New York Mayor Announces $50 World Cup Ticket Lottery for City Residents

Zohran Mamdani is set to launch a special World Cup ticket lottery program that will allow New York City residents to purchase select 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets for just $50 each.

The initiative, expected to be officially announced on Thursday, aims to make the tournament more accessible to everyday football fans amid growing criticism over soaring ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup in the United States.

Under the program, around 1,000 tickets will be distributed through a random lottery system exclusively for residents of New York City’s five boroughs. Each ticket package will also include round-trip bus transportation to and from MetLife Stadium, where several World Cup matches will take place.

The discounted tickets will cover every World Cup match hosted at MetLife Stadium except the final. Approximately 150 tickets are expected to be allocated for each game.

Eligible matches include:

• Brazil vs Morocco – 13 June
• France vs Senegal – 16 June
• Norway vs Senegal – 22 June
• Ecuador vs Germany – 25 June
• Panama vs England – 27 June
• Round of 32 match – 30 June
• Round of 16 match – 5 July

The tickets will reportedly be located in the upper seating section of the 82,000-capacity stadium.

The lottery is scheduled to open on 25 May at 10 AM Eastern Time and close on 30 May at 5 PM ET. Winners will be allowed to purchase up to two tickets each, while daily lottery entries will be capped at 50,000.

The program is being presented as a joint initiative between the mayor’s office and the New York/New Jersey World Cup host committee, rather than directly through FIFA.

Ticket pricing has become one of the biggest controversies surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Fans have criticized both ticket costs and transportation expenses around the New York/New Jersey venue. Earlier this year, transportation authorities proposed train fares of up to $150 round-trip between Manhattan and MetLife Stadium before later reducing prices.

Mamdani, who has publicly criticized FIFA’s pricing strategy in the past, said the high costs risk excluding genuine football fans from attending matches.

The mayor has repeatedly argued that the World Cup should remain an inclusive celebration of football rather than an event dominated by expensive resale markets and profit-driven ticketing systems.

The announcement marks one of the first known cases of a World Cup host city directly creating a discounted ticket access program specifically for local residents.