Biggest football stadiums in the world: Where new Man United ground could rank amongst iconic global venues

Whatever you call the sport, whether it be football or soccer, the beautiful game has captured hearts and minds around the world for over a century.

Since football’s explosion in the early 1900’s to the modern iteration of the game, millions of fans have attended matches across the globe to watch their favorite teams compete at the highest level.

Some of the most iconic venues and arenas have hosted world-renowned clubs and teams in some of the most illustrious competitions in football. From the FIFA World Cup to the Champions League and beyond, football has caused a craze in every corner of the globe.

Twenty-time English champions Manchester United currently play at their long-time home Old Trafford, but the famous venue’s days are numbered. The Red Devils announced plans in March of 2025 to demolish the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ and build a brand new arena, which is expected to seat over 100,000 fans.

If that plan comes to pass, it would make the new stadium one of the largest in the world, but not quite atop the list.

The Sporting News has identified the largest venues from around the globe, both specific to the sport of football and beyond, as well as the largest attendance figures in the game.

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Biggest football stadiums in the world

Below are the top 20 stadiums around the world. These venues are only those that are primarily used for hosting football matches. While these venues can be used for other purposes, a football club or national team is the primary occupant.

The list does not take into account stadiums that primarily host other events, such as famed cricket venues the Narendra Modi Stadium in India or the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It also excludes the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in North Korea, which is primarily used for athletics, and many of the larger NCAA football stadiums in the United States (Ohio Stadium, Michigan Stadium, Rose Bowl) ,which have hosted occasional soccer matches.

Given this list, the new proposed Manchester United stadium would become the largest football-specific venue in the world.

Biggest sporting venues in the world

While football is one of the most globally popular sports in the world, it does not regularly take place at the largest venues ever built.

Instead, it’s cricket that gets the top spot, while a host of American football stadiums in the United States follow.

Below is a list of the five largest sporting venues in the world used for more than just association football.

Largest football crowds in the world

While most of the football-primary venues do not feature among the biggest in the world, that does not mean football matches haven’t drawn huge crowds.

On occasion, clubs or national teams have played special showcase matches at massive venues, which have drawn historic crowds.

Below are the top five stadiums around the globe that have hosted the largest attendances in the history of football. Incredibly, the Maracana Stadium in Brazil, which has an official capacity of 73,000 today, has the NINE largest official attendances in the history of the sport, many of which came decades ago when scores of unticketed fans streamed the gates to take their places on the terraces.

Many of the next-highest attendances come from Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, where a similar situation was quite regular at big matches through the early to mid 1900’s. This is the same for the 1923 FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, the first-ever football match held at the stadium and still to this day the record crowd for English football.

This has led to a significant debate about the most-attended football match of all time. Some in Brazil claim the club derby between Flamengo and Fluminense in 1963 logged over 194,000 fans, but the Guinness Book of World Records officially claims that the 1950 FIFA World Cup “final” between Brazil and Uruguay holds the top spot.

* List does not include the 150,000 reported attendance figure for North Korea vs. South Korea at May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, as such reporting from North Korean officials have been disputed across a number of disciplines. Similarly, the Persib vs. PSMS match in Indonesia from 1985 claims 150,000 fans, but that extremely round number is also heavily disputed.