Foxborough threatens to delay World Cup licence over US$8m security gap

Officials in Foxborough, Massachusetts, have warned they are prepared to deny the licence required to stage 2026 FIFA World Cup matches at Gillette Stadium unless organisers provide firm guarantees over a US$7.8 million security and public safety funding gap.At a tense Select Board meeting on Tuesday night, representatives of Boston Soccer 2026 said the host committee would backstop the shortfall if federal funding does not arrive and that the Kraft Group, which owns Gillette Stadium, would cover any gap in the host committee’s own resources.Gary Ronan, a lawyer representing the host committee, said: “Who is going to backstop this obligation, if for whatever reason the federal money does not come through, is Boston Soccer 2026?”Ronan said the host committee would pay invoices within two business days and argued the terms could be written into the licence itself, giving the town a clear remedy if payments are not made.“If you don’t get paid, you can terminate the licence,” Ronan said. “The next soccer game doesn’t happen.”The dispute centres on public safety planning for the tournament, with Foxborough leaders saying the cost and timing of security equipment and staffing cannot fall on a town of around 18,000 residents. The funding package was expected to include federal support via a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant, but the money has not arrived, with local officials pointing to wider delays in federal processes.Select Board chair Bill Yukna pushed back on a proposed June 1 timeline for certain safety equipment to be in place, less than two weeks before the first scheduled World Cup match at the venue."We have clearly put out when that list has to be acquired by and quite honestly some of it is already past the dates," board chair Bill Yukna said. "Waiting until June 1 is unacceptable."Foxborough police chief Mike Grace said the town was running out of time to procure and deploy equipment and resources required for an event of this scale.Grace said: “We are 99 days away from hosting the largest sporting event in the world, and we can’t seem to find necessary funding for necessary equipment that’s been identified for over a year and a half of planning.Gillette Stadium is due to stage seven matches during the tournament, including England’s second group game against Ghana, Scotland’s opener against Haiti and a quarter-final.The Select Board did not vote on the stadium licence at the meeting and instead set the issue down for March 17, when officials expect to take a formal decision.