News
2026 World Cup Breaks All-Time Attendance Record With 3.6 Million Fans
The 2026 World Cup on Thursday became the best-attended tournament in World Cup history, surpassing the 1994 record of nearly 3.6 million spectators, FIFA said.
The announcement came during the second half of Germany’s match against Ecuador in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as giant screens displayed the new all-time high attendance figure of 3,605,357 to loud applause from supporters inside the stadium.
With 48 matches still remaining in the tournament, total attendance could potentially almost double the 1994 record, which was set during an era when the World Cup featured only 52 matches.
Stadiums at the 2026 tournament have been more than 99 per cent full on average.
Economist Victor Matheson, a sports business expert at the College of the Holy Cross, said high ticket prices and travel restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration on certain nations meant many supporters who wanted to attend may have been unable to do so.
However, there were still plenty of fans eager to fill the seats.
Related
