Top 25 Largest American Soccer Crowds in 2024
Photo Credit: Sports Business Journal
The number of big time soccer tournaments being played in the United States feels like it’s at an all-time high. The 2023 Gold Cup was here. CONMEBOL decided to stage Copa America here last year. This summer, both the Gold Cup and the Club World Cup will be in the US, with Gold Cup games west of the Mississippi River and most Club World Cup games east of the Mississippi River. Next year, of course, is the big one as the World Cup comes to the US along with Mexico and Canada. And let’s not forget about Olympic soccer in LA in 2028.
The hope is that, with all of these tournaments taking place in the US, interest in the game will truly explode. One of the indicators of rising interest in the game is the number of big soccer crowds, which most people interpret as 40,000 or more people at a game.
2024 saw a staggering 74 games with more than 40,000 people, which was up from 54 in 2023, which was up from 39 in 2022, which was up from 27 in 2021. So it would seem that interest in the game is definitely growing.
But which games had the biggest crowds last year? Here are the top 25 biggest soccer crowds in the US in 2024.
June 8 - Mexico vs. Brazil - Kyle Field - 85,249
August 3 - Barcelona vs. Real Madrid - MetLife Stadium - 82,154
June 25 - Argentina vs. Chile - MetLife Stadium - 81,106
July 9 - Argentina vs. Canada - MetLife Stadium - 80,102
August 3 - Liverpool vs. Manchester United - Williams-Brice Stadium - 77,559
June 26 - Mexico vs. Venezuela - SoFi Stadium - 72,773
April 13 - Sporting Kansas City vs. Inter Miami - Arrowhead Stadium - 72,610
August 3 - Chelsea vs. Manchester City - Ohio Stadium - 71,280
July 2 - Brazil vs. Colombia - Levi’s Stadium - 70,971
July 10 - Colombia vs. Uruguay - Bank of America Stadium - 70,644
June 20 - Argentina vs. Canada - Mercedes-Benz Stadium - 70,564
July 4 - LAFC vs. LA Galaxy - Rose Bowl - 70,076
July 31 - Arsenal vs. Liverpool - Lincoln Financial Field - 69,879
July 4 - Argentina vs. Ecuador - NRG Stadium - 69,456
November 2 - Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami - Mercedes-Benz Stadium - 68,455
September 18 - Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami - Mercedes-Benz Stadium - 67,795
March 9 - Atlanta United vs. New England Revolution - Mercedes-Benz Stadium - 67,727
June 24 - Brazil vs. Costa Rica - SoFi Stadium - 67,168
June 24 - Colombia vs. Paraguay - NRG Stadium - 67,059
April 27 - New England Revolution vs. Inter Miami - Gillette Stadium - 65,612
July 14 - Argentina vs. Colombia - Hard Rock Stadium - 65,300
June 29 - Argentina vs. Peru - Hard Rock Stadium - 64,972
July 30 - Manchester City vs. Barcelona - Camping World Stadium - 63,237
August 6 - Real Madrid vs. Chelsea - Bank of America Stadium - 62,617
June 30 - Mexico vs. Ecuador - State Farm Stadium - 62,565
Right off the bat it’s very obvious that Copa America was a huge attendance success. Of the 25 largest crowds on this list, 12 of them were Copa America games. It was also very helpful that Lionel Messi and Argentina went all the way to the final and won as La Albiceleste were on this list six times.
Nor was Messi mania only apparent at Copa America. Inter Miami has been the biggest draw in MLS since Messi arrived in 2023 and many teams had their biggest crowds of the year when Messi came to visit. Four of the games on this list featured Inter Miami. Some teams, like Sporting Kansas City, even moved games out of their normal home venue and into a larger stadium.
Noticeably absent was the United States Men’s National Team. Not one of their twelve home games last year cracked this list, which is somewhat alarming considering they are hosting the World Cup next year. In fairness, they did have seven games hit the 40,000 mark but context is needed for several of those. The Nations League semi-final against Jamaica drew 40,926 at AT&T Stadium, but was part of a double-header that featured Mexico. They then played Mexico in the Nations League final in front of 59,471 fans, mostly supporting Mexico. Immediately prior to Copa America, the US played a pair of friendlies against South American opposition. They faced Colombia in front of 55,494 mostly-Colombian fans at the home of the Washington Commanders and then faced Brazil in front of 60,016 mostly-Brazilian fans at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. But at Copa America, they did have three pro-American crowds of 47,873 against Bolivia back at AT&T Stadium, 59,145 against Panama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and then against Uruguay brought 55,460 people out to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
No list of big soccer crowds without discussing the European clubs that come to the US for preseason games. Most, if not all, of the biggest teams in European club soccer came to the US in 2024: Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Barcelona. Unsurprisingly, they all drew massive crowds. It causes one to wonder why some many folks are willing to pay exorbitant fees to watch these teams play exhibition games, but are seemingly unwilling to pay to watch many of these same teams compete at this summer’s Club World Cup.
Finally, one thing of interest is the number of soccer games beginning to be played in college football stadiums. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that the one major American sport that comes close to the passion, intensity, and history of soccer is college football. So to see soccer games being played in major college football stadiums is a welcome crossover of sorts. The largest soccer crowd of the whole year was Mexico/Brazil at Kyle Field, the home of Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. Liverpool and Manchester United clashed at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina where the South Carolina Gamecocks reside on Saturdays. The famed Horseshoe at Ohio State played host to Chelsea and Manchester City. It’s a trend that looks to be continuing in 2025 as Mexico is set to play June friendlies at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City (home to the Utah Utes football team) as well as Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (home to the Tar Heels football team). No doubt many fans of both soccer and college football are hoping this is a trend that, not only continues to grow, but that the USMNT can get in on the fun to build excitement and interest ahead of next year’s World Cup.