As and when Wales, Northern Ireland and/or the Republic of Ireland qualify more will follow!
One could be forgiven for thinking that it is too early to start planning for the World Cup in 2026, but with games involving England which could be as far south as Mexico City, as far north as Vancouver, as far west as Los Angeles and as far east as Miami, kick off times are going to cause a headache for publicans wanting to show the games.
Group stage
The group stage is relatively easy to plan for with kick offs for England at 9pm on Wednesday 17 June 2026, 9pm on Tuesday 23 June 2026 and 10pm on Saturday 27 June 2026.
However, even now it is time to start planning because many pubs will have hours limited to 10.30pm on a Sunday and 11pm on a Wednesday to Saturday. With games not starting until 9pm on the Sunday and 10pm on the Saturday, are temporary event notices needed to extend the hours on those evenings, albeit with no extra time or penalties the game is unlikely to last any longer than two hours?
It is at this point however that any certainty ends. One would hope that as the top seed England will finish top of Group L, but we are all used to the England rollercoaster at any tournament and, while England have navigated recent group stages in major tournaments fairly easily, it would be dangerous to assume that England will finish first this time around.
The real difficulty in planning for the showing of future games is that with the final round of group games being on 27 June 2026 there is no guarantee before their last group game (unless England have won both games and every other game in the group has ended in a draw) that England will finish top of the group.
We have attached as part of this article, a link to the different scenarios for England should they finish first, second or third in Group L.
If England finish first in the group then they kick off at 5pm on Wednesday 1 July 2026 in the last 32.
No problem in terms of the hours a pub is licensed to but finish second in Group L and England are faced with a last 32 midnight kick off on Friday 3 July 2026 (that is the Thursday night into the Friday morning) or, if they finish third, the awful scenario of an 2.30am kick off on Saturday 4 July 2026.
Issue TENs ‘just in case’ for the last 32?
Come the last round of group games with no certainty of England finishing first, can publicans risk not issuing temporary event notices to cover the scenario of England finishing second or third after the group games have completed?
To do so however, with the last game being on 27 June 2026, temporary event notices (“TENs”) would need to be issued before the last group game to accommodate the possibility of England finishing second or third.
This should be the way forward for publicans because should England then finish first, kicking off at 5pm on 1 July 2026, the TENs that have been issued to cover the midnight kick off on 3 July or the 2.30am kick off on 4 July could then be withdrawn.
It is after that point things then become a little clearer for the route for England to hopefully progress.
England come second in Group L
In the scenario of England finishing second in Group L, England then simply have 8pm kick offs on Monday 6 July 2026 in the last 16, Friday 10 July 2026 and Tuesday 15 July 2026 in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively, and then let’s hope in the final on Sunday 19 July 2026 again at 8pm but England finishing first or third in Group L however it is a different kettle of fish.
England win Group L
Should England finish first in Group L and progress from the last 32, they will be faced with an 1am kick off in the last 16 on Monday 6 July 2026 and then a 10pm kick off on Saturday 11 July 2026 in the quarter finals and, for both, it is highly likely that TENs will be needed; remember there is also every possibility of extra time and penalties.
England finish third in Group L
The scenario of England finishing third is a similarly difficult scenario for publicans with a 9pm kick off on Tuesday 7 July 2026 in the last 16 and then a 2am kick off on Sunday 13 July 2026 in the quarter finals. Again, in all likelihood, TENs are going to be needed for these games.
Semi-finals and final
The good news is that should any of the home nations reach the semi-finals and the final then the Government is consulting upon permitting all licensed premises to remain open until 1am should any of the home nations reach the semi-finals and / or final.
This had been subject to the proviso that any game kicked off prior to 9pm, but all of these games kick off at 8pm.
There is one important exception to note here and that is the third place play off was not included within this consultation, albeit possibly the Government may see sense and include that game within the general extension as well (albeit will anyone want to celebrate finishing third?).
While it cannot be guaranteed that should the home nations reach the semi-final or final the Government will approve the general extension so licensed premises can stay open in England and Wales until 1am, past experience has shown that it is likely this general extension will be approved by the Government.
Plan ahead
So, the message is start to plan now and certainly look at issuing TENs for the last 32 games well in advance of the games to cater for the possibility England do not win Group L.
There is some sense in looking further ahead and issuing TENs for the prospect of England finishing either first or third in the group and, therefore, kicking off at either 1am on Monday 6 July 2026 or 9pm on Tuesday 7 July 2026 in the last 16, and then likewise should they reach the quarter finals and finished first in the group kicking off at 10pm on Saturday 11 July 2026, or if they finish third kicking off at 2am on Sunday 12 July 2026.
Again, the TENs can be withdrawn if these TENs are not subsequently needed and so these days and TENs do not count towards the annual limit.
Police liaison
We suggest it is sensible to speak to the local police licensing officer as soon as possible to ascertain what the police’s approach is likely to be to these TENs, and when they would like to receive TENs for the World Cup. Six months advance notice may be too far in advance for some forces.
Consideration should be paid to the additional risks associated with the additional hours sought, and risk assessments carried out to ascertain what additional safeguards should be put in place to ensure the licensing objectives are promoted.
Are additional door staff needed; should there be additional staff training; should polycarbonate glassware be used; how will customers be getting home from early morning kick-offs?
It is wise to have answers ready before speaking to police licensing. Of particular interest will be the police’s approach to England kicking off at 2.30am on Saturday 4 July 2026 in the last 32, should England finish third in the group, a kick off at 1am on Monday 6 July 2026 in the last 16 if England top Group L, or a 2am kick off on Saturday 12 July 2026 in the quarter final again should England finish 3rd in Group L.
Remember, that in all likelihood a TEN will be needed to extend hours all the way from the terminal hour on Sunday 5 July 2026 into Monday 6 July 2026 and from Saturday 11 July 2026 into Sunday 12 July 2026 and this will use two of the allocation of 21 days for the calendar year.
PA TEN World Cup 2026 Wall Chart
This link provides a useful aide memoire for the dates and times of kick offs in each scenario of England finishing first, second or third in Group L and also provides a prompt as to what the last day is to issue Late and Standard TENs for particular games.
We would urge all publicans not to issue Late TENs because, quite simply, police or environmental health would have an absolute veto to stop that TEN going ahead without a hearing or negotiation.
This article first appeared on the Poppleston Allen website.
- Jonathan Smith is a partner at Poppleston Allen
