England and Scotland World Cup matches at risk due to £6m unpaid bill | Football | Sport

England and Scotland’s World Cup schedule could face disruption due to an outstanding £6million debt owed to one of the host venues. Both the Three Lions and the Tartan Army are scheduled to compete at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, a small town situated just outside Boston, Massachusetts.

Thomas Tuchel’s side are due to face Ghana at the 65,000-plus capacity venue on 23 June, whilst Scotland are set to take on Haiti and Morocco on 13 June and 19 June respectively. However, a heated dispute has erupted in Foxborough between local officials, FIFA and the US government over an unpaid £6million sum earmarked for security provisions. Local authorities in Foxborough have stated they will refuse to issue an entertainment licence, essential for hosting the fixtures, unless the matter is resolved within 11 days.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts governor Maura Healey has maintained the stadium will proceed with its seven scheduled World Cup matches as intended.

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She said: “The World Cup’s going to happen – it is going to be in Massachusetts. It’s going to be great to have people come from all over the world and see our awesome state. I know that my team continues to stay in touch with local officials on all of this. There’s certainly funding that we’re awaiting from the federal government right now.

“It’d be a lot easier if the federal government provided the funding that they were supposed to provide. That hasn’t happened yet. But, you know, we’ll continue to work through all of this with local officials and all of the relevant parties.”

A fortnight following a contentious Foxborough Select Meeting, Mike Loynd, president of the Boston FIFA World Cup 2026 host committee, appeared at another gathering on Tuesday evening, accompanied by two lawyers, who maintained the committee is willing to meet public safety expenses, though not in advance.

Foxborough Select Board Chair Bill Yukna stressed the town wants this matter settled by a firm March 17 deadline. Yukna said: “It’s not acceptable for us. The balance of it will be due just before the 17th meeting for us to be able to successfully say we can accomplish the goals that the public safety plan calls for.”

Should the funds fail to materialise and Foxborough decline to issue the licence, it could cast doubt on Gillette Stadium’s ability to stage fixtures, potentially affecting England and Scotland’s arrangements. Whilst the venue is only scheduled to accommodate seven fixtures, FIFA mandates its availability throughout the complete 39-day period.

Numerous host cities among the 11 remain awaiting their portion of a $625m (£468m) allocation for federal security financing for the competition. It’s understood the Federal Emergency Management Agency was due to distribute these resources by “no later” than January 30.

Attorney Gary Ronan, discussing these resources, said: “There is no reason to think that the grant money is not coming through. It’s allocated and we know that it’s in process.”

Foxborough public safety officials collaborated with FIFA to develop a comprehensive safety strategy, which featured an extensive list of staffing requirements and equipment necessary ahead of the tournament’s commencement. They were told that everything specified would be provided by 1st June, but maintain they require it all considerably earlier.

This proposal was dismissed by Foxborough Police Chief Michael Grace, who said: “We are 99 or 100 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 in over a year and a half of planning. Waiting till June 1 is unacceptable.”