Foxborough refuses to back down over World Cup security funding dispute

The Massachusetts town of Foxborough says it will not back down from demands for up-front payment of World Cup security funds, publicly disputing any notion that the town and soccer tournament organizers have cleared an impasse as a March 17 licensing vote looms.

Foxborough’s hardline stance, reiterated in a statement emailed to ESPN, marks the latest in a protracted public saga pitting a small New England town against a global soccer giant, its host-committee affiliate and a company headed by Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots.

During a March 3 meeting, the Foxborough select board, that will vote on granting a license to FIFA for seven World Cup games at Gillette Stadium, sparred with two lawyers from host committee Boston Soccer 2026 over the payment of millions of dollars in security funds.

At the meeting, the host committee said for the first time that it would pay for everything, if necessary, within two business days of being invoiced. The Kraft Group, which owns the stadium and regularly applies for a similar license for Patriots games, would fund any shortfall. “If you don’t get paid, you can terminate the license,” host committee lawyer Gary Ronan said. “The next soccer game doesn’t happen.”

But board members immediately challenged the host committee over the purchase of security materials and a deadline for the materials to be in place, as outlined by Foxborough’s police and fire chiefs.

Then, on March 6, board chair Bill Yukna released a statement, making clear that no agreement had been reached. “What they have presented is essentially an agreement with themselves, but such terms are not responsive to the town’s requirements and will not suffice to address the Town’s needs for providing security services for these events,” the statement said.

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Responding to an ESPN follow-up query, the board emailed a second statement on March 6 saying that it was “shocked and dismayed” about statements made to the media by the Kraft Group and other event organizers suggesting an agreement with the town was reached. “Any such statement is categorically false,” the board statement said.

It added: “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.”

Organizers appeared flummoxed, unable to explain the source of the town’s remarks. In a statement to ESPN later on March 6, the Kraft Group said: “At no point in this process has the Kraft Group claimed to have reached an agreement with the Town of Foxborough.”

The Kraft Group pointed out that the company was neither the applicant on the license nor the host committee, but it has made a “good faith effort” to work with the town to prepare for a “historic event.”

“When they had a liquidity issue, we solved it. When they asked for equipment, we supported it,” the statement said. “We are deeply disappointed that the town has seemingly reached a conclusion unilaterally without the platform of a public hearing … and would like to understand what the town requires at this stage to get to ‘yes.'”

Town manager Paige Duncan didn’t return repeated ESPN requests to clarify the statements the town said the Kraft Group made to the media.

Contacted by phone, board member Stephanie McGowan referred to Duncan’s statement and said she doesn’t have an update on the funding matters because that would require getting an explanation from other board members, and the state’s open meetings law blocks them from such discussions outside of scheduled public meetings and executive sessions.

“If the money is there for us, we will issue the license,” she said. “They are working hard on both sides.” She added that she doesn’t know why it has taken this long but worries about Foxborough taxpayers being left with the bill.

The depth of the division between the two sides became apparent in a March 3 meeting in which town officials insisted on full, immediate funding for security equipment purchases needed far ahead of the seven games to be hosted at Gillette Stadium.

Peter Tamm, a lawyer for the host committee, countered with a slide presentation purporting to outline the legal boundaries of the board’s authority related to the license approval. It could consider safety, he said, but it cannot deny the license based on “refusal to agree to advanced payment of anticipated costs.”

The town’s lawyer disagreed. The meeting ended shortly after.

On March 5, organizers sent a letter to the town that committed to paying public safety costs two business days after receiving an invoice. It also said that the host committee had $2 million in an account and expected to receive at least $30 million more. Kraft Sports & Entertainment, a division of the Kraft Group, offered to backstop the funding if needed, according to written documentation also provided.

The Kraft Group said in a statement that it was “committed to financially ensuring” that the town’s security needs are met. It added that the World Cup games at Gillette Stadium won’t be “revenue generating events,” but instead would generate “a significant amount of tourism and visibility for the state.”

Central to the dispute is nearly $8 million Foxborough wants up front to pay its police. The town refuses to spend taxpayer money on a promise that it will be reimbursed.

Adding to the funding uncertainty is the status of $625 million that the federal government has earmarked for the 11 host cities in the U.S. “to enhance security and preparedness.” But the Homeland Security Department money has been delayed by a congressional freeze on funding related to immigration enforcement.

Boston, which is 25 miles away from Foxborough, was named a host city in June 2022. Foxborough police chief Michael A. Grace said on March 3 that security planning has gone on for a year and a half. The public dispute over funding has heated up since January.

Gillette Stadium is scheduled to host its first game on June 13, when Scotland takes on Haiti.