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Late opening hours and England’s progress to the semi-final of an expanded World Cup helped provide the best football-related uplift of recent years for pubs, figures suggest.
Pubs poured 30m extra pints over the course of the tournament compared with a normal trading period, with busy pumps delivering £150m in added sales, according to the British Beer & Pubs Association (BBPA).
The World Cup-related increase in sales, as fans followed England and Scotland games, also appears to have outstripped that seen during previous competitions, including England’s run to the final of Euro 2024.
The standout day over the course of the last three tournaments, in terms of sales uplift relative to a normal shift, was England’s game against Mexico in the early hours of the morning, according to data from the payment systems provider Epos Now.
Sales nearly doubled on that day compared with the same period pre-tournament, as pubs were permitted to open through the night and could trade in regular hours as well.
Three other games delivered a two-thirds increase in the number of transactions, according to the data.
By contrast, only two games at each of Qatar 2022 and Euro 2024 led to an increase of more than 50%.
Another payments provider, Dojo, said sales over the entire course of the tournament were 16% higher than normal, while the overall World Cup-related boost was 9% better than in Euro 2024.
The rise in sales was swiftly followed by a £100m aid package for pubs from Andy Burnham, who announced a 20% cut in business rates for the sector on Thursday. While the government policy was criticised for a lack of ambition, the dual benefits of the tax cut and the football brought rare respite for the hard-pressed industry, which recorded one pub a day closing last year, in England and Wales.
Dawn Slater, who runs the Garrick’s Head pub in Greater Manchester, said she and her staff had more than doubled their sales compared with previous tournaments after expanding capacity outside and installing giant screens.
“It’s been really busy, fully booked every game. We stopped entry two hours before each game.
“People definitely spent more money on this tournament but it was also more expensive to put it on. We had extra TVs, an outside bar. Plastic cups and pitchers alone cost us £8,700. But the take was good.
“I’ve had to be here from 10am staying open till 2am most games and getting in bed at 5am. It was worth every minute, I wouldn’t change anything.”
However, busy match days were often followed by quieter periods, offsetting some of the gains, with trading dependent on England’s progress.
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“The weekday games were amazing,” said Amy Williams, who runs the George in Witham with her husband, Tom. “We had a 300-400% increase in sales on our tills compared to the previous week.
“For the Norway game we had a Dolly Parton tribute act but we cancelled her because there was no way she would have had space to perform.”
“Sunday, for the final, we had a few people turn up. Had England got through it would have been a fantastic week but a lot of people didn’t come out that weekend. We’re normally busy but it was the quietest.
“There was definitely a drop in sales the day before and the day after. The next day [after England’s loss to Argentina] was like a ghost town.”
The World Cup benefit was not equally felt across the hospitality sector, with restaurants struggling in the hot weather.
Mitchells & Butlers, the UK’s largest hospitality chain, reported flat sales in the third quarter of the year, as improvement in its pubs division during the World Cup was offset by the hot weather deterring customers from brands such as Toby Carvery.
Restaurant groups that reported sales to the data analysis firm NIQ said sales were down by 0.7% year on year in June, making it the second worst month of 2026.
