Zohran Mamdani provides $50 World Cup tickets through lottery

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a new World Cup ticket initiative Thursday that could give local residents a rare affordable path into one of sports’ biggest events.

The program will offer 1,000 tickets for 2026 FIFA World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium for just $50 each through a public lottery, TheGuardian reports. The price also includes round-trip bus transportation for fans traveling from New York City.

Mamdani introduced the plan in Harlem’s Little Senegal neighborhood alongside community leaders and U.S. men’s national team players Tim Weah and Mark McKenzie, both New York natives.

The discounted tickets will apply to seven matches, excluding the World Cup final. Fans selected through the lottery can purchase up to two non-transferable tickets.

ngl, bro is cookin https://t.co/uHVWlrE7yV

— Kazeem Famuyide (@Kazeem) May 21, 2026

Lottery Includes Brazil, England, France Matches

The eligible games include Brazil vs. Morocco on June 13, France vs. Senegal on June 16, Norway vs. Senegal on June 22, Ecuador vs. Germany on June 25, and Panama vs. England on June 27.

A Round of 32 match on June 30 and a Round of 16 game on July 5 are also included in the initiative.

Officials said the seats will sit in the upper bowl of the 82,000-seat stadium. The lottery opens May 25 at 10 a.m. ET and closes May 30 at 5 p.m. ET, with a cap of 50,000 entries per day.

The initiative also separates New York from other 2026 host cities. No other host city has publicly launched a resident-focused ticket access program for the tournament so far.

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