World Cup 2026 - extended hours licensing

In February we asked Licence holders to tell us what they thought about our proposals in our survey. If you took part, thank you for your feedback. This was presented to the Licensing Board who have issued the following decision

At a meeting of East Ayrshire Licensing Board on Tuesday 17 March 2026, the Board agreed to support extending licensed hours to those premises wishing to screen the Scotland football games during the 2026 World Cup Tournament.

The Board agreed that any licence holder wishing to open should submit one Extended Hours application for three Scotland games, free of charge. Should Scotland progress further in the tournament, further extended hours applications may be lodged free of charge.

The Board agree to attach the following conditions to any extended hours application:-

• · The licensed premises must have appropriate permissions to broadcast live sports, including permission to have ‘televised sport’ within their operating plan.
• · Designated Premises Manager to be on duty during the extended hours.
• · Entry to the event should be ticketed to ensure that premises do not exceed their agreed capacity.
• · Last entry to the premises should be aligned with match kick off times.
• · Existing external licensing conditions will remain in place (eg. beer gardens).
• · Premises will close no later than 30 minutes after the final whistle ending the football match, to allow appropriate dispersal.
• · No children/young persons will be permitted entry during the extended hours, however consideration may be given to organised family events.

If you have any questions, please email our Licensing Team or visit our extended hours webapges