Yahoo News Tesco to close more than 1,800 stores early if England reach Euro 2024 final
Tesco has announced that it will close its stores in England early on Sunday if England win against the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final tonight.
The UK's biggest supermarket chain confirmed that its Express stores, of which there are more than 1,800 across the country, will close at 7.30pm instead of the usual 10pm or 11pm to allow employees to watch the historic football match if the Three Lions make it to the final. England are currently just one match away from going up against Spain, for a chance to become the first England men's team to win a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup.
Tesco said the move would allow thousands of colleagues to get home or to the pub in time for kick-off to catch Sunday's final should England beat the Netherlands on Wednesday, July 10. Employees will still receive their normal pay for those hours, the supermarket confirmed.
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Tesco reassured customers that stores would still be open as normal during the daytime on Sunday so they can stock up on any essential pre-match supplies, and all online orders already placed for Sunday evening would be honoured and delivered as normal. Because the match falls on a Sunday, Tesco's larger stores in England will already be closed by kick-off.
All stores would then reopen as normal the following Monday morning, with the majority from 6am or 7am. Stores in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland would continue to remain open in line with their usual hours.
Kevin Tindall, Tesco's managing director of UK stores, said: "We will be cheering on the Three Lions tonight against the Netherlands and hope they reach a second successive Euros final. We appreciate just how much this would mean to so many of our colleagues, and we want them to be able to celebrate with their family and friends.
"So, if we make it through to the final, we will close our stores across England in time for them to get behind Gareth Southgate and the team, and we'll all be hoping that football will be coming home," he added.
