Mamdani announces $50 World Cup ticket lottery for New York City residents

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday that the city will use a lottery system to distribute 1,000 World Cup tickets at $50 apiece to residents of the five boroughs.

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In collaboration with the New York-New Jersey host committee, the mayor said the city is also providing free round-trip bus transportation to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for lottery winners attending the June matches.

“A World Cup is coming to our backyard, and we want to ensure working-class New Yorkers have the opportunity to be part of it,” Mamdani said in a Thursday statement. “We sat down with the Host Committee to make certain this tournament belongs to the people who make this city what it is.”

The 1,000 tickets will be allocated through a lottery system open to New York City residents over the age of 15, according to a press release. Residents may enter once per day, and 150 tickets will be available for five group-stage matches and two knockout-round matches.

The lottery opens May 25 at 10 a.m. and closes May 30 at midnight. Winners will be notified on Wednesday, June 3, and will receive their ticket in person at the bus boarding location, the mayor’s office said in the press release.

Mamdani made the announcement in Little Senegal in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood alongside the city’s World Cup czar, Maya Handa, and two members of the U.S. men’s national team, Tim Weah and Mark McKenzie, along with other community members.

“A kid in the Bronx, a security guard in Queens, a restaurant worker in Brooklyn or Staten Island — they are going to walk into the stadium this summer because their city fought for them to be there,” said Handa.

The ticket lottery comes amid backlash from fans over steep transportation surcharges to attend World Cup games.

New Jersey Transit is the primary provider of bus and train service to the stadium. A train ride to MetLife Stadium that normally costs $12.90 was initially set to climb as high as $150 for World Cup games. But last week, New Jersey Transit said it would reduce train fares to under $100.

Bus tickets, however, remain priced at $80.