What Is The Biggest Football Crowd Ever?

With most leading football clubs throughout the world now playing in all seater stadiums it is unlikely that we will see record breaking attendances at football matches throughout the world.

In Europe FC Barcelona has the biggest football stadium and can hold 99,345 spectators although it is getting extended and will hold another 10000 people in the not too distant future. Barcelona doesn’t always sell out and in 2015 had an average of 77,000.

largest football crowds ever

In regards to the biggest attendances at football stadiums see the top five below.

Wembley – 1923 FA Cup Final 

The official attendance to this FA Cup Final in which Bolton beat West Ham was 126,047 but many ticketless spectators got into Wembley stadium which led to severe overcrowding and it is rumoured that up to 300,000 people actually attended the match.

Maracana Stadium – 1950 World Cup Final

Brazil hosted this World Cup and lost to arch rivals Uruguay in the final group stage at the 1950 World Cup and won the game 2-1 which led to them winning the World Cup.

The attendance was 199,854. Alcides Ghiggia scored the winning goal and was the last surviving player from the match before he passed away last year.

Hampden Park – England v Scotland 1937

This match in Glasgow was a Home Internationals match with a capacity crowd of 183,724

Estadio da Luz – Benfica – 1987

Over 135,000 people saw Benfica take on Porto in 1987 in a game Benfica won 3-1.

Salt Lake Stadium – Calcutta – 1997

This game between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan had an attendance of 134,000 and was a record attendance for any sport in India. It was the Federation Cup semi-final in which East Bengal won 4-1.

It will be hard to see these records broken especially with reduced capacities but the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in North Korea does hold 150,000!