Zohran Mamdani announces 1,000 World Cup tickets at $50 each: Here's how to get one

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced 1,000 football World Cup match tickets priced at only $50 for the residents of five boroughs. 

The tickets, announced in collaboration with the New Jersey host committee, will be awarded via a lottery.

Mamdani announced that the city will also provide bus transportation to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for winners of lottery tickets on match days.

Speaking at a press conference in Little Senegal in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood, while flanked by the city’s World Cup Head Maya and two American men’s national team players, the mayor said: “We sat down with the Host Committee to make certain this tournament belongs to the people who make this city what it is.”

He continued, “We wanted to ensure working-class New Yorkers have the opportunity to be part of the global sport showdown,” scheduled to be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026.

Residents can enter once per day.

Here’s a timeline for the lottery tickets:

• Every New York City resident above 15 years of age is eligible to participate
• Residents can apply through the official NYC World Cup lottery website
• The lottery opens on May 25 at 10:00 a.m. and closes on May 30 at 12:00 a.m.
• The NYC administration will notify the winners by June 3.
• The ticket winners will be able to receive their tickets in person at the bus boarding location.

The cheap tickets via lottery system came after the fans complained about the high-cost of the World Cup, which at one point was listed at $2.3 million each for the World Cup final.