The 2026 World Cup breaks the all time highest attendance record.

At MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, all 80,663 seats were packed tight. A group stage match with no bearing on qualification was being played on the field, but FIFA officials in the stands couldn't wait to grab the megaphone: this World Cup's cumulative attendance had broken the historical record.

The previous ceiling was set in 1994. That same year, the U.S. hosted the tournament, drawing 3,587,538 people across 52 matches, an average of 68,991 per game. That number had hung on the walls of the Guinness Book of Records and the FIFA Museum for 32 years. Brazil, Germany, Russia, Qatar—none had touched it. Qatar played 12 more matches and had a total attendance of 3,404,252, with an average dropping to 53,190; more games but 180,000 fewer total spectators, falling further behind.

In 2026, the record was smashed. The milestone occurred at the 56th match, with 3,605,357 people having entered the stadiums, and 48 matches still left to play.

The ceiling that had gone untouched for 32 years was simply broken by the brute force of doubling the number of matches. With 48 teams creating 104 matches, the schedule bulked up, naturally inflating total attendance. But the average attendance told a different story: after 56 matches, the average was 64,381 people, over 4,000 fewer than in 1994. The record relied on selling twice as many tickets; the density of the stands per game hadn't won at all.

The wallets of the North American market smoothed over the awkwardness of the watered-down expansion. FIFA set the top-tier group stage ticket price at $990, compared to $220 for the same tier in Qatar—more than tripled. The resale market was even crazier; SeatPick data from April showed an average price of $1,600. In March, Spain's El País reported that an unauthorized resale platform listed a ticket for $77,700. With 500 million ticket requests competing for 7 million seats, the credit cards of North America's middle class wiped that slate clean.

Off the field, travel bans added to the chaos. The Trump administration restricted visas for countries like Haiti, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, and Iran, blocking fans at customs. Yet, in the first 6 matches, only 1,574 seats were empty, and after that, the venue occupancy rate stayed firmly above 99.5%. The foreign faces blocked by the bans were all replaced by North American wallets.

The daily ledger from June 16 made this point clearest. Four matches kicked off simultaneously, drawing 281,223 people into the stadiums, erasing the previous single-day record of 277,070 set on June 28, 1994.

Infantino dared to be so bold because his pockets were full of ledgers. Before the tournament began, BBC sports editor Dan Roan pressed him about whether the event was out of control. The FIFA president threw back two words: "Chill, relax." In the same press conference, he whitewashed ticket prices, claiming World Cup pricing was "aligned with North American sports"—priced like professional sports in North America, take it or leave it.

FIFA expects revenue of $13 billion for the 2023–2026 four-year cycle, about $5.5 billion more than the previous cycle's $7.5 billion. Sponsorship revenue is projected to exceed $2.8 billion. Infantino managed to sell the World Cup with a Super Bowl premium.

When the proposal to expand to 48 teams was put to a vote, the opposition nearly overturned the table. Critics insisted it would dilute match quality and cripple tournament organization. Now, with a 99.5% venue occupancy rate, 30-times oversubscription, and the highest cumulative attendance in history, Infantino can use these numbers to shut up all those who opposed him.

The day the record was announced, Infantino posted a photo on Instagram. The person in the photo was Aaron Bren, a local from Los Angeles, who walked into the stadium on the fifth day of the tournament as the 1 millionth fan. The FIFA president personally held a commemorative plaque and posed with him. He was one of the 7 million winners chosen from 500 million ticket requests, the one singled out among 3.6 million attendees to stand in front of the camera.

Outside the photo: a resale listing of $77,700, and 500 million unlucky souls who didn't get a ticket.