With the FIFA World Cup now over, the numbers are in, and they show just how successful the tournament has been in terms of attendance.
Fans from all over the globe descended upon the United States, Canada, and Mexico to support their favourite teams at the FIFA World Cup.
All three countries hosted several games and welcomed thousands of supporters into their stadiums. But there was one stadium that managed to draw in the largest number of fans.
Estadio Azteca averages highest attendance at the FIFA World Cup
According to Sports Business Journal, a total of 6,811,413 fans attended all 64 games of the FIFA World Cup this summer.
Out of the 16 stadiums that hosted FIFA World Cup games, MetLife Stadium (site of the final) had the highest total attendance, while Mexico’s Estadio Azteca had the highest average attendance.
The table below breaks down all the figures:
| STADIUM | CITY | NO. OF GAMES HOSTED | TOTAL ATTENDANCE | AVERAGE ATTENDANCE | STADIUM CAPACITY |
| Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta, GA (USA) | 8 | 544,516 | 68,065 | 68,239 |
| Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, MA (USA) | 7 | 447,283 | 63,898 | 64,146 |
| AT&T Stadium | Arlington, TX (USA) | 9 | 631,843 | 70,205 | 70,649 |
| Estadio Akron | Guadalajara, MX (Mexico) | 4 | 180,930 | 45,233 | 45,664 |
| NRG Stadium | Houston, TX (USA) | 7 | 480,184 | 68,598 | 68,777 |
| Arrowhead Stadium | Kansas City, MI (USA) | 6 | 413,616 | 68,936 | 69,045 |
| SoFi Stadium | Inglewood, CA (USA) | 8 | 561,656 | 70,207 | 70,492 |
| Estadio Azteca | Mexico City, MX (Mexico) | 5 | 404,120 | 80,824 | 80,824 |
| Hard Rock Stadium | Miami, FL (USA) | 7 | 449,157 | 64,165 | 64,478 |
| Estadio BBVA | Monterrey, MX (Mexico) | 4 | 204,716 | 51,179 | 51,243 |
| MetLife Stadium | East Rutherford, NJ (USA) | 8 | 645,186 | 80,648 | 80,663 |
| Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia, PA (USA) | 6 | 409,894 | 68,316 | 68,324 |
| Levi’s Stadium | San Jose, CA (USA) | 6 | 411,345 | 68,558 | 68,827 |
| Lumen Field | Seattle, WA (USA) | 6 | 401,400 | 66,900 | 66,925 |
| BMO Field | Toronto, ON (Canada) | 6 | 258,088 | 43,015 | 43,036 |
| B.C. Place | Vancouver, BC (Canada) | 7 | 367,479 | 52,497 | 52,497 |
FIFA World Cup could use attendance success to justify tournament expansion in 2030
This FIFA World Cup has shattered records, with the expanded tournament bringing in the highest attendance in the history of the tournament.
Going from 32 teams to 48 teams was a controversial move from the governing body, but the numbers above will make them feel vindicated over the decision.
Perhaps, in the years to come, FIFA will take another gamble and expand the tournament to 64 teams to try and involve more countries, thus ensuring more fan attendance from all over the world.
While critics might complain about the sanctity of the tournament being compromised with repeated expansion, FIFA will feel more than justified to do just that after seeing these numbers.
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