Concern is mounting in England ahead of the Women’s World Cup final late Sunday morning, but not really about the result: many pubs are not allowed to open so early let alone serve alcohol.
This is the first time that the “Lionesses”, the England team, have reached the final of the World Cup. The English hadn’t come this far in the competition since 1966, when the men won at home to West Germany. The perfect opportunity to meet at the pub, preferably with a beer in hand.
But the match between England and Spain will take place in Sydney and, due to the time difference, it will be 11:00 in the UK (10:00 GMT) when the kick-off is given.
But on Sunday mornings, until 11 a.m. or even noon, many pubs are not allowed to open or serve pints. So the debate rages on. The British Beer and Pub Association has called for allowing an exceptional opening at 10:00 a.m.
But a general change to pub opening hours across England would require the approval of Parliament. MPs are currently not sitting due to the summer holidays, and requests for emergency recalls to Westminster have been rejected. Each pub could ask for its own authorization, but this must be done five days before the big day. It is therefore already too late.
Equal Opportunities Minister Michael Gove has nonetheless written to councils asking them to speed up pub applications. The Home Office has also written to police chiefs encouraging them to work with local councils to ensure that as many places as possible are open.
Tory MP Michael Fabricator asked him to police in his constituency to ’turn a blind eye’ if a pub opened earlier on Sunday.
And in Cornwall (south-west England), the city council and the police have already announced that they will not take enforcement action in the event of an early opening during the final. The British Beer and Pub Association was quick to call on other regions to do the same.