The road to the World Cup is paved with promises and press releases. For well over a year before the first kickoff of the most recent tournament in June, FIFA and its hosts published a dizzying amount of promo—every word of which was trumpeted by a cheerleading media.
In Massachusetts, the local World Cup host committee enjoyed months of unfiltered dissemination—from information about schedules and corporate sponsorships, to news regarding the good deeds that organizers planned for the community.
One announcement from October 2024 was especially hopeful for young soccer fans: “The Boston Host City organizing committee for the FIFA World Cup 26 and the U.S. Soccer Foundation … agreed in principle to build up to 20 new mini-pitches in the New England region leading up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.” Mini-pitches are basically compact, mostly rink-style metal-frame patches with turf or some kind of hard playing surface.
The statement, reiterated in subsequent years, explained that “mini-pitches are part of the organization’s Safe Places to Play program, which transforms and revitalizes under-served areas into state-of-the-art places to play soccer.” “Mini-pitches,” the foundation added, “improve safety perceptions, encourage physical activity, and have been shown to strengthen communities.”
The chief impact officer for World Cup Boston 2026 said the “initiative will continue to build upon the legacy of the FIFA World Cup in our local communities and neighborhoods,” noting the “tremendous, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive economic, environmental and social impact for our region.”
But now that this year’s games are over, it seems that the pledge to build that many new facilities was largely in principle. In reality, the foundation has only completed 10 new mini-pitches in New England since 2025, exactly half the number initially promised.
Very public promises
Our team at the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism is currently seeking hundreds of contracts and other documents from the commonwealth regarding World Cup spending and operations. The state has been slow to respond, including with details about the “seizing” of 33 drones during the World Cup, as well as about tens of millions of dollars in security spending. In the meantime, we have begun to reveal improprieties in allocations for the tournament through information we are able to access.
Not everything is hidden. Regarding the mini-pitch promise, the host committee bragged about it to the press. So did the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the major charity behind the effort, which put out a media release without the “in principle” exit hatch. Rather, the organization announced more definitively, “We’re teaming up with Boston 26, the Boston Host City organizing committee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to bring 20 new mini-pitches to communities across New England.”
According to news reports, the planned mini-pitches were to be from 80 to 120 ft. in length, and would take an estimated three days to complete. Depending on a range of factors, such as lighting, drainage, labor, installation, and the price of various materials, the prefabricated facilities could cost anywhere from a hundred-grand to a quarter-million dollars. It’s a significant price tag, but as recently as a few months ago, local FIFA organizers said they had plans to complete the mission in the final stretch.
In mid-June, more than a week into the World Cup, the Boston Globe wrote about mini-pitches, lowering the New England target to 17. The newspaper noted how they’re “relatively simple to install” and “a bargain compared to a full-sized grass or turf field, which can run anywhere from $1 million to $4 million.” “All told,” the outlet of record reported, “the 17 pitches planned for New England will cost $1.7 million in private funding—a rounding error compared to the massive public and private spectacle of the World Cup unfolding at Gillette Stadium and across Boston.”
“By year’s end,” the Globe crowed, “with money from the U.S. Soccer Foundation and corporate sponsors of Boston’s World Cup host committee, they plan to transform 17 of these overlooked sites into vibrant hard-court pitches, stretching from Brockton to Pawtucket, R.I., among the 1,000 being installed by the U.S. Soccer Foundation this year.”
The Boston host committee did not respond to a request for comment. But in its response to questions, a spokesperson for the U.S. Soccer Foundation clarified: “To date, 10 mini-pitches have been completed, and 17 total mini-pitches are currently planned for completion by spring 2027.” The completed projects are in the following eight locations, with the two locations in Rhode Island each having a double mini-pitch, therefore counting for two in the tally:
- 1. Breen Courts (Lawrence, MA)
- 2. Waltham Family YMCA (Waltham, MA)
- 3. Invensys Branch – Hockomock YMCA (Foxborough, MA)
- 4. Fredericks Park (Revere, MA)
- 5. Mulberry Street Park (Brockton, MA)
- 6. Joseph Jenks JHS (Pawtucket, RI) – double mini-pitch
- 7. Donald McKay Elementary School (Boston, MA)
- 8. Dunn Park (Woonsocket, RI) – double mini-pitch
Legacy contributions
In the time since the games wrapped, Massachusetts media has gloated over an objective success. Despite claims to the contrary by skeptical economists, the benefit of bringing FIFA here might as well have been engraved on the World Cup trophy. Most reporters echoed Gov. Maura Healey’s literally baseless claim that the “tournament strengthened our tourism economy.”
There have been some exceptions to the uncritical press parade, like after the Athletic reminded the public in August that FIFA President Gianni Infantino had said the association “would make a contribution of $1 million to each of the 11 cities across the country who were losing matches during the club tournament.”
The million-dollar gifts were described as “legacy contributions,” and were rumored to be potentially tapped for mini-pitches, among other things. But while reporters agonized over that unfulfilled promise, there was also another significant unresolved matter—one that many of their own outlets had breathlessly reported on the front end.
Nationally, the U.S. Soccer Foundation set a goal of “installing 1,000 mini-pitches in underserved communities by 2026 when the FIFA World Cup comes back to North America.” The ambitious plan was widely ballyhooed in 2022, upon the opening of the organization’s 500th mini-pitch, at an elementary school in Washington, D.C. That milestone was marked as a “halfway point” to the four-figure finish line; four years and two World Cups later, they’re hoping to deliver on the pledge soon.
“Nationally, more than 900 mini-pitches have been installed to date,” the U.S. Soccer Foundation spokesperson wrote. “We remain on track to reach 1,000 by the end of the calendar year, consistent with the national goal established in 2017.”
Andrew Zimbalist, an author specializing in the economics of sports, was not surprised to hear that promises apparently fell short of output. “Accountability is crucial,” said Zimbalist, a professor at Smith College in Northampton. “You can always lay out beautiful plans. There’s no reason to say you’re doing 15 stadiums for the youth—say you’re doing 5,000! But unless you actually do it, it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.
“There’s got to be accountability, there needs to be contracts that obligate FIFA, or U.S. Soccer so that if they breach the contract, they can be sued.”
The U.S. Soccer Foundation spokesperson said the “remaining seven mini-pitches are expected to be completed by spring 2027, with several projects opening later this fall,” and that the organization “continues to work with local partners and supporters to identify opportunities for additional mini-pitch development across the region.”
