World Cup 2026 - extended hours licensing

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World Cup opening hours - tell us what you think

East Ayrshire Licensing Board supports extending licensed hours to those premises wishing to screen the Scotland football games during the 2026 World Cup Tournament.

Before finalising arrangements Members of the Board would like to hear from local trade and licensing practitioners about what arrangements may be considered appropriate to ensure public safety without being viewed as being overly prescriptive.

At the moment permitted hours for on sale premises are:-

  • Sunday to Wednesday – 11am to 12 Midnight
  • Thursday to Saturday – 11am to 1am

The Board is considering allowing later opening hours for the three scheduled Scotland Games, noting that there should be no extra time or penalties in the group stages.

The first game kicks off at 2am BST:

  • Scotland -v- Haiti on Sunday 14 June

Two of the next games kick off at 11pm BST:

  • Scotland -v- Morocco on Friday 19 June
  • Scotland -v- Brazil on Wednesday 24 June

The proposal

Members propose offering an extra 30 minutes after the end of the match to allow for injury time etc. This would effectively mean

  • an extra 3.5 hours for the Haiti game (normal close 1am)
  • a 1.5 hours extension for the Brazil game (normal close at 12 Midnight),
  • an extra 30 minutes for the Morocco game (normal close at 1am)

Whilst offering a blanket extension to those premises wishing to screen these games, Members may either request that premises make their intentions known to the licensing section or they may request that an application for extended hours be lodged. If they do decide to request an application for extended hours, consideration will be given to waiving the application fee. In formation about intended hours of opening would help Police Scotland work out what resources are likely to be required.

Conditions

Mandatory Conditions for Late Opening Premises (premises opening beyond 1am) require that a person trained in administering first aid be present on the premises between 1am and the time the premises next close. This Condition will apply to all premises taking advantage of the extended hours.

Proposed conditions

Members may consider further conditions, however they do not wish to make the process overly complicated or impose conditions which, whilst necessary, might have a disproportionate impact, For this reason we'd like to know your views on our proposals: Please go to the Survey below to see the proposals and tell us what you think. The survey will be open until 27 February 2026.

Next steps

A report will be submitted to the Licensing Board at their meeting on 17 March 2026 for formal approval. Your views on the proposed conditions will be welcomed, together with any other comments you make, Your feedback will inform the terms of the Report.

We will also consult with Police Scotland before a final decision is taken by the Licensing Board.

If we go to the second round

Should Scotland progress into the next round of the tournament further consideration will be given to extending the permitted hours if the games take place outwith normal permitted hours.

Premises wishing to screen other matches of the tournament which take place outwith permitted hours will be expected to apply for Extended Hours at a cost of £10, with each application being considered on merit.

It would be helpful if you would respond to the survey below no later than Friday 27 February 2026.

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

World Cup opening hours - tell us what you think

East Ayrshire Licensing Board supports extending licensed hours to those premises wishing to screen the Scotland football games during the 2026 World Cup Tournament.

Before finalising arrangements Members of the Board would like to hear from local trade and licensing practitioners about what arrangements may be considered appropriate to ensure public safety without being viewed as being overly prescriptive.

At the moment permitted hours for on sale premises are:-

  • Sunday to Wednesday – 11am to 12 Midnight
  • Thursday to Saturday – 11am to 1am

The Board is considering allowing later opening hours for the three scheduled Scotland Games, noting that there should be no extra time or penalties in the group stages.

The first game kicks off at 2am BST:

  • Scotland -v- Haiti on Sunday 14 June

Two of the next games kick off at 11pm BST:

  • Scotland -v- Morocco on Friday 19 June
  • Scotland -v- Brazil on Wednesday 24 June

The proposal

Members propose offering an extra 30 minutes after the end of the match to allow for injury time etc. This would effectively mean

  • an extra 3.5 hours for the Haiti game (normal close 1am)
  • a 1.5 hours extension for the Brazil game (normal close at 12 Midnight),
  • an extra 30 minutes for the Morocco game (normal close at 1am)

Whilst offering a blanket extension to those premises wishing to screen these games, Members may either request that premises make their intentions known to the licensing section or they may request that an application for extended hours be lodged. If they do decide to request an application for extended hours, consideration will be given to waiving the application fee. In formation about intended hours of opening would help Police Scotland work out what resources are likely to be required.

Conditions

Mandatory Conditions for Late Opening Premises (premises opening beyond 1am) require that a person trained in administering first aid be present on the premises between 1am and the time the premises next close. This Condition will apply to all premises taking advantage of the extended hours.

Proposed conditions

Members may consider further conditions, however they do not wish to make the process overly complicated or impose conditions which, whilst necessary, might have a disproportionate impact, For this reason we'd like to know your views on our proposals: Please go to the Survey below to see the proposals and tell us what you think. The survey will be open until 27 February 2026.

Next steps

A report will be submitted to the Licensing Board at their meeting on 17 March 2026 for formal approval. Your views on the proposed conditions will be welcomed, together with any other comments you make, Your feedback will inform the terms of the Report.

We will also consult with Police Scotland before a final decision is taken by the Licensing Board.

If we go to the second round

Should Scotland progress into the next round of the tournament further consideration will be given to extending the permitted hours if the games take place outwith normal permitted hours.

Premises wishing to screen other matches of the tournament which take place outwith permitted hours will be expected to apply for Extended Hours at a cost of £10, with each application being considered on merit.

It would be helpful if you would respond to the survey below no later than Friday 27 February 2026.

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

  • World Cup Late Licensing proposals - tell us what you think

    We welcome your views about our proposed conditions together with any other comments you feel are relevant. We will use them to inform the terms of a Report to the Licensing Board at their meeting on 17 March 2026 for formal approval. This survey will close on  Friday 27 February 2026.

    Complete Form
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Page last updated: 11 Feb 2026, 03:22 PM