This week’s Club Sportico essay looks at New York Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s most recent political play: going after the potentially high prices of 2026 World Cup tickets.
In so doing, Mamdani is actually taking a page out of an increasingly common political playbook, while setting himself—once again—against President Donald Trump.
Here is an excerpt of that essay ✍️:
League commissioners and presidents of sporting bodies don’t have fans. No one roots for Roger Goodell. Adam Silver doesn’t have merch. Sotheby’s isn’t auctioning Rob Manfred trading cards. Even in leagues like the WNBA or NWSL, where fans come together across franchise lines to push the sport as a whole, they seem to also always find a shared resentment of the boss.
Which is what makes them such rich political targets.
On Wednesday, New York mayoral favorite Zohran Mamdani launched a public petition, calling on FIFA to make tickets to 2026 World Cup games—including the final in New Jersey—affordable, pushing the international soccer organization to set aside 15% of seats for locals in particular.
FIFA isn’t going to change. The organization has defended its dynamic pricing strategy, part of a plan to generate $3 billion in ticket sales next year, arguing that the money funds the sport around the world.
But the attack fits well with Mamdani’s affordability platform. It’s good politics. It also puts him in contrast with President Donald Trump, who has embraced FIFA.
First, FIFA president Gianni Infantino was given a prime seat for Trump’s inauguration. In March, POTUS called Infantino “the king of soccer.” Trump then signed off on $625 million in federal funding for security around the games.
What makes this bromance so odd is that Trump has previously seen the political benefits of haranguing sports leaders.
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