Great news for football fans!
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a raffle for 1,000 tickets for city residents to watch 2026 World Cup matches for $50, with free round-trip transportation to MetLife Stadium, where the New York/New Jersey host games will be played.
These tickets will be distributed among 7 matches: 5 group stage matches and 2 knockout matches.
NY/NJ will be one of the main venues for the next World Cup and will host the teams from Brazil, France, Ecuador, Germany, England, Panama, Senegal and Norway in the first phase. It will also host qualifying matches, including the final of the tournament.
“We said we had to make it cheaper for New Yorkers to access these games and today we are doing exactly that,” Mamdani said during a press conference, adding that the goal is to “ensure that working people can attend one of the largest sporting events in the world.”
According to Mamdani, there will be about 150 tickets available per game and each ticket will cost $50, a price he humorously compared to “five lattes in New York.”
The mayor stressed that being able to see a game does not depend only on the price of tickets but also on travel expenses, so the winners will be able to go by bus from New York to MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for free.
Tickets will be awarded through a drawing “exclusively for New York residents” that will begin on May 25 (10 a.m.) and runs through Saturday, May 30 (5 p.m.). Those interested can register once a day at the link: regnyctix.com and the process will have a limit of 50,000 requests per day.
Mamdani assured that the chances of obtaining a ticket “do not depend on who each person knows” and stated that the mayor’s office will verify the residence of the participants to guarantee that only New Yorkers can buy them.
“We do not want resale, we want to open the tournament to workers who otherwise could not afford it,” said the mayor, adding that the tickets will be “non-transferable” and will be given directly to the winners.
It should be noted that World Cup 2026 tickets do not have a single fixed price and have been put on sale in different phases, such as ‘category 4’ with a more accessible price.
However, in recent weeks we have seen tickets listed on resale platforms for enormous amounts, in some cases over a million dollars.
Put on your shirt!
These are the 8 soccer matches to be played at MetLife Stadium, in New Jersey, within the framework of the “2026 World Cup,” the highest soccer event organized by FIFA:
– Group “C”
Saturday, June 13, 6 p.m.
Brazil vs. Morocco
– Group “I”
Tuesday, June 16, 3 p.m.
France vs. Senegal
– Group “I”
Monday, June 22, 8 p.m.
Norway vs. Senegal
– Group “E”
Thursday, June 25, 4 p.m.
Ecuador vs. Germany
– Group “L”
Saturday, June 27, 5 p.m.
Panama vs. England
– 16th. Final (Direct Elimination)
Tuesday June 30, 5 pm
1st. I vs. 3rd. CDFGH
– 8th. Final (Direct Elimination)
Sunday, July 5, 4 p.m.
Winner Match 76 vs. Winner Match 78
– End
Sunday, July 19, 3 p.m.
Semifinal Winner 1 vs. Semifinal Winner
1,000 World Cup tickets. $50 each. All for New Yorkers.
We fought hard to make the people’s game available to the people — and won.
Let the summer of soccer begin. pic.twitter.com/CakNsxtF6b
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) May 21, 2026
