NYC To Offer 1K $50 World Cup Tickets

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on May 21 that New York City had secured 1,000 reduced-price tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup for city residents, setting the price at $50 per seat and adding free round-trip bus transportation to MetLife Stadium. The city said the tickets will be offered through a lottery open only to New York City residents age 15 and older. The program covers five group-stage matches and two knockout-round matches in the New York-New Jersey host market. Entry is scheduled to open on Monday, May 25, at 10 a.m., according to City Hall. ### How cheap are these tickets compared with the regular World Cup process? FIFA said in September 2025 that World Cup 2026 tickets would be released in phases and that the first ticket-draw application window would open on Sept. 10, 2025, through FIFA’s own ticketing system. FIFA has directed fans to register interest and create a FIFA ID through its ticketing portal. (nyc.gov) The New York City program is separate from FIFA’s general ticket sales. City Hall said the 1,000 seats were secured “in partnership with the NYNJ Host Committee” and are reserved for local residents at a fixed $50 price, with transportation included. USA Today reported that regular market prices for some World Cup seats were running into the thousands of dollars, underscoring how far below prevailing prices the city’s allotment sits. (fifa.com) ### Who can enter, and what are the rules? New York City residents age 15 and over are eligible to enter the lottery, according to the mayor’s office. The city said entrants may submit one entry per day and that the system will accept up to 50,000 entries each day during the application window. (nyc.gov) Winners will be selected at random and may buy up to two tickets each, City Hall said. The city also said the tickets will be nontransferable and will be handed directly to winners at the official boarding location on the day of each match, a measure it said is intended to prevent scalping. (nyc.gov) ### Which matches are included? The city said the ticket pool covers seven matches in total: five group-stage games and two knockout-round games. It said about 150 tickets would be allocated per game. FIFA has said the 2026 tournament will open in Mexico City on June 11, 2026, and end with the final in New York New Jersey on July 19, 2026. (nyc.gov) The governing body has described the event as a 48-team, 104-match tournament across the United States, Canada and Mexico. ### Why is the city including transportation? (nyc.gov) City Hall said every winning ticket holder will receive free round-trip bus service to MetLife Stadium. The transportation piece comes after broader concern in the region about the cost of getting fans to matches in the Meadowlands. Patch reported in April that New Jersey Transit planned to charge $150 for round-trip train service to stadium matches, prompting criticism from lawmakers who urged FIFA to help cover the cost. (fifa.com) The city’s bus offer removes that expense for lottery winners. ### What did Mamdani and city officials say? Mamdani said the city wanted “working-class New Yorkers” to have a chance to attend matches when the tournament comes to the region. “Today, 1,000 New Yorkers are going to get into those stands for fifty dollars and a free bus ride,” he said in the city’s release. (nyc.gov) (patch.com) Maya Handa, identified by the city as New York City’s World Cup czar, said the program was created to ensure “working New Yorkers would be in the stands” during the tournament. The mayor’s office said the announcement followed months of work with the NYNJ Host Committee. ### When should people act, and where? (nyc.gov) The city said the lottery will open at regnyctix.com on Monday, May 25, at 10 a.m. and close on Saturday, May 30, at midnight. Winners are scheduled to be notified on Wednesday, June 3, according to the mayor’s office. FIFA has continued to route general World Cup ticket demand through its own ticketing program, while New York City is handling this local allotment through the lottery site named in the city’s announcement. (nyc.gov) For residents who want one of the $50 seats, the next dated step is the May 25 opening of the city lottery.