Major League Soccer said on Monday that over 11 million fans had attended matches so far this season, shattering the previous record of 10.9 million in 2024.
In a statement, the league announced that it has broken beyond the 11 million-fan threshold for the first times in its history, with an average of 23,240 people each game.
MLS said the arrival of international stars such as Lionel Messi — whose presence in the league has often prompted teams to switch fixtures to bigger stadiums — had helped boost attendances.
“The arrival of international stars and the work from clubs to create more unique fan friendly ticket packages and game day experiences are among the key drivers of the continued surge of record-breaking attendance across MLS,” the league announced.
The record-breaking tally comes with the regular season still to be completed. Sixteen more matches are due to ake place before the season wraps up on October 19.
The attendance numbers mark the third consecutive year that MLS had drawn more than 10 million fans.
