2026 World Cup Attendance: About five million spectators watched first-round matches at stadiums
The 2026 World Cup drew a record-breaking attendance of 4.6 million people across its 72 first-round matches, which commenced on June 11 and concluded on June 27.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), in a statement on Sunday, described the attendance at the 2026 World Cup first-round games as “record-breaking”.
“Record-breaking attendance reaches 4.6 million across first 72 matches of tournament,” FIFA said. “First 48-team edition is the biggest edition of football’s greatest tournament already rewriting the record books and captivating fans.”
The Mexico vs South Africa game played at Mexico City Stadium drew the highest attendance of 80,824 fans, while the Ghana vs Panama game played at Toronto Stadium drew the lowest attendance of 42,942 fans.
“In just 17 days, the first-ever 48-team tournament has united more nations, players and supporters than ever before, transforming 72 matches across 16 host cities into a celebration of global passion, drama and unforgettable football,” FIFA said.
According to the World Cup organiser, the statistics of the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage illustrate the scale of the tournament, which extends far beyond the pitch to encompass every facet of the fan experience, from the 4,644,549 people who attended the matches to the 300,000 hot dogs consumed.
“To put that into perspective, if all the hot dogs sold were lined up end to end, they would span the roughly 28 miles (45 kilometres) between New York New Jersey Stadium and JFK International Airport,” the football governing body explained.
The 72 games played in 16 host cities across three host countries—the United States, Canada, and Mexico—featured 999 players. This edition of the World Cup features 48 nations and 1,248 players.
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