England fans will be buoyed by the news that pubs have been given special dispensation to stay open until 2am during the World Cup.
It means fans watching the Three Lions’ campaign in the USA will be able to stay out late and watch the action rather than have to head for the exit at 11pm.
When kick-off times were confirmed in December there were fears among supporters and the hospitality industry.
But the government confirmed on Tuesday that they will be allowed to remain open until 1am or 2am dependent on when England matches start.
It will not be an issue for the first three of England’s matches in the group stage, which begin at 9pm and 10pm.
The special dispensation was announced by Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ U-turn on business rates for pubs.
England fans will be able to stay up late in pubs to watch matches at the World Cup
‘I can also announce today that pubs and other license venues will be able to open until 1am or 2am depending on when the game starts for home nation games in the later stages of the men’s World Cup,’ he said.
Two games in the round of 32 will kick off at 2am and one of the quarter-finals will also begin at that time, meaning fans will have to watch those from home.
But most of the other remaining knockout fixtures will start at a more sociable time for UK audiences.
If England win Group L which contains Croatia, Panama and Ghana, their quarter-final on July 1 will start at 5pm.
But the bad news is that victory would mean the last-16 clash would begin on Sunday, July 5 at 1am, meaning pubs would only be allowed to stay open for the first half unless one-off dispensation is granted to go beyond the 2am cut-off.
Both semi-finals start at 8pm and the final on July 19 is the same, which would be optimal for UK audiences.
Start times for matches in the US were moved to different slots for player welfare to avoid oppressive heat, as with the Club World Cup last summer.
That tournament was beset by heat issues, so the marquee matches at the World Cup are set to be in the later slots to aid player welfare.
For example, while the 5pm and 8pm would be the prime time slot for European television audiences, the former kick-off time would equate to a midday kick-off on the east coast of America and the latter would be midday kick-off on the west coast.
