New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced a lottery for 1,000 World Cup tickets priced at $50 each, available exclusively to city residents. The tickets, which include bus transport to and from MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, will be distributed via random draw for seven matches, excluding the final.
The programme covers five group games, a Round of 32 match on 30 June, and a Round of 16 match on 5 July. Each of the seven games will have a block of approximately 150 tickets located in the upper bowl of the 82,000-capacity stadium. Winners may purchase up to two non-transferable tickets, which will be handed over on match day.
Mamdani unveiled the plan in Harlem's Little Senegal neighbourhood alongside community leaders and US national team players Tim Weah and Mark McKenzie, both New York natives. The initiative is a collaboration between the mayor's office and the NY/NJ World Cup host committee, not FIFA, which controls ticket operations and has faced criticism for dynamic pricing.
The lottery opens on 25 May at 10am ET and closes on 30 May at 5pm ET, with a maximum of 50,000 entries per day. This marks the first time a host city has provided special ticket access for residents, echoing Qatar's discounted tickets for the 2022 tournament.
Ticket affordability has been a key issue, with New Jersey Transit initially charging $150 for a round-trip train from Penn Station to MetLife Stadium, later reduced to $105. Bus fares are set at $80. FIFA previously released limited $60 tickets, but dynamic pricing has driven costs higher. Mamdani, a soccer fan who prioritised affordability in his campaign, criticised FIFA for prioritising revenue over accessibility.
