excluded licensable activities, you should consider lodging a temporary event notice (TEN).

The nature of the relaxations also depends on where you are in the United Kingdom. Our devolved friends in Scotland and Northern Ireland will have their own arrangements for the stages where the relaxations will apply.

What are the relaxations and what matches do they apply to?

In addition, the scope of the matches that qualify for the relaxations has now widened thanks to a change that means the relaxations will apply even for matches which are screened earlier in the evening.

This now means that premises in England and Wales licensed until 23:00 can now stay open as follows:

• From 23:00 until 01:00 BST for England or Scotland matches where kick off is from 17:00 up to 21:00
• From 23:00 until 02:00 BST for a game that kicks off after 21:00 and up to 22:00.

Matches starting before 17:00 and after 22:00 will not benefit from the licensing extensions.

Also bear in mind that the above relaxations apply only for the following rounds:

• • Round of 32
  • Round of 16
  • Quarter finals
  • Semi finals
  • Bronze medal match
  • Final

Please note that the initial group matches are not included within the relaxations.

England World Cup Games

We have set out below England’s Group L games that will fall outside of the above relaxations and recommend you consider serving a Temporary Event Notice now should you wish to broadcast them:

• England vs Croatia – Wednesday 17 June 2026, kick off 21:00 (UK time)
• England vs Ghana – Tuesday 23 June 2026, kick off 21:00 (UK time)
• Panama vs England – Saturday 27 June 2026, kick off 22:00 (UK time)

Further progression through the tournament could also mean England have matches on several other dates (note that Friday 3 July 2026, kick off 00:00 (midnight) and Monday 6 July 2026, kick off at 01:00 fall outside the licensing relaxations):

What if football isn’t coming home after all?

Should England be knocked out, you can always withdraw the TEN and they will be added back on to your allowance (see below).

For further information or assistance with serving TENs, please contact the licensing team on 0161 838 7888.

TENS REMINDER : RESTRICTIONS AND ANNUAL ALLOWANCES

TENs can only be used when 499 or fewer persons in total are present (this includes customers, staff, performers, security staff etc).

A premises is permitted to have X21 days, and x15 TENs (x5 can be late TENs) per annum.

Personal licence holders can have up to x50 TENS (x10 can be late TENs) per annum.

Non personal licence holders can have up to x5 TENs (x2 can be late TENs) per annum.

A single TEN can last no longer than 168 hours.

There must be at least 24 hours between the end of one TEN and the start of the next.

TENS operating before and concluding after midnight will use two days of the annual allowance.

Standard TEN to be lodged at least x10 clear working days before the TEN event starts.

Late TEN to be lodged x5 – x9 clear working days before the TEN event starts.

Withdraw TEN 24 hours before start of TEN event (days returned to annual allowance but fees are non-returnable).