Zohran Mamdani says FIFA brings profits to fans with World Cup dynamic pricing | World Cup 2026

New York City Mayor Candidate Zohran Mamdani has launched an open petition against FIFA Use dynamic pricing Regarding World Cup tickets, tell the Guardian that this is equivalent to “an insult to the game.”

The Rise of Mamdani From a little-known state legislator to a Democratic leader in love with the mayor of the largest city in the United States, it has been one of the political stories of the year to date. This is not only because he identified it as a socialist, but was struggling with policies that most of his party don’t believe in or are reluctant to publicly advocate.

Mamdani’s focus is affordability – in The Guardian’s football once a week The podcast is scheduled to drop on Thursday, and he made it clear that it is the basis for his action against FIFA, which will stage the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada next year.

“For a long time, my assumptions of the game butlers have been bothered by the expense of people who liked the game,” Mamdani said. “And I think what surprised me was the requests we made, they just need to go back to what they need to go back to.” [Fifa] It has been completed in the previous World Cup. However, they saw World Cup Compared to Qatar, revenues in the United States, Mexico and Canada are close to 400%. ”

Mamdani went back further to World Cup ticketing history, saying the last time the men’s World Cup was held in the United States was a ticket in 1994, which could cost less than $200. In fact, the low-end tickets for FIFA were $25 (valued in 2025) and the most expensive tickets were $475 (approximately $1,000 in 2025). FIFA announced that ticket prices for the 2026 Group Game will start at $60 and earn the best seat in the finals $6,730, but crucially, these are the numbers before the dynamic pricing takes effect. Both It is expected to be quite large During the multi-phase sales process that began Wednesday.

“Many people who love this game so much don’t have the chance to really see this,” Mamdani said. “It also has a real impact on the potential of the World Cup atmosphere and how many fans actually have. Because the people who get tickets the fastest are often not the ones who desire to be there the most. They are the ones who are most excited about the profit prospects.”

Mamdani’s petition request FIFA To end the dynamic pricing of World Cup tickets, reserve 15% of the tickets for local residents and allow the ticket to be resold on FIFA’s ticketing platform (FIFA will play games in Mexico due to local laws, but will not implement caps on exchanges for other World Cup matches).

“I think you won’t win if you don’t ask,” Mandani said. “I think there are still a lot of people who haven’t even heard of it.” [this] Offense to the game. In the last few hours since we launched this product, I hope that thousands of people have added their names and we will continue to defend. ”

Mamdani wins Democratic nomination for most of the political world New York The mayor beat more prominent names, such as former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. However, his victory has not been granted a Global Statement, including his own party. Several prominent Democrats, including House Minority Leader and New Yorker Hakeem Jeffries, refused to endorse Mamdani because Cuomo rejoined the game with incumbent Eric Adams.

“Maybe they support dynamic pricing,” Mandani joked when asked why his victory caused some wins within his party. “There is a growing number joining our campaign every day. It’s a campaign with a starting price of 1%. Maybe if I had to characterize my recent dissatisfaction, maybe that’s it Leicester City campaign. So I think we are still introducing ourselves, but I’m glad to get their support. ”

Mamdani, a longtime football fan who has been supporting Arsenal since his childhood in Uganda, said he has the team’s magnet The invincible side of 2003-04 On his refrigerator. He made a “controversial view” that the Gunners are Uganda’s most popular team.

“[Former manager] “Winger was one of the first coaches to attract many African players to the team. Some of my early memories are memories of Lauren’s Kanu, memories of Lauren, songs by Emmanuel Eboué, Alex… It’s my life and my identity and my life, it’s my life and my life, it’s my life, it’s my life, it’s my life, it’s my life, it’s my life, it’s my life, it’s such an era. Being a democratic socialist is a great preparation.”

Mamdani admitted that as mayor of New York City, he could compete in the 2026 World Cup final, where he would sit near Donald Trump. Mandani said he hopes the US president will boo, Just like he did in this year’s U.S. Open Men’s Final.

“When people meet this president in person, there is no censorship that can quiet their actual reactions because the people we are talking about are already attacking the city’s living structure,” he said. “This will be where I defend the working-class New Yorkers they left behind over and over.”