Pub & Bar: Are you prepared for the summer of sport?

The summer of sport, and in particular the FIFA World Cup 2026 presents a great opportunity for pubs to maximise their revenue – and at the same time hopefully celebrate home nations sporting success.

To take advantage of this opportunity you will want to make sure that your premises licence enables you to trade during these events!

• The FIFA World Cup takes place across the USA, Canada and Mexico from the 11 June to the 19 July. England and Scotland have already qualified.

• Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland could still qualify through the play-offs which take place in March.

• Group games kick off between 5pm and 5am (England group games start at 9pm and 10pm), with the round of 32 kicking off between 5pm and 4am (the last 16 games kick off between 5pm and 1am).

• The Government are currently consulting on national extensions for quarter finals, the semi finals and final, should any of the home nations reach the latter stages of the tournament.

Planning for the Tournament

As ever, the starting point is to check what your licence permits you to do!

• Temporary Variation to your licence

Given the number of matches and the start times of many of the games, you might want to consider applying for a temporary variation to your licence – for the duration of the World Cup, to cover the games that you wish to show.

Lead time will be two months. You should speak to your police and local authority licensing officers in advance of submitting any application to gauge their views and any possible additional conditions that they might want to see attached to your licence for the duration of the World Cup.

• Temporary Events Notices

You can of course apply for a series of TENs to cover specific matches you wish to show.

The current limits on TENs are a maximum of 15 applications per year, covering an overall limit of 21 days. Given that some matches will span two days, this will further limit the number of TENs days, and you will need to think carefully about which games you wish to cover through TENs applications.

• Gardens

If you have a TV in your garden the timings of matches may well conflict with the hours you are permitted to use your garden.

You can either apply for a temporary variation of your licence to extend these hours for the duration of the World Cup or apply for a TEN to override the current conditions on your licence.

Take care when operating your garden for any extended hours, particularly if you live in a residential area. Excessive noise may result in complaints, the service of a noise abatement notice or a licence review.

• The World Cup Final

The Final is due to kick off on Sunday 19 July at 8pm.

If one of the home nations does get to the final, then we fully expect national extensions to be granted.

You should check your licence to see what time you are permitted to sell alcohol on a Sunday as we anticipate (given previous experience) that any extensions may be granted from 11pm.

If your permitted hours end at 10.30pm on a Sunday then you might want to apply now for a variation of your Sunday hours, extending to 11pm.

• Be a good neighbour!

Finally, let your neighbours know what you are planning – they may not only want to be part of the fun and celebration but are more likely to be forgiving if they know you are going to be open a little later!

Q&A

Q:I heard that some trade union reforms recently came into force – what do I need to know?

A:From 18 February 2026, new trade union reforms under The Employment Rights Act 2025 changed how industrial action operates in workplaces. 

Key changes include: unions no longer need to specify employee numbers or categories in ballot notices; ballot papers have been simplified, now asking only whether members support strike action or action short of a strike; and strike mandates now last 12 months instead of 6.

The notice period for industrial action has reduced from 14 to 10 calendar days, giving employers less time to plan responses. Employees taking protected industrial action also gain dismissal protection throughout and after the action.

Practical steps: Hospitality operators with unionised workforces should review contingency plans for service disruption, ensure managers understand dismissal protections, and update processes to reflect the reduced notice periods.

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