ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2023--

The government has ruled out an extra bank holiday if the Lionesses win the Women's World Cup this Sunday. After the Lionesses beat Australia 3-1 in the semi-final yesterday, they became the first English women's football side to reach a World Cup final. They will face Spain this weekend and if they win, they will become the first England team to win a World Cup since 1966. But there are "no plans" for an extra day off if the Lionesses secure a famous victory, the government said. Asked if there could be a change of heart this time around, a government spokesperson told the BBC: "We congratulate the Lionesses on their fantastic achievement in getting to the Women's World Cup final. "The current pattern of public and bank holidays is well established and there are no plans to change this." In a later statement, a government spokesperson added: "Winning the World Cup would be a massive moment for the country and make no mistake we'll find the right way to celebrate. "As Sarina Wiegman herself has said, the first thing to do is focus on the final and the whole country will be rooting for the Lionesses this weekend". There has never been an extra bank holiday held in the UK to mark a sporting occasion despite multiple appeals, including calls for an extra day off in the run-up to the Lionesses' Euros win in 2022, and a petition calling for a bank holiday in the event the men's team won Euro 2020. This is because of money. It is not exactly clear how much it would cost but a 2010 a House of Commons library report said an extra holiday would cost £2.9bn, and both the Bank of England and Office of Budget Responsibility say it negatively impacts growth. Nevertheless, other countries sometimes declare bank holidays for sporting wins. Argentina got a day off last year after winning the men's World Cup. Panama declared a national holiday in 2017 for qualifying for the World Cup for the first time and Saudi Arabia held one for beating Argentina in last year's group stages. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had called for a bank holiday there if his team won the cup. Meanwhile, there is some support for an extra holiday in the UK. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer backed calls for an extra bank holiday after the Lionesses won the semi-final. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also backed the call, describing the England team an "inspiration" and saying a final win would "absolutely" deserve to be marked with a bank holiday. Regardless of the extra bank holiday or not, if the Lionesses win it will be a cracker of a day. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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