Starmer intervened to stop Fifa moving England's World Cup kick-off

Sir Keir Starmer personally ordered officials to oppose Fifa's plan to move England's World Cup match against Mexico six hours earlier, after the Football Association warned it would reduce the team's time to acclimatise to Mexico City's high altitude. The prime minister instructed officials to make the case through diplomatic channels, while the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, spoke to the British ambassador to Mexico asking that British diplomats make representations against the change. Fifa had been set to bring the forward kick-off from 1am UK time to 7pm the previous evening because of a forecast of thunderstorms and fears about lightning and flooding around the Azteca Stadium, which holds more than 87,000 spectators. Both the English and Mexican football associations objected to the change being made less than 48 hours before the game, with concerns about fans' travel plans and team preparations. The Mexican manager, Javier Aguirre, called the proposals a 'kick in the gut'. After more than five hours of uncertainty, Fifa stuck to the original start time, though kick-off was then delayed by an hour because of the weather. Speaking at a Downing Street reception, Starmer said: 'We had to battle with the FA to get it back to where it was, which was counterintuitive.' England went on to win 3-2, setting up a quarter‑final against Norway in Miami on Saturday. The intervention was the second time in a week that Starmer became directly involved in England's campaign, after the government passed emergency legislation allowing pubs in England and Wales to stay open later for the knockout fixture. Announcing that change, he said: 'Football might be coming home but we're making sure fans don't have to.' The Conservatives sought to capitalise on the kick‑off row, with one Tory source asking: 'Where's this Keir Starmer been the whole time?' The match also delivered a boost to the hospitality industry: Heineken UK reported that drinks sales across its managed pubs rose 67% compared with the same period last year, with the busiest trading period around the delayed 2am kick‑off seeing a 4,782% year‑on‑year surge.