These Are The Largest Stadiums In The World

The North Korean Rungrado May Day Stadium has a seating capacity of 114,000, making it the largest one in the world.

Football or soccer is the held to be the most popular sport in the world. It has simple rules and few essential types of equipment that make it possible to be played almost anywhere like in the beaches, streets, parks, gymnasium, and school grounds. According to the world’s football governing body FIFA, there were about 250 million soccer players and more that 1.3 billion people who had an interest in the sport in 2000. In 2010 FIFA world cup, there were more than 3.2 billion audiences watching football on television. In world cup 2014 FIFA generated more than $1.7billion in broadcasting rights. Therefore, football or soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world that transcends race, culture, gender or age. It has been referred as the game that unifies humanity. In order to qualify on our list, a stadium has to be primarily used for football (soccer) games. The list does not include NFL stadiums.

The 3 Largest Stadiums by Capacity

Rungrado May Stadium

Rungrado May Stadium is the largest football stadium in the world found in Pyongyang, North Korea. It has the capacity of 114,000 spectators. Its construction was completed in 1989, and it is used mainly for soccer matches, some athletic events, and mass games. It has a roof that features 16 curves that are arranged like a ring and has a floor space of around 2.2 million ft squared and a roof peak of over 197 ft from the ground.

Camp Nou

Camp Nou, of Barcelona, Spain, is the second largest football stadium in the world. Since 1957, this stadium has been the home of the Barcelona FC. It has a seating capacity of 99,354 and the largest football stadium in Europe. It has hosted many popular sports such as the 1992 Olympics, and finals of the UEFA Champion Leagues. The stadium took a span of three years to be constructed at a cost of around 288 million pesetas.

FNB Soccer City Stadium

Found in Johannesburg, South Africa , FNB Soccer City is the largest football stadium in Africa, and the third largest stadium in the world with a seating capacity for 94,736 fans. Besides, it is located next to the headquarters of the South African Football Association. The stadium staged and hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final between Netherlands and Spain. The stadium featured the last public appearance of Nelson Mandela during the final closing ceremony of the world cup. In 1990, it became famous for the first speech of Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg immediately after his release from prison.

Importance of Football

Football plays a significant role in promoting international relations between countries because of its popularity over the world. For instance, the International Olympic Committee has more than 200 member countries, more than the total number of UN member states that has 192 member countries. Further, football plays a vital role in impacting international relations as it brings together people all over the world through media and technology, where people sit and watch major football matches such as FIFA World Cup at the same time.

The Largest Football (Soccer) Stadiums In The World
Rank    Stadium               Capacity     Location
1          Rungrado     May Day Stadium 114,000 Pyongyang, North Korea
2         Camp Nou 99,354 Barcelona, Spain
3        FNB Stadium 94,736 Johannesburg, South Africa
4    Rose Bowl Stadium 92,542 Pasadena, United States
5    Wembley Stadium 90,310 London, England (UK)
6   Bukit Jalil National Stadium 89,411 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
7   Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium 88,083 Jakarta, Indonesia
8    Estadio Azteca 87,000 Mexico City, Mexico
9    Borg El Arab Stadium 86,000 Alexandria, Egypt
10    Salt Lake Stadium 85,000 Kolkata, India
11     ANZ Stadium 84,000 Sydney, Australia
12     Signal Iduna Park   81,360 Dortmund, Germany
13     Stade de France  81,338   Saint-Denis, France
14     Santiago Bernabéu Stadium    81,044   Madrid, Spain
15     Luzhniki Stadium  81,006  Moscow, Russia
16    Shah Alam Stadium  80,372   Shah Alam, Malaysia
17    Estadio Monumental "U"  80,093 Lima, Peru
18   Stadio Giuseppe Meazza  80,018  Milan, Italy
19   Guangdong Olympic Stadium   80,012  Guangzhou, China
20   AT&T Stadium  80,000  Arlington, United States
21   Stade des Martyrs  80,000  Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of the Congo
22   Beijing National Stadium  80,000  Beijing, China
23   Maracanã Stadium  78,838  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
24   Azadi Stadium  78,116  Tehran, Iran
25    nAtatürk Olympic Stadium  76,092 Istanbul, Turkey
26   Old Trafford  75,731  Manchester, England
27  Allianz Arena 75,024 Munich, Germany
28  Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 75,000  Kochi, India
29  Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium  75,000  Isfahan, Iran
30  Millennium Stadium  74,500  Cardiff, Wales (UK)