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Mexico attendance in the US is greater than US teams

The US fans who are heavily invested in the US/Mexico rivalry may want to avert their eyes. When it comes to soccer in the US, Mexico is ironically America’s team. This isn’t particularly groundbreaking news, though. Mexico attendance at games in the US has long dwarfed both the USMNT and USWNT. This past year was no different.

Here’s how Mexico attendance breaks down for games in the US.

Date Competition Match-Up Stadium Attendance
April 27 Friendly Mexico vs. Guatemala Camping World Stadium 37,311
May 28 Friendly Mexico vs. Nigeria AT&T Stadium 56,872
June 2 Friendly Mexico vs. Uruguay State Farm Stadium 57,735
June 5 Friendly Mexico vs. Ecuador Soldier Field 61,104
August 31 Friendly Mexico vs. Paraguay Mercedes-Benz Stadium 51,387
September 24 Friendly Mexico vs. Peru Rose Bowl 62,729
September 27 Friendly Mexico vs. Colombia Levi’s Stadium 67,311

Mexico attendance in US up from 2021

In 2022, El Tri’s attendance in the US was a total of 394,449 people over the course of seven games, which averages out to 56,350 fans per game. That is a jump of 28% over 2021 when they averaged 44,213 over 15 games. However, it is a slight drop from the previous World Cup year. They averaged 59,678 fans per game through six games in the US in 2018 making 2022 a drop of 6%

Far higher attendance than USMNT and USWNT

Given the huge number of people from Mexico who live in the US, it’s not a surprise that the Mexican national team draws big crowds. But it is somewhat surprising that those crowds continue to dwarf the US national team crowds despite the time and resources poured into the game here.

Mexico’s attendance in 2022 was a staggering 164% higher than that of the USMNT this year. And, even more shocking, it was a whopping 277% higher than the best USWNT attendance since 2019.

This is not a new development however. Here’s a look at the last 10 years of attendance for each of the three teams:

Year Mexico USMNT USWNT
2022 56,350 21,383 14,967
2021 44,213 25,155 12,703
2020 N/A 5,836 14,559
2019 57,546 23,306 25,122
2018 59,678 24,163 14,064
2017 43,586 29,400 18,150
2016 51,200 29,707 15,973
2015 64,141 38,764 27,766
2014 58,597 34,374 10,791
2013 44,321 33,803 16,479
Overall takeaway

So at the end of the day, Mexico is the dominant soccer force in the US and it’s unlikely to change anytime soon. The Gold Cup is this summer. This puts US games in half-filled soccer-specific stadiums. Meanwhile, Mexico games are in completely full NFL stadiums.

Perhaps the only thing that might change is if Mexico plays fewer cash-grab friendlies in the US, which even Mexico goalkeeper Memo Ochoa spoke about following El Tri’s exit from the World Cup in Qatar.

The Mexicans do not currently have any games officially scheduled to be played in the US for 2022 (the USMNT has two and the USWNT has three). But history has shown that they draw very well and they figure to be back sooner rather than later.

PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

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