Foxborough
Massachusetts town home to Gillette Stadium, countersuing the Kraft Group over World Cup security fees.
Foxborough, the Massachusetts town home to Gillette Stadium, countersued Kraft Group on 7 July 2026 after the ownership group sued the town over a $7.8 million World Cup security demand.
Last refreshed: 28 July 2026
Why is a town that hosted World Cup matches now suing the team that plays there?
Timeline for Foxborough
Filed a 61-page answer and counterclaim on 7 July
2026 FIFA World Cup: Foxborough and Kraft go to courtBackground
Foxborough is a Massachusetts town in Norfolk County, best known as home to Gillette Stadium, the New England Patriots' home ground and a 2026 World Cup venue.
As a small municipality hosting a major stadium, Foxborough's ordinary relationship with Kraft Group, the stadium's owner, involves licensing and public-safety cost arrangements that predate the World Cup. The tournament's security demands brought that relationship into open legal dispute for the first time in this briefing's coverage.
How the case resolves will settle, for Foxborough specifically, the extent of its licensing authority over the stadium within its borders, a question with implications beyond the World Cup itself.
Foxborough is countersuing Kraft Group
Foxborough counterclaimed against Kraft Group stadium entities on 7 July 2026, arguing state law requires payment for public-safety services that Foxborough provides across dozens of Massachusetts communities. The counterclaim followed a lawsuit Kraft Group filed on 15 June 2026 over a $7.8 million security demand and a $953,640 fee invoice tied to Gillette Stadium's World Cup matches.
The dispute remains before Norfolk Superior Court, unresolved, and turns on how much a small town can lawfully charge a stadium-owning multibillion-dollar corporation for hosting a global event within its borders.