Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 12:41pm on 26 Jun 2026,Friday Sports
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has become the most-attended tournament in history, surpassing the previous record of 3.587 million spectators set during the 1994 edition in the United States. FIFA confirmed that attendance crossed 3,605,357 after 56 matches, with average stadium occupancy exceeding 99%, despite the tournament expanding from 52 to 104 matches. Overall attendance is expected to exceed four million. The milestone comes amid criticism over organisational issues, expensive dynamic ticket pricing, strict US visa rules and travel restrictions that affected supporters from several countries. Host cities also reported lower-than-expected tourism as rising accommodation costs discouraged extended stays, even though stadiums continued to attract near-capacity crowds throughout.
