Futbol Plus Football: Patriots Home Named 2026 World Cup Venue
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FOXBORO — World Cup soccer will soon return to Massachusetts.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international governing body of association football, announced on Thursday that Gillette Stadium has been selected as one of 16 host venues for the 2026 World Cup.
Foxboro was chosen among the list of 17 finalists, which began with a total of 40 cities. It joins Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia and New York/New Jersey as host sites in the United States. Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara will host games in Mexico, while Toronto and Vancouver will host sites in Canada.
The announcement marks the second major hosting gig awarded to Gillette Stadium in as many days. On Wednesday, the home of the Patriots and the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS), was selected as site for the 2023 Army-Navy Game, which will be played in New England for the first time in the 130-year history of the rivalry.
New England is no stranger to hosting the world’s most popular sport on its grandest stage. The Patriots former home, Foxboro Stadium, was the host site for six sellout matches in 1994. The games included a pair of thrilling knockout-round victories for eventual runner-up Italy, led by captain Franco Baresi, forward Roberto Baggio and goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca. Brazil were crowned the winners after defeating Italy 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the first World Cup matchup to be decided on penalty kicks.
Foxboro Stadium was also the site of the final World Cup game for Argentinian legend Diego Maradona, who was suspended for the remainder of the tournament following his country's matchup 2-1 victory over Nigeria due to testing positive for ephedrine.
It should come as no surprise that New England’s Gillette Stadium would be an attractive choice for a host site in four years. Aside from Foxboro’s previous success as a host site, the Stadium is also currently undergoing renovations which include a new lighthouse structure and state-of-the-art video board, while the interior will undergo a widening of the field and the installation of natural grass for the tournament.
Still, the deciding factor was likely Patriots and Revolution owner Robert Kraft. The recent celebrant of his 81st birthday was honorary chairman of the board for the United Bid Committee, as well as a well-respected and founding owner in MLS with the Revolution.
In addition to being the first World Cup to be hosted by three countries, it will also be the first to feature a 48-team field, expanded from the current 32. In the new format, 16 groups of three will compete in the group stage, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a 32-team knockout round. Therefore, it is reasonable to predict that Gillette Stadium will possibly host five [perhaps six] games total, including up to two knockout games.
Based on the increased popularity of the sport, as well as the proximity of North America to both Europe and South America, 2026 is expected to eclipse the World Cup attendance record, originally set by the 1994 tournament.
