Friday Newsletter: Boston/Foxboro "On The Outside Looking In" for World Cup 2026 Games
Plus my take on MLS broadcast rights, news on the U.S. 2031 women's World Cup bid, and I answer your Mailbag queries
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — I’ve been on the road the last two weeks. To Boston and Toronto, and then all this week in the Los Angeles area. It’s for my first months-long project since the podcast series American Prodigy: Freddy Adu came out in 2020, and the project we’re working on now is going to be even better than that. I can’t tell you how excited I am about it.
On my trip, I’ve had fun checking out the training facilities for the New England Revolution and Toronto FC—the new MLS infrastructure is first-rate—and attended the LA Galaxy’s U.S. Open Cup win over LAFC on Wednesday. And I’ve been able to catch up with people on a number of things that are being talked about in the American soccer space. Let’s break it down:
WORLD CUP 2026 HOSTING BID CITIES UPDATE
We now know that the host cities for World Cup ‘26 are going to be announced on June 16 in New York City to great fanfare. And more and more it looks like the bid from Boston/Foxboro is in real trouble, despite the fact that Revolution and New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft has a close relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
A person connected to the Boston bid group admitted to me that Foxboro is “on the outside looking in” at this point, noting that there isn’t much public money available in Boston compared to what other cities are on track to receive. It’s still kind of wild to me. I attended two World Cup ‘94 games at the old Foxboro Stadium—Argentina-Greece and Argentina-Nigeria—and that stadium was bare-bones compared to today’s Gillette Stadium.
As I have traveled around the country the last two weeks, one concern being shared with me is that talented local MLS broadcasters who have built relationships with their teams’ fans may get squeezed out as the broadcasts get nationalized.
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In Los Angeles this week, a person connected to that city’s bid told me that while it’s possible both SoFi Stadium and the Rose Bowl could get ‘26 games, it’s more likely that SoFi will host all of L.A.’s matches given the greater revenue possibilities there. SoFi will also have to undergo an expensive field-widening process to meet FIFA standards, but I’m told that Los Angeles Rams (and Arsenal) owner Stan Kroenke has agreed to do that.
On the FIFA president’s recent trip to the U.S., it was interesting that Infantino chose not to attend the CONCACAF Champions League final in Seattle but did choose to visit Los Angeles, Dallas and Miami, among other bid cities. He also had a wild interview at the Milken Institute global conference in California that you really should check out.
In my first column on this topic last month, I named the 10 U.S. cities (of the 16 that are bidding) that looked most likely to get World Cup games based on the phone calls I had made. That list hasn’t changed: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.
On the bubble: Boston, Kansas City and Baltimore/Washington D.C. After I reported last week that there’s talk Edmonton may end up out of the mix in Canada, it’s possible that an 11th U.S. city could be chosen, which may end up being Baltimore/Washington D.C. (with the games being in Baltimore and the fan fest in D.C.).
Unlikely: Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville and Orlando.
Another bit of news this week: FIFA has finally sent the letters to the individual bid cities that had been promised several months ago. There don’t appear to be any last-second demands that would cause cities to pull out of the bidding, but the deadline for many of the cities to agree to it is May 31, and awfully quick turn-around time.
U.S. WOMEN’S WORLD CUP BID UPDATE
We recently wrote about the U.S.’s interest in bidding to host the 2027 or 2031 women’s World Cup. U.S. Soccer would prefer to host the 2031 tournament over the 2027 event, but I was told the federation won’t hesitate to bid for 2027 if the USSF determines that would be a useful strategic play.
This week I did pick up one important bit of information. Earlier this month, the U.S. was named the 2031 host of the men’s Rugby World Cup, the world’s fourth-biggest sporting event. Some soccer people I spoke to had concerns that if the Rugby World Cup took place in the summer that year, it would make it difficult for the U.S. to stage the women’s World Cup as well.
But Jim Brown, the executive chair of the U.S. Rugby World Cup bid, now tells me that his group is “committed to deliver the event within the traditional window for the tournament”—which is to say, from mid-September to the end of October. Those dates obviously would not interfere with a women’s World Cup in June and July of 2031.
MLS TV RIGHTS AND CONCERNS ABOUT LOCAL BROADCASTERS
We’re expecting an announcement on the new MLS broadcasting rights package at some point in the next month. The announcement has taken longer than expected, and even now there isn’t complete clarity on what will happen. I was told this week that Apple, which had been reported as a likely carrier of out-of-market MLS games, may not happen after all, and the current MLS broadcasters ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision may still have a significant role to play in the next deal.
One thing we do know for sure is that local rights for MLS teams will be going away in the new contract. As I have traveled around the country the last two weeks, one concern being shared with me is that talented local MLS broadcasters who have built relationships with their teams’ fans may get squeezed out as the broadcasts get nationalized.
There’s a difference between “home announcers” and “homer announcers,” of course, but it would be a significant change to move from broadcasters associated with particular teams to “neutral” broadcasters for those games. MLS has been successful in building interest in local markets and drawing attendance at games, but the league has yet to have anything in the way of significant national TV ratings, and there are worries that eliminating local broadcasters could be a move in the wrong direction.
OPENING THE MAILBAG
After the great season fútbol just had, will summer be completely boring?
Lou Hudson
If this were a typical men’s World Cup year, we’d be gearing up strong right now for the tournament to start in a couple weeks. But obviously this year’s World Cup will be in November and December, which is anything but typical. If you’re only a men’s soccer fan, this summer will be something of a snoozer. There are no significant men’s international tournaments. However, the first half of June will include some big men’s games, including seeing the last World Cup spots filled and four U.S. games in the FIFA window.
MLS will still be going, of course, as will the Brazilian and Japanese leagues. But the biggest international tournaments this summer will be on the women’s side, including the Euros and the CONCACAF women’s World Cup qualifying tournament, both in July.
Considering the ownership transfer, will Chelsea be major players in the upcoming transfer window this summer? How should they rebuild their defensive spine, given the presumptive departures of Rüdiger and Christensen? Any individuals that you think they might particularly target?
David Hirning
My sense is that Chelsea under new ownership will become more like Liverpool in the transfer market, which is to say still able to spend a lot of money, but in a more targeted way than Abramovich’s Chelsea had done at an annual loss. Jules Koundé of Sevilla is a someone I would keep an eye on as a target.
What is the source of the tension between FIFA and the MLS?
Hamou Johnson
Lately it’s what I wrote about last week: MLS commissioner Don Garber and the league’s owners refused to back Carlos Cordeiro, FIFA’s preferred candidate, in this year’s U.S. Soccer presidential election. (Cordeiro lost.) That has angered the FIFA president, Infantino, who called out MLS in the interview I linked to above.
But FIFA has long had issues with MLS. Remember, starting a domestic top-flight league (MLS) was one of FIFA’s conditions to award the 1994 World Cup hosting rights to the United States. FIFA people think MLS should be spending more money to bring the world’s best players to MLS in their primes. I can remember a 2009 press conference in South Africa when I asked then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter about his thoughts on MLS, and he responded with derision about MLS’s refusal to play on the fall to spring international club calendar.
Should the NBA share its revenue equally with the WNBA so that the athletes make the same? True equality in sports?
Mike G
Nobody who’s serious has suggested that, and for good reason: The NBA and WNBA are for-profit businesses, which is obviously different from U.S. Soccer, which is a non-profit.
With the Liga MX finals taking place this week, can you can share some of your favorite writers, Twitter follows or other resources for American soccer fans that want to get more into the most popular domestic league?
Joe
Some of my favorite follows are Hérculez Gómez, Rodolfo Landeros, María Fernanda Mora, John Sutcliffe, Pedro Arellano, Wiso Vázquez, Amelia López, Marc Crosas, Andrés Cantor, Paco Villa, Raúl Guzmán, José Luis López Salido and Jon Arnold.
Who is your choice for a surprise player to emerge onto the World Cup roster?
Theodore Morehouse
The big question mark is the No. 9 spot. Haji Wright gets a huge opportunity during these four U.S. games to stake a claim for the position, as does Jesús Ferreira.
The CB pairing and 9s are getting much of the attention in the lead-up to the MNT's June matches, but what else will you be looking for?
thew1242
I want to see how much Weston McKennie can play after he returned to the field for Juve in the last game of the season. I want to see if Matt Turner is back to 100%, especially since Zack Steffen now won’t be with the team due to family reasons. And I want to see whether DeAndre Yedlin or Reggie Cannon stakes a better claim to be the right back behind Sergiño Dest.
On a scale of 1-10, how seriously should we take the Messi to Inter Miami rumors?
Vincenzo
I think it’s certainly possible that Messi could end up playing for Miami at some point. But I was disappointed by how many publications and people who should know better just amplified the report of Messi being offered 35% of the team when that number set off my BS meter in a big way. It seems like there’s less journalistic discernment than ever on social media, even on the main soccer accounts from places like ESPN and Fox Sports and other outlets, which is frustrating.
I hope you have a good holiday weekend!
If US Soccer is a non profit, then why do they have such exorbitant ticket prices for the men’s national team?
“… set off my BS meter…”
Love it, Grant.
Regarding FIFA, just follow the money. Find the payouts, kickbacks and other bribes and you’ll know which cities are getting which games. Those are guaranteed whenever FIFA is involved. All you need for proof is that there is no “local organizing committee” and that FIFA is trying to handle all of that. To keep every nickel they can get their greedy paws on, of course.