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Sport

08th Mar 2016

More people watched MLS than Serie A this weekend

Not far behind the Premier League

Tom Victor

Soccer has truly landed in North America and we have the numbers to prove it.

The 2016 MLS season kicked off this weekend, with all 20 teams in action, and the crowds were higher than ever before.

More than 260,000 fans turned up for the opening day games across the US and Canada – enough to fill Old Trafford more than three times over.

To put the figures into context, just 216,747 showed up to the weekend’s 10 Serie A games, while Saturday’s eight Premier League fixtures drew crowds of 295,413.

The best-attended game across the Atlantic, Orlando City’s 2-2 draw with Real Salt Lake, drew a bigger crowd than every single game in the Premier League.

MLS Opening Weekend Attendances

New York Red Bulls v Toronto FC – 21,303

Chicago Fire v New York City FC – 17,768

Orlando City v Real Salt Lake – 60,147

FC Dallas v Philadelphia Union – 14,248

Houston Dynamo v New England Revolution – 21,594

San Jose Earthquakes v Colorado Rapids – 18,000

Portland Timbers v Columbus Crew – 21,144

Vancouver Whitecaps v Montreal Impact – 22,120

Seattle Sounders v Sporting Kansas City – 39,525

LA Galaxy v DC United – 25,667

(Figures via MLSSoccer.com)