Contingent relaxation of licensing hours during the semi-final and final of the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup 2026: consultation outcome
Updated 19 February 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/relaxation-of-licensing-hours-for-the-mens-football-world-cup-2026/outcome/contingent-relaxation-of-licensing-hours-during-the-semi-final-and-final-of-the-fifa-mens-football-world-cup-2026-consultation-outcome
The Home Office would like to thank everyone who took part in the consultation on the contingent relaxation of licensing hours during the semi-final and final of the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup 2026.
38 complete responses were received and have been analysed below. In addition, 20 partial responses were received and were discounted from this analysis having been deemed invalid.
The consultation included 4 questions; 3 of these contained closed response options and one was open-ended to permit a written response. The response breakdowns to individual questions are presented below.
The majority (73.68%) of respondents agreed with the proposals set out in the first 3 questions of the consultation. These consisted of extending licensing hours in England and Wales in the event that any of the home nations reach the semi-finals or finals of the Men’s Football World Cup 2026 - 14 and/or 15 July 2026 for the semi-finals and 19 July 2026 for the finals - until 1am the following morning, providing the match kicks off at 9pm or earlier, and that the contingent order should only apply to the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises (i.e. it should not apply to the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises).
The final question invited written responses to expand upon the view expressed, specifically asking if they disagree with the proposal or thought it should go further, such as applying the same extension conditions of the semi-finals and final to the quarter-finals. 63.16% of respondents answered this question. These responses fell broadly into 2 categories: wanting to go further in regard to the extension; concerns about crime, disorder and general disturbance. A small majority of respondents who answered the question were in favour of the extensions going further than what was proposed for the semi-finals and finals, including some responses explicitly referring to the quarter-final matches.
The full results are set out below.
Consultation responses
1. Do you support the proposal for extending licensing hours in England and Wales in the event that any of the home nations reach the semi-finals of the Men’s Football World Cup 2026 - 14 and/or 15 July 2026 - until 1:00am the following morning, providing the match kicks off at 9:00pm or earlier?
| Response percent | Response total | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 73.68% | 28 |
| No | 26.32% | 10 |
Answered: 38
As demonstrated in the graph above, 28 out of 38 respondents agreed with the proposal to extend licensing hours for the Semi-Final of the Men’s Football World Cup 2026. Therefore, the majority agreed with the proposal.
2. Do you support the proposal for extending licensing hours in England and Wales in the event that any of the home nations reach the final of the Men’s Football World Cup 2026 - 19 July 2026 - until 1:00am the following morning, providing the match kicks off at 9:00pm or earlier?
| Response percent | Response total | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 73.68% | 28 |
| No | 26.32% | 10 |
Answered: 38
As demonstrated in the graph above, 28 out of 38 respondents agreed with the proposal to extend licensing hours for the Final of the Men’s Football World Cup 2026. Therefore, the majority agreed with the proposal.
3. Do you agree that the contingent order should only apply to the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises (i.e. it should not apply to the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises)?
| Response percent | Response total | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 73.68% | 28 |
| No | 26.32% | 10 |
Answered: 38
As demonstrated in the graph above, 28 out of 38 respondents agreed with the proposal for any extension to licensing hours for the Semi-Final and Final of the Men’s Football World Cup 2026 to only apply to on sales of alcohol. Therefore, the majority wanted the extension to only apply to on sales of alcohol.