New York residents win 1,000 $50 World Cup tickets via city-backed ballot

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani brokered a deal with FIFA to provide 1,000 World Cup tickets to NYC residents at $50 each, allocated by ballot across seven MetLife Stadium matches (excluding the final) with free bus travel; the tickets come from joint host committee allocations and are non-transferable to curb scalping. The entry window runs May 25–5pm ET, with up to 50,000 applicants per day, and winners announced June 3 who can buy up to two tickets to bring a child. This marks a rare citywide affordable-access effort ahead of the 2026 World Cup hosted in the US, Canada, and Mexico.