Designed by Matt Welch / GBH; image credit iStock.com / master1305
Boston is one of 16 cities across North America hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Massachusetts officials expect the seven games played at Gillette Stadium — renamed Boston Stadium for the monthlong event — will bring as many two million soccer fans to the region.
From the nitty-gritty logistics of traveling to the stadium to how local Haitian and Brazilian communities are cheering on their teams, GBH News is following the people — and problems — involved with putting on the world’s biggest sports tournament.
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‘We want to show that ... we’re fun, too’: Mass. bar, restaurant owners cheer 3 a.m. closing time
Legislation signed by Gov. Maura Healey allows bars to serve alcohol an hour later, and also lets cities and towns establish designated public alcohol consumption “districts” through July 31. -
Cape Verdeans at Dorchester Day Parade pumped for another celebration: A first-ever World Cup run
Boston’s annual celebration is a draw for Cape Verdeans all over Eastern Massachusetts, and the international soccer tournament set to begin this week was on everyone’s minds. -
‘We feel it in our pores’: Latinos around East Boston are hyped for the World Cup
Local immigrants from Peru, Colombia and across Latin America are excited about the joy the FIFA World Cup will bring after a tough year of immigration enforcement. -
Advisory warns visitors of immigration constraints ahead of World Cup
Groups say surveillance, human rights, and entry are all in question, especially at airports -
Boston to launch command center in Seaport during World Cup, Sail Boston
With the FIFA World Cup and Sail Boston expected to bring millions to Boston this summer, city officials laid out safety preparations ahead of the season's large-scale events -
Boston, state resolve Summer Street standoff days ahead of first World Cup match
The impasse had complicated preparations for the World Cup matches. -
Boston’s cultural identity shines through World Cup poster and sonic ID created by local artists
Under the Radar speaks with a local illustrator and a Berklee graduate who created the city's representative artwork for the FIFA World Cup 2026. -
‘It’s a ritual’: Boston-area Brazilians kick up national pride ahead of World Cup
Brazil won’t play in Foxborough for the tournament’s earliest stage, although it could in later games. Either way, Greater Boston's robust Brazilian community is fired up. -
‘We got our licenses!’: Boston gets go-ahead for FIFA World Cup watch parties
The first neighborhood event is less than three weeks away. -
GBH’s Sports Beat: 2026 FIFA World Cup and Beyond
Public media has plenty of great calling cards — dramatic storytelling, essential local journalism, beautiful music, and powerful documentaries — but sports coverage isn’t often top of mind. And in a media landscape like Boston, replete as it is with outlets and journalists covering professional and collegiate sports at a granular level, GBH News has had to find its own lane when it comes to the sports beat. That’s where Esteban Bustillos, our lead sports writer, comes in.
