Pubs and police prepare for late-night England match after last-minute FIFA U-turn
England are preparing for England’s World Cup last 16 clash against Mexico in the early hours of Monday morning.
After a dramatic back-and-forth amid reports that the game could be brought forward due to weather concerns, FIFA backtracked and announced it would go ahead at 1am (BST) on Monday as originally planned.
Pubs in England and Wales have been given special permission to extend their opening hours until 5am.
“Football may come home but we’re making sure fans don’t have to,” Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday.
“Pubs staying open until final whistle is good news for fans and good news for the pubs and venues that bring our communities together.
“The whole country will support the team. Come on England!”
Meanwhile, schools across the country said they would allow students to start late on Monday so they could watch the game.
The move sparked criticism from police leaders and emergency services, who expressed concerns about the strain on resources and an expected increase in violence.
Anna Parry, chief executive of the CEOs ambulance association, said: “We want everyone to enjoy football and celebrate safely. But our experience from previous major sporting events shows that where large numbers of people socialize into the late evenings and early mornings, there is increased demand for ambulance services, particularly where alcohol consumption is involved.”
“The combination of extended drinking hours and very hot weather has the potential to put additional pressure on NHS emergency services due to alcohol-related incidents, injuries, dehydration and other preventable health problems.
“Ambulance services are prepared and will monitor demand closely, but we ask people to celebrate responsibly, look out for friends and family, stay hydrated and only use 999 in genuine emergencies.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council also criticized the “late announcement” despite possible match dates having been known for a long time.
In a joint statement on Thursday, the Council said the change meant “officers are working long shifts, which removes them from communities”.
Greene King said more than 600 pubs across the UK would stay open late to show the match, while Marston’s said more than 400 would stay open late.
Stonegate Group said 610 Craft Unions, 182 managed sites and hundreds of let and lease pubs would open late, while Fuller’s said 30 pubs planned to remain open on Friday afternoon.
Official figures show 16.3 million people watched England beat the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, with more than 3,000 England fans watching the match in Mexico City.
Martha Gallagher-Scoble, bar manager at the Prince of Wales pub in London, told the BBC that the last-minute change had led to uncertainty in pubs with the feeling that “everything was very much up in the air”.
“We had just arranged the staffing and it was like, ‘oh, you’re going to have to replace everything you’ve spent the last 12 hours organizing,'” the 20-year-old said.
The event comes shortly after a heavy police presence was arranged for London Pride 2026 on Saturday.
