Unbreakable Record Number Of Audiences At The 1994 USA World Cup

Maradona and Jay Jay Okocha at the 1994 USA World Cup (Twitter @fifaworldcup)

JAKARTA - In a matter of months, the 2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar from November 21 to December 18. Before the quadrennial football party arrives, let's step back, recalling one of the records that occurred in the history of the FIFA World Cup.

The 1994 World Cup, held in the United States, was the most successful World Cup. This tournament set a record number of spectators which was largely helped by the above average capacity of all stadiums used in the tournament.

Some of the best goals from USA '94 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/hFcHpsGEAP

— 90s Football (@90sfootball) April 1, 2022

Quoted from various sources, none of the stadiums used at the 1994 World Cup had a capacity of less than 53 thousand. For this reason, this edition of the World Cup was able to attract a total of 3.568.567 spectators with an average audience of 68.626 per match.

The record attendance at the 1994 World Cup was followed by the 2014 edition (Brazil) with 3.367.000 (average 52.609) and the 2006 edition (Germany) with 3.441.450 (average 53.772). The exact order applies to average attendance.

Meanwhile, regarding the World Cup soccer final, the 1950 final holds the record with a total of 173.850 spectators. The match brought together Brazil and Uruguay at the Maracan Stadium – Rio de Janeiro.

It was no ordinary final, but rather a deciding match in a round-robin format.

The 1986 and 1970 finals, which were held at the Estadio Azteca – Mexico City, were behind them with 114.600 and 108.192 spectators, respectively.

At the Qatar World Cup, of the eight stadiums available, only two have a capacity of over 40.000 spectators. First, the Al-Bayt Stadium which will host the 2022 World Cup semifinals. This stadium has a capacity of 60 thousand seats.

One more thing, Lusail Stadium which will host the opening match and final of the 2022 World Cup. This iconic arena has a capacity of more than 86 thousand seats.

It seems, the record number of spectators at the 1994 World Cup is still difficult to break.