ไทย
English
中國人
Central Park will serve as the venue for a massive watch party for the 2026 World Cup final on July 19, it was revealed Monday.
The event, backed by a $6 million investment from New York State, will feature large LCD screens and immersive audio systems to deliver the full fan experience, along with food vendors, local NYC DJs and a halftime show.
"We are here together to announce that we are hosting the largest watch party for the biggest match on the planet right here in Central Park," New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared from Central Park.
"And you know what the cost is? It's completely free."
The event, set to take place on Central Park's Great Lawn, will accommodate up to 50,000 attendees, who can enter a lottery for free tickets opening Thursday at 10 a.m. ET at globalcitizen.org.
The Governor continued: "There's no better location. The quintessential New York experience to bring everyone to this place...This is the go-to summer destination for New Yorkers, and now, it will be the city's front-row seat to that beautiful game."
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and FIFA President Gianni Infantino were also on hand at Central Park for the announcement.
"The most iconic match of the most iconic tournament in the world deserves to be watched in the most iconic park in the world with the most iconic skyline as its backdrop," Mamdani said.
Mamdani Speaks Out on World Cup Affordability Crisis
The Mayor once again addressed the hefty costs associated with attending World Cup matches this summer, a reality that FIFA—and Infantino in particular—has faced significant backlash over.
"At a time when sports experiences and the memories they create have become increasingly out of reach for working people, we will make this viewing party 100% free," Mamdani said from the podium just steps away from Infantino. "You will not need to spend thousands of dollars to watch the final alongside your fellow New Yorkers."
Category 1 seats for the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. are priced above $10,000, more than four times the cost of a seat at the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, which averaged $1,607 to witness Argentina and France in a historic clash. That final four years ago was already a significant jump from the 2018 World Cup final, which averaged $1,100 per ticket.
FIFA's dramatic price hikes stem from the governing body's adoption of "dynamic pricing," a first for the tournament. Infantino has defended the practice as FIFA simply adapting to the realities of the U.S. market. "We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates," he stated last month.
World Cup Previews
All 48 Teams
Bespoke Illustrations
Mamdani has strongly opposed FIFA's pricing strategy since tickets first went on sale in September. "FIFA's approach to the ticketing process of this World Cup is both unprecedented in their own management of previous World Cups and is an approach that will price out so many New Yorkers from actually being in the stands," he said at the time. Prices have only climbed further in subsequent ticket sale rounds.
The Mayor, a passionate soccer fan himself, has since worked to make the World Cup more affordable and accessible for New York City supporters this summer, including organizing free, multi-day events across all five boroughs and securing one thousand $50 tickets to seven of the eight matches at MetLife for city residents.
"This is just one part of a broader effort to make the World Cup belong to every New Yorker," Mamdani added on Monday. "...We will make this World Cup one that as many people as possible can be part of. I want to thank everyone who shares that same mission, all those who have done so much to make the world's game belong to the world."