The average crowd attendance per match for the 2026 World Cup is less than in 1994

This summer’s FIFA World Cup achieved a record number of total crowd attendance, but the average attendance per match will still be lower than its counterpart in the 1994 edition.
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) explained that the average attendance for each match in the 2026 World Cup is 65,204 spectators before the start of the quarter-final matches, and if all tickets for the remaining matches are sold, the average attendance in this edition will not reach the record number of 68,991 spectators in the first edition, which was hosted by the United States 32 years ago.
The 1994 World Cup was held with the participation of 24 teams competing in 52 matches, i.e. half the number of matches in this edition, which were held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The total attendance currently stands at 6 million, 259,589 spectators after the end of 96 out of 104 matches, while the previous record for the tournament was 3 million, 587,538 spectators in the 1994 World Cup.