World Cup kicks off a NY–NJ turf war
Governor of NY brags that ’New York IS the World Cup.
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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. But as if the name change itself didn't have New Jerseyans riled up, Gov. Kathy Hochul made comments implying that New York is the real host state.
Hochul's comments came during a news conference Monday with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani to announce a series of free World Cup fan events planned for all five boroughs of New York City.
"So, I want to say, New York isn't just hosting the World Cup; New York is the World Cup. That's a broad statement, but I'm going to stand behind that," Hochul said. "I'm sure the mayor agrees as well. This is the place. So, this [MetLife] Stadium may hold 80,000 people, but this moment belongs to millions of New Yorkers and how we take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Adding fuel to the fire, during a recent exchange on social media platform X, a person defending New Jersey commented saying "not one second of World Cup soccer is being played in new York. In response, Hochul's press office said "Ask the Jets and Giants what state they rep."
A context note posted in response to the New York press office's comment on X plainly states "New York is not hosting the World Cup. New Jersey is."
Prior to the New York governor's comments at Monday's news conference, Mamdani spoke about the upcoming NYC fan experiences, which he said are taking place in New York's "backyard."
In a statement to News 12, NJ Gov. Mikie Sherrill's Deputy Press Secretary Maggie Garbarino said the Garden State is looking forward to hosting the upcoming FIFA World Cup matches.
“New Jersey is thrilled to host eight World Cup matches, including the World Cup Final, with all of those games taking place right here in our state," Garbarino said. "This generational sporting event will put our state on a global stage, and we look forward to welcoming millions of visitors from around the world to enjoy all that New Jersey has to offer, from our exciting fan events to our miles of shoreline and everything in between.”
