FIFA warned pricing 'working-class fans' out of football will backfire as New York mayoral candidate and Arsenal fan Zohran Mamdani speaks out against World Cup ticket costs

Mamdani, the 34-year-old Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, has fused football fandom with political advocacy. A lifelong Arsenal supporter, Mamdani has made FIFA’s controversial 2026 World Cup ticket pricing a key part of his campaign, attending community tournaments like the ‘Cost of Living Classic’ and launching the 'Game Over Greed' petition.

Speaking to the Atheltic, Mamdani shares the concerns of New York City residents, who are unable to buy tickets due to the prices. "I’ve spoken to a number of New Yorkers who tried to buy tickets, and it wasn’t only an issue of just how unaffordable the tickets were, but also just the mess of that system. There’s a desperate need for more clarity and for more of a commitment that this be a tournament for people who already call the city home."

FIFA’s dynamic pricing system has made tickets prohibitively expensive, with the cheapest group-stage seats at $60 and premium final tickets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey exceeding $6,700. Resale prices have skyrocketed further, leaving local and working-class fans struggling to access matches. Mamdani ties this directly to his broader platform on affordability.

Mamdani is deeply concerned about FIFA’s pricing policies, arguing that the commercialisation of football has turned fans into commodities rather than participants in the sport. He says: “Sport has been so commercialised and corporatised that fans have become viewed as a commodity. It is the place of leaders to step up when we see profit as the only motive, to an extent where so many who used to attend these very events can now not even conceive of doing so.”

He emphasises that his petition is not asking for anything unprecedented, but for FIFA to return to practices used in previous tournaments. As he explains: “What I’m asking for in my petition is all precedented. This is how FIFA has operated in the past. These are demands to simply return to the ways in which they engaged with previous World Cups. We have become numb to the continued commodification of the game, where asking FIFA to just do what they’re doing in Mexico [prohibiting ticket resales] is seen as an audacious request.”

Sharing his personal experience, Mamdani highlights the struggle of attending major sporting events under current pricing models: “It is a horrible experience as a fan to try to buy tickets. When I tried to buy tickets to the Cricket World Cup last year, which was taking place on Long Island, it was unbelievable how difficult it was and how much you had to engage with scalping as a fact of life.”

Finally, he stresses that FIFA’s current focus on maximising revenue is unfair to regular fans: “FIFA is clearly trying to pursue its initial goal of maximising revenue and looking to take every step such that they could do so… I don’t think a stable future for soccer can be built upon the denial of working-class fans being able to watch the game themselves.”

FIFA’s pricing model maximises revenue but alienates everyday fans. The lack of caps on resale tickets and the variable pricing system has priced out locals, leaving fans frustrated and excluded. Mamdani’s petition calls for three core reforms:

End dynamic pricing: Fix ticket costs to prevent unpredictable spikes.

Local allocations: Reserve 15 per cent of tickets at discounted rates for New Yorkers.

Cap resale prices: Prevent scalpers from inflating costs, ensuring genuine access.

These changes aim to make the World Cup a true cultural celebration, not just a revenue-generating spectacle, preserving the communal experience of football for the city’s diverse population.

Mamdani connects ticket affordability directly to the atmosphere inside stadiums, warning that high prices harm the fan experience. He notes: “So much of what we celebrate about the atmosphere of a soccer stadium is tied to the affordability of that same stadium. We talk about cauldrons of noise becoming libraries. That is an economic story.”

Mamdani ties his campaign against FIFA’s pricing to his broader vision for New York: affordable living, accessible public events, and inclusive city planning. He plans to appoint a World Cup czar to streamline logistics, ensure fair access, and integrate the tournament with local schools and communities.

“I don’t think a stable future for soccer can be built upon the denial of working-class fans being able to watch the game themselves. The more you look into where these revenues are spent, the thinner some of the arguments are that are made by FIFA,” Mamdani says. By advocating fixed pricing and transparent allocations, he seeks to restore equity in soccer while reinforcing his platform on affordability, community access, and social fairness.