Undoubtedly, the World Cup is the most important soccer tournament in the world, and the fact that the championship is played every four years makes the great illusion of attending or competing in a World Cup never go away.

The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay, where the local country was the champion, but only 13 national teams participated. 24 teams participated in the USA 1994 World Cup (Brazil were the champion). While for example, 32 teams competed in the Russia 2018 World Cup (France were crowned champion), and 48 teams will participate in the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Regardless of the year in which the competition was held and the country in which the World Cup was organized, the stadiums have always been packed with fans. But which was the World Cup with the highest attendance?

World Cups with the highest number of attendees

It is estimated that a total of 590,549 spectators attended the Uruguay 1930 World Cup during the 18 matches played. The Final between Uruguay and Argentina was attended by more than 68,000 fans. 

The Russia 2018 World Cup saw 64 matches played and a total of 3,031,768 people attended the competition, and 78,011 attended the final between France and Croatia at the Luzhniki Olympic Stadium.

The World Cup with the least number of spectators was Italy 1934, which was attended by 363,000 spectators in 17 matches, with an average of 21,352 per game.

The attendance record was set at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. A total of 3,587,538 fans attended the 52 matches played. The average number of spectators per game was 68,991, and the final between Brazil and Italy played at the Rose Bowl Stadium had 94,194 spectators. It was the fourth World Cup final with the most fans in the stadium, behind Mexico '86 (114,600), Mexico '70 (107,412), and England '66 (97,924).

The Brazil 2014 World Cup ranks second in attendance records. 64 matches were played, and in total there were 3,429,873 spectators (53,592 per match) and the final between Argentina and Germany at the Maracana stadium was attended by 74,738 people.

The third place is occupied by the 2006 World Cup in Germany. 64 matches were played, and it had a total of 3,359,439 spectators (52,491 per game) and the final between Italy and France at the Olympic Stadium was attended by 69,000 spectators.