Historic attendance: 387,271 fans power record MLS opening weekend

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Major League Soccer

·23 February 2026

Historic attendance: 387,271 fans power record MLS opening weekend

By MLSsoccer staff

Major League Soccer opened its 2026 season with a record-setting Matchday 1, drawing a total attendance of 387,271 fans.

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The mark represents:

The highest MLS opening weekend attendance in league history
The highest all-time attendance for any MLS match weekend

Additionally, the league averaged 25,818 fans per match, a five percent increase over last year’s opening weekend and a 17 percent increase over the 2025 regular season average.

The weekend was highlighted by a historic crowd of 75,673 fans for LAFC hosting Inter Miami CF at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The match set a new MLS opening weekend attendance record, ranked as the highest-attended soccer match in the world on Saturday, and stands as the second-largest standalone crowd in MLS history.

LAFC secured a 3-0 victory over Inter Miami in the clash of titans, giving the nod to Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min over Lionel Messi and the defending MLS Cup presented by Audi champions.