Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he has locked in 1,000 World Cup tickets priced at $50 each for New Yorkers after negotiating directly with FIFA leadership. The special allotment will be distributed by ballot to city residents and covers several matches at MetLife Stadium, though it does not include the July 19 final.
How the ballot will work
The seats will be awarded by lottery and will be open only to New York City residents. Successful applicants can buy up to two tickets each and must be at least 15 years old. The entry window opens on May 25 at 10 a.m. and closes that same day at 5 p.m., with winners to be notified on June 3, according to The New York Times.
Getting to MetLife: cheaper shuttles and state support
Officials also moved to soften the bite of travel costs that worried many fans. New York State and the NY/NJ Host Committee have cut official shuttle fares to $20 round trip and expanded bus capacity for matches at MetLife. Governor Kathy Hochul’s office said the price drop and added buses were made possible with state support, according to the Governor’s Office, and reporting by Sports Business Journal notes roughly $6 million in state investment and Highland Fleets’ involvement to boost capacity.
Which matches, and scalping protections
The 1,000 $50 seats are category‑3 upper‑tier tickets and will be split across five group‑stage fixtures, one round‑of‑32 tie and one round‑of‑16 match at MetLife. They explicitly exclude the July 19 final. To curb resale and scalping, the tickets will be non‑transferable and will be handed out at the stadium on match day, according to The New York Times.
Citywide fan events and political backdrop
Mamdani has cast the program as a win for working New Yorkers after months of public pressure over FIFA’s dynamic pricing, arguing that the World Cup should include everyday fans and neighborhoods, not just big spenders. The mayor’s office and the NY/NJ Host Committee say they will also stage free, borough‑wide fan zones and neighborhood activations, from Rockefeller Center to Brooklyn Bridge Park, to give New Yorkers multiple ways to take part in the tournament, according to the NY/NJ Host Committee.
City officials say full registration details, exact match assignments and pickup procedures will be posted through official channels ahead of the May 25 entry window. The program is a narrow carve‑out in a region of millions of fans, but for those priced out of the primary market these $50 seats, along with cheaper shuttle options and free fan zones, represent a tangible step toward broader access.
