Parliament are set to debate giving the UK an extra bank holiday in the event that England win the World Cup.
The national team are currently 1-0 up against Croatia in the semi-finals at half-time. If they win the match, they will face France in the final on Sunday (July 15). This is the first time since 1990 that England have made it past the quarter-finals in the tournament.
Over 200,000 fans have signed a petition online asking for a bank holiday next Monday (July 16) if England are victorious. “We need this for all those supporting England as the next day will not be pleasant for all fans,” the petition reasoned.
Parliament must consider all petitions that receive more than 100,000 signatures, meaning the government must now discuss the possibility of giving the country the day off.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn previously called for a bank holiday to be instated if England won the World Cup.
A spokesperson for the opposition leader said: “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but I think it is the case that Jeremy believes that if England were to win the World Cup there should be a public bank holiday in celebration.”
They continued: “The World Cup is a very special international competition. It’s something that brings people together on a very large scale and we need recognition of that and recognition of the importance of football in the country.”
Meanwhile, Damon Albarn has given his assessment of England’s run in the competition so far. The Blur and Gorillaz man said he has “never felt this feeling” of believe in the team’s chances before.