NEW YORK (WABC) — New York City has secured 1,000 World Cup tickets at $50 each, the cheapest available for the tournament, to be distributed by ballot to city residents.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the arrangement on Thursday, negotiated with FIFA, at a news conference in Harlem, in the community of Little Senegal.
Two of Senegal’s three World Cup group games are at MetLife, but nationals from Senegal currently face travel restrictions due to the Trump administration’s travel bans, so domestic fans will need to turn out.
Mamdani raised the idea directly with FIFA when he met with President Gianni Infantino at City Hall in March.
“A World Cup is coming to our backyard, and we want to ensure working-class New Yorkers have the opportunity to be part of it,” said Mayor Mamdani. “We sat downwiththeHost Committee to make certain this tournament belongs to the people who make this city what it is. Today, 1,000 New Yorkers are going to get into those stands for fifty dollars and a free bus ride. I’m proud that New York City is leading the way.”
The 1,000 tickets will be split across seven matches played at MetLife Stadium, five group-stage fixtures, a round of 32 tie, and a round of 16 game. None will be for the July 19 final.
The tickets are in the upper tier of MetLife, and are the equivalent of Category 3 tickets, which are among the cheapest seats.
The lucky fans will also receive free round-trip bus travel to attend.
“This program exists because the Mayor was determined to make sure working New Yorkers would be in the stands when the World Cup comes home to New York,” said NYC World Cup Czar Maya Handa. “A kid in the Bronx, a security guard in Queens, a restaurant worker in Brooklyn or Staten Island, they are going to walk into the stadium this summer because their city fought for them to be there.”
The window to enter the lottery opens at 10 a.m. on May 25 and closes at 5 p.m. on May 30 at www.regnyctix.com.
Up to 50,000 people per day will be able to apply.
U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team superstar Tim Weah helped set the ball in motion for the 6 day lottery that opens Monday morning at 10.
Winners will be informed on Wednesday, June 3, and will be permitted to buy up to two tickets each, which will allow a parent to take a child.
The tickets will be non-transferable and only be given to the winners on the day of the game involved, at the site from which fans will be transported via buses to MetLife Stadium, to avoid resale.
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