The 2026 World Cup will be here before we know it, but some host cities in the USA are still figuring out some key issues ahead of what is going to be a festival of football (soccer) stateside.
While the stadia selected for this summer's World Cup are at a level high enough to rival those at any previous edition of the tournament, there are concerns in some host cities around transportation to and from these stadiums.
Boston is one host city that falls into this category, with local authorities currently working hard to figure out how they are going to cope with the influx of thousands of football fans, and more specifically, how they are going to safely get them to the Gillette Stadium and back out again.
The ‘T' to play a key role
Unlike football stadiums in the United Kingdom, giant stadiums in the USA are not designed with public transport in mind.
The vast majority of sports fans in the USA drive to matches, hence why most stadiums being used at the World Cup have car parks on a scale not seen in the United Kingdom. There is also the pre-match tailgating phenomenon, which is a big part of matchgoing fan culture across the pond.
Gillette Stadium located in Foxborough, MA has 213 acres of land dedicated to car storage to watch an event on a 1.32 acre field. pic.twitter.com/l3FhPeL9Lj
— Hayden (@the_transit_guy) September 25, 2022
However, there is an acceptance among officials in Boston that public transport is going to be needed during the World Cup.
As a result, the city's transportation system, the T, is going to be leaned on more heavily than usual. The network has committed to moving 20,000 passengers for each game at the Gillette Stadium via the Foxboro Commuter Rail Station that is a short walk away.
The main issue now is recruiting the number of additional staff required to ensure that everyone can use the T in a timely and safe manner.
FGG says: Leaving it late
It might have been a good idea to have this sort of thing boxed off in plenty of time for the tournament, but here we are. If the T cannot get hold of the staff it requires, then fans staying in Boston may well have to either put up with long queues for the train line or pay for ubers.