With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to take place across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, one of the world’s most widely watched sporting events is coming closer to home, fueling Nobles students’ excitement and anticipation as the matches approach. With Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA — temporarily renamed Boston Stadium for the tournament — selected as one of the venues, the tournament is no longer something to watch from afar on a television screen; it instead creates once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for Massachusetts supporters who previously could not travel to other countries for a match.
For many students, the appeal of the World Cup lies in its unmatched outreach and energy. Evan Wei (Class II) described the tournament’s outstanding scale and atmosphere. Wei said, “I’ve always liked watching soccer, so seeing all the big teams and the best players all in the same tournament is really exciting for me.”
The World Cup is a unique sporting event because it brings people from different countries and cultures together from around the globe, thanks to the sport’s prominence worldwide. Emphasizing this global connection, Wei said, “I think that there is definitely unity when it comes to sports, especially soccer. Soccer can bring lots of people together from all over the world because it is such a well-known sport.” The tournament’s international appeal is one of the main reasons for its high viewership. “I think [so many people watch it] partly because so many nations from around the world are a part of the tournament,” Wei said. “So, of course, people from so many different places watch it. I guess soccer is a global sport. It’s not limited mainly to one continent like football or cricket is.”
This sense of unity is something many students look forward to experiencing firsthand this year. Girls Varsity Soccer player Chloe Leng (Class II) shared her enthusiasm for attending Gillette games. “I am really excited to watch the World Cup on our home turf. I have dreamed of seeing a game in person since I started playing soccer in kindergarten,” she said.
With games being hosted so close to home, Leng believes that interest in soccer will grow throughout the community. She pointed out that proximity could make all the difference. “Having these games be so close to where people live really brings everyone together. Everyone will be thinking about the same thing: when can we go to a game?” Leng said.
However, though the World Cup coming to the United States does make the games more convenient, they aren’t necessarily easily accessible. One major concern among students is the high cost of tickets to attend even the lower-profile games and scrimmages. Expensive ticket prices make matches inaccessible for many families. Andrew Finkelstein (Class III) acknowledged this challenge, saying, “All the tickets are extremely expensive. Literally no one is going to go. It is insane how much they are charging.”
Finkelstein mentioned an alternative way to connect with the tournament besides going to the stadium. “A lot of my soccer friends, and even those who don’t play soccer, saw online that France might be training at Babson. So instead of all of us needing to buy tickets, we can go watch one of the best teams from the front row for free. That’s pretty cool,” he said.
Finkelstein also noted that lowering ticket prices could make a significant difference in how widely the tournament is enjoyed. He said, “If they bring some of the ticket prices down, then I feel like a lot of people that don’t even watch soccer or were ever interested in it would start to come to games because it’s so close by.”
While not everyone will be able to attend a match this year, the World Cup’s presence in Massachusetts will have a lasting effect. For a community that might not always be at the center of international sporting events, this moment offers something extremely rare: a chance to feel connected and relevant to the world stage.
