What you should know
- $50 seats and free round-trip buses to World Cup games available exclusively for New York City residents
- Announcement made in Harlem’s Little Senegal, the heart of New York's West African soccer community
NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today announced that the City of New York, in partnership with the NYNJ Host Committee, has secured 1,000 affordable tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ for New Yorkers at $50 per seat, including free round-trip bus transportation to MetLife Stadium.
The Mayor made the announcement in Little Senegal, surrounded by Harlem residents, African community leaders and elected officials wearing jerseys representing tournament nations with deep roots in New York City.
“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,” said Mayor Mamdani. “We sat down with the Host Committee to make certain this tournament belongs to the people who make this city what it is. Today, 1,000 New Yorkers are going to get into those stands for fifty dollars and a free bus ride. I’m proud that New York City is leading the way.”
The program covers the five group stage matches and two knockout round matches — with approximately 150 tickets allocated per game. New York City residents aged 15 and over may enter a lottery for the chance to purchase tickets, with winners selected randomly.
Entry opens at www.regnyctix.com on Monday, May 25th at 10 a.m. and closes Saturday, May 30th at midnight. New Yorkers may enter once per day, with a daily cap of 50,000 entries. Winners will be notified Wednesday, June 3rd, and may purchase up to two tickets each.
To prevent scalping, tickets will be nontransferable and distributed directly to winners at the official boarding location on the day of each match. Free round-trip transportation from the pickup location to the NYNJ Stadium will be included for every winner.
“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,” said NYC World Cup Czar Maya Handa. “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.”
Today’s announcement reflects months of collaboration between the Mamdani administration and the NYNJ Host Committee to create a program centered on affordability and accessibility for New York City residents. The Mayor has been a consistent advocate for ensuring New Yorkers can be part of this historic moment, and through close coordination with all partners, a dedicated allocation of reduced-price tickets was made possible as part of today’s announcement.
“Mayor Mamdani has been unwavering in his commitment to making sure New Yorkers could be part of this historic moment in a real and meaningful way,” said Alex Lasry, CEO of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ NYNJ Host Committee. “From the beginning, we pushed for a program that prioritized affordability and access for New Yorkers and worked closely together to help make that possible. The World Cup will bring the eyes of the world to our region, and it was important to all of us that the people who define New York City could experience it firsthand.”
“Harlem has always been a global village, and now our neighbors will have a real seat at the world’s biggest stage,” said Council Member Yusef Salaam. “Mayor Mamdani’s commitment to making the World Cup accessible to everyday New Yorkers — especially our West African community right here in Little Senegal — is exactly what it looks like when a city governs for the people.”
The Mayor chose Harlem — the historic heart of the City’s West African community — as the site of today's announcement.