England and Scotland World Cup matches could be forced into last-minute stadium moves as £6m row breaks out

England and Scotland’s World Cup group games are at risk with one designated stadium yet to be permitted a licence.

Both nations are due to play at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, when the action kicks off in June.

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England are scheduled to face Ghana there in the group stage while Scotland take on both Haiti and Morocco as they bid to qualify for the knockout rounds.

At loggerheads

But city chiefs in Foxborough, where the stadium is situated 22 miles outside of Boston, are at odds with FIFA over the use of the 66,000-capacity stadium.

That could see world football’s governing body opt to swap stadiums due to a cash row between the two parties.

Foxborough public officials want FIFA to cough up £6m to cover manpower and infrastructure costs surrounding games at this summer’s tournament.

It comes after Patriots’ owners, the Kraft family, refused to pay for policing and safety costs which host cities are responsible for as part of the hosting agreement.

Despite US federal funds being available to borrow to cover the costs, the Kraft family argue that the stadium is being utilised by FIFA during the tournament, they are in control of stadium preparation for the duration of the World Cup.

That includes replacing the artificial surface used in the NFL with a new grass pitch.

The Foxborough Select Board have now revealed that the required entertainment licence ‘won’t be granted’ unless the cash is made available.

Show us the money

Board head Bill Yukna said: “The town is going to stand behind the request of the money for both manpower and some capital and expense items.

“And if they aren’t met, then as this board has discussed in the past, the licence won’t be granted. We are going to be very clear with that.”

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Rex

The fallout comes after United States president Donald Trump questioned Boston’s right to host games at the World Cup.

Trump was previously embroiled in a public spat with the city’s Democrat mayor.

The issue between the pair continues to bubble beneath the surface following Boston’s selection as World Cup venue.

A settlement between Foxborough and FIFA is expected to be reached in due course.

The tension that has arisen over the use of Gillette Stadium row comes after multiple host cities threatened to scale back on the number of days the tournament ‘Fan Fests’ will be open to supporters.

Fifa had previously announced that all the fan zones would be open throughout the event.

However, local chiefs said their event at Boston’s City Hall Plaza, would only be open for ‘up to 16 days’.