UK allows pubs to extend hours for 2026 World Cup knockouts

The government has relaxed licensing rules so pubs in England and Wales can extend opening hours for World Cup knockout matches. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed the change will apply to every knockout tie featuring a home nation, a departure from earlier proposals that would only have triggered extensions at the quarter-final stage.

Under the new guidance venues may stay open until 1am for most knockout fixtures, and until 2am for matches with a 10pm UK kick-off to reflect time zones in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The blanket lifting of curbs removes the administrative paperwork landlords previously had to complete to secure late-night trading.

Mahmood said: "With later kick-offs at this year’s World Cup, we don’t want pubs to blow the final whistle before the winning goal. So we’re showing red tape the red card and taking pub hours to extra-time so fans can get another round in without missing a single kick.

United Kingdom, England and Wales

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