New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is set to announce on Thursday a groundbreaking initiative offering 1,000 tickets for the 2026 World Cup at just $50 each to residents of the five boroughs. The tickets will be distributed through a random lottery system and will cover all games at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium except the final, with bus transportation to and from the venue included.
Lottery Details and Eligible Games
The program will make available approximately 150 tickets per game for seven matches. Eligible games include five group-stage fixtures: Brazil vs Morocco on 13 June, France vs Senegal on 16 June, Norway vs Senegal on 22 June, Ecuador vs Germany on 25 June, and Panama vs England on 27 June. Additionally, a Round of 32 match on 30 June and a Round of 16 game on 5 July are part of the offer.
The lottery will open on 25 May at 10am Eastern Time and close on 30 May at 5pm ET, with a cap of 50,000 entries per day. Winners will be allowed to purchase up to two tickets each. The initiative is a collaboration between the mayor's office and the NY/NJ World Cup host committee, notably excluding Fifa, which has faced criticism for dynamic pricing.
Addressing Ticket Affordability
This move marks the first time an individual host city has provided special ticket access for its residents during the 2026 World Cup, echoing the discounted tickets offered to Qatar residents in 2022. Mamdani, a passionate soccer fan who made affordability a key campaign promise, has been vocal about Fifa's pricing policies. He stated last year that the federation prioritises revenue over accessibility, harming the tournament's atmosphere by favouring profit-seekers over genuine fans.
Ticket pricing has been a contentious issue, with New Jersey Transit initially announcing a round-trip train fare of $150 from Penn Station to MetLife Stadium, later reduced to $105. Bus fares are expected to be $80 per ticket. Fifa previously released a limited number of $60 tickets, but dynamic pricing has driven costs into the hundreds for most games.
Mamdani will unveil the plan in the Little Senegal neighbourhood of Harlem, accompanied by community leaders, reinforcing his commitment to making the World Cup accessible to all New Yorkers.
