Championship 'Football' Coming to Patriots ... In 2026
Since football no longer excels in Gillette Stadium, how about some futbol?
After a nightmarish 4-13 season that crashed the team into rock bottom and ran off legendary coach Bill Belichick, a Super Bowl championship isn't returning to the New England Patriots' home stadium any time soon. But the road to a true "world championship" will run through Gillette Stadium come 2026.
The FIFA World Cup announced Sunday afternoon that the Pats' home will host seven matches of the 2026 tournament, including a prestigious quarterfinal on July 9.
Cred: Matt Langone/New England Soccer Journal
The 2026 World Cup final will be played Sunday, July 19 in MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey. The tournament will be hosted by "North America," with games also played in Canada and the opener hosted at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Dallas' AT&T Stadium and Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium were awarded the two semifinals.
The quadrennial international soccer tournament - which features 48 nations and 104 games spread over a month - is far and away the most-watched sporting event on the planet. The 2022 final match between Argentina and France drew 1.5 billion viewers. Last season's Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles mustered a relatively puny 115 million.
Last May the city of Boston unveiled the official host city brand for the FIFA World Cup 26, inspired by centuries of revolutionary history, vibrant culture, and deeply rooted soccer.
The "We Are Boston” brand was revealed at a special launch with state and city leaders and Patriots owner Robert Kraft in attendance.
This is the first time the World Cup will be back in the U.S. since 1994 when Foxboro was home to a historic quarterfinal match between Spain and Italy.
Hosting the seven games is expected to created a million visitors and an economic impact of up to $500 million for Boston.
