2026 World Cup Shatters Attendance Record

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which concluded on Sunday with Spain’s 1-0 win over Argentina was in many ways a tournament of superlatives. It was the first World Cup to be hosted by three countries; it had the most nations participating and hence most matches played (104) and goals scored (308). It also shattered the previous attendance record, as FIFA announced once the official attendance figure for the final was in.

With more than 6.8 million attending the 104 matches played over six weeks, the 2026 World Cup beat the previous record by 90 percent. Interestingly, that record was held by the 1994 World Cup, which was also hosted by the United States and still holds the record for average match attendance. Back in 1994, an average of 68,991 fans had attended the 52 matches for a total audience of 3.59 million. At the 2026 World Cup, the average attendance was 65,490, which equates to an occupancy rate of 99.7 percent.