Enraptured by the World Cup, Countries Rewrite Rules for Fans

Work, curfews, train schedules — don’t worry about them.

As the World Cup reaches a fever pitch, it seems that governments everywhere are adjusting rules to accommodate fans, declaring sudden holidays or, in Britain’s case, allowing pubs to stay open all night.

For officials in Ecuador, beating the soccer powerhouse Germany last week in the group stages was enough reason to shut down a country. After Ecuador pulled off the 2-1 upset, President Daniel Noboa declared a national holiday. The men’s soccer team, he said on social media, had brought “immense joy to the entire country.”

Days later, Paraguay pulled off perhaps an even bigger feat: eliminating Germany from the tournament in a penalty shootout. Its president, Santiago Peña, also declared a national holiday. “Today, an entire country celebrates,” he said on social media on Tuesday.

And that was just in the tournament’s early stages. As the World Cup moved deeper into its knockout round this week, even more rules are falling by the wayside as governments try to account for fans pulling all-nighters to catch kickoffs many time zones away in North America.

In Sydney, where Australia’s game against Egypt is set for 4 a.m. on Saturday, the authorities said that metro lines in the city would run without interruption overnight from Friday into Saturday.

“We will continue to provide extra public transport for Sydney’s biggest nights, including the next World Cup stage when we win on Saturday morning!” John Graham, the transport minister for New South Wales, said in a statement.

In Britain, King Charles approved a national holiday in Scotland on June 15 to mark the country’s return to the men’s World Cup for the first time since 1998.

As England gears up for a high-stakes knockout match against Mexico early Monday morning, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said that pubs would be exempt from standard 11 p.m. closing times and allowed to stay open until 5 a.m.

“If you’re planning to watch it in the pub, that is great, and it’s really good for pubs, as well,” he said in a video posted on social media.

Some teachers and England fans have argued that schools should have the flexibility to start late that morning considering the game’s 1 a.m. kickoff time.

Daniel Kebede, president of Britain’s National Union of Teachers, told the BBC that “if there is a dip in attendance on Monday,” he hoped that “schools aren’t punished for that.”

Thomas Tuchel, England’s coach, thought similarly. “Write an excuse for school,” he advised parents in comments at a news conference. “Let them watch football.”

Mr. Starmer’s government wouldn’t go that far.

“I’m not going to make requests on parents around bedtime. They can decide what’s best for their families,” the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said on BBC Newsnight. “But please let’s try and get our kids in on the Monday too.”

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