New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on May 25 that the city will distribute 1,000 World Cup tickets at $50 each to residents of the five boroughs through a lottery system. The initiative, a collaboration between the mayor's office and the NY/NJ World Cup host committee rather than with FIFA, marks the first time a World Cup host city has provided special ticket access exclusively for its own residents.

Mamdani unveiled the plan in Harlem's Little Senegal neighborhood alongside community leaders and U.S. men's national team players Tim Weah and Mark McKenzie. "We are making sure that working people will not be priced out of the game that they helped to create," Mamdani said. "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."

The lottery is open to New York City residents over the age of 15, with one entry allowed per day. Winners will be notified on June 3, may purchase up to two tickets each, and will receive their non-transferable tickets in person at the bus boarding location on the day of the games. The price includes free round-trip bus transportation to and from MetLife Stadium, and residency will be verified by various methods.

Approximately 150 tickets will be allocated for each of the seven eligible games at MetLife Stadium, excluding the final. Eligible matches include five group-stage games — Brazil v Morocco on June 13, France v Senegal on June 16, Norway v Senegal on June 22, Ecuador v Germany on June 25, and Panama v England on June 27 — along with a Round of 32 match on June 30 and a Round of 16 match on July 5. Seats will be located in the upper bowl of the 82,000-capacity stadium, and the allotment comes from the New York/New Jersey host committee.

FIFA initially set $60 as the cheapest possible ticket price for any World Cup game and released a limited amount at that level, comprising approximately 1.6% of those available for sale. FIFA's dynamic pricing system has resulted in ticket prices rising into the hundreds of dollars, and at the time of publishing, the cheapest Ticketmaster listing for a MetLife Stadium group-stage game was $535 for Norway v Senegal on June 22.

Transportation costs to the venue have also drawn attention. New Jersey Transit initially announced that a round-trip train fare between New York's Penn Station and MetLife Stadium would cost $150, compared with the usual fare of $13, and the fare has since been reduced to $105. Bus service between New York City and the stadium is expected to cost $80 per ticket.

"This program exists because the mayor was determined to make sure working New Yorkers would be in the stands when the World Cup comes home to New York. 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 Maya Handa, the city's World Cup czar. Council Member Yusef Salaam also offered support. "Mayor Mamdani's commitment to making the World Cup accessible to everyday New Yorkers… is exactly what it looks like when a city governs for the people," Salaam said.

Mamdani, an avowed soccer fan who took office in January, made ticket affordability a central pillar of his mayoral campaign. During the campaign, he called on FIFA to set aside 15% of tickets at discounted prices for local residents and launched a petition to reverse demand-based pricing.