Club World Cup 2025: Stadium Crowds Tell Tale of Triumph and Disappointment Across America

Club World Cup 2025: Stadium Crowds Tell Tale of Triumph and Disappointment Across America

Soccer enthusiasts from across the globe made their way to America to witness the FIFA Club World Cup tournament, though spectator numbers fluctuated significantly during the competition.

This marked the first occasion since the tournament began in 2000 that the Club World Cup expanded to include 32 clubs representing all six continental soccer federations, with an unprecedented $1 billion prize fund at stake. The month-long competition concluded with Chelsea delivering a commanding performance against Paris Saint-Germain to claim the Club World Cup title.

The expanded tournament format generated considerable attention, particularly due to inconsistent crowd sizes. Some fixtures saw thousands of vacant seats, while others commenced with more than 80,000 supporters present.

Here's an examination of the highest and lowest attendance figures recorded across American venues during this summer's Club World Cup.

Top Five Attendance Records at the 2025 Club World Cup

Match

Round

Stadium

Attendance

Chelsea 3–0 PSG

Final

MetLife Stadium, New Jersey

81,118

PSG 4–0 Atlético Madrid

Group Stage

Rose Bowl, California

80,619

PSG 4–0 Real Madrid

Semifinals

MetLife Stadium, New Jersey

77,542

Real Madrid 3–2 Dortmund

Quarterfinals

MetLife Stadium, New Jersey

76,611

Fluminense 0–2 Chelsea

Semifinals

MetLife Stadium, New Jersey

70,556

*Statistics courtesy of BBC

The championship match between Chelsea and PSG attracted the tournament's largest crowd, with 81,118 spectators packing MetLife Stadium. Both finalists also generated nearly sold-out venues for their semifinal encounters against Real Madrid and Fluminense.

PSG additionally attracted the highest attendance for a group stage encounter when facing Atlético Madrid at the Rose Bowl. Luis Enrique's squad featured in three of the tournament's most well-attended matches.

Alongside Chelsea and PSG, Real Madrid generated capacity crowds during the elimination rounds. More than 154,000 supporters attended the Spanish club's quarterfinal and semifinal encounters.

Among all host venues for this summer's Club World Cup, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey recorded four of the five highest attendance figures. These impressive numbers bode well for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, which will also take place at the home venue of the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets.

Five Lowest Attendance Records at the 2025 Club World Cup

Match

Round

Stadium

Attendance

Ulsan HD 0–1 Mamelodi Sundowns

Group Stage

Inter&Co Stadium, Florida

3,412

Pachuca 1–2 Salzburg

Group Stage

TQL Stadium, Ohio

5,282

Benfica 6–0 Auckland City

Group Stage

Inter&Co Stadium, Florida

6,730

Dortmund 1–0 Ulsan HD

Group Stage

TQL Stadium, Ohio

8,239

Wydad AC 1–2 Al Ain

Group Stage

Audi Field, Washington D.C.

10,785

*Statistics courtesy of BBC

The tournament's five poorest attendance figures all occurred during group stage matches involving at least one non-European club. No teams from Spain, France, England, or Italy appeared among the tournament's five worst-attended fixtures.

Four of these five encounters attracted fewer than 10,000 spectators each, with the Ulsan HD versus Mamelodi Sundowns match recording the tournament's smallest audience (3,412).

Both Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando and TQL Stadium in Cincinnati featured twice among these poorly attended matches. The positive aspect for FIFA is that neither venue will host World Cup matches next summer.