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Apply for extended World Cup opening hours
North Ayrshire Licensing Board has confirmed its policy for licensed premises that are looking to extend their hours during this summer’s much-anticipated World Cup.
At a Licensing Board meeting yesterday, it was agreed that while there would be no general extension of opening hours, the screening of FIFA World Cup 2026 matches will be facilitated, where appropriate, through individual applications.
The Board will invite individual extended hours applications by premises licence holders and occasional licence applications for venues which do not hold a premises licence, and these will be processed and determined in accordance with the Board’s usual procedures.
Applications can be made for any World Cup fixture (not limited to Scotland matches) and the deadline for submission of applications will be 31st March 2026.
Closing time will be 30 minutes after the final whistle for those successful in extending their hours.
The Board also confirmed a number of conditions. One of these was that no person should be admitted or re-admitted into the premises one hour before the kick off.
Quote: Licensing Board members are very aware of the importance of the Scotland World Cup games to fans and licensed venues. When making our decision we tried to balance feedback from pub operators with our licencing objectives and policies. We feel inviting individual applications is the best and most proportionate way forward, and I would encourage anyone looking for extended hours for any of the World Cup games to make their applications as soon as possible to make sure they meet the end of March deadline.”
Quote from: Councillor Eleanor Collier, Chair of the Licensing Board
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will take place in Canada, Mexico and the United States during the summer months. Due to the time difference, Scotland’s group stage fixtures include late evening and early morning kick-off times (UK time), which may extend beyond the permitted terminal hour for some licensed premises in North Ayrshire. Scotland are scheduled to play Haiti (Sunday 14 June 2026, 2.00am UK time, Boston), Morocco (Friday 19 June 2026, 11.00pm UK time, Boston) and Brazil (Wednesday 24 June 2026, 11.00pm UK time, Miami).
North Ayrshire Council Licensing Department will contact licence holders as soon as possible with further details and information in relation to how applications can be made. Information for non-licence holders on occasional licences can be found on the Council’s website.
Published: 18 February 2026