According to ESPN, Boston has emerged as a leading destination in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. No deal is on the table (that we know of), but the mere possibility might raise a few concerns.
Boston, MA
FIFA releases Boston World Cup 2026 national teams and schedule for matches at Gillette Stadium – The Boston Globe
Saturday, June 13, 9 p.m.: Haiti vs. Scotland, Group C.
Tuesday, June 16, 6 p.m.: Norway vs. whoever emerges from the qualifying playoff tourney between Iraq, Bolivia, and Suriname, Group I.
Friday, June 19, 6 p.m.: Scotland vs. Morocco, Group C.
Tuesday, June 23, 4 p.m.: No. 5 England vs. Ghana, Group L.
Friday, June 26, 3 p.m.: Norway vs. No. 3 France, Group I.
The June 26 matchup will feature arguably the two top strikers in the world, Norway’s Erling Haaland and France’s Kylian Mbappe.
For a Round of 32 game Monday, June 29, the winner of Group E will play one of the third-place finishers from Groups A, B, C, D, or F. Should the US national team perform below expectations in a Group D it is favored by most to win, there is a chance it could play at Boston Stadium in that June 29 match.
A July 9 quarterfinal match will be played at 4 pm.
While Brazil is one of the teams that will not be playing at Gillette, local organizers are still pleased with how everything shook out, both from a high-caliber soccer perspective and seeing a robust group of international fans visit greater Boston and pump dollars into its economy.
“We got two highlight matches, which is amazing,” said Brian Bilello, Boston 26 board chair and president of the Revolution. “We’ve got France-Norway, where you wind up with two of the top five players in the world in Mbappe and Haaland playing against each other, that match is going to be a pretty special one.
“And the other top Pot 1 team is England, which is always a popular team and that should be a fun match against Ghana.”
For fifth-ranked Brazil not to play in Boston will come as a disappointment to many, especially in Framingham with its large Brazilian population. But Bilello, without elaborating, fueled widely available rumors that Brazil will play France in a friendly at Gillette on March 28.
“We know our Brazilian fans are going to be somewhat disappointed but hopefully we have a way of making them happy this spring with something else,” said Bilello.
Besides Brazil, the final draw eliminated these teams from visiting Boston: Group I’s Senegal, and Croatia and Panama from Group L.
There are 16 host cities, 11 in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada.
Martha Sheridan, a Boston 26 honorary board member and president/CEO of Meet Boston, said she was “generally very pleased” with the draw results.
“We’re getting folks from Norway and England and France, who tend to travel well for their matches,” said Sheridan. “And I also love the fact that we have Morocco and Haiti, which from a local perspective is just lovely. The community can have some pride in their teams because we do have a considerably high Haitian (in Boston) and Moroccan population (in East Boston and Revere).”
With approximately 32,000 hotel rooms available in Boston, Sheridan does not expect any challenges in accommodating visitors.
One unknown is if fans from Haiti will be allowed to visit. Haiti is on a list of countries that the Trump administration has banned its citizens from traveling to the United States for terrorism and national security concerns.
“My hope is that the federal government is wanting to have a very successful World Cup here in the US, so maybe they will look differently at those bans in light of the fact that Haiti does have a team coming here,” said Sheridan.
FIFA spent Friday night and into Saturday morning figuring out the final pieces of the logistical puzzle of placing the 48 teams in those venues, balancing travel, time zones, recovery, and preparation factors.
The Revolution’s training center near Gillette will be used by national teams in the days before each match.
Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., will be paired with one team playing in Foxborough as a base camp for the duration of its tournament survival. Other Boston area locations may yet be announced. (FIFA controls the process.)
With Scotland and Norway each playing two matches in Boston, chances increase they will want to set up a base camp in the area.
“Now that we know who’s coming, the excitement is just going to continue to build,” said Sheridan. “It will be here before we know it and we cannot wait to welcome the world to Boston.”
Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com.
Concern numero uno is obvious. Giannis is one of the handful of players capable of altering the championship picture by himself. Pairing him with Jayson Tatum would create an impressive combination of size, athleticism, versatility, and star power. The question is whether Brad Stevens and the Celtics can actually pull it off without creating a new set of problems for themselves.
Boston’s path to Giannis is narrower than it first appears. The Celtics would almost certainly need to move Jaylen Brown, either directly to Milwaukee or through a third team. Reports indicate Brown has little interest in joining the Bucks (in paraphrase: “Milwaukee?! Yuck!”), which complicates matters further. We start moving from a blockbuster trade to a three-team puzzle involving contracts, draft compensation, and competing agendas.
Even if Boston finds a way through that maze, there’s no guarantee the resulting team will succeed.
Giannis may be a better asset than Brown, but championships are not won by comparing players one-for-one. They’re won by building complete teams (case in point: YOUR WORLD CHAMPION NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKERS ).
Brown averaged more than 28 points per game last season while defending multiple positions. He can create his own offense, punish smaller defenders, and absorb primary scoring responsibilities when Tatum is unavailable (as Tatum was for most of last season, recovering from a torn Achilles). Replacing him with Giannis raises Boston’s ceiling, perhaps, but also changes the structure of the roster.
The Celtics have spent years building an ecosystem around two star wings. Remove one and the supporting cast suddenly becomes more important, which means Stevens would have many more decisions to make before the start of training camp.
What catches me up is, if the Bucks believed that Giannis has more great years ahead of him, would they so quickly offload him to a conference rival? Might he actually be a distressed asset?
Giannis will turn 32 this season. He has generally been durable over his career but has dealt with increasing lower-body issues (especially calves and knees) in recent years, leading to more missed time. To wit:
• 2022–23: 63 GP / 19 missed
• 2023–24: 73 GP / 9 missed
• 2024–25: 67 GP / 15 missed
• 2025–26: 36 GP / 46 missed
Wouldn’t that just be the worst if the Celts parted with Brown to get him, and then Giannis missed extended time due to injury? Like, the absolute worst? (Insert diabolical laughter.)
A healthy Tatum-Giannis pairing would present unique challenges for New York. The Knicks would need to defend relentless downhill pressure while also containing one of the league’s best bucket creators. But, given their depth, New York may be better equipped than most teams to handle it.
So if the Celtics’ pursuit of Giannis causes an initial flutter of worry, you can let that just drift on by. The scenario only noses toward Red Alert if Boston nabs him while somehow also acquiring a guard who makes up for what they’d lose with Brown’s departure.
But wait! This just in: Chris Haynes has pushed back on the idea that a Giannis Antetokounmpo-to-Boston deal is close. He writes that Boston does not appear to be a promising destination and suggested the situation could extend into July. Additionally, Marc Stein reported that the Celtics are frustrated by speculation involving Jaylen Brown, while Brian Windhorst said Brown has not been formally offered in a trade. So, to quote the great William Goldman (also a Knicks fan), “Nobody knows anything.”
It’s worth noting that the Miami Heat are also reportedly in the mix. We’ve heard that the lack of income tax is alluring to the Greek Freak. Plus Florida offers sunny, warm weather, which is not a defining feature of Wisconsin. In the end, though, joining Boston would allow Giannis to keep all his favorite green-themed items in his wardrobe, and shouldn’t looking good be a priority, too?
BOSTON — The Boston Bruins said Thursday they are retiring Patrice Bergeron’s No. 37 as part of a ceremony next season.
The date will be shared later, following the NHL schedule release that is expected next month.
Bergeron is set to join fellow 2011 Stanley Cup champion Zdeno Chara with his number in the rafters. Bergeron, when it happens, will be the 14th player to have his number retired by the storied franchise.
He spent his entire 19-year career in the league with the Bruins, playing 1,464 games counting the regular season and playoffs. That included the title run in 2011 and more trips to the final in ’13 and ’19.
“Patrice was the kind of rare, generational talent that every team wanted,” owner Jeremy Jacobs said in a statement. “He was a deftly skilled playmaker and the undeniable greatest defensive forward in the NHL’s history. But it was the leadership he provided on the ice and in the locker room that made him truly stand apart and an all-time legend of the Boston Bruins.”
Bergeron succeeded Chara as captain in 2020 and served three seasons in that role before retiring. He called this an honor that is difficult to put into words.
“When I arrived in Boston as an 18-year-old, I could never have imagined receiving this recognition one day,” Bergeron said. “I have always believed that any success I had was only possible because of the people around me. I was fortunate to play alongside incredible teammates, learn from outstanding coaches and staff and be supported by an organization that believed in me from the very beginning.”
Craig Ferguson set out on foot from Los Angeles with a remarkable goal: to walk 3,500 miles across America. It took him 109 days.
Last week, I had the privilege of joining him for his final steps into Boston. In those first moments after completing his journey, I asked him what the experience had been like. Without hesitation, he called it the hardest thing he had ever done.
What began as a mission to raise money for SAMH, a Scottish charity that provides mental health and social care support, became something far greater. Along the way, Craig inspired thousands of people and helped raise more than $1 million. His arrival in Boston also came amid the excitement surrounding Scotland’s appearance in the World Cup, giving his home country even more reason to celebrate.
Craig’s commitment to mental health advocacy is perhaps best expressed in his own words: “Mental health doesn’t care who you are or where you’re from. It can meet you along the road, sometimes when you least expect it.”
Those words resonate deeply with me. I was raised by a mother who faced significant mental health challenges, and I know firsthand how important support systems can be for individuals and families. Organizations like SAMH provide hope when people need it most. Equally important is continuing to normalize conversations about mental health and recognizing that it is a health issue that touches every community and every walk of life.
There are countless routes Craig could have taken and many cities where he could have chosen to conclude this extraordinary journey. The fact that he finished in Boston is something we should be proud of.
Boston has always been a city defined by resilience, compassion, and perseverance. Those qualities are why “Boston Strong” means so much to so many people. Craig Ferguson may be Scottish by birth, but through his determination, his generosity, and his commitment to helping others, he has embodied that spirit.
As we welcome him to our beautiful and sports-loving city, we thank him for reminding us that even the longest journeys begin with a single step, and that no one should have to walk through life’s struggles alone.
Craig Ferguson is Boston Strong.
Anne Brensley is the Republican-endorsed candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.
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