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The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/GotenRocko on 2026-03-09 12:38:50+00:00.
With less than 100 days until the FIFA World Cup kicks off, officials in Foxborough and the Kraft Group remain at odds over how security costs will be paid for seven games planned in June and July.
Organizing efforts between the Foxborough Select Board and the Kraft Group, which owns Gillette Stadium, grew contentious this week after town officials rejected the latest proposal from the Kraft Group, which released a statement on Friday.
“We are deeply disappointed that the town has seemingly reached a conclusion unilaterally without the platform of a public hearing, which is already scheduled for March 17, and would like to understand what the town requires at this stage to get to ‘yes,’” a Kraft Group spokesperson said in the statement, according to several media reports. “Despite these circumstances, we will continue to assist the town and the Boston Soccer 2026 host committee with their security planning in order to host and execute this historic event for tens of thousands of fans.”
Town officials have said they will not grant an entertainment license needed for the games to take place unless a funding source for $7.8 million in security costs becomes available. Town officials have said they do not have the funds to cover those costs up-front, and do not want taxpayers to be on the hook for the payments.
The entertainment license must be granted by March 17, according to town officials.
Seven World Cup matches are scheduled for June and July at Gillette Stadium, which will be known as Boston Stadium during the tournament. Security services in and around the stadium will be necessary for 39 days during the international sporting event.
Members of the Foxborough Select Board and Town Manager Paige Duncan said in a statement Friday that they were “shocked and dismayed” to hear the Kraft Group and Boston Soccer 2026, the event host committee, say Thursday that they had reached an agreement with the town about who would pay for millions of dollars’ worth of security equipment and staffing, calling it “categorically false.”
“The Town of Foxborough’s priority is and always has been to provide the highest level of public safety for these upcoming historically unprecedented events,” the town said in that Friday statement.
Where is the money supposed to come from? The town has applied for a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program intended to reimburse World Cup-related expenses, which was part of President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. FEMA is expected to disburse about $47 million in grant money to the state, which would then allocate it to cover operations in Foxborough and elsewhere.
Foxborough officials expected to learn whether they had been awarded the funds by Jan. 30. But that hasn’t happened — due in part to a partial shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FEMA’s parent agency.
Boston Soccer 2026 wrote in a letter to town officials this week that the organization currently has $2 million in its bank accounts and expects to receive at least $30 million from the state and federal governments and profits from commercial activities.
“With the amounts on hand and expected additional funding, BS26 is and will remain well capitalized to pay all amounts as they come due in connection with hosting World Cup Events,” they wrote.
What did the Kraft Group agree to? On Thursday, Kraft Sports and Entertainment, the organization that owns Gillette Stadium, sent a letter to Boston Soccer 2026 committing to providing advance payments to the organization as an additional guarantee that Foxborough would not be left with the bill.
The Kraft Group agreed to advance up to about $1.5 million to Boston Soccer 2026. Such payments would be made upon request for approved expenditures, but only until July 31.
If Boston Soccer 2026 failed to repay Kraft Sports for the advances, Boston Soccer would be compelled to allow Kraft Sports to take possession of any equipment from the event at no cost, according to the letter from Kraft Sports.
However, Boston Soccer 2026 noted in its letter to the town that while it committed to providing all of the equipment requested by the Foxborough Police and Fire Departments, it only promised to purchase certain items and said it would borrow or lease other equipment. It was not immediately clear what equipment would be purchased and what would be sourced through other means.
Why is the town still unconvinced? Town officials said they were still worried about ensuring that all of their bases were covered.
Select Board Chair Bill Yukna told MassLive that his biggest concern was that Kraft Sports had only agreed to back payments for security personnel and equipment it deemed necessary for hosting events, rather than all security costs Foxborough officials deem necessary.
“We look forward to continue working with all stakeholders on this matter, but any suggestion that BS26 or the Kraft Group have adequately addressed the Town’s concerns is false,” Yukna wrote in an email.
In their Friday statement, town officials said the public safety departments had spent “thousands of hours … to develop a comprehensive security plan.”
“While the total cost for such services is a microscopic fraction of the revenue that the events will generate, the Town has been met, at every turn, with resistance from the Kraft Group and other event organizers,” they wrote. “That such entities may have miscalculated the cost of hosting the World Cup is not a reason to compromise on event security. The Town cannot and will not finance the Kraft Group’s losses by sacrificing public safety.”