The world\u2019s biggest sporting event is soon coming to a screen \u2014 or screens \u2014 near you.<\/p>\n
When the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> kicks off in North America on June 11, it\u2019s easily predicted to garner billions of viewers all over the globe, with millions of fans also watching the action live.<\/p>\n The 2022 World Cup in Qatar saw more than 5 billion people<\/a> engage with the tournament, with the final garnering 1.5 billion viewers alone. It’s very possible those numbers could be topped this year, especially with the tournament expanding to 48 teams for the first time<\/a>.<\/p>\n The quadrennial tournament tends to draw comparisons to the National Football League\u2019s<\/a> Super Bowl<\/a>, so let\u2019s take a look to see how American football\u2019s biggest event stacks up to world football\u2019s most prominent by analyzing viewership, ticket and attendance data:<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLionel Messi is likely playing in his final World Cup. He\u2019s one of a handful of players that you should keep an eye on as the soccer action gets underway.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n How does viewership compare in the World Cup vs. Super Bowl?<\/p>\n Considering the Super Bowl is just one day and that the World Cup spans longer than a month, the viewership data favors the latter. In the 2026 tournament, the viewership is predicted to surpass 5 billion people across the world, making that an average of 128.2 million per day across 39 days.<\/p>\n Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots<\/a> accumulated an estimated 125 million viewers in the U.S.<\/a>, according to the NFL and NBC<\/a>, which broadcast the game.<\/p>\n How does ticket data compare in the World Cup vs. Super Bowl?<\/p>\n Tickets to Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in the Bay Area ranged from $4,000 for the lowest price<\/a>, according to Vivid Seats, to up to over $40,000 behind Seattle’s bench on StubHub. <\/p>\n Seats for a World Cup game in North America could cost you somewhere between $160 to $3,000, depending on the venue and matchup. The final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey has the cheapest tickets at over $8,000, per SeatGeek<\/a>.<\/p>\n How does attendance data compare in the World Cup vs. Super Bowl?<\/p>\n Levi’s Stadium’s capacity is at 68,500, with Super Bowl LX’s attendance coming out to 70,823.<\/p>\n The 2026 World Cup across North America has seen more than five million tickets sold<\/a>. That figure could reach six million, per FIFA.<\/p>\n Which sporting event in the U.S. compares to the Super Bowl?<\/p>\n With the Super Bowl being the only U.S.-based sporting event that can reasonably line up toe-to-toe with the World Cup, the second-highest finale that can compare is the NBA Finals<\/a>. However, it\u2019s not that close.<\/p>\n The 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers drew an average viewership on ABC of 5.85 million viewers. There were about 81.63 million total viewers across the seven-game series.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNico Cantor discusses some of the key players on the U.S. men’s national team ahead of the FIFA World Cup.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Which sporting event globally compares to the World Cup?<\/p>\n Besides previous World Cups, two sporting events around the globe come close to the quadrennial tournament\u2019s numbers. One is the annual Tour de France, which has previously drawn 3.5 billion viewers<\/a> in 190 countries during the 20-plus days of bicycling.\u00a0The 2026 tour will take place from July 4-26. <\/p>\n The other is also a quadrennial event: the Summer Olympics. Broadcast by NBC, the 2024 Olympics in Paris<\/a> was the biggest one yet. Around 5 billion people<\/a> tuned in to the action in France, according to independent research conducted on behalf of the International\u00a0Olympic Committee\u00a0(IOC).<\/p>\n