At a public briefing Wednesday, Gov. Maura Healey said the seven games of the FIFA World Cup 2026 to be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough — which will be renamed Boston Stadium for the tournament — have already been the subject of extensive planning to ensure they go off safely and seamlessly.
“We’re no strangers to major events, and we know what it takes,” Healey said. “And that’s why I just want to assure every family, resident and visitor that no stone’s been left unturned to make sure that this is a safe and secure and successful World Cup event.”
Healey, who spoke after touring the Massachusetts State Police’s Commonwealth Fusion Center in Framingham, cited a bevy of numbers to drive home her point, including $76 million in federal funding for World Cup security and preparedness; more than 70 separate agencies participating in safety planning efforts; 14 specialized planning groups addressing topics like crowd management and cybersecurity; and five major exercises to date to rehearse emergency preparedness.
That advance preparation includes the state Department of Public Health working with local public health officials and hospitals to make sure medical resources are ready for an influx of visitors and special MBTA schedules planned for the games, starting with Thursday’s “friendly,” or non-tournament match, between Brazil and France.
Gina Kwon, the state’s public safety secretary, echoed the governor’s remarks, describing a massive, highly synchronized planning process more than a year in the making. Kwon also said the state has crafted a “coordinated human trafficking preparedness plan” to address the “unique risk of both sex and labor trafficking associated with an event of this scale.”
“In partnership with state and local agencies, law enforcement, public health and community organizations, we are strengthening prevention, training, public awareness, coordinated response, and access to survivor-centric services,” Kwon said.
When it comes to this particular area of preparation, though, the Boston City Council wants to learn more.
A couple hours before Healey, Kwon and other administration members addressed the public, City Councilor Miniard Culpepper filed a hearing order urging Boston to examine the potential dark side of the World Cup by discussing prevention of both human and drug trafficking locally during the event, which will take place throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico in just a few months.
Culpepper, who represents Roxbury and parts of Fenway, Dorchester and the South End, said that events like the World Cup tend to surface those problems generally and that certain areas in Boston are ripe for exploitation by bad actors.
“During large scale international events, we know that drug trafficking is a big thing,” Culpepper told GBH News before the hearing. “And you know, when you look at Nubian Square, and you look at Mass. and Cass, you know that we’re dealing with a large scale ... of drug activity, in some cases prostitution, but we know there’s a lot of illicit activity there.”
The councilor said that “we’re trying to get in front of this knowing that we’re going to have an international and global audience, knowing that there [is] the potential for exploitation of young women and men and the potential for illegal and illicit activity. We’re trying to get in front of it and be proactive.”
Councilor Henry Santana, who chairs the council’s public safety and criminal justice committee, is a cosponsor of Culpepper’s hearing order, as is John FitzGerald, who chairs the council’s public health, homelessness and recovery committee.
“With the World Cup approaching, public safety is at the front of my mind,” Santana said during Wednesday’s meeting. “Our city will see an influx of visitors, and with an increase of tourists and a major sporting event on the horizon, certain public safety issues are expected to intensify.”
Culpepper’s proposal for a hearing was unanimously backed by the his council colleagues and referred to the public safety and criminal justice committee for scheduling.
A spokesperson for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Boston Police Department’s efforts to prevent drug and human trafficking around the seven games scheduled for Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium, which will rechristened Boston Stadium for the World Cup tournament, as well as related festivities occurring in Boston proper.
