New York City Mayor is set to announce on Thursday (local time) that a new batch of 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets will be offered to residents across New York City’s five boroughs for $50 each.
The Guardian reported that the tickets, which will be made available via a lottery system, will cover all matches at MetLife Stadium except the final, and will also include round-trip bus transportation to the venue.
Here’s all you need to know about the initiative
Mayor is set to unveil the plan in the Little Senegal neighbourhood of Harlem in upper Manhattan, where he is likely to be accompanied by community leaders.
Through this initiative, it is expected that 1,000 tickets will be distributed, with nearly 150 seats set aside for each of the seven matches. All tickets will be in the upper-tier section of the 82,000-capacity MetLife Stadium.
The games that will be eligible under the programme include five group-stage games (Brazil v Morocco on 13 June, France v Senegal on June 16, Norway v Senegal on 22 June, Ecuador v Germany on 25 June, and Panama v England on 27 June), along with an additional Round of 32 game on 30 June and a Round of 16 game on 5 July.
According to the report, Mamdani’s programme marks the first and only time a host city for the 2026 has offered its residents exclusive access to match tickets. The programme also echoes a similar approach that took during the 2022 tournament, where residents were given access to discounted tickets.
Lottery system: Date and time
The lottery system for the tickets will commence on 25 May at 10 AM Eastern Time (7:30 PM IST) and will close on 30 May at 5 PM Eastern Time (2:30 AM IST the next day). A maximum of 50,000 people will be given daily access to the lottery system. Winners will be able to buy a maximum of two tickets each.
Additionally, the initiative will be positioned as a collaboration between Mamdani’s office and the NY/NJ host committee, and not with , which has faced criticism for utilising dynamic pricing amid widespread backlash.
Ticket pricing a major concern ahead of FIFA matches
Ahead of the FIFA World Cup next year, ticket costs have been a major talking point, especially for matches slated to take place in the New York-New Jersey region, where both entry prices and transportation expenses have invited backlash.
NJ Transit, which manages most bus and rail services connecting New York City to Stadium, originally said a round-trip train fare from Penn Station would be priced at $150, far above the standard $13 fare. The agency later reduced the price to $105 for a return trip, while bus tickets between the city and the stadium are projected to cost about $80 each.
FIFA previously attempted to address concerns over rising ticket prices by releasing a limited batch of $60 tickets, which accounted for roughly 1.6 per cent of the total inventory. While $60 was originally announced as the minimum ticket price for World Cup matches, dynamic pricing has since pushed costs into the hundreds of dollars for every game in the tournament.
Mamdani slams FIFA
Back in September 2025, , a longtime football supporter who centred affordability in his mayoral campaign, criticised FIFA over soaring ticket costs. He argued that the organisation was prioritising profit instead of ensuring the tournament remained accessible and welcoming to all fans.
At one of his campaign events in September, Mamdani said, “There’s just no chance for so many who love this game so much to actually be able to go and see this,” and added, “This also has a real impact on the potential for the atmosphere of the World Cup and just how many fans will actually be there. Because so often, the people who get the tickets quickest are not the ones who are actually the most eager to be there. They’re the ones who are the most excited at the prospect of a profit.”
With ticket prices continuing to rise ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Mamdani’s initiative is expected to provide a rare, affordable opportunity for local football fans.
