New York City will host free fan events citywide as officials respond to high ticket costs for the 2026 World Cup.

With the first match of the FIFA World Cup taking place in New Jersey in less than two months, the turf war between the Garden State and New York is heating up. The games are scheduled to take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford - temporarily renamed New York/New Jersey Stadium due to FIFA branding rules.

Staggering transit costs associated with this summer’s World Cup have been widely discussed — ad nauseam. As it stands, fans hoping to get to one of the eight matches scheduled for play at MetLife Stadium this summer lack appealing options: They could pay $150 for a round-trip NJ Transit train ticket — or $80 for a shuttle bus.

April 27 (Reuters) - The home of the U.S. Open will trade ⁠tennis ⁠for soccer this summer after New ⁠York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Monday that the Queens venue will host ​the largest of five free World Cup fan zones across the city's boroughs.

Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a new permit for New York bars and restaurants called the World Cup One-Day Permit, allowing small businesses across the state to host activations outside their premises and use outdoor space for World Cup-related events.