15 Football Matches With the Highest Attendances in History (Ranked)

Football matches have always brought in big crowds and before the advent of all-seater stadia, it wasn’t uncommon for big matches to record six-figure attendances. However, in the 21st century, the highest average attendances across Europe vary between the 70,000 and 80,000 mark which, while still an incredible figure, is a far cry from the sort of crowds that soccer could once command. Over the years, cup finals, international matches and even friendly matches across several continents have managed to draw over 100,000 spectators to their gates.

This article counts down the 15 highest attendances ever recorded at football matches over the years. There is a 91-year difference between the oldest and the most recent games on this list, which just serves to demonstrate the longevity of this incredible sport as over a period of almost 100 years, hundreds of thousands of fans are still filing into grounds for the biggest matches.

15 109,318 – Manchester United 3-1 Real Madrid (2014)

Incredibly, a friendly match drew in the 15th biggest attendance in association football history. In the 2014 pre-season, Manchester United met Real Madrid at the Michigan Stadium, home of the college football team, Michigan Wolverines and Ashley Young’s brace for United was the highlight of a 3-1 victory for the Red Devils. Future MLS players Gareth Bale and Javier Hernandez also got their name on the scoresheet in a game watched by over 109,000 spectators, making it the most-attended football match in the 21st century.

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14 110,000 – Mexico 4-3 Brazil (1999)

This match was the final of the fourth edition of the now defunct Confederations Cup, a tournament organised by FIFA that involved eight teams, with all six continents represented. Mexico were the hosts and managed to pull off a shock 4-3 victory over Brazil, who had reached the World Cup final the previous year. 110,000 supporters packed into the Estadio Azteca, the eighth-biggest football stadium in the world, to watch Mexico lift their first-ever trophy thanks to goals from Jose Manuel Abundis, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and a brace from Miguel Zepeda.

13 118,567 – Rangers 2-1 Celtic (1939)

There are few rivalries as intense as the one between Celtic and Rangers, so one can only imagine the fearsome atmosphere when the two sides met at Ibrox in January 1939, in front of no fewer than 118,000 supporters. In a season where Rangers would go on to win the title a whole eleven points ahead of their city rivals, goals from David Kinnear and Alex Venters put them 2-0 up going into half-time of the Old Firm derby. Celtic forward Joe Carruth pulled one back in the second half, but it was to no avail and the Hoops who slumped to a 2-1 defeat.

12 126,047 – Bolton Wanderers 2-0 West Ham United (1923)

The highest attendance in English football was recorded at the first FA Cup final to be held at the original Wembley Stadium, which was opened that very day. It is estimated that over 300,000 people turned up at the ground, causing a spillage of spectators onto the pitch who had to be ushered off by police on horseback, giving the game the nickname of ‘the White Horse final.’ Bolton would win the game 2-0 over West Ham and the official attendance for the final was recorded as 126,047.

11 127,621 – Real Madrid 7-3 Eintracht Frankfurt (1960)

Arguably the most bizarre European Cup final ever took place in 1960. Spanish giants Real Madrid were too much for German side Eintracht Frankfurt and eased to their fifth consecutive European Cup thanks to four goals from Ferenc Puskas and three from Alfredo Di Stefano in a memorable 7-3 victory. The official attendance at Hampden Park was recorded as 127,621, meaning that the highest-scoring European Cup final ever was also the most-attended.

10 129,690 – Real Madrid 4-2 AC Milan (1956)

In the inaugural European Cup four years previously, Real Madrid had to beat AC Milan over two legs to earn a place in the final. The first leg commanded an attendance of 129,690, still a record at the Santiago Bernabeu, and the two historic sides played out an entertaining match, with Los Blancos eventually coming out on top as goals from Hector Rial, Joseito, Roque Olsen and Alfredo Di Stefano wrapped up a 4-2 victory. Despite AC Milan winning the reverse leg, Madrid still progressed to the final on aggregate, and beat Stade de Reims in a 4-3 thriller.

9 131,781 – East Bengal 4-1 Mohun Bagan (1997)

For a time, the Kolkata derby in July 1997 held the record as the most-attended sporting event ever in Asia. 131,781 spectators packed themselves into Salt Lake Stadium to watch bitter rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan face off in the semi-final of the Federation Cup, the biggest cup competition in Indian football. The hosts would end up winning convincingly thanks to a hat-trick from star striker Bhaichung Bhutia, who is regarded as one of the greatest footballers in the history of India, but even he couldn’t prevent his side from losing 2-1 to Salgaocar in the final, one week later.

8 135,000 – Benfica 3-1 Porto (1987)

The largest attendance for a sporting event in Portugal was recorded at a fixture between arch rivals Benfica and Porto, that supporters describe as O Classico. In January 1987, 135,000 spectators packed into Benfica’s home ground, Estadio da Luz to watch Portugal’s two most successful sides battle it out, and it was the hosts who came out on top this time around, as their forward Rui Aguas stole the show with a hat-trick to seal a 3-1 win for the Eagles. Benfica would go on to win the league title that season, finishing three points ahead of Porto and having lost only one league match all campaign.

7 136,505 – Celtic 2-1 Leeds United (1970)

This match set a record attendance for a match in a European competition which is unlikely to ever be beaten. In what was dubbed as ‘the Battle of Britain’, Celtic and Leeds United were drawn to face each other in the semi-final of the European Cup and despite the English side being the overwhelming favourites, the Hoops came away from Elland Road with a 1-0 win in the first leg. They extended their aggregate lead in the second leg at a packed-out Hampden Park, with goals from John Hughes and Bobby Murdoch confirming their place in their second-ever European Cup final, which they lost 2-1 to Feyenoord.

6 138,886 – Brazil 7-1 Sweden (1950)

This is the first of four entrants on this list from the 1950 World Cup as it’s clear that the residents of host nation Brazil got rather caught up in all the festivities. 138,886 packed into the Maracana Stadium, the biggest stadium in the country built specifically for the tournament, for Brazil’s first match of the final stage against Sweden. The hosts convincingly won 7-1 with forward Ademir scoring four of the nine goals he would end the tournament with.

5 142,429 – Brazil 2-0 Yugoslavia (1950)

Eight days before that, in their final match of the original group stage, an even larger crowd had gathered at the Maracana Stadium to watch Brazil take on Yugoslavia. The European nation had won both of their matches so far and just needed to avoid defeat against the hosts to ensure an incredible upset. However, the Brazilian side, undoubtedly buoyed on by the sheer amount of spectators present, were able to get the job done with a relatively comfortable 2-0 victory, thanks to goals from Ademir and Zizinho, which confirmed their place in the final stage of the World Cup.

4 147,365 – Celtic 2-1 Aberdeen (1937)

We take a brief pause from the 1950 World Cup now as two matches at Hampden Park within a week of each other managed to record two of the four biggest attendances recorded in football history. The second match was the Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Aberdeen, which brought over 147,000 spectators into the ground. Celtic were victorious in winning their 15th Scottish Cup, winning 2-1 courtesy of goals from Johnny Crum and Willie Buchan.

3 149,547 – Scotland 3-1 England (1937)

Just a week before the domestic cup final, an even bigger crowd had descended on Hampden Park to watch the national side take on England. With Wales already confirmed as champions of that year’s British Home Championship, it was a match played purely for pride and it was the Scottish who emerged victorious. Despite Freddie Steele giving the Three Lions a 1-0 lead going into half-time, a 149,000-strong Tartan Army roared their side on to a 3-1 win thanks to a strike from Frank O’Donnell and a brace from Bob McPhail.

2 152,722 – Brazil 6-1 Spain (1950)

We now return to the Maracana Stadium and Brazil’s second match of the final stage of the 1950 World Cup. Spain had enjoyed a good tournament up until that point and had won all three of their matches in the first group stage as well as holding Uruguay to a 2-2 draw in the first match of the final round. But they were simply no match for the hosts, who ran riot in front of over 150,000 spectators, and recorded a resounding 6-1 scoreline, with Ademir and Chico each bagging braces and setting up a winner-takes-all final match of the tournament with fellow South Americans, Uruguay.

1 173,850 – Brazil 1-2 Uruguay (1950)

Of course, the final match of the 1950 World Cup set the record for the most-attended football match of all time, with the official number of spectators at the Maracana Stadium being recorded as 173,850, although some sources allege that more than 200,000 people were at the match. Unlike editions of the tournament both before and after, the 1950 World Cup was decided by a final round-robin tournament of four teams and after Brazil had convincingly won their first two matches of the final stage, they knew that even a draw in their last match against Uruguay would be enough to wrap up their first ever World Cup title. However, in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport, Uruguay came from behind to win 2-1 and lift the trophy in what was supposed to be their opponents’ finest hour.

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