770 World Cup tickets to be given away free to New Jersey residents, Gov. Sherrill announces
NEW JERSEY (WABC) — Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced that 770 World Cup tickets will be distributed free to New Jersey residents, weeks after Mayor Mamdani offered 1,000 tickets for $50 to New York City residents.
The tickets are being given to people who may have thought they would never have a chance to go to a World Cup match. Some of the recipients include kids who have battled cancer, hospital staff and first responders.
Sherrill made the announcement in Hackensack, where Hackensack Meridian Health and Uber are paying for the donated tickets.
“We are excited to welcome the world to the Garden State for the World Cup starting this week and to be at the very center of the festivities, but we want the experience, first and foremost, to be accessible and affordable for as many New Jerseyans as possible,” Gov. Sherrill said. “I’d like to thank the Host Committee, Uber, and Hackensack Meridian Health for providing over 750 free tickets to New Jerseyans who deserve a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend these matches. I will always fight to ensure that no New Jerseyan is left behind.”
The tickets will be distributed among the seven World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium, but not the final. They will be non-transferable.
They will be distributed to New Jersey residents as follows:
- 500 tickets for youth soccer clubs, families of state National Guard members deployed overseas, and Bergen County first responders assisting with the World Cup.
- 200 tickets for Hackensack to distribute among frontline nurses, health care workers, hospital pediatric patients, and children facing serious illnesses.
- An additional 70 tickets for people who visit and support local small businesses during the World Cup through the “Welcome World Rewards” program.
The Garden State program comes after Mayor Mamdani announced last month that 1,000 tickets would be offered for $50 each to New York City residents, billed as the cheapest tickets available for fans to purchase through a primary ticket market for the World Cup.
New Jersey officials then countered they would create their own discounted World Cup ticket program, similar to New York City’s, but backed by corporate sponsors rather than the host committee or FIFA.
Bergen County, the host county, then demanded affordable tickets specifically for its residents, arguing they are shouldering the day-to-day impact of hosting matches in East Rutherford.
Both New York and New Jersey had to receive permission from FIFA for their programs because FIFA generally prohibits ticket distributions outside the organization’s official pricing model.
Over the weekend, Mayor Mamdani posted a video of himself personally calling some winners of the $50 ticket raffle:
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