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The World Cup begins in NYNJ this weekend, and New Yorkers should be prepared.Zohran Mamdani attended a briefing with city agencies over its readiness for the matches and said one of the main things locals should be aware of is traffic.Here's what to know.World Cup begins this weekend in NYCSaturday, June 13 — the same day as the Knicks game in San Antonio — Brazil vs. Morocco will play the first World Cup game at NYNJ at MetLife stadium for the 2026 World Cup.Over one million people are expected to visit the region over the next few weeks for just the World Cup games themselves. But other events, like America 250, will bring even more travelers in.Traffic to be expected in NYC this weekendSome of the areas that could experience restrictive traffic delays include Columbus Circle, 42nd Street and 34th Street.Even though the FIFA matches are across the river in New Jersey, the city is likely to see the bulk of tourists, fans and visitors."We're going to see changes to a lot of the streetscape in Midtown Manhattan, starting as early as noon tomorrow on Saturday, lasting as late as 11 p.m.," Mamdani said after the briefing."We encourage New Yorkers to stay alert as to these changes, because we're going be implementing a number of busways to ensure that we can get fans to and from where they need to go, as well as emergency vehicles."NYC prepares for hot weather during first World Cup match in regionAnother point Mamdani warned New Yorkers on was weather conditions this weekend. On Saturday, temperatures are expected to hover around 90 degrees."In order to respond to that, we have set up cooling centers across the five boroughs," Mamdani said."We encourage New Yorkers to stay cool whenever they can, to drink lots of water and to look for any space with air conditioning. If they're looking for one, they can call 311."
