$50 FIFA World Cup Lottery Hits 50,000 Entries in 10 Minutes on Opening Day | Today’s news
Registration for the new $50 FIFA World Cup ticket lottery in New York opened and closed within about 10 minutes on Monday morning (May 25), highlighting the intense demand for affordable access to the 2026 tournament matches at MetLife Stadium.
The program, started by Zohran Mamdani, gives New Yorkers the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets to select World Cup matches held at the New Jersey Stadium.
1000 tickets reserved for New Yorkers
The city said it has secured 1,000 tickets, which will be sold for $50 — a price Mamdani joked was the equivalent of “five lattes in New York.”
Registration officially opened at 10am on Monday (May 25) and quickly reached its daily limit of 50,000 entries, forcing the portal to close for the day. The lottery will reopen every morning from 10am until Saturday, with an additional 50,000 registration spaces available daily.
The program will allocate approximately 150 tickets for each of seven matches: five group stage matches and two knockout matches. The World Cup final on July 19 is not included.
Tickets are non-transferable, must be picked up in person
Lottery winners will be notified by email on June 3rd and will have 48 hours to purchase up to two tickets. Officials said the tickets are non-transferable and must be picked up in person on the day of the game to avoid scalping.
The city is also offering free round-trip bus transportation from New York City to MetLife Stadium to winning entrants. Tickets will reportedly be distributed directly to fans as they board the buses to the matches.
Mamdani promotes an affordable approach
“The World Cup is coming to our backyard, and we want to make sure that working-class New Yorkers have the opportunity to be a part of it,” Mamdani said in a statement announcing the initiative. “We sat down with the host committee to make sure this tournament belongs to the people who make this city what it is.”
Discounted tickets are not provided directly by FIFA, according to the mayor’s office. Instead, they come from ticket allocations intended for the New York-New Jersey host committee.
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani publicly urged FIFA to reserve 15% of World Cup tickets at reduced prices for local residents, criticizing dynamic pricing practices that could put matches out of reach for many fans.
Sweepstakes eligibility is limited to New York City residents 15 years of age and older, with only one entry per person allowed.
