by Stephen J. McGowan, Partner – Head of Licensing (Scotland) for TLT LLP
After 28 years, we are finally at the big table again – hooray! But what will it mean for pubs in Scotland?
There have already been a number of politicians eager to show support not just for the national team but for pubs to be places fans can go to watch and support the team for what has been a once in a generation achievement.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said, “Pubs could be given special dispensation to show their matches in the event that they are scheduled for late at night.”
Health Minister Neil Gray MSP has said that the Scottish Government would look to work with licensing boards to consider possible licence extensions, saying: “In Scotland, clearly, the licensing decisions are made by local authorities, but of course, we’re going to be working with them to try to make sure that people are able to enjoy the celebration as Scotland get out of the group of death with Brazil, Morocco and Haiti.”
As a reminder, Scotland are facing Haiti in Boston on 14 June 2026 with a UK kick off time of 2am. They then face Morocco, again in Boston, on 19 June 2026, with a UK kick off time of 11pm. The last group stage match is against Brazil, in Miami on 24 June 2026 with a UK kick off time of 11pm.
Whilst in England & Wales the licensing law allows the UK Government to issue a blanket extension for pubs for special events, this is not the case in Scotland. The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 leaves the decision for later hours entirely in the hands of the local licensing boards. The Scottish Government has no say in those decisions.
Of course, MSPs can “encourage” licensing boards to consider later hours, and the Scottish Government may even be able to take an official position to ask boards to look favourably on extensions, but there is no statutory or legal mechanism to create a Scotland wide approach. In short, it will be down to do the individual licensing boards. They will be speaking with one another through local government channels to figure each other out and see if there is any uniformity in approach.
When we look at how boards have behaved with other examples of national events, some grant an extra hour automatically, some grant extensions but only for certain geographical areas (e.g. city centre only) and some grant longer extensions that other.
Scottish licensing boards are used to awarding what are called “general extensions” which allow licensed premises to open later in order celebrate an “event of local or national significance”. There is absolutely no doubt that Scotland reaching the World Cup is an event of national significance and that is my legal opinion on the matter!
These hours, once announced, are automatic and licensed premises would not need to apply for them, although watch out in some board areas where you must have “seasonal variations” on your operating plan to take automatic benefit.
My advice is to check with your licensing lawyer about this now. If you don’t have seasonal variations ticked on your operating plan, you’ll need to submit a major variation which will take months to process and require a hearing.
Thinking about what an extension might look like, it is entirely possible that some boards, especially with the 2am kick off against Haiti, might see that as too far a gap to bridge for traditional pub premises. They’d need to allow a licence till at least 4.30am or 5am to ensure the whole match could be watched and enjoyed.
Perhaps some boards will think that type of timing might be best suited to live venue or nightclub type premises whose licences may already run to 3am or 4am however there are clearly a number of views on this as a one-off scenario.
I think licensing boards will, should they be minded to consider extensions into the wee hours for pubs, look for licence holders to present details on how the licensing objectives will be upheld. I would not be surprised to see some boards asking for detailed Alcohol Management Plans being produced to cover a risk assessed approach to showing the match at such unusual hours: stewarding, dispersal, noise, communication with residents, food provision, steps to prevent over intoxication and so forth. It is also open to licensing boards not to grant the automatic “general extension” but to require licence holders to make individual applications called extended hours applications.
These will be processed on a case by case basis and could require a hearing if there are objections or adverse comments, although in some areas licensing boards will have delegated powers to allow written submissions to be considered and a decision made by the chair of the board, for example.
One piece of advice for pubs and licensed premises to look at now is to ensure your premises licence has “televised sport” ticked on your operating plan. If you don’t have that, then you will be breaching your licence to show the matches, so you’ll need to submit a major variation immediately if that is missing from the licence – because in some areas it can take many months to get approval.
The idea of fan parks and fan zones is not unheard of. There are plenty of examples of this for various sporting events and other cultural events. These can be licensed by way of occasional licence applications but there may also be a public entertainment licence requirement in certain local authority areas to be aware of.
Given the timing of the matches the idea of a pop-up fan zone being licensed to say 5am will be novel – but not completely unheard of. For example, Edinburgh allows nightclubs and venues to open to 5am throughout the Edinburgh Festival.
Again, if proposals like this are to be considered, you can expect licensing boards to be looking for significant comfort around how the licensing objectives will be upheld. Licence holders are entitled to write to their relevant board and make their views known.
It is possible some boards might even run a mini consultation to take views on what they should do. What seems clear is that there is a general appetite to at least explore the ways in which fans can enjoy the matches in safe, regulated spaces, and hopefully lift a drink – whether an alcoholic or nonalcoholic – in celebration rather than commiseration.
Could this be the first time the Scots make it out of the group stages? We can live in hope, and in the meantime, enjoy the spectacle.