𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

“I am flabbergasted, I’m just p***ed.”

Dr. Mark Elfman is a middle-aged chiropractor catering to the aches and pains of residents of Foxborough, Mass. Yet this month he sat in a town hall and set aflame FIFA just four months before the World Cup begins across North America.

Elfman and his four colleagues sit as members on the select board for a town of only 18,000 inhabitants that’s also home to the Gillette Stadium, the 65,000-seat venue set to host seven games this summer.

The select board sets local policy for the town, seeks to protect the interests of its citizens, and decides whether or not to hand out entertainment licenses to those who wish to put on events in Foxborough. And, right now, Elfman and his four board colleagues are not playing ball with FIFA.

Select board vice-chair Stephanie McGowan claimed the games are “probably more of a headache” than they are worth to Foxborough and “not a moneymaker,” and warned: “It’s going to be a flat no, unless we know the money is there.”

Foxborough has calculated a cost of around $7.8 million to cover police and public safety expenses during the tournament, yet, so far, nobody has provided financial commitments to cover the full costs.

Until they do so, the select board says it will not provide a license for the games. And without a license, there are no games.