The 22nd FIFA World Cup will be held in the Arabian Peninsula nation of Qatar from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18. It is the first time in the 92-year-old history of the World Cup that a Middle Eastern country has hosted the event.
Qatar, which has never qualified for soccer’s premier event, will field a team since it is the host country. That will help boost attendance at the nearly month-long event, which might break World Cup attendance records. The nation of 3 million people is expected to host as many as 1.5 million visitors for the matches. (These are the best men’s national soccer teams of 2022.)
To compile a list of the World Cups with the most fans, based on the highest average attendance per game, 24/7 Tempo reviewed a report by the consumer data site Statista. Information on winners and runners-up came from FIFA, the governing body of international soccer.
Because Qatar does not have a strong soccer tradition, much of the infrastructure – stadiums, hotels, roads – had to be built from the ground up for the World Cup. The price tag is estimated to be $200 billion. (Qatar has the dubious honor of being the country that’s the worst polluter in the world.)
Qatar constructed seven stadiums and renovated another. All eight stadiums will be cooled using solar power. Each of the facilities has seating capacity of more than 40,000. The largest, Lusail Stadium, has 80,000 capacity.
Click here to see the World Cups with the highest attendance per game
Mass transit will play an important part in getting spectators to the sports venues. The Doha Metro, which connects to all venues for the World Cup, may carry around 1 million people during the event. The eight stadiums are within a 35-mile radius of the capital city, Doha.
Despite the fact that Americans have still not embraced soccer to the extent that most other nations have, the World Cup held in the United States in 1994 holds the record for both total attendance (3,568,567) and average attendance per game (68,626). Soccer-mad Brazil has hosted the World Cup twice. The South American country had the event’s second-highest total attendance in 2014 (3,441,450) and was second in average attendance per game in 1950 (60,773).
21. 1934 Italy
> Avg attendance per game: 23,235
> Total attendance: 395,000 — 21st highest
> World Cup champion: Italy
> Runner up: Czechoslovakia
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20. 1930 Uruguay
> Avg attendance per game: 24,139
> Total attendance: 434,000 — 20th highest
> World Cup champion: Uruguay
> Runner up: Argentina
19. 1962 Chile
> Avg attendance per game: 24,250
> Total attendance: 776,000 — 18th highest
> World Cup champion: Brazil
> Runner up: Czechoslovakia
18. 1958 Sweden
> Avg attendance per game: 24,800
> Total attendance: 868,000 — 17th highest
> World Cup champion: Brazil
> Runner up: Sweden
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17. 1938 France
> Avg attendance per game: 26,833
> Total attendance: 483,000 — 19th highest
> World Cup champion: Italy
> Runner up: Hungary
16. 1982 Spain
> Avg attendance per game: 35,698
> Total attendance: 1,856,277 — 10th highest
> World Cup champion: Italy
> Runner up: West Germany
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15. 1954 Switzerland
> Avg attendance per game: 36,269
> Total attendance: 943,000 — 16th highest
> World Cup champion: West Germany
> Runner up: Hungary
14. 1978 Argentina
> Avg attendance per game: 42,374
> Total attendance: 1,610,215 — 14th highest
> World Cup champion: Argentina
> Runner up: The Netherlands
13. 2002 Japan / South Korea
> Avg attendance per game: 42,571
> Total attendance: 2,724,604 — 7th highest
> World Cup champion: Brazil
> Runner up: Germany
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12. 1998 France
> Avg attendance per game: 44,676
> Total attendance: 2,859,234 — 6th highest
> World Cup champion: France
> Runner up: Brazil
11. 1986 Mexico
> Avg attendance per game: 46,297
> Total attendance: 2,407,431 — 9th highest
> World Cup champion: Argentina
> Runner up: West Germany
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10. 1974 West Germany
> Avg attendance per game: 46,685
> Total attendance: 1,774,022 — 11th highest
> World Cup champion: West Germany
> Runner up: The Netherlands
9. 2018 Russia
> Avg attendance per game: 47,371
> Total attendance: 3,031,768 — 5th highest
> World Cup champion: France
> Runner up: Croatia
8. 1990 Italy
> Avg attendance per game: 48,411
> Total attendance: 2,527,348 — 8th highest
> World Cup champion: Germany
> Runner up: Argentina
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7. 2010 South Africa
> Avg attendance per game: 49,499
> Total attendance: 3,167,984 — 4th highest
> World Cup champion: Spain
> Runner up: The Netherlands
6. 1966 England
> Avg attendance per game: 50,459
> Total attendance: 1,614,677 — 13th highest
> World Cup champion: England
> Runner up: West Germany
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5. 1970 Mexico
> Avg attendance per game: 52,312
> Total attendance: 1,673,975 — 12th highest
> World Cup champion: Brazil
> Runner up: Italy
4. 2006 Germany
> Avg attendance per game: 52,609
> Total attendance: 3,367,000 — 3rd highest
> World Cup champion: Italy
> Runner up: France
3. 2014 Brazil
> Avg attendance per game: 53,772
> Total attendance: 3,441,450 — 2nd highest
> World Cup champion: Germany
> Runner up: Argentina
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2. 1950 Brazil
> Avg attendance per game: 60,773
> Total attendance: 1,337,000 — 15th highest
> World Cup champion: Uruguay
> Runner up: Brazil
1. 1994 USA
> Avg attendance per game: 68,626
> Total attendance: 3,568,567 — the highest
> World Cup champion: Brazil
> Runner up: Italy
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