Perhaps the biggest indicator of football’s growing popularity in the United States is attendance figures. A bigger crowd means more money and more eyeballs. Until football is huge, and so on. When examining data for 2022, we compiled a list of the top 20 most watched football games in the United States.
So here are the top 20 football spectators in America in 2022.
Attendance in 2022
| date | event | match | stadium | attendance |
| July 30th | friendly | Real Madrid – Juventus | rose bowl | 93,702 |
| July 23rd | friendly | manchester city vs bayern munich | rambo field | 78,128 |
| March 5th | MLS | Charlotte – LA Galaxy | Bank of America Stadium | 74,479 |
| August 3 | league cup | LA Galaxy – Chivas & LAFC – Club America | SoFi Stadium | 71,189 |
| May 4th | champions league | Seattle Sounders – Puma | lumen field | 68,741 |
| August 6 | MLS | Atlanta – Seattle | mercedes benz stadium | 68,586 |
| February 27 | MLS | Atlanta – Sporting Kansas City | mercedes benz stadium | 67,523 |
| July 9th | MLS | Atlanta – Austin | mercedes benz stadium | 67,516 |
| September 27 | friendly | Mexico – Colombia | Levi’s Stadium | 67,311 |
| September 23rd | friendly | Argentina – Honduras | hard rock stadium | 64,420 |
| July 23rd | friendly | Arsenal – Chelsea | Camping World Stadium | 63,811 |
| September 24th | friendly | Mexico – Peru | rose bowl | 62,729 |
| July 23rd | friendly | Barcelona – Real Madrid | Allegiant Stadium | 61,299 |
| July 20th | friendly | Manchester City – Club America | NRG Stadium | 61,223 |
| June 5th | friendly | Mexico – Ecuador | soldier field | 61,104 |
| July 26th | friendly | Barcelona – Juventus | cotton bowl | 58,127 |
| June 2 | friendly | Mexico – Uruguay | State Farm Stadium | 57,735 |
| May 28th | friendly | Mexico – Nigeria | AT&T Stadium | 56,872 |
| July 20th | friendly | Charlotte – Chelsea | Bank of America Stadium | 52,673 |
| August 31st | friendly | Mexico – Paraguay | mercedes benz stadium | 51,387 |
Of the top 20 games with the most spectators, only four are Major League Soccer games. And 3 of his 4 games are for Atlanta United. So this means that only 20% of his top 20 most visited matches feature MLS matches.
The league certainly has a long way to go to attract more participants. League his cup this summer could go a long way in expanding the size of the crowd by leveraging support from Liga MX fans.
Largest soccer attendance in the US in 2022
Overall, there will be 38 games played in the US in 2022, attended by over 40,000 people. That number is up from his 28 games last year. It’s also a significant increase compared to his 2020, which had three such games before COVID shut down the world. Crowds can be categorized as:
- 40,000’s 18 Crowd
- 5 Crowds of the 50,000s
- 11 Crowds of the 60,000s
- Five Crowds of the 70,000s
- 1 crowd in the 90,000s
European club
It has long been the case that European club teams tend to draw large crowds to their preseason games in America. His five games on this list have been between two European clubs. His four additional games on this list featured one European club.
Furthermore, it’s no surprise that some of the biggest crowds were there to see the biggest clubs across Europe.The English teams included Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal. There were his two Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona. And of course the German and Italian leagues represented Bayern Munich and Juventus.
mexico national team
The most surprising thing in American football news is that Mexico has drawn the largest football crowd in America. Elle has drawn large crowds in six of his seven games that Tori has played domestically in his 2022 season. All six of these games topped the 50,000 mark. This is a particularly impressive figure considering it was a friendly match rather than a Gold Cup or Nations League match.
Absence of the US national team
2022 will be the first time since 2006 that neither the USMNT nor the USWNT will be included in the list of the largest soccer crowds in the United States. That’s frustrating for American fans, but it’s really not surprising given US Soccer’s conscious and short-sighted decision to only play in the same few stadiums. After completing their Round of 16 appearances, the USWNT will be ready for the Women’s World Cup and ready to draw big crowds.
MLS team
For years, the Seattle Sounders have been a beacon of what American football support can be. That mantle was then passed to Atlanta United. This list includes both clubs. The Sounders advanced to the CONCACAF Champions League Final with Puma. And it features a Cascadia Cup rivalry with the Portland Timbers. Almost every Atlanta United game also had a sizeable crowd.
But it’s not just Atlanta and Seattle that are doing well. His latest MLS expansion team, Charlotte FC, produced some big attendance. Their first-ever home game drew his third-most crowds in the world on the weekend it was played. They drew huge crowds when they raced to the playoffs at the end of the season. And to top it off, they were solidly present at the exhibition against Chelsea.
stadium size
Finally, when watching these games, pay attention to the actual stadiums used. Almost all stadiums have a primary tenant that is an NFL team. Indeed, Atlanta built a new stadium with the intention of inviting Major League Soccer to make Atlanta an expansion team. It’s been a success, and Atlanta United has by far the largest stadium in Major League Soccer when it comes to reduced capacity. The field is comparable to the Mercedes-Benz stadium.
Still, these three stadiums are known for NFL teams. The Falcons, Panthers, and Seahawks play their maximum numbers. Charlotte FC saw him play 38,000 for most of the season. The Seattle Sounders were hovering right below it. So it shouldn’t be too surprising that these venues have expanded capacity. Still, hosting full-capacity games for over 50,000 special occasions is a testament to the popularity of these teams in their respective regions.
Photo: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire
