A Line in the Sand

Less than four months until the world soccer audience descends on the U.S. to celebrate the sport and crown a champion while dodging immigration police, and not everyone is thrilled. 

The five-member select board for the town of Foxboro, Mass., which must sign off on the use of Gillette Stadium for the World Cup’s Boston venue, would like answers from event organizers or world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, or anyone, really, about who’s going to foot the bill and when they might see the money. 

Gillette Stadium, home to the New England Patriots, is scheduled to host seven games during the World Cup – group stage games that will include England, France, Norway and Scotland, a round-of-32 game and a quarterfinal. Foxboro officials calculated that it will cost at least $7.8 million to cover police security and public safety costs during the tournament, a significant expense for a town of 18,000 people located 30 miles from Boston that just happens to have a professional stadium. 

A recent meeting between Foxboro officials and the CEO of the Boston host committee and FIFA’s venue operator for Boston got a little testy when board members sought answers about financial commitments and received none, according to a piece in The Athletic. As the board must grant a license for stadium events that aren’t Patriots games, vice-chair Stephanie McGowan said, “It’s going to be a flat ‘no,’ unless we know the money is there.” 

Frustration is rooted in the fact that FIFA is a multi-billion-dollar organization, as is the Kraft Group, headed by Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft, which essentially sublet the stadium to FIFA for the Cup. The Trump administration allocated $625 million to host cities for the Cup, including $46 million for Boston. Yet Foxboro board members can’t even get a straight answer about who’s covering costs, never mind a promise about when the money will hit the coffers. 

There’s no reason to think an agreement won’t be reached, but Foxboro officials’ skepticism is justified. FIFA is a Michelin star-rated extortionist that operates under the premise that cities and countries should be grateful for the association and be willing to pony up for the privilege. Under hosting contracts, FIFA typically takes all income from tickets, broadcast deals, in-stadium sponsorships and even parking fees, The Athletic reports. Host cities are responsible for public safety and security, as well as medical services and fire protection and transportation and police escorts for teams and referees and FIFA prez Gianni Infantino and his entourage. In return, FIFA touts the alleged economic benefits that accrue from fans and visitors flooding an area as more than offsetting costs – a dubious proposition for a small town with limited amenities in which many people will drive in for the game and leave immediately thereafter. 

As for Federal money covering costs, the Foxboro board is rightly suspicious, as well. That money is being administered through a depleted Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security, with everything running through Toxic Barbie Kristi Noem. Ask residents of western North Carolina how efficiently FEMA distributes funds, as many of them are still waiting for relief after Hurricane Helene hit there in the fall of 2024. 

Granted, money might be more readily available for a world stage event in major cities than for suffering small town folks, but if you’re Foxboro, should you assume such things? “We’re not prepared to issue this license unless everything is in place,” McGowan said in the Athletic piece. “I’ve seen people say, ‘Oh, there’s no way they won’t.’ But I am going to tell you: this board will not issue this license. I don’t feel like we’re getting the answers.” 

The board set a March 17 deadline for issuing the license, saying they need the lead-in time to set schedules and secure personnel. FIFA requires that venues be secured for all 39 days of the tournament, not just the seven game days, so costs add up and small town resources are stretched thin unless they receive outside assistance. “How does anybody expect that we would (front the money) for someone (FIFA) who’s coming into our town for 39 days, making all these demands, and then you guys go away?” McGowan said. “We cannot do that to our taxpayers. We would not be responsible.” Responsibility. Holding people accountable. Not automatically caving to moneyed interests. Novel concepts in this day and age.