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English pubs want early World Cup start

Pubs in Britain are calling for a change in the licensing rules to allow them to open early on Sunday for the Women’s World Cup final between England and Spain, which kicks off at 11am British time.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has urged the British Government to allow pubs to serve beer from 10am this Sunday, after England reached the country’s first football World Cup final in almost 60 years by beating host nation Australia in Wednesday’s semi-final.

“Pubs have the ability to open their doors early but, under current regulations, most are only likely to be able to sell alcoholic beverages from 11am on Sundays,” the body said.

It called on the British Government to do “whatever must be done” to change the regulation as quickly as possible.

Pubs in England and Wales can open when they want on Sundays, but when they can sell alcohol depends on each pub's licence.

Commons in recess

The BBC reported, however, that the pubs’ organisation was unlikely to succeed, as temporary tweaks to licensing laws that apply in England and Wales for special events have to be approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords under the Licensing Act 2003.

This has been done in the past ahead of big celebrations such as Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee and the Euro 2020 final.

With the House of Commons currently in recess, however, it is understood that the British Government is not planning to recall MPs to make the change.

Individual pubs can apply for a special exemption to serve alcohol earlier, but the timescale involved means that they would have had to do this before England’s semi-final.