NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani secures 1,000 $50 FIFA World Cup tickets

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a lottery system to sell 1,000 FIFA World Cup tickets for $50. The prices of tickets and transportation have been a massive point of debate among soccer fans as the World Cup draws near. In a video posted on X, he said that he had achieved his goal of providing cheaper tickets to fans of the sport. "Last year, we said we'd fight for cheaper tickets for New Yorkers," he recalled, adding, "We fought hard to make the people's game available to the people, and won."

According to a report in The Independent, the lottery would open on May 25 at 10 a.m. ET and run for six days. A total of 50,000 people per day will be able to participate, and the winners will be notified on June 3 via email. One person can only enter once per day. Upon being notified, fans can book up to two tickets within 48 hours. These tickets will not be transferable.

The price of these tickets is significantly lower than the ones that have been sold normally. According to Forbes, FIFA's Category 3 pricing for MetLife Stadium matches had ranged from $220 to $415 for a Round of 16 game. Before being elected to office, Mamdani campaigned heavily on affordability, and it is not surprising that he has treated this development as a win for this administration.

Speaking at a public meeting, Mamdani said that his administration was making sure that working people were not being "priced out of the game that they helped to create." He revealed that his office had partnered with the New York/New Jersey host committee to secure the 1,000 $50 tickets. He then explained how these tickets would be distributed among the matches scheduled in the city.

The tickets would be split into batches of 150 for each of the five group stage matches and two knockout matches. Mamdani also acknowledged that the cost of travel had become a big issue for fans wanting to see the matches live, before announcing free round-trip bus tickets to MetLife Stadium. However, as far as the match tickets are concerned, only New Yorkers would be eligible to get them for $50.

"We will verify eligibility using a variety of methods to make sure that only New Yorkers are purchasing these tickets," he said. According to a report by The Athletic, Mamdani, a lifelong Arsenal fan, had raised the matter of ticket prices directly to FIFA president Gianni Infantino during a meeting at City Hall in Manhattan in March.

The report states that FIFA was initially hesitant to agree to the concept. However, this is not the first time the New York Mayor has achieved such a feat. He was successful in securing 1,000 tickets priced at $5 for the local NWSL team, Gotham FC's match against Boston Legacy at Sports Illustrated Stadium in April.