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The Fifa 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, is said to have recorded the highest total attendance in history.
Statistics show that it has drawn a record-breaking 4,644,549 spectators during the group stage alone, averaging 64,508 per match.
This edition of the tournament is expected to smash all historical attendance records, with cumulative figures already surpassing the 1994 high of 3.6-million, before the group stage was complete.
As the tournament enters the knockout rounds across the US, Mexico and Canada, Fifa is projecting an average crowd exceeding 64,000 spectators per game.
The group stage alone has drawn 4,644,549 fans, filling 99.7% of available seating.
With high-profile elimination matches arriving in huge North American venues, total tournament attendance is on track to exceed a historic six-million spectators.
It is understood that Fifa has reported an unprecedented volume of ticket requests for the final stages, with the tournament experiencing oversubscription levels of up to 30 times normal demand across the ticketing platform.
The 16 host cities are expecting record turnouts at the official Fifa Fan Festivals, with Kansas City, Mexico City and Miami already seeing single-day crowds exceeding 200,000 supporters during the group stages.
The Fifa 1996 World Cup that was staged in the US attracted 3,587,538 total fans, averaging 68,991 per match across 52 matches, with Brazil in 2024 attracting 3,429,873 total fans, averaging 53,592 per match.
The 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa attracted a total aggregate attendance of 3,178,856 fans across the 64 matches.
This resulted in an average of 49,670 spectators per game.
The attendance in Qatar in 2022 was 3,404,252, averaging 53,191 per match, while Germany attracted 3,359,439 total fans in 2006, averaging 52,491 per match.
Sowetan
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