New York City launches $50 World Cup ticket lottery for residents
New York City has announced a special lottery programme offering residents the opportunity to buy $50 tickets for selected FIFA World Cup matches taking place in nearby East Rutherford this summer. Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled the initiative on Thursday, saying the city wanted to ensure that ordinary fans could attend the tournament without facing extremely high ticket costs.A total of 1,000 discounted tickets will be made available through a lottery beginning May 25. The package will also include free round-trip bus transportation to the stadium in New Jersey. The tickets will cover five group-stage fixtures and two knockout matches, with around 150 tickets allocated for each game.
Officials said the tickets would be non-transferable and handed directly to winners at the departure point to reduce ticket reselling and scalping. According to ticket tracking platform TicketData, entry-level prices for group-stage matches in the New York area have already surged into hundreds of dollars, while premium seats for the final have reached tens of thousands on resale markets.Mayor Mamdani stated that the initiative was aimed at keeping football accessible for working-class communities, while City Councilman Yusef Salaam stressed the importance of making the global event inclusive for all residents. Lottery winners will be allowed to purchase up to two tickets each