Andy Burnham has urged England football fans to seize the “golden chance” to stay in the pub into the early hours for the country’s World Cup last-16 match against Mexico, despite it falling on a school night.
Burnham, the newly elected MP for Makerfield and the only declared candidate to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister, said he wanted the country to make the most of the occasion. In a video message wishing the team luck, he described the fixture as “a golden chance to be in the pub together at 1am on a school night,” before backing England to win. The former Greater Manchester mayor, an Everton supporter, is expected to watch the match live.
Starmer announced last month that he would stand down once a new Labour leader is chosen, with nominations for that contest due to open on 9 July; he remains prime minister in the meantime. Downing Street has indicated that Starmer, an Arsenal fan, is unlikely to stay up for the whole match given his schedule on Monday.
England’s match against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium kicks off at 1am UK time, after a proposal to move it forward by several hours to avoid forecast thunderstorms was rejected following talks between FIFA and the two football associations. It is England’s first match at the Azteca since their 1986 World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina, the game remembered for Diego Maradona’s “hand of God” goal. With the possibility of further weather delays, the match may not finish until 3am or later.
The government has extended licensing hours so pubs in England and Wales can stay open until 5am, using powers that allow ministers to relax the rules for occasions of “exceptional national significance.” Announcing the move, Starmer said: “Football might be coming home, but we’re making sure fans don’t have to.” The decision drew criticism from the National Police Chiefs’ Council over the short notice given to forces. Employers, meanwhile, are braced for a wave of staff arriving late or not at all on Monday, and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has urged parents not to let children miss school over the game.
Burnham has long presented himself as a champion of football supporters, having worked as an administrator for the Football Task Force early in his career and campaigned for justice for victims of the Hillsborough disaster. He is a member of Labour’s “Demon Eyes” football team, alongside figures including Ed Balls and James Purnell, both tipped for roles in a Burnham government. On Saturday, he used social media to back calls for the decades-old ban on alcohol being sold within view of the pitch at matches in England’s top five divisions to be lifted, arguing the restriction, introduced to curb hooliganism more than 40 years ago, is now outdated.
