Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday that 770 free World Cup tickets will be given to New Jersey residents, with the tickets earmarked for youth soccer players, families of National Guard members, sick children, and first responders.
The news comes just days before the first New Jersey match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, and about three weeks after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that 1,000 New Yorkers would receive discounted World Cup tickets, which angered Garden State soccer fans and some of our state lawmakers.
“As governor, I promised to open the doors of opportunity, and I meant that in ways both big and small. Today, we’re giving fans another opportunity to get to the game,” Sherrill said at a press conference at Hackensack University Medical Center.
The 770 tickets will be spread across five group stage matches and two knockout rounds, and none will be available for the final match played in East Rutherford on July 19.
Five hundred of the tickets will go to New Jersey Youth Soccer players from underserved communities, families of New Jersey National Guard members deployed overseas, Hackensack Meridian Health patients in the Make-A-Wish program, and Bergen County first responders helping with World Cup operations. Another 200 tickets will be made available to New Jersey nurses, other healthcare workers, and pediatric patients, including children facing serious illnesses and their families.
The remaining 70 tickets will be available for state residents through a World Cup rewards program that allows people to earn entry by visiting small businesses and attending community events.
Sherrill said the free tickets are funded entirely through private sector partnerships, including with Uber, Choose New Jersey, and Hackensack Meridian Health. The committee organizing New Jersey’s World Cup matches is separately providing $3.6 million to support transportation costs for these ticketholders.
FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, has struggled to fill seats for what it touts as the largest World Cup in the tournament’s history, and NJ Transit’s dedicated train service has seen far fewer sales than expected. FIFA’s website shows tickets available for all matches in East Rutherford, ranging from a few hundred dollars to over $30,000 for the final.
Transportation to the game on NJ Transit costs $98, a drop from the original $150 cost, but still several times more than the typical $12.90 fare to MetLife Stadium. According to NJ.com, just 10% of tickets were sold as of Sunday.
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