New York City will offer its residents a chance to snag $50 tickets to World Cup games in New Jersey this summer, ​Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Thursday, with 1,000 affordable tickets ‌up for grabs through a lottery system.

The discounted tickets come with free round-trip bus transportation to the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey and will be ​split across five group-stage and two knockout games, with 150 tickets ​available per match.

“We are making sure that working people will ⁠not be priced out of the game that they helped to ​create,” Mamdani told a press conference in the city’s Harlem neighbourhood, quipping ​that the $50 price tag was the equivalent of five coffees in New York City.

Starting on May 25, residents will be able to enter a lottery for a ​chance to purchase the tickets, which will be non-transferable and distributed to ​winners at the bus boarding location in an effort to prevent scalping.

Ticket affordability has ‌been ⁠a key issue for the tournament being co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

According to TicketData, a ticket price tracking platform, the average “get-in” cost for a group-stage match in New York as of Wednesday was $864. ​Some resale tickets are ​listed for ⁠thousands of dollars across various platforms, including FIFA’s official resale and exchange marketplace.

The best seats for the final ​on July 19 in New Jersey were put on ​sale for ⁠nearly $33,000.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended high World Cup ticket prices this month.

“This is the moment to make sure that everybody is included, that everybody ⁠is lifted ​up,” said New York City Councilman Yusef ​Salaam.

Winners of the lottery will be able to purchase up to two tickets each.

-Reuters

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Senegal’s Sadio Mane is a key selection in the 28-man World Cup squad named by coach Pape Thiaw on Thursday as the influential forward looks to make up for lost time, having missed ​the finals four years ago in Qatar through injury.

Thiaw will have to trim his squad ‌by two players ahead of the final deadline towards the end of this month.

Mane remains a leading player for a star-studded Senegal lineup that looks to be the most potent of the 10 African qualifiers for the finals in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, with a blend of experience and youthful athleticism in the squad.

The 34-year-old Al-Nassr player is likely to lead the line, but also selected are Bayern Munich forward Nicolas Jackson, plus Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye and Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr.

Bayern’s 18-year-old midfielder Bara Ndiaye has also been called up, but there is no place for Malang Sarr, who has excelled this season with Lens.

Idrissa Gueye, also of Everton, has been included despite missing the tail-end of the season through injury, with Sunderland’s Habib Diarra and Tottenham Hotspur’s Pape Matar Sarr also midfield options.

Experienced centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly has been picked along with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

Senegal were the best team at the recent Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco and edged the hosts 1-0 in a contentious final that was later awarded to the North Africans, a matter that is before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Senegal have been drawn in Group I at the World Cup and open their campaign against France on June 16 in New Jersey in a repeat of their famous 2002 World Cup meeting in which the African side came out on top against the then-holders.

They also take on Norway at the same venue (June 22) and Iraq in Toronto (June 26) in their section.

Senegal reached the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002, their best showing to date, before losing to Turkey. For several of their so-called ‘Golden Generation’ of players, including Mane, this will likely be their last chance to improve on that.

They went out in the group stage following a drawing of lots in 2018 and in the round of 16 four years ago.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahli), Yehvann Diouf (Nice), Mory Diaw (Le Havre)

Defenders: Krepin Diatta (Monaco), Antoine Mendy (Nice), Abdoulaye Seck (Maccabi Haifa), Kalidou Koulibaly (Al-Hilal), Ilay Camara (Anderlecht), Moussa Niakhate (Lyon), Mamadou Sarr (Chelsea), El-Hadji Malick Diouf (West Ham United), Moustapha Mbow (Paris FC), Ismail Jakobs (Galatasaray)

Midfielders: Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Habib Diarra (Sunderland), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham), Pape Gueye (Villarreal), Lamine Camara (Monaco), Pathe Ciss (Rayo Vallecano), Bara Ndiaye (Bayern Munich)

Forwards: Sadio Mane (Al-Nassr), Bamba Dieng (Lorient), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton), Nicolas Jackson (Bayern Munich), Assane Diao (Como), Ibrahim Mbaye (Paris St-Germain), Cherif Ndiaye (Samsunspor), Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace).

-Reuters

Visit the Sports Village Square Channel:

https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Nantes forward Mostafa Mohamed has been left out of Egypt’s preliminary squad for next month’s World Cup, but uncapped teenager ​Hamza Abdelkarim, who plays for the Barcelona under-19 team, was included.

Liverpool ‌talisman Mohamed Salah will captain the squad and combine with Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush to lead the attack at the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to ​July 19 in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Coach Hossam Hassan will ​drop one player to reduce the squad to the FIFA-mandated ⁠26 players after Egypt take on Russia in Cairo on May 28 ​in their last home friendly before heading to the United States.

Mohamed was a ​surprise omission, even if he has struggled for form with only four goals in 24 matches this season for Nantes as the French club were relegated from Ligue 1.

Abdelkarim, ​by contrast, has been in great form for the Barcelona youth team ​and is one of the most promising forward talents in Egyptian football.

Egypt will play Brazil ‌in ⁠a friendly in Cleveland on June 6 before opening their World Cup campaign against Belgium in Seattle nine days later.

They then face New Zealand in Vancouver on June 21 before returning to Seattle five days later to round ​out their Group ​G matches against ⁠Iran.

Egypt squad:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed El Shenawy (Al Ahly), Mostafa Shobeir (Al Ahly), El Mahdi Soliman (Zamalek), Mohamed Alaa (El Gouna)

Defenders: Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly), Tarek ​Alaa (Zed), Hamdy Fathy (Al Wakrah), Rami Rabia (Al Ain), Yasser Ibrahim (Al ​Ahly), Hossam ⁠Abdelmaguid (Zamalek), Mohamed Abdelmonemn (Nice), Ahmed Fatouh (Zamalek), Karim Hafez (Pyramids)

Midfielders: Marwan Ateya (Al Ahly), Mohanad Lasheen (Pyramids), Nabil Emad (Al Najma), Mahmoud Saber (Zed), Ahmed Zizo (Al Ahly), Emam Ashour (Al Ahly), Mostafa Ziko (Pyramids), Mahmoud ⁠Trezeguet (Al Ahly), ​Ibrahim Adel (Nordsjaelland), Haissem Hassan (Real Ovideo)

Forwards: Omar Marmoush (Manchester ​City), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Aqtay Abdallah (Enppi), Hamza Abdelkarim (Barcelona U19).

-Reuters

Visit the Sports Village Square Channel:

https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H