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President Donald Trump has threatened to pull the World Cup from the New England region if Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu doesn’t crack down on crime.
Well, no threats have yet been made against the New York region, which will host the finale on July 19, 2026, and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, whom Trump once called a “crazy communist,” told Martha MacCallum on Wednesday that he would host Trump and his football-loving son Barron at MetLife Stadium.
Trump attended the Club World Cup final at the New Jersey Stadium in July.
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Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Democratic mayoral primary debate at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Center studios in New York on June 4, 2025. (YUKI IWAMURA/PISCINE/AFP via Getty Images)
Last month, Mamdani announced he wanted to appoint a czar for the games in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and in speaking with MacCallum, he described the czar’s role and how it would be a huge win not only for tourists but also for New York residents.
“The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world, and it’s like no one has thought about it or talked about it here in New York City government. It’s coming to the city next summer, and billions of people will be watching,” he said. “The World Cup czar is going to make sure that this is a tournament that New Yorkers will remember as well, not just those who visit us. Let it be a tournament that will mean an increase not only in tourism but also in small business and exploration of this city.
“For too long we’ve had these kinds of opportunities that we’ve just let slip by. We recently celebrated New York City’s 400th anniversary – most people have no idea, because the city hasn’t done anything about it.”
Last month, Mamdani denounced dynamic pricing for the World Cup, calling “$6,000” tickets “absurd.”
MetLife Stadium posts record attendance for a soccer game of 82,262 during a water break during the U.S. summer friendly match between Arsenal and Manchester United at MetLife Stadium on July 22, 2023, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Matthieu Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
BOSTON MAYOR RESPONDS TO TRUMP’S THREATS TO PULL WORLD CUP GAMES OUT OF CITY AMID SECURITY CONCERNS
“What we’re seeing is that FIFA’s approach to the World Cup ticketing process is both unprecedented in its own administration of previous World Cups and it’s also an approach that will prevent many New Yorkers from actually being able to be in the stands,” he said on “Pablo Torre Discovers Out.”
Mamdani recently called for 15% of tickets to be reserved at discounted prices for residents and asked FIFA, soccer’s governing body, to cancel a plan to set ticket prices based on demand.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks Wednesday during an interview on PK Press Club’ The Story with Martha MacCallum, where he discussed the Gaza ceasefire and said he would uphold an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (PK Press Club)
Tickets will start at $60 for group stage matches and rise to $6,730 for the final, officials announced earlier in September. However, prices could fluctuate under the demand-based pricing model.
