(March 12): World Cup organisers have reached a funding agreement with Foxborough, after the Massachusetts town threatened to block the seven games scheduled for Boston this summer over public safety costs.
Boston’s tournament host committee has agreed to advance funding for the town of Foxborough’s public safety spending, with the Kraft Group providing financial backing. Foxborough is home to Gillette Stadium, roughly 20 miles southwest of downtown Boston and owned by billionaire Robert Kraft.
“As part of this arrangement, the Town of Foxborough will not incur any cost or financial burden related to the Fifa World Cup,” according to a joint statement issued on Wednesday, “with Boston Soccer 2026 providing advance funding for security-related capital expenditures and the full extent of deployment that public safety officials have determined is needed to execute the event with Kraft Sports + Entertainment’s backing.”
Town officials had vowed to deny Fifa a required licence unless it secured an agreement on the estimated US$7.8 million in costs by March 17. Foxborough, the Kraft organisation and Boston Soccer 2026 now have an “understanding collectively” ahead of a town hearing to approve the licence on that date, they said in a joint statement on Wednesday night.
Other US host cities are struggling to finance their World Cup security needs, with hundreds of millions of dollars in US Department of Homeland Security funding held up during the government shutdown. But the impasse over Boston’s games had grown especially perilous, with the sides levelling increasingly acrimonious public barbs and the Foxborough-imposed deadline for a decision mere days away.
Fifa refused to cover the costs, and local government officials, representing the town’s roughly 18,000 residents, protested that the bill equated to about 7% of its annual budget.
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Despite securing corporate sponsors like State Street Corp, the host committee admitted last week to having only US$2 million in cash. Meanwhile, the Kraft Group insisted that, unlike concerts and New England Patriots games, the World Cup matches will not generate revenue for the stadium itself.
The host committee last week offered to repay future town invoices within two business days, a promise backed by the Kraft Group. Foxborough rejected this, stating that the offer for future repayment wasn’t good enough and it would not “finance the Kraft Group’s losses by sacrificing public safety”.
The town also criticised organisers for miscalculating expenses. In response, the Kraft Group expressed its “deep disappointment” that the town had refused its “good faith” efforts.
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The stalemate led to closed-door negotiations that lasted into the current week, concluding with the announcement on Wednesday.
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