Top 25 most-attended friendlies played in the USA this summer

More than one million soccer fans filled stadiums across the United States to see summer friendlies featuring many of the biggest teams from around the world, according to new research from World Soccer Talk.

These games frequently draw massive crowds as fans clamor to see players and teams they otherwise might not ever get to see. This summer was no different.

The clubs playing summer friendlies in the US this year were a who’s-who of the biggest teams in the world. Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid came over. Five of England’s “Big Six” made appearances. And one of Italy’s biggest clubs, AC Milan, made the rounds to show off American forward Christian Pulisic.

Soccer fans pack out stadiums for summer friendlies

Here is the list of the top 25 exhibition games played in the US this summer:

Rank		Stadium	City	Attendance
1	Barcelona vs. Real Madrid	MetLife Stadium	East Rutherford, NJ	82,154
2	Liverpool vs. Man United	Williams-Brice Stadium	Columbia, SC	77,559
3	Chelsea vs. Man City	Ohio Stadium	Columbus, OH	71,280
4	Liverpool vs. Arsenal	Lincoln Financial Field	Philadelphia, PA	68,789
5	Barcelona vs. Man City	Camping World Stadium	Orlando, FL	63,237
6	Real Madrid vs. Chelsea	Bank of America Stadium	Charlotte, NC	62,617
7	Arsenal vs. Man United	SoFi Stadium	Inglewood, CA	62,486
8	Milan vs. Real Madrid	Soldier Field	Chicago, IL	61,568
9	Milan vs. Barcelona	M&T Bank Stadium	Baltimore, MD	51,337
10	Milan vs. Man City	Yankee Stadium	New York, NY	46,122
11	Liverpool vs. Real Betis	Acrisure Stadium	Pittsburgh, PA	42,679
12	Chelsea vs. Club America	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Atlanta, GA	38,000
13	Celtic vs. Chelsea	Notre Dame Stadium	South Bend, IN	35,000
14	Chelsea vs. Wrexham	Levi’s Stadium	Santa Clara, CA	32,724
15	Celtic vs. Man City	Kenan Memorial Stadium	Chapel Hill, NC	30,000
16	Man United vs. Real Betis	Snapdragon Stadium	San Diego, CA	26,248
17	Club America vs. Aston Villa	Soldier Field	Chicago, IL	22,225
18	MLS All-Stars vs. Liga MX All-Stars	Lower.com Field	Columbus, OH	20,931
19	Columbus vs. Aston Villa	Lower.com Field	Columbus, OH	20,218
20	DC United vs. Celtic	Audi Field	Washington DC	18,590
21	Wrexham vs. Bournemouth	Harder Stadium	Santa Barbara, CA	13,322
22	Arsenal vs. Bournemouth	Dignity Health Sports Park	Carson, CA	13,000
23	Wolves vs. West Ham	EverBank Stadium	Jacksonville, FL	12,275
24	Louisville vs. Frankfurt	Lynn Family Stadium	Louisville, KY	10,218
25	Crystal Palace vs. Wolves	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium	Annapolis, MD	7,000 (estimated)

In addition to the above friendlies, there were several pre-season games played in the United States where the attendance numbers were not disclosed. Also new this summer are a handful of pre-season friendlies featuring high-profile women’s soccer teams from Europe, many of whom are playing later this month across the United States.

Summer friendlies better attended than Leagues Cup

Of the 28 summer friendlies played in the US, eleven of them drew over 40,000 people. Just as impressive is that an additional four of the 28 games cracked the 30,000 mark. In the top 25 most-attended games listed above, the average attendance was 39,583.

The same cannot be said for the 2024 edition of the Leagues Cup. MLS may have been successful at cashing in on the Mexican-American fans last year, but it has not been the case this year. Thus far, only two Leagues Cup games have cracked the 40,000 barrier. Those were the San Jose Earthquakes against Chivas Guadalajara at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara and then Inter Miami against Tigres at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Notably, neither of MLS’s two best-attended teams have had their Leagues Cup games draw well. Atlanta United had a pair of home games that were, by their lofty standards, poorly attended. So too were the Seattle Sounders’ two home games. They drew 28,000 and 26,000 respectively against Minnesota United and Necaxa.

Impressive attendances at college football stadiums

Typically, preseason friendlies between top European clubs are often played at NFL stadiums due to their large capacities. This year, more than ever, several of the games were played in American college football stadiums. It’s perhaps fitting as college football is perhaps the only American sport that can match the passion and intensity of European club soccer.

For example, Liverpool played Manchester United at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. While not on the campus of the University of South Carolina, it is home to the Gamecocks on Saturdays in the fall.

The battle between Chelsea and Manchester City took place at Ohio Stadium. Commonly known as “The Horseshoe,” Ohio Stadium is the home to the Ohio State Buckeyes and has seen some of the biggest games in college football history.

Nor was that Chelsea’s only game in a college football stadium this summer. They also played Celtic at Notre Dame Stadium. The home of the Fighting Irish was no stranger to hosting summer friendlies. Back in 2019, Liverpool played Dortmund at Notre Dame under the watchful gaze of “Touchdown Jesus.”

Celtic too, played another game in a college football stadium. Their match-up against Manchester City was on the campus of the University of North Carolina. The Tar Heels had also played hosted last year’s game between Chelsea and Wrexham.

With so many successful club friendlies in college football stadiums, could we see US Men’s National Team games in college football stadiums in the future?

Overall, this summer was another successful series of summer friendlies. On the heels of drawing big crowds for Copa America, the American soccer fans delivered again with more great numbers for the club friendlies. With the country now firmly in the middle of the biggest stretch of soccer in American history, many will undoubtedly be hoping that these crowds are a sign of things to come.

Photo: IMAGO / Marca.