Reader question – Ivens Nunes Thomaz,
Macaé, RJ
According to FIFA, almost 200 thousand people went to Maracanã, on July 16, 1950, for the World Cup final that Brazil lost to Uruguay by 2×1. The total audience was 199,854; and the payers, 173,850. In addition to the size of Maraca contributing to attendance records, until the 90s there were several Brazilian stadiums with areas reserved for fans to stand: the general ones, where there was always room for one more. After renovations to respect security laws and FIFA requirements (which include mandatory seating for all fans), public capacity was reduced in the country’s arenas. In the Confederations Cup, which took place in June 2013, for example, Maracanã could only hold 76,000. Attendance at the 2014 World Cup final was no more than 75,000.
João Havelange, president of FIFA between 1974 and 1988, estimated that there were 220,000 people at the 1950 final – around 10% of Rio’s population at the time.
It’s penta
The five largest football audiences in the world were recorded at Maracanã
199,854 – Brazil 1 x 2 Uruguay
July 16, 1950 World Cup
195,513 – Brazil 4 x 1 Paraguay
March 21, 1954 – Cup Qualifiers
194,603 – Fluminense 0 x 0 Flamengo
December 15, 1963 – Campeonato Carioca
183,341 – Brazil 1 x 0 Paraguay
August 31, 1969 – Cup Qualifiers
174,770 – Flamengo 3 x 1 Vasco
April 4, 1976 – Guanabara Cup
CONSULTANCY Fernando BH, sports journalist
SOURCES FIFA, IBGE, Secretariat of Sports and Leisure of Rio de Janeiro and The Rec. Sport. Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF)