FOXBORO, Mass. — The Town of Foxborough, the Kraft Sports and Entertainment group, and Boston Soccer ‘26 have officially signed off on the event license that will ensure this summer’s World Cup matches go off without a hitch.
During Tuesday night’s Foxborough Select Board meeting, town officials voted to approve the event license as part of an agreement that will see Boston Soccer ’26 provide advance funding for security.
“We as a community have done our job, we basically put in all the safety and security issues that we have needed, we’ve protected the taxpayers,” said Bill Yukna, chair of the Foxboro Select Board.
Kraft Sports has also pledged that it will help cover the costs of security.
The official deal followed a months-long dispute over the necessary funding that the town of Foxborough would receive after confusion arose over who would fund the security bill.
Town leaders didn’t want to give the green light to FIFA until they knew where the nearly 8 million dollars needed for public safety was coming from.
“We’re not cutting any corners here, we have agreed to pay for and fund every single part of the obligations both equipment and staffing that the chiefs want for the security plan,” said Gary Ronan, representing Boston 26.
Boston Soccer 26 has agreed to give a more than $1.5 million deposit to the town of Foxboro for any security costs needed up front.
Plus Boston 26, with the support of Kraft Sports and Entertainment, promises to pay any invoices to Foxboro within one business day as these expenses come up.
“We know we have a lot of work to do, we’re very comfortable that work’s been in place for 2 years now and the details will roll out over the next few weeks,” said Mike Loynd, Boston 26 president.
The Stadium Advisory Committee has already approved the event license application.
The Committee oversees the logistics and any impact this will have to the surrounding community. Along with ensuring safety, Foxboro Police Chief Michael Grace is also overseeing any traffic or parking concerns. He even asked Foxboro Schools to take a half day during one of the matches to alleviate some of the traffic that day in June.
Chief Grace says the MBT is also scheduling extra trains on game days to bring tens of thousands of visitors from Boston to Gillette Stadium for these matches.
Soccer fans and local residents are now eager to hear those details.
Some questioning the lack of information on logistics.
“We have no idea how we’re getting fans to and from in terms of we heard of buses for the first time this evening never heard that before,” said Ian Cox, who lives in Foxboro. “he Scottish fans are arranging their own buses from Providence, Worcester, Boston and other places.”
Cox is from Scotland originally and cannot wait for the World Cup, but he says he’s getting nervous about the lack of transportation plans released to fans so far.
“88 days before and fans don’t know how they’re getting to and from isn’t where we should be,” said Cox.
Boston 25 News also submitted a request to the town of Foxboro to learn exactly how the nearly $8 million will be used for security, but that request was denied.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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