Soccer in NFL stadiums is very good for business.
With 60 matches played and 44 to go, the 2026 World Cup has already broken the all-time World Cup attendance record.
Via Austin Curtright of USA Today, 3,605,357 fans have attended the matches through Thursday. Despite some issues with empty seats, the 60 matches played to date have seen 99.7 percent capacity.
The prior World Cup attendance record was set in 1994, with 3,587,538 fans.
The common denominator is that both World Cups were hosted by the United States. (In 1994, all nine stadiums were in the U.S.; this time around, Mexico and Canada are hosting games, too.
Eleven NFL stadiums are hosting games: MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Gillette Stadium near Boston, Hard Rock Stadium near Miami, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Reliant Stadium in Houston, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, and Lumen Field in Seattle.
The new record has been set, even though group stage hasn’t even ended yet. The final number following the final match will set a new bar that will be very hard to beat — until the next time the World Cup is hosted by the U.S.
Maybe it should be hosted here more than once every 32 years.
The 2030 World Cup will be hosted by six countries: Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The 2034 World Cup will be hosted by Saudi Arabia.
Maybe FIFA should be trying to get the U.S. to bid on the 2038 tournament.
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