The “World’s” Game

Next summer, the long-awaited 2026 FIFA World Cup returns to the United States for the first time in three decades. MetLife Stadium will be the venue for eight of the tournament’s fixtures, including the final on July 19. This tournament should belong to the kids who spend countless hours kicking balls on cracked school courtyards against chain-link fences and to the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who make the annual pilgrimage to the Red Bull Arena for the Hudson River Derby. That’s not to say international fans don’t deserve a place at the World Cup, but their presence shouldn’t come at the expense of local New Yorkers who have been waiting their entire lives for this tournament. Yet, that’s exactly what could happen under FIFA’s current ticketing model, which risks excluding two groups of fans: those who are unable to secure tickets through the lottery and those who can’t afford it.

FIFA’s current ticketing system locks out locals even before ticket prices enter the equation. In the first phase of sales, tickets were distributed through a randomized draw where only Visa cardholders were eligible to participate. This immediately prevented many fans from participating in the draw. Even for the fans who were able to participate, the chances of securing a ticket were low. Over 4.5 million fans entered the draw; all of them competed for one million public seats, with the odds even slimmer for NYC fans. 

MetLife Stadium has a capacity of roughly 80,000, but only about 12,000 seats entered the public draw; the rest were allocated to corporate partners, hospitality clients, and national associations—the official governing bodies of participating teams, like the English Football Association or the Deutscher Fußball-Bund in Germany. For an organization that prides itself on being the “World’s Game,” its ticketing methods do little to ensure that local fans actually get to participate.

Fans who fail to purchase tickets in the first round are forced to turn to resale markets where ticket prices are marked up significantly, reaching sums beyond what most local supporters can pay. For instance, tickets for the 2026 World Cup final were listed on FIFA’s official resale platform for as high as $25,000, despite their original price listed as $2,030. On third-party platforms like SeatGeek and StubHub, buyers expect similar prices. Without intervention, this combination of inflated ticket prices, high demand, and requirements to even participate in the draw makes the event inaccessible for many fans.

State Assemblyman and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani launched the “Game Over Greed” initiative in an effort to address these problems facing fans trying to acquire spots at the World Cup. In this petition, Mamdani outlined three changes FIFA could implement to make this event more accessible for New Yorkers. 

Mamdani’s first proposal is that FIFA eliminate its use of a dynamic pricing model for selling tickets. Dynamic pricing allows ticket prices to fluctuate with demand, and in a tournament where millions are expected to attend, it’s likely that ticket prices will inflate quickly. Eliminating dynamic pricing creates consistent ticket costs. However, because many fans purchase their tickets after the first round, issues associated with the resale markets still remain. 

To counteract the inflated prices found on resale markets, Mamdani has recommended that FIFA impose a cap on secondary market prices. A limit on resale prices would give fans who were unable to get the ticket during the first phase of the draw a fair chance in purchasing tickets from secondary markets. FIFA has a responsibility to ensure that all tickets, regardless of their origin, are sold at prices accessible for all fans. Without the price cap, the World Cup risks becoming an event for the wealthy alone. It shuts out the same New Yorkers who have maintained the sport’s presence in the city for generations. 

To keep local supporters in the stands, Mamdani has proposed that 15 percent of all tickets at MetLife be reserved for local residents. New York is the first host city in 30 years to be denied a local quota by FIFA. For instance, in the 2014 World Cup, Brazil allocated approximately 10 to 20 percent of stadium capacity for local fans across various ticket categories. The decision not to reserve any seats for local fans suggests that FIFA prioritizes profit over the same communities that make the tournament possible. 

Mamdani’s proposals represent a significant step toward making the World Cup an event more accessible and attainable to all fans. Through eliminating dynamic pricing, capping resale prices, and reserving 15% of tickets for local supporters, the plan tackles both the financial and logistical challenges that prevent local supporters from attending. The World Cup may be a global event, but local New Yorkers deserve a fair chance to experience it in their own city.