Major League Soccer has set a new regular-season attendance record, with more than 11 million fans turning out for games during the 2024 campaign.
The record, which surpasses last year’s total of 10,900,804, has been set with 16 matches still to play in the 2024 regular season. The current average attendance for this season is 23,240.
It marks the third year in a row that MLS has drawn more than 10 million regular-season fans. The 2024 regular season concludes on October 19.
MLS pointed to the arrival of international stars and the work from clubs to create more unique, fan-friendly ticket packages and matchday experiences as reasons for the increased attendances.
Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami last year and his arrival in MLS has sparked heightened interest in the league. Other high-profile players to have joined the league since then include Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Olivier Giroud.
The highest single-game attendance for the 2024 season was set on April 13 when Messi’s Inter Miami took on Sporting Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium in front of 72,610 fans. The match was moved to Arrowhead Stadium, home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, to accommodate more fans.
The second highest attendance of the season was set on July 4, when 70,076 fans watched LA Galaxy vs Los Angeles FC at the Rose Bowl Stadium. The third highest was set on April 27 as 65,612 people turned out to watch New England Revolution vs Inter Miami at Gillette Stadium.
The highest ever attendance for an MLS game was set in July 2023, when the LA Galaxy vs LAFC derby match was watched by 82,110 fans at the Rose Bowl. This was nearly 8,000 more than the previous record, which was set in 2022 when Charlotte FC hosted LA Galaxy at Bank of America Stadium.
