FIFA has come under heavy criticism in New York this week after the third phase of ticket sales for the 2026 men’s World Cup began, with prices rising sharply following the release of the tournament schedule, host cities and group allocations.
Top-category tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey have reached $9,000, a figure around five times higher than the price of tickets for the previous World Cup final.
New York’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has now spoken out, echoing the concerns of supporters and calling for ticket prices to be made fairer for local residents in the city that will host the tournament’s showpiece match.
Speaking to the Culligans YouTube channel, Mamdani criticised FIFA’s use of demand- and time-based pricing, and urged the governing body to introduce fixed prices and discounts for local fans.
Referring to the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 tournament in Qatar, he said, “New York is the most expensive city in the country, and people are incredibly excited about the World Cup. But considering the ticket prices and the dynamic pricing FIFA plans to use, we are calling for fixed-price tickets and discounts for local residents. We have seen these kinds of arrangements at previous World Cups.”
Mamdani said his priority during the tournament would be ensuring that as many New Yorkers as possible are able to attend matches in person, rather than being priced out and forced to watch from home.
“We will ask for some tickets to be reserved for fans,” he added. “I am happy that FIFA has said there will be some tickets at fixed prices, but there is still a lot of work to be done. We do not want a situation where people are only watching on screens, we want them in the stadium.”
The expanded 48-team World Cup will take place from 11 June to 19 July next year. The United States will play their opening match against Paraguay on 13 June, with Australia and a play-off qualifier completing their group.
