Sweden advanced to the football World Cup after a real qualification thriller against Poland, marking its first appearance in the tournament since 2018. The team's schedule includes challenging late-night viewing, with some matches starting at 3 or 4 in the morning, Swedish time. Sweden's opening match against Tunisia on June 15 starts at 4:00 AM Swedish time, followed by games against the Netherlands on June 20 at 7:00 PM and Japan on June 26 at 1:00 AM. This timing has prompted discussions about adjusting alcohol serving regulations to allow bars to operate during these hours.
Currently, alcohol service after 5:00 AM does not happen in Sweden due to practice, even though it is legal. Municipalities decide the hours for serving licenses, with 5:00 AM as the limit in Stockholm and Göteborg. In Göteborg, 13 bars are allowed to sell alcohol after 3:00 AM, at most until 5:00 AM. Bars without night opening can apply to municipalities for extended serving licenses, and similar proposals exist in several western Swedish cities, such as Uddevalla and Borås. For example, O'Learys in Eskilstuna currently has a license to stay open until 3:00 AM, while in Strängnäs, eight bars have had their outdoor serving hours extended by one hour in the evening.
Political momentum for extended hours is building, with cross-party support evident in cities like Växjö. Moderaterna i Växjö demanded that the S-ledda styret (S, V, MP) together with C extend opening hours during the World Cup. Socialdemokraterna are very positive to the M proposal and share the view that extended opening hours are needed during the World Cup. The committee will now look at the issue and present a proposal.
In Göteborg, the red-green municipal government has submitted a proposal that bars and restaurants should be able to apply to extend their alcohol permits. If the proposal passes, restaurateurs could apply to sell alcohol until 6:00 AM. Moderaterna have also submitted a similar proposal in Göteborg, and the Moderates and the Green Party have opened up to extending serving licenses during the World Cup. A decision on the issue is expected to be passed in the municipal council within a few weeks, with the proposal going to the municipal council.
Politicians in Örebro are open to extra opening hours at bars during the World Cup. As long as a serious application comes in and the police assess it as feasible, politics will not set any stops for bars to stay open later than 2:00 AM during the World Cup. Matches starting at 1:00 AM are particularly interesting for possible exceptions.
Gävle has developed an ambitious proposal, with Socialnämnden in Gävle creating an initiative that can give restaurants and other serving establishments the opportunity to be open during the time matches are ongoing. The initiative has been sent to the police and the municipality's environmental and health protection unit for comment. If it passes, establishments with a valid serving permit can apply to serve alcohol until 7:00 AM to show World Cup matches. Establishments can receive guests without booking requirements and serve without food requirements during matches, assuming the food requirement in the alcohol law is removed on June 1. A decision on extended serving times is expected to be made during week 17 or 18.
In contrast, Stockholm's approach is more conservative. The ruling Social Democrats have encouraged bars to extend licenses temporarily but not beyond 5:00 AM.
Internationally, Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Störe has opened up for a law change ahead of the summer championship. This context is part of a broader historical evolution in sports governance, where FIFA's attempt to keep politics out of international football in the second half of the twentieth century was largely dominated by the world views of Stanley Rous and Joao Havelange. FIFA's structure lends itself to being dominated by its President, and Rous and Havelange had differing attitudes toward FIFA involving itself in political disputes between member states.
FIFA became increasingly involved with a financial imperative, illustrated by World Cup tournaments becoming a 'cash cow'. During the Cold War, FIFA formed marriages of convenience, showing politics should be considered holistically beyond left or right-wing perspectives. Under Joao Havelange, FIFA demonstrated post-ideological detachment focused on money to sustain power and fiefdoms. Havelange was a 'consummate political operator' with a flexible approach to keeping politics out of football, moving toward virulent crony commercialism.
After WWII, FIFA president Jules Rimet focused on restabilising the World Cup competition, while Arthur Drewry dealt with increasing membership applications for FIFA. Stanley Rous succeeded Arthur Drewry as FIFA president in 1961, overseeing growth from 54 predominantly European and South American countries in 1961 to 140 by 1974, with new members from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Rous concluded from WWII experiences that football could maintain Britain's profile as its political empire receded, and in 1943, he wrote that the FA's War Emergency Committees developed international links through army work, providing a foundation for post-war development. Rous worked as a schoolmaster and was the leading referee of the 1930s, accessing the sports establishment, but exhibited paternalism, referring to FIFA members from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean in a colonial-influenced manner.
Globally, alcohol regulations at sports events vary, as seen in Russia where amendments to a federal law regulating alcohol and sports have been introduced to the Russian State Duma to lift the ban on retail sale of beer at sports events. The amendments are proposed by LDPR deputies Igor Lebedev and Dmitry Svishchev, excluding beer sales during children's and youth sports events. Funds from beer sales could be used to finance professional and youth sports development, according to the deputies, who note that the draft law aims to create conditions for brewing companies to direct part of their budgets to support sports. They add that sponsoring professional sports events by brewing companies is a worldwide practice.
International advertising practices further illustrate this trend, as all rights to advertising during international sports competitions belong to international sports federations like FIFA and UEFA, not local organizers. FIFA and UEFA comply with obligations to advertisers by mandating sponsor advertising during events and TV broadcasts. For instance, Heineken was the official sponsor of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, appointed by the London Organizing Committee, and Budweiser, owned by Anheuser-Busch Inc., is a title sponsor of the IOC and a key partner of the World Cup. The idea to return beer to football stadiums is based on the experience of the World Cup in Russia. Beer companies historically sponsor football teams worldwide, such as Carlsberg and Liverpool, Heineken and UEFA Champions League, and beer is allowed at football matches in many European countries, including Germany, England, and the Netherlands, with beer producers willing to cooperate with sports events.
Key unknowns remain, such as what specific police assessments or feasibility criteria will be used to approve extended serving hour applications in municipalities like Örebro and Gävle. Additionally, it is unclear how many bars or restaurants across Sweden are expected to apply for extended serving licenses during the World Cup, and what economic impact is projected. Whether the temporary extensions in municipalities like Göteborg and Gävle will set a precedent for future events, or are strictly limited to the 2026 World Cup, is also undetermined.
Contradictions and variations in municipal approaches highlight the decentralized nature of Swedish alcohol policy. For example, bars in Göteborg could apply to sell alcohol until 6:00 AM, while establishments in Gävle could apply to serve alcohol until 7:00 AM, indicating that municipalities are setting different maximum limits for extended serving hours. Similarly, Stockholm's Social Democrats have declined to extend serving hours beyond 5:00 AM, whereas Göteborg's red-green government is proposing temporary licenses until 6:00 AM, showing a divergence in policy approaches between major cities.