West Lothian will not follow its neighbours with a general extension to licensing hours during the World Cup.
Falkirk, Edinburgh and East Lothian have all agreed elements of a general extension, with the capital’s being the most generous through the tournament later this year.
But local pubs and clubs which want to stay open for Scotland’s opening game against Haiti on 14 June will have to apply for a licence to keep their doors open until beyond 2am.
The Scotland squad will kick off their first World Cup in almost 30 years. Most local councils have introduced elements of a general extension. Edinburgh’s rules apply to all games. Falkirk’s rule applies to only Scotland’s games including Haiti, Morocco and Brazil. These two latter games have kick off times of 11pm rather than the 2am start in the Haiti match.
The “once in a generation event” as the competition has been dubbed could see a big boost in takings for licensed premises which have taken a financial battering since the Covid lockdown in March 2020.
A spokesperson for the council said: “After consideration, the West Lothian Licensing Board has determined that it will not grant a general extension of licensed hours for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
“Licence holders of licensed premises permitted to televise sport, wishing to extend their licensed hours, for the purposes of televising Scotland matches, will be required to submit an application for extended hours.”
To ensure that applications are processed before the commencement of the World Cup, applications should be submitted no later than 31 March 2026. The Board may determine it appropriate to attach conditions to applications granted. A list of the conditions which may be attached will be published online at www.westlothian.gov.uk/licensing by 17 March 2026.
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
