MLS: record cumulative attendance of 387,271 spectators for Matchday 1 of the 2026 season

The 15 games of Matchday 1 of the 2026 MLS season, scheduled on 21 and 22/02, generated a cumulative attendance of 387,271 spectators, announced Major League Soccer on 23/02/2026. This represented the highest total attendance ever recorded for a single matchday in the North American professional football league.

The average attendance reached 25,818 per match, representing "a 5% increase compared with Matchday 1 of the 2025 season and a 17% increase compared with the overall average attendance for the 2024 regular season".

By comparison, Ligue 1 McDonald’s — the European top-five league with the lowest average attendance — records an average of 27,238 spectators after 23 matchdays in 2025-26.

This record average was driven in particular by the 75,673 spectators gathered at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on 22/02 for the match between LAFC and Inter Miami CF, featuring Argentina international Lionel Messi (3-0). It stands as the second-highest single-match attendance in MLS history. A crowd of 82,110 attended the LA Galaxy-LAFC derby at the Rose Bowl Stadium on 04/07/2023.

A total of…