TORONTO

Councillor Mike Layton is once again fighting for the right of sports fans to gather in bars for early-morning patriotic pints.

The Ward 19 (Trinity-Spadina) councillor plans to ask his council colleagues to allow Toronto bars to serve alcohol beginning at 9 a.m. instead of 11 a.m. during the UEFA EURO 2016 soccer tournament, which begins June 10.

The popular tournament will be held in France, so some games will begin as early as 9 a.m. ET.

“It’s only for the first two weeks, for early games, that we’re ensuring that bars can open for that time,” Layton said Wednesday.

He expects to file his motion during the March 30 council meeting.

In 2014, Toronto allowed bars and restaurants to open by 7 a.m. for the Olympic gold medal hockey game. That, too, was the handiwork of Layton, who brought forward an urgent motion.

The City of Toronto Act allows for alcohol-service hours to be extended for events of “municipal, provincial, national, or international significance.”