The mayor cuts a few World Cup tickets for New Yorkers to $ 50 after the furore | World Cup 2026 news

Prices for the 2026 World Cup have come under a lot of scrutiny, including in New York where the city’s mayor is cutting a few tickets.

Some people lucky enough to live in New York City have recently had the opportunity to score cheap seats to this summer’s World Cup at low prices.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Thursday that 1,000 tickets worth $50 will be given to residents of the city of more than 8 million for the most watched game in the world.

“To say this clearly, that is five lattes in New York City,” Mamdani quipped at a bar in Harlem’s Little Senegal neighborhood, together with the US men’s national team star Timothy Weah.

The tickets will be available for seven of the eight games played at the 82,000-seat MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, across the river from Manhattan. That alone is worth the July 19 finale, with some seats going for around $33,000.

The tickets will also include free bus travel to the stadium and will be distributed through a lottery starting May 25.

Concerned about the continued increase in the cost of tickets to the game, Mamdani said the city should ensure that the proceeds go to New York City residents and are not resold on the secondary market.

He said the tickets would be permanent, with “various methods” used by city officials to verify attendance. They will only be given directly to fans when they board the buses on match day.

“We are making sure that the workers are not bought out of the game they helped create,” Mamdani said.

The Democrat, who took office in January, said the effort proves his administration’s focus is not just on making everyday things like housing and food more affordable.

“It goes beyond making every New Yorker a part of the things that make us human,” he said.

During his campaign, Mamdani called on FIFA, the world’s governing body for soccer, to encourage New Yorkers to exercise by giving away 15% of tickets at affordable prices. He had started a petition asking FIFA to change its policy of setting ticket prices according to his wishes.

The $50 tickets do not come directly from FIFA, but from those assigned to the New York and New Jersey committee to participate in the game, according to the mayor’s office.

In the past, FIFA has set ticket prices at $60 for every North American tournament following a price hike.

The cheap tickets went to the national associations of the playing teams, and the associations decided how to distribute them to loyal fans who had attended previous games at home and away.

Aside from the final, the home stadium of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets is scheduled to host five World Cup group games and two knockout games. Matches for teams that have already won Brazil, France, Germany and England, along with other countries, will begin on June 13.