Update: A Foxborough official said Thursday night that a plan for how to pay for security costs related to the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Gillette Stadium is inadequate.
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Kraft Sports has committed to a plan meant to ensure the town of Foxborough is quickly reimbursed for security costs associated with hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Gillette Stadium.
For weeks, Foxborough town officials have declined to issue a required event license for the soccer matches until a plan for paying for security services for the event was set forth. Security services for the event are expected to cost approximately $7.8 million, and town officials said they would not issue the license until they were certain taxpayer dollars would not be put on the line.
On Thursday, Kraft Sports and Entertainment wrote in a letter to Boston Soccer 2026 Corp. — the group organizing the portion of the World Cup set to take place in Foxborough — that it would provide money for security costs in advance. The advance payments will allow Boston Soccer to reimburse the town of Foxborough for security-related invoices within two business days.
Boston Soccer sent a corresponding letter to Foxborough town officials on Thursday committing to the two-day reimbursement schedule once officials issue the event license. The letter from Kraft Sports states that Boston Soccer will have until Nov. 30 to repay Kraft Sports for the advances.
Seven World Cup matches are set to take place in 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.
In its letter, Kraft Sports committed to making advance payments to Boston Soccer amounting to a minimum of $100,000. Such payments will be made upon request for approved expenditures, but can only be requested until July 31.
If Boston Soccer fails to repay Kraft Sports for any expenditures, Boston Sports will be compelled to allow Kraft Sports to take possession of any equipment from the event for free, according to the letter from Kraft Sports.
In its letter, Boston Soccer addressed concerns expressed by Foxborough officials about the group’s financial situation.
“We can confirm to the Town that BS26 has $2,000,000 of funds available in its bank accounts as of this morning and that it will receive at least an additional $30,000,000 from state and federal funding and commercial activities,” the letter reads.
“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.”
Foxborough officials were under the impression the Kraft Group would foot the bill for police details and other security costs during the World Cup, as it does for New England Patriots games and other events at Gillette, Yukna said previously.
After discovering this was not the plan — and that neither FIFA nor the Boston Host Committee were set to pay for security costs either — the town of Foxborough applied for the FEMA-funded FIFA World Cup Grant Program. The grant was part of President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill and is designated to be used on security costs for the tournament.
Massachusetts is slated to get $47 million from the grant, but municipalities such as Boston and organizations such as the MBTA are competing with Foxborough for those funds. Town officials are doubtful they will be approved for the full amount they’ve applied for, and it is unclear when reimbursement funds from the grant will be issued.
Foxborough’s town coffers cannot support paying millions in security costs upfront, officials said previously.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated.
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